Polish Navy
Polish Navy | |
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Marynarka Wojenna | |
wadm. Jarosław Ziemiański | |
Insignia | |
Flag[2] | |
Naval Ensign | |
Naval Jack |
The Polish Navy (Polish: Marynarka Wojenna, lit. 'War Navy'; often abbreviated to Marynarka) is the naval branch of the Polish Armed Forces. The Polish Navy consists of 46 ships and about 12,000 commissioned and enlisted personnel. The traditional ship prefix in the Polish Navy is ORP (Okręt Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, "Warship of the Republic of Poland").
Origins
The Polish Navy has its roots in naval vessels that were largely employed on Poland's main rivers in defense of trade and commerce. During the
At that time, as the Kingdom of Poland and the
The Commission of Royal Ships (Komisja Okrętów Królewskich) was created in 1625. This commission, along with the ultimate allocation of funds by the
20th century
Following
A number of modern ships were built in France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Despite ambitious plans (including 2 cruisers and 12 destroyers), the budgetary limitations placed on the government by the Great Depression never allowed the navy to expand beyond a small Baltic force. The building of one submarine, ORP Orzeł, was partly funded by a public collection. One of the main goals of the Polish Navy was to protect the Polish coast against the Soviet Baltic Fleet, therefore it put emphasis on fast submarines, large and heavily armed destroyers and mine warfare. By September 1939 the Polish Navy consisted of 5 submarines, 4 destroyers, 1 big minelayer and various smaller support vessels and mine-warfare ships. This force was no match for the larger Kriegsmarine, and so a strategy of harassment and indirect engagement was implemented.
World War II
The outbreak of
During the war the Polish Navy in exile was supplemented with leased British ships, including two
. During the course of the war, one cruiser, four destroyers, one minelayer, one torpedo boat, two submarines and some smaller vessels (gunboats, mine hunters etc.) were sunk; in total, twenty-six ships were lost, mostly in September 1939. In addition to participating in the sinking of Bismarck, the Polish Navy sank an enemy destroyer and six other surface ships, two submarines and a number of merchant vessels.Postwar
After World War II, on 7 July 1945, the new Soviet-imposed Communist government revived the Polish Navy with headquarters in
21st century
Poland's entrance into the
The Polish Navy has taken part in numerous joint force operations. In 1999 the naval base at Gdynia became the home base of all NATO submarine forces in the Baltic, codenamed "Cooperative Poseidon". That same year joint American-Polish submarine training manoeuvres codenamed "Baltic Porpoise" for the first time utilized the port in a multinational military exercise.
Modernization
As of the 2020s, the Polish Navy is modernizing its fleet. The work was initially planned as a 9 billion zloty project, but this was reduced in 2012 to 5 billion zloty, causing delays and cancellations in the succeeding years.[7] The navy's 2017 strategy called for spending 13 billion zloty and acquiring 22 new warships, including those completed since 2013.[8] In addition, although the force considers larger warships unsuitable for the confines of the Baltic Sea, the strategy called for extending the operational lifespan of one Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate.[8]
