ORP Piorun (G65)

ORP Piorun as HMS Noble after World War II
History
United Kingdom
Name	Nerissa
Operator	Royal Navy
Ordered	15 April 1939
Builder	John Brown & Company, Clydebank
Cost	£400,963.16s
Laid down	26 July 1939
Launched	7 May 1940
Fate	Transferred to Polish Navy, October 1940
Poland
Name	Piorun
Namesake	Lightning
Operator	Polish Navy
Completed	4 November 1940
Acquired	Transferred to Polish Navy, October 1940
Commissioned	4 November 1940
Identification	Pennant number: G65
Fate	Returned to Royal Navy, 1946
United Kingdom
Name	Noble
Acquired	August 1946
Recommissioned	26 October 1946
Fate	Scrapped, 1955
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type	N-class destroyer
Displacement	1,773 standard ) 2,384 long tons (2,422 t) ( deep load )
Length	356 ft 6 in (108.7 m) (o/a)
Beam	35 ft 9 in (10.9 m)
Draught	12 ft 6 in (3.8 m)
Installed power	2 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers 40,000  kW )
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 steam turbines
Speed	36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range	5,500 nmi (10,200 km; 6,300 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	183
Sensors and processing systems	ASDIC Type 285 gunnery radar Type 286 radar surface-search radar
Armament	3 × twin 4.7 in (120 mm) guns 1 × single AA gun 4 × single 20 mm (0.8 in) Oerlikon AA guns 2 × twin 0.5 in (12.7 mm) machine guns 1 × quintuple torpedo tubes 45 × depth charges, 1 × rack, 2 × throwers

ORP Piorun was an

In May 1941 ORP Piorun located the German battleship Bismarck, and drew its fire, while other units of the Royal Navy task force caught up to sink the Bismarck.

After World War II, Piorun was returned to the Royal Navy and recommissioned as HMS Noble before being scrapped in 1955.

Design

The eight ships of the N-class were ordered on 15 April 1939. They were a repeat of the J- and K-class destroyers, 16 of which were ordered in 1937.^[1][2]

The N-class were 339 feet 6 inches (103.48 m) long

The ship was built by John Brown & Company of Clydebank, Glasgow. She was laid down on 26 July 1939, launched on 7 May 1940.^[8][5] While initially ordered and launched under the name Nerissa, the ship was transferred to the Polish Navy in October 1940 and renamed Piorun.^[9] She was completed on 4 November 1940.^[8][5]

Piorun was based in Great Britain and commanded by Commander Eugeniusz Pławski. Between 13 and 15 March 1941, while undergoing repairs in John Brown's shipyard, she took part in the defence of Clydebank in the Clydebank Blitz against air raids by the Luftwaffe. A memorial to the ship's crew was later erected in Clydebank.^[10]

Bismarck action

On 22 May 1941, Piorun, with ships of the British 4th Destroyer Flotilla (HMS Cossack, HMS Maori, HMS Sikh and HMS Zulu), commanded by Captain Philip Vian, provided additional escort to troop convoy WS8B en route from Glasgow to the Indian Ocean. On 25 May, Vian's destroyers (including Piorun) were detached from the convoy to join the search for the German battleship Bismarck.

Piorun took part, along with the British destroyers, in the search for Bismarck (she was the first of the destroyers to spot the German ship). She joined in the shadowing of and torpedo attacks on the German battleship the night before Bismarck was sunk. Arriving first on the scene with the British Tribal-class destroyer Maori, Piorun charged at Bismarck by herself, while Maori manoeuvred for position to fire torpedoes. Alone, Piorun exchanged fire with Bismarck for an hour, with neither side scoring any hits—although after the third salvo, Bismarck missed by only 20 yards (18 m), causing Pławski to pull away.

According to one report (detailed at the

Another often repeated story, possibly an embellishment, mentions that the Piorun constantly signaled "I am a Pole" using her signal lights for the entirety of the engagement.^{[citation needed]} It does remain possible, perhaps even likely, due to the fact that the signalman would be posted at the light during Battle Stations.

Piorun was very low on fuel, so at 05:00 she was ordered home before she had used her torpedoes. Pławski was reluctant to leave the area and ignored Vian's order for an hour before returning to the United Kingdom.^[13]

Subsequent activity

Piorun subsequently operated in the Mediterranean, taking part in

References

• ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8
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• English, John (2001). Afridi to Nizam: British Fleet Destroyers 1937–43. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society.
  ISBN 0-905617-64-9
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• Friedman, Norman (2006). British Destroyers & Frigates: The Second World War and After. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
  ISBN 1-86176-137-6
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• ISBN 978-1-84832-015-4
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• Hodges, Peter; Friedman, Norman (1979). Destroyer Weapons of World War 2. Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press.
  ISBN 978-0-85177-137-3
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• Langtree, Charles (2002). The Kelly's: British J, K, and N Class Destroyers of World War II. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
  ISBN 1-55750-422-9
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• Lenton, H. T. (1998). British & Empire Warships of the Second World War. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
  ISBN 1-55750-048-7
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• ISBN 0-356-02950-6
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• March, Edgar J. (1966). British Destroyers: A History of Development, 1892–1953; Drawn by Admiralty Permission From Official Records & Returns, Ships' Covers & Building Plans. London: Seeley Service.
  OCLC 164893555
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• Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
  ISBN 1-59114-119-2
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• Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.
  ISBN 0-87021-326-1
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• Whitley, M. J. (2000). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Cassell & Co.
  ISBN 1-85409-521-8
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