ORP Kaszub (1921)

ORP "Kaszub" - torpedo boat (former V-108 of Kaiserliche Marine), one of the first ships of the Polish Navy recreated after Poland regained its independence in 1918. In service from 1921 to 1925.

She was built in 1914 by Stettiner Maschinenbau A.G. Vulcan in Stettin, Germany (now in Poland). She was begun for a Dutch Navy order, as Z-4 (along with three sister ships Z-1,Z-2,Z-3), but after the outbreak of World War I she was confiscated by Germany and commissioned as torpedo boat V-108, taking an active part in World War I, fighting in the Baltic Sea against the Russian Navy.

When the German Imperial Navy was divided among victorious powers in 1919 after World War I, Poland was granted six torpedo boats, among them V-108. The ship, then located in Britain, was overhauled there and arrived in Poland in October, 1921, officially entering into service.

The ship was sunk by a boiler explosion on July 20, 1925. The causes are unknown to this day. 3 crewmen died.

Specifications

 * Displacement: 340 tons, 421 tons full load
 * Maximum speed: 28 knots
 * Armament:
 * German service: 2 × 88 mm guns, 2 × 450 mm torpedo tubes
 * Polish service: 2 × 47 mm guns (changed in 1924 to 2 × 75 mm guns), 2 × 450 mm torpedo tubes