Shortly after her trials, the boat was handed to her Polish crew, in accordance with the Anglo-Polish military alliance and amendments of 18 November 1939 and 3 December 1940. On 19 January 1941 the Polish banner was raised and the boat, commanded by Commander Borys Karnicki, was moved to Portsmouth. There she spent half a year patrolling the Bay of Biscay off the French port of Brest. In September she was moved to Malta, where she was attached to the 10th Submarine Flotilla. She took part in the naval runs on the Italian ports of Taranto and Naples. She also escorted numerous convoys in the Mediterranean. On 28 October of that year, Sokół achieved her first victory by heavily damaging the Italian auxiliary cruiser Città di Palermo. On 2 November in the Gulf of Naples she sank the 2,469-ton transport ship Balilla, with her sister HMS Utmost. On 19 November of the same year, she forced the anti-submarine nets and entered the port of Navarino, where she damaged the Italian destroyer Aviere. She was attacked by Italian torpedo boats and destroyers, but all of the depth charges missed and Sokół managed to escape from the harbour, sinking an additional transport steamer (5,600 tons) with three torpedoes. On 12 February 1942 she boarded and then sank the Italian wooden merchant schoonerGiuseppina (362 tons) in the Gulf of Gabes.
On 17 April while in the port of Malta, she was heavily damaged by a German air raid and was forced to return to the shipyard in Blyth to receive repairs. By mid-1943 she had returned to the Mediterranean, where she continued to harass enemy shipment off the coasts of Italy, Northern Africa and in the Adriatic. On 12 September she rammed and sank the fishing vessel Meattini (36 tons). She took part in the allied blockade of the naval bases in Naples and Pula. Off the coast of the latter port, transferred by the Italians to Nazi Germany, Sokół sank a munitions transport (probably the 7,095-ton SS Eridania) and three days afterwards on 11 November the Italian schooner Argentina (64 tons). Between 4 November 1943 and 25 February 1944 she operated in the Aegean from the naval base in Beirut. Among the ships sunk in that period were two transport ships, four schooners and one cutter. In March 1944 both of the "Terrible Twins" left Malta for Great Britain where they were attached to the Dundee-based 9th submarine flotilla. After an additional four patrols off the coast of Norway, in the spring of 1945 she was designated as a training ship and was used by the Royal Air Force for training naval bomber pilots.
Wartime tallyEdit
Altogether, during her wartime service Sokół sank or damaged 19 enemy vessels of about 55,000 tons in total. All of the commanding officers of the boat, (Lieutenant Commander Karnicki, Lieutenant Commander Koziołkowski and Captain Bernas) were awarded the Virtuti Militari. The full patrol records of the ORP Sokół are stored at the National Record Office, Kew, England.
Royal Navy serviceEdit
Returned to the Royal Navy on 27 July 1945 as HMS Urchin, she served for a further four years.
FateEdit
Urchin was decommissioned in December 1948 and scrapped in September 1949.
BibliographyEdit
Hutchinson, Robert (2001). Jane's submarines : war beneath the waves from 1776 to the present day. London: HarperCollins. ISBN978-0007105588.
Andrzej S. Bartelski. Tajemnice polskich Jolly Roger. „Morze, Statki i Okręty". 4/2009. ISSN 1426-529X
Andrzej S. Bartelski. "Terrible Twins" - czyli polskie okręty podwodne na Morzu Śródziemnym. „Okręty Wojenne". 2/2001. ISSN 1231-014X
Andrzej S. Bartelski, Rafał M. Kaczmarek. Polskiej wojny podwodnej ciąg dalszy. „Morze, Statki i Okręty". 4/2008. ISSN 1426-529X
Wojciech Holicki. Okręty podwodne typu U i V. „Nowa Technika Wojskowa". 9/2000 i 10/2000. ISSN 1230-1655
Jerzy Lipiński: Druga wojna światowa na morzu. Warszawa: 1995. ISBN83-902554-7-2
Rafał M. Kaczmarek. Polska wojna podwodna. „Morze, Statki i Okręty". 4/2004 i 6/2004. ISSN 1426-529X
Jerzy Pertek: Mała flota wielka duchem. Poznań: 1989. ISBN83-210-0697-3
Stanisław M. Piaskowski: Okręty Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 1920-1946. Warszawa: 1996. OCLC 243879167
Jürgen Rohwer, Gerhard Hümmelchen: Chronik des Seekrieges 1939-1945
Paweł Wieczorkiewicz. Polska Marynarka Wojenna w latach II wojny światowej. „Morze, Statki i Okręty". 3/1998. ISSN 1426-529X
External linksEdit
ORP Sokół at Uboat.net
August 29, 2023
sokół, 1940, other, ships, with, same, name, urchin, sokół, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, unclear, because, lacks, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, prec. For other ships with the same name see HMS Urchin and ORP Sokol This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations May 2009 Learn how and when to remove this template message ORP Sokol Polish Falcon was a U class submarine formerly HMS Urchin built by Vickers Armstrong at Barrow in Furness Shortly after launching in September 1940 she was to be commissioned by the Royal Navy as HMS Urchin but instead was leased to the Polish Navy due to a lack of experienced submarine crews citation needed A sister boat to Dzik both boats operated in the Mediterranean from Malta where they became known as the Terrible Twins Sokol as seen in Malta possibly in 1943HistoryUnited KingdomNameHMS UrchinBuilderVickers Armstrong Barrow in FurnessLaid down9 December 1939Launched30 September 1940IdentificationPennant