12 new ships worth around 10 billion PLN were to be acquired before 2026. The plan was updated in 2017 for 2013–2022 period to be worth 13 billion zloty and called to acquire 22 new vessels.[8] These included three coast-defense vessels, code name Miecznik, that would feature a displacement of 2600 tons; and three patrol/mine countermeasure vessels, code name Czapla with 1700 tons displacement.[9][10] Other purchases include six tugboats, two tankers, two rescue ships, one ELINT, one logistical support ship and one joint support ship. However some deliveries are expected up to 2026.[8] On 2 July 2015, ORP Ślązak was christened during official launching ceremony, becoming the first new Polish-built Navy ship in 21 years.[11] In 2022, UK shipbuilder Babcock announced that the Polish Navy had selected its Arrowhead 140 design for its Miecznik program, which will equip the navy with three new-build multi-mission frigates. The vessels are expected to be built locally in Poland.[12]
In terms of armament, the Polish Navy has acquired 36 Swedish
Mission and organization
The main mission of the Polish Navy is the defense of Poland's territorial waters, coastline and its interests abroad. Other missions include the support of NATO allied operations, and
Polish Armed Forces |
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Branches |
Land Forces Air Force Navy Special Forces Territorial Defence Force |
History |
Timeline Wars |
Personnel |
Awards Oaths |
Equipment |
Land Forces Navy |
- Armed Forces Operational Command in Warsaw
- Seaborne Operations Center - Seaborne Component Command in Gdynia
- Armed Forces General Command in Warsaw
- Inspector of the Navy in Warsaw[18]
- 3rd Ship Flotilla "Commodore Bolesław Romanowski" in Gdynia-Oksywie
- Flotilla Command
- Submarine Ships Division in Gdynia-Oksywie
- Gdynia Combatant Ships Division - Gdynia-Oksywie
- ORP 272 Generał Kazimierz Pułaski and ORP 273 Generał Tadeusz Kościuszko - Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates
- ORP 423 Grom - Orkan-class missile corvettes
- ORP 240 Kaszub - single ship ASW corvette Project 620
- Meko A-100, being fitted out until the end of 2018
- Support Ships Division in Gdynia
- ORP 251 Wodnik - single ship Wodnik-class training vessel Project 888
- ORP 281 Piast and ORP 282 Lech - Piast-class rescue-salvage ships Project 570
- ORP R-14 Zbyszko and ORP R-15 Maćko - rescue cutters Project B823
- Reconnaissance Ships Group in Gdynia
- ORP 262 Nawigator and ORP 263 Hydrograf - Nawigator-class reconnaissance ships
- Hydrographic Support Squadron in Gdynia
- ORP 265 Heweliusz and ORP 266 Arctowski - Heweliusz-class hydrographic survey ships
- ORP 253 Iskra - Iskra-class sail training ship
- 2 hydrographic cutters K-4 and K-10 and 3 hydrographic motor launches M-38, M-39 and M-40
- Coastal ASM Unit "Commodore Zbigniew Przybyszewski" in Siemirowice
- 1st Coastal ASM Division - Naval Strike Missile
- 2nd Coastal ASM Division - Naval Strike Missile
- 9th Anti-Aircraft Division in Ustka - Grom MANPADS and S-60 AAA guns
- 43rd Naval Combat Engineer Battalion in Rozewie
- Naval Technical Base in Gdynia
- Military Port Command "Brig. Gen. Stanisław Dąbek" in Gdynia
- Base Location Hel
- Naval Sailing Training Center in Gdynia
- Naval Control and Measurement Range in Gdynia-Oksywie
- ORP H34 Błyskawica - Grom-class destroyer museum ship
- 8th Coastal Defense Flotilla "Vice admiral Kazimierz Porębski" in Świnoujście
- Flotilla Command
- 2nd Landing and Minelaying Ships Division in Swinoujscie
- ORP 821 Lublin, ORP 822 Gniezno, ORP 823 Kraków, ORP 824 Poznań and ORP 825 Toruń - Lublin-class minelayer-landing ships
- ORP 511 Kontradmirał Xawery Czernicki - multirole support ship
- 3 landing cutters Project 716
- 12th Wolin Minesweeper Division in Swinoujscie
- 13th Minesweeper Division "Fleet Admiral Andrzej Karweta" in Gdynia
- ORP 624 Czajka - minehunter Project 206FM
