Wilk-class submarine
ORP Wilk in 1937 | |
Class overview | |
---|---|
Name | Wilk |
In commission | 12 April 1929 - 1955 |
Completed | 3 |
Lost | 0 |
General characteristics (at 1 September 1939) | |
Type | submarine |
Displacement |
|
Length | 78.5 m (257 ft 7 in) |
Beam | 5.9 m (19 ft 4 in) |
Draught | 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in) |
Propulsion |
|
Speed |
|
Range |
|
Complement | 46–54 |
Armament |
|
Notes |
Wilk-class submarines of the Polish Navy included three boats: ORP Wilk, ORP Ryś and ORP Żbik. They served from 1931 until 1955. The boats were built in France. During World War II, one escaped to Britain and two were interned in Sweden.[1]
The class design was based on that of the French submarine Pierre Chailley, which had been laid down in 1917 and was in service from 1923 to 1936. Running with diesel engines, they all possessed mine-laying capabilities. They had a top speed of 14.5 knots (26.9 km/h; 16.7 mph) surfaced, and 9.5 knots (17.6 km/h; 10.9 mph) submerged.
Boats in class
There were three boats in the Wilk class.
Name | Builder | Launched | Fate[2] |
---|---|---|---|
Wilk ('wolf') | Normand, Le Havre | 12 April 1929 | In reserve 1942, scrapped 1951 |
Ryś ('lynx') | ACL, Nantes | 22 April 1929 | Interned Sept. 1939, scrapped 1954 |
Żbik ('wildcat') | CNF, Caen | 14 June 1931 | Interned Sept. 1939, scrapped 1954 |
Citations
- ^ Haarr, Geirr (Sep 24, 2013). The Gathering Storm: The Naval War in Northern Europe September 1939 - April 1940. Seaforth Publishing. p. 469. ISBN 978-1473831315. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
- ^ Conway p.350
References
- Gardiner, Robert; Chesneau, Roger, eds. (1980). Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
External links
- Class description and ship histories Archived 2007-10-11 at the Wayback Machine (in Polish)
- Wilk class at uboat.net