ORP Orkan
Sunk
Royal Navy, then Polish Navy
| Type | Destroyer |
|---|---|
| Class | M |
| War | Second World War |
| Main guns | 6 × 4.7″ guns in 3 twin mounts |
Service
| to 1942 | Myrmidon | |
| from 1942 | Orkan Lent to the Polish Navy |
M-class destroyer, completed as HMS Myrmidon and lent to the Polish Navy in November 1942. Brought General Sikorski's body home from Gibraltar in July 1943. Escorting convoy SC 143, she was hit by an acoustic torpedo from U-378 on 8 October 1943 and sank in minutes; more than 170 of her crew were killed, the Polish Navy's heaviest loss in a single sinking.
Armament and specifications
Armament
- 3 × twin 4.7 in (120 mm) Mk XI dual-purpose guns
- 1 × single QF 4 in (102 mm) Mk V anti-aircraft gun
- 1 × quadruple QF 2-pdr (40 mm) Mk VIII AA guns
- 2 × single Oerlikon 20 mm (0.8 in) AA guns
- 2 × quadruple, 2 × twin 0.5 in (12.7 mm) Vickers Mark III anti-aircraft machineguns
- 1 × quadruple 21 in (533 mm) torpedo tubes
- 42 × depth charges, 2 × racks, 2 × throwers
| Builder | Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Govan, Scotland |
|---|---|
| Laid down | 7 December 1939 |
| Launched | 2 March 1942 |
| Commissioned | 18 November 1942 |
| Displacement | 1,920 long tons (1,950 t) (standard) 2,725 long tons (2,769 t) (deep load) |
| Length | 362 ft 3 in (110.4 m) (o/a) |
| Speed | 36 knots (67 km/h; 41 mph) |
| Complement | 190 |
As built, from the ship's Wikipedia article. Figures there may cover later refits too.
Career
Launched as HMS Myrmidon
2 March 1942
Renamed ORP Orkan
November 1942 · Lent to the Polish Navy
Convoy SC 143
Sunk
8 October 1943
Hit by an acoustic torpedo; more than 170 killed