Polish Forces

ORP Piorun

ORP Piorun was an N-class destroyer used by the Polish Navy during the Second World War. The name is Polish for “Thunderbolt”. The ship was built by John Brown & Company of Clydebank, Glasgow. She was laid down in July 1939, launched on 7 May 1940 and completed on 4 November 1940. Initially commissioned into the Royal Navy as HMS Nerissa, she was later transferred to the Polish Navy as a replacement for the destroyer ORP Grom, which had been lost off the Norwegian coast on 4 May 1940. Piorun was based in Great Britain and commanded by Commander Eugeniusz Pławski. Between 13 and 15 March 1941, while undergoing repairs in John Brown's shipyard, she took part in the defence of Clydebank against air raids by the Luftwaffe. On 22 May 1941, Piorun, with ships of the British 4th Destroyer Flotilla, provided additional escort to troop convoy WS8B on route from Glasgow to the Indian Ocean. On 25 May, some destroyers, including Piorun, were detached from the convoy to join the search for the German battleship Bismarck. ORP Piorun was the first to spot the German ship. At the beginning ORP Piorun charged at Bismarck by herself, exchanging fire for half an hour, and then she joined in the shadowing of and torpedo attacks on the Bismarck during the night before Bismarck was sunk. She subsequently operated in the Mediterranean, taking part in Operation Halberd, one of the Malta convoys and Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. In 1944 she was transferred to the Home Fleet. Piorun took part in Operation Deadlight, and took part in the sinking of the German Type XXI submarines U-2329, U-2334, U-2335, U-2337, U-2350 and U-2363.