- ORP 601 Kormoran - minehunter Project 258
- ORP 630 Gopło, ORP 643 Mamry, ORP 644 Wigry, ORP 645 Śniardwy, ORP 646 Wdzydze - coastal minesweepers Project 207M
- EOD DiverGroup
- 8th Anti-Aircraft Division in Dziwnów - Grom MANPADS, ZU-23-2 and S-60 AAA guns
- 8th Kołobrzeg Naval Combat Engineer Battalion in Dziwnów
- Military Port Command Swinoujscie
- Base Location Kołobrzeg
- Gdynia Naval Aviation Brigade "Commander Pilot Karol Trzask-Durski"[19] in Gdynia-Babie Doły
- Brigade Command
- 43rd Oksywie Naval Air Base "Commander Edward Stanisław Szystowiski" in Gdynia-Babie Doły (personnel and equipment from 28th Naval Aviation Squadron)
- Air Group
- 4 transport aircraft An-28TD (0703 and 1003) and M28B (1117 and 1118)
- 4 shipborne ASW helicopters Kaman SH-2G Super Seasprite (3543, 3544, 3545 and 3546)
- 6 SAR helicopters W-3WARM Anakonda (0505, 0506, 0511, 0813, 0815 and 0906)
- 2 training and liaison helicopters Mi-2D (5245) and Mi-2R (5348)
- Air Group
- 44th Kaszubian-Darłowo Naval Air Base in Siemirowice
- Kaszubian Air Group in Siemirowice
- 7 maritime patrol aircraft M28B-1R Bryza M28B-1R (1006, 1008, 1017, 1022, 1114, 1115 and 1116)
- 1 maritime patrol and submarine detection aircraft M28B-1RM/BIS Bryza (0810)
- 2 environmental monitoring aircraft An-28E (0404 and 0405)
- Darłowo Air Group in Darłowo
- Kaszubian Air Group in Siemirowice
- Naval Hydrographical Bureau in Gdynia
- 6th Oliwa Radioelectronic Reconnaissance Regiment ″Admiral Arendt Dickmann″
- Naval Training Center "Vice Admiral Józef Unrug" in Ustka
- Naval NCO School in Ustka
- Diving and Deep Diving Training Center of the Polish Armed Forces "Commodore Stanisław Mielczarek" in Gdynia
- 3rd Ship Flotilla "Commodore Bolesław Romanowski" in Gdynia-Oksywie
- Inspector of the Navy in Warsaw[18]
Ranks and insignia
- Officers
NATO code | OF-10 | OF-9 | OF-8 | OF-7 | OF-6 | OF-5 | OF-4 | OF-3 | OF-2 | OF-1 | OF(D) | Student officer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Polish Navy[20] |
Various | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Marszałek Polski | Admirał | Admirał floty | Wiceadmirał | Kontradmirał | Komandor | Komandor porucznik | Komandor podporucznik | Kapitan marynarki | Porucznik marynarki | Podporucznik marynarki | Podchorąży
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Abbreviation | marsz. | adm. | adm.fl. | wadm. | kadm. | kmdr | kmdr por. | kmdr ppor. | kpt.mar. | por.mar. | ppor.mar. |
- Other ranks
NATO rank scale | OR-9 | OR-8 | OR-7 | OR-6 | OR-5 | OR-4 | OR-3 | OR-2 | OR-1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Polish Navy[20] |
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Starszy chorąży sztabowy marynarki | Starszy chorąży marynarki | Chorąży marynarki | Młodszy chorąży marynarki | Starszy bosman | Bosman | Bosmanmat | Starszy mat | Mat | Starszy marynarz | Marynarz | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Abbreviation | st.chor.szt.mar. | st.chor.mar. | chor.mar. | mł.chor.mar. | st.bsm. | bsm. | bsmt | st.mat | mat | st.mar. | mar. |
Equipment
Ships
Currently, the Polish Navy operates 48 ships, including: 3 submarines, 2 frigates, 2 corvettes, 3 fast-attack craft, 21 mine destroyers, 5 mine layers, 4 salvage ships, 6 auxiliary ships and 2 training vessels. Also, the navy operates 40 naval aircraft, including 10 maritime patrol planes, 4 transport planes, 10 search air-rescue helicopters, 12 anti-submarine warfare helicopters, 4 transport & training helicopters. The Polish Ministry of Defence has additionally started multiple programs to modernise and revive the Polish Navy such as the Miecznik programme, the Kormoran class minesweepers, the Orka submarine program and many more.
