View source for ORP Rybitwa

{{Short description|Polish ship active during World War II}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image               = ORP Rybitwa.jpg
| Ship caption             =
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Hide header              =
| Ship country             = Poland
| Ship flag                = {{shipboxflag|Poland|naval}}
| Ship name                = ORP ''Rybitwa''
| Ship owner               =
|Ship namesake={{lang|pl|rybitwa}}, Polish word for "[[tern]]"
| Ship ordered             =
| Ship builder             = Państwowa Stocznia Modlińska, [[Modlin (Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki)|Modlin]]
| Ship laid down           = May 1933
| Ship launched            = April 1935
| Ship acquired            =
| Ship commissioned        = December 1935
| Ship decommissioned      =
| Ship in service          =
| Ship out of service      =
| Ship struck              = 1972
| Ship reinstated          =
| Ship honours             =
| Ship fate                =Scrapped 1972
| Ship notes               =
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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| Header caption           =
| Ship class               = {{sclass|Jaskółka|minesweeper}}
| Ship displacement        = 183 t standard
| Ship length              = {{convert|45.0|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam                = {{convert|5.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| Ship draught             =
| Ship draft               =
| Ship propulsion          = 2 × diesel engines, {{convert