ORP Czapla
Polish minesweeper
ORP Czapla was a Polish coastal minesweeper of the Jaskółka class, referred to as a mine layer according to the nomenclature used in the Navy of the Second Polish Republic. It was built in Poland at the Polish Navy Shipyard in Gdynia as a ship of the second series of Jaskółka-class minesweepers. It was the first of three ships of this name in the Polish Navy. Although incomplete, it participated in the September campaign, during which it was sunk by German aircraft in the fishing port of Jastarnia. It was raised by the Germans, and its subsequent fate is unknown.
Order and construction
The Leadership of the Polish Navy, in implementing the accepted program to increase the strength of the naval fleet, decided to continue the expansion of mine warfare vessels. Even during the construction of the first series of minesweepers, the head of the Polish Navy Shipyard in Gdynia, Commander Witold Szulc, requested on 7 December 1935 from the Chief of the Technical Service of the Leadership of the Polish Navy permission to build a tugboat with a power of 300 hp or two additional minesweepers. The four small minesweepers built between 1933 and 1936 were suitable only for coastal service, which is why plans were made to construct larger, ocean-going vessels with a displacement of 300 tons. Despite plans and savings of 200,000 PLN from the construction of the first four vessels, the Leadership of the Polish Navy was unable to secure the necessary funding, leading to the decision to build two additional, slightly modified vessels of the first series.
Considering the positive experiences in the construction and operation of the "little birds", it was decided to build the new ships at the Polish Navy Shipyard in Gdynia.
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