Aircraft
Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | Active | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Special mission | |||||
An-28 | Poland | MPA | M28[21] | 9[22] | |
Transport | |||||
An-28 | Poland | transport | M28[21] | 5[22] | |
Combat helicopter | |||||
AW101 | United Kingdom/Italy | ASW/SAR | 3[23] | 1 on order[22] | |
Mi-2 | Poland | transport | 3[22] | ||
Mi-14 | Soviet Union | anti submarine | 6[22] | ||
SH-2G | United States | ASW | 4[22] | ||
W-3 | Poland | SAR | 8[22] |
Coastal Defense
Image | Model | Origin | Type | Variant | In service[24] | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Naval Strike Missile (NSM) | Norway | Anti-Ship Missile | NSM | 74 | [25] |
See also
- List of Polish admirals
- Polish contribution to World War II (Navy)
- Polish Navy order of battle in 1939
- Polish Merchant Navy
- Polish Border Guard Vessels
References
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-10-11. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Ustawa z dnia 19 lutego 1993 r. o znakach Sił Zbrojnych Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej" [Act of February 19, 1993 on the symbols of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland] (PDF). isap.sejm.gov.pl (in Polish). Internet System of Legal Acts. pp. 24–28. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ Górski, Karol (1949). Związek Pruski i poddanie się Prus Polsce: zbiór tekstów źródłowych (in Polish and Latin). Poznań: Instytut Zachodni. pp. 89, 207.
- ^ a b c d e f g Juliusz Bardach, Boguslaw Lesnodorski, and Michal Pietrzak, Historia panstwa i prawa polskiego (Warsaw: Paristwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe), 1987, p.231
- ISBN 978-0-521-27889-8. Archivedfrom the original on 30 May 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
- ^ Jerzy Pertek Polacy na morzach i oceanach: Do roku 1795, p. 176
- ^ a b "Rozczarowujące BME 2010". Altair. Archived from the original on 2012-03-13. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ a b c d Nowy harmonogram modernizacji MW RP. Archived 2017-02-02 at the Wayback Machine Altair, January 20, 2017. (in Polish)
- ^ The Polish Navy Development Concept. Archived 2017-03-05 at the Wayback Machine amberexpo.pl
- ^ Miecznik i Czapla częściowo odtajnione. Archived 2013-07-15 at the Wayback Machine Altair (in Polish)
- ^ Defence Minister: We need to expand Polish Navy. Archived 2017-10-04 at the Wayback Machine 02.07.2015
- ^ "Babcock's Arrowhead 140 design to form the basis of the future flagships of the Polish Navy". Janes.com. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
- Saab Group. Archived from the originalon October 24, 2010.
- ^ "defence.professionals". defpro.com. Archived from the original on 2012-06-30. Retrieved 2012-04-17.
- ^ "Poland evaluates three bids for helicopter acquisition". Archived from the original on 2017-04-09. Retrieved 2017-04-08.
- ^ "Ukompletowanie NDR". Altair. Archived from the original on 2015-07-03.
- ^ "Polish Navy". Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
- ^ "Marynarka Wojenna". www.jednostki-wojskowe.pl. Archived from the original on 2018-09-26. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
- ^ Rydzyk|2012|www.rczpi.wp.mil.pl, made by RCZPI|design by Patryk. "..:: :: Jednostki ::." blmw.wp.mil.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2018-09-26. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Embraer, In association with. "2023 World Air Forces directory". Flight Global. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
- ^ a b c d e f g Embraer, In association with. "2023 World Air Forces directory". Flight Global. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
- ^ https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/poland-inducts-first-merlin-asw-helicopters
- ^ "Wyposażenie". Wojsko-Polskie.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2019-12-11.
- ^ "Ukompletowanie NDR". Altair. Archived from the original on 2015-07-03.
Bibliography
- Belcarz, Bartlomiej & Peczkowski, Robert (2001). White Eagles: The Aircraft, Men and Operations of the Polish Air Force 1918–1939. Ottringham, UK: Hikoki Publications. ISBN 1-902109-73-2.
- ISBN 0-7818-0672-0.