ORP Żuraw

ORP Żuraw was a Jaskółka-class minesweeper of the Polish Navy at the outset of World War II. Żuraw participated in the defense of Poland during the German invasion of 1939.

Construction and service 1939
The Żuraw was built at the Polish Navy Shipyard (Stocznia Marynarki Wojennej) in Gdynia as a Jaskkóła (swallow) class warship minesweeper. She was named and launched on September 22, 1938.

The ship was rushed into service and developed problems with the steering gear, possibly because the ship was incomplete when it was put into service. She was under the command of Capt Mjr. Robert Kasperski and her home harbor was at Jastarnia.

On September 1, 1939 the ship participated in the defense of the Hel Peninsula against a massive German aerial "carpet" bombing attack. On September 14, 1939 the "Żuraw" was transferred to Hel, where the ship became part of the shoreline defense fleet.

Continuation of service
After the capitulation of the Hel peninsula on October 2, 1939, the ship anchored at Hel harbor and was confiscated by the Germans. Following this, the ship was put in the service of the German Navy Kriegsmarine under the new German name "Oxhöft". She was initially placed in service as a trawling ship, then later converted to an auxiliary hydro-graphical service ship.

Under the German Navy the ship underwent a retrofit with modifications of the middle section, and the guard of the fight ramp was also altered. Together with three other Polish Navy trawlers that survived the war (OORP: ORP Mewa (1935) "Mewa", ORP Rybitwa (1935) "Rybitwa", ORP Czajka (1935) "Czajka"), the Żuraw was in service for the auxiliary force of German trawlers. After the war ended, the ships were recovered by the Polish Government at Travemünde and returned to service with the Polish Navy on January 25, 1946. At Travemünde, the Polish Flag was raised and the ship regained its former Polish name "Żuraw". On or about February 13, 1946, she was transferred to Kilonia, where new armament (5 German 20 mm cannons) and trawling equipment were added.

On March 12, 1946, the trawlers, together with ORP "Żuraw", returned to Gynia Harbor, where they commenced service as the 1st Division. The warships had a mark on their sides ŻW, which was later altered to beŻR. In 1946 "Żuraw" underwent an overhaul, and then became part of a November 1, 1946 mission, (the earliest of the ship class Jaskółka), assigned temporarily to a group of trawlers type MT. On November 29, 1946 the ship was assigned to Świnoujście, to join the Szczecin sub-naval region. Beginning in December 1946, the ship went on multiple missions and hydro-graphical surveying. About May 14, 1947 the "Żuraw" was permanently assigned to the hydro-graphic Division of the Polish Navy at St. Kierzkowski as the "Kompas". At the end of 1947 the ship underwent a modification and was retrofitted for new service, with the hydro-graphical survey and a design and drafting studio.

On or about September 15, 1948 "Żuraw" was officially reclassified and converted as a hydro-graphical ship with the destination mark: HG-11. She became the first hydrological survey ship of the Polish Navy at the end of the World War II.

On about September 1, 1951, 12 members from the crew took over the ship and rerouted the ship to the harbor of Ystad in Sweden, where they asked for political asylum to escape the newly formed totalitarian communist regime in Poland. On September 3, 1951 the ship returned to Poland with the remaining crew. This event led to a series of political trials in the Polish Navy, which ended on or about November 7, 1951 with the death penalty convictions in absentia of the escaped crew members. Some of the members of the crew who returned to Poland were also convicted and received the death penalty for allowing other crew members to escape from the communist state. The Polish government declared that this was an act of treason and put down the ships name and the ship was renamed "Kompas". For the ship's remaining years of the service, she served as a hydro-graphical survey and measurements laboratory.

During 1959–1963 ORP "Kompas" underwent a major retrofit at the Polish Navy Shipyard. At the end of December 1971 the ship was converted to a military hotel quarters barge BK-4 at Gdynia shipyard. In 1977 it was designated to salvage.

A storm on New Year's Eve 1978/1979 broke the rigging and the ship was beached at the orchestra at basin X, and removed from active service.

On or about July 16, 1981, she was towed by a tug boat (H-12) to the Hel peninsula and the salvage operation began.

Service

 * 1937 – laying the stump for the main haul
 * September 22, 1938 – waterborne
 * September 31, 1939(?) raising of the Polish Flag
 * September 14 – lowering of the Polish Flag
 * October 2, 1939 – 1945 – captured by Germany during World War II; in service as a German warship Oxhöft in Kriegsmarine
 * since October 15, 1945 – at Deutsche Mineräumdienststeilung
 * January 25, 1946 – raising of the Polish Flag and return to Polish original name "ORP Żuraw".
 * October 15, 1948 – retro as a hydro-graphical and drafting studio service ship.
 * September 1, 1951 – detour of the craft to Sweden
 * 1951 – renaming to ORP Kompas
 * December - Military service quarters barge BK – 4
 * 1977 – end of life service cycle with salvage destination.
 * December 31, 1978/January 1, 1979 – breaking of anchors and consequent shoring.
 * 1981 beginning of salvage operation.

Technical data

 * Displacements:
 * Standard – 183 tons,
 * full– 203 tons (after retro. – 300 tons)
 * dimensions:
 * overall length – 45 m (after retro. 45.7 m)
 * width – 5.5 m (after retro. 5.5 m)
 * submergence – 1.7 m (after retro. 2.2 m)
 * power plants: 2 8 cyl. Diesel engines with a combined total power of 1050 HP
 * reach: 4300 Mm speed 8.3 w. – after retro.
 * cruising speed: 18 knots (after retro. 14.3 w)
 * crew: 30 (after retro. 38)


 * Armament (prior to 1939):
 * 1 cannon caliber 75 mm
 * 1 dual interlocked machine gun 13.2 mm Hotchkiss
 * 2 heavy antiaircraft machine guns caliber 7.92 mm
 * 20 contact mines type 08/39
 * 20 depth bombs
 * Armament (1946–1948):
 * 5 antiaircraft machine gun caliber 20 mm (one dual and one single)
 * 20 nautical mine wz.08
 * Armament (1948–1949):
 * 2 antiaircraft machine guns caliber 20 mm (1 dual interlocked)
 * after 1950 – disarmed
 * trolling equipment: 2 sets (as a minesweeper)