number N97FateTransferred to Poland in January 1941BadgePolandNameORP SokolCommissioned19 January 1941IdentificationPennant number N97FateReturned to Royal Navy 27 July 1945United KingdomNameHMS UrchinAcquiredTransferred from Poland on 27 July 1945Recommissioned3 August 1946DecommissionedDecember 1948IdentificationPennant number N97FateScrapped September 1949General characteristicsClass and typeU class submarineDisplacementSurfaced 540 tons standard 630 tons full load Submerged 730 tonsLength58 22 m 191 0 ft Beam4 9 m 16 ft Draught4 62 m 15 2 ft Installed powerDiesel 615 hp 459 kW Electric 825 hp 615 kW Propulsion2 shaft diesel electric 2 Paxman Ricardo diesel generators electric motorsSpeed11 25 knots 20 8 km h max surfaced 10 knots 19 km h max submergedComplement27 31Armament4 bow internal 21 inch 533 mm torpedo tubes with 8 to 10 torpedoes 1 3 inch 76 mm gun Contents 1 Polish service 2 Wartime tally 3 Royal Navy service 4 Fate 5 Bibliography 6 External linksPolish service EditShortly after her trials the boat was handed to her Polish crew in accordance with the Anglo Polish military alliance and amendments of 18 November 1939 and 3 December 1940 On 19 January 1941 the Polish banner was raised and the boat commanded by Commander Borys Karnicki was moved to Portsmouth There she spent half a year patrolling the Bay of Biscay off the French port of Brest In September she was moved to Malta where she was attached to the 10th Submarine Flotilla She took part in the naval runs on the Italian ports of Taranto and Naples She also escorted numerous convoys in the Mediterranean On 28 October of that year Sokol achieved her first victory by heavily damaging the Italian auxiliary cruiser Citta di Palermo On 2 November in the Gulf of Naples she sank the 2 469 ton transport ship Balilla with her sister HMS Utmost On 19 November of the same year she forced the anti submarine nets and entered the port of Navarino where she damaged the Italian destroyer Aviere She was attacked by Italian torpedo boats and destroyers but all of the depth charges missed and Sokol managed to escape from the harbour sinking an additional transport steamer 5 600 tons with three torpedoes On 12 February 1942 she boarded and then sank the Italian wooden merchant schooner Giuseppina 362 tons in the Gulf of Gabes On 17 April while in the port of Malta she was heavily damaged by a German air raid and was forced to return to the shipyard in Blyth to receive repairs By mid 1943 she had returned to the Mediterranean where she continued to harass enemy shipment off the coasts of Italy Northern Africa and in the Adriatic On 12 September she rammed and sank the fishing vessel Meattini 36 tons She took part in the allied blockade of the naval bases in Naples and Pula Off the coast of the latter port transferred by the Italians to Nazi Germany Sokol sank a munitions transport probably the 7 095 ton SS Eridania and three days afterwards on 11 November the Italian schooner Argentina 64 tons Between 4 November 1943 and 25 February 1944 she operated in the Aegean from the naval base in Beirut Among the ships sunk in that period were two transport ships four schooners and one cutter In March 1944 both of the Terrible Twins left Malta for Great Britain where they were attached to the Dundee based 9th submarine flotilla After an additional four patrols off the coast of Norway in the spring of 1945 she was designated as a training ship and was used by the Royal Air Force for training naval bomber pilots Wartime tally EditAltogether during her wartime service Sokol sank or damaged 19 enemy vessels of about 55 000 tons in total All of the commanding officers of the boat Lieutenant Commander Karnicki Lieutenant Commander Koziolkowski and Captain Bernas were awarded the Virtuti Militari The full patrol records of the ORP Sokol are stored at the National Record Office Kew England Royal Navy service EditReturned to the Royal Navy on 27 July 1945 as HMS Urchin she served for a further four years Fate EditUrchin was decommissioned in December 1948 and scrapped in September 1949 Bibliography EditHutchinson Robert 2001 Jane s submarines war beneath the waves from 1776 to the present day London HarperCollins ISBN 978 0007105588 Andrzej S Bartelski Tajemnice polskich Jolly Roger Morze Statki i Okrety 4 2009 ISSN 1426 529X Andrzej S Bartelski Terrible Twins czyli polskie okrety podwodne na Morzu Srodziemnym Okrety Wojenne 2 2001 ISSN 1231 014X Andrzej S Bartelski Rafal M Kaczmarek Polskiej wojny podwodnej ciag dalszy Morze Statki i Okrety 4 2008 ISSN 1426 529X Wojciech Holicki Okrety podwodne typu U i V Nowa Technika Wojskowa 9 2000 i 10 2000 ISSN 1230 1655 Jerzy Lipinski Druga wojna swiatowa na morzu Warszawa 1995 ISBN 83 902554 7 2 Rafal M Kaczmarek Polska wojna podwodna Morze Statki i Okrety 4 2004 i 6 2004 ISSN 1426 529X Jerzy Pertek Mala flota wielka duchem Poznan 1989 ISBN 83 210 0697 3 Stanislaw M Piaskowski Okrety Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 1920 1946 Warszawa 1996 OCLC 243879167 Jurgen Rohwer Gerhard Hummelchen Chronik des Seekrieges 1939 1945 Pawel Wieczorkiewicz Polska Marynarka Wojenna w latach II wojny swiatowej Morze Statki i Okrety 3 1998 ISSN 1426 529XExternal links EditORP Sokol at Uboat net Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title ORP Sokol 1940 amp oldid 1169362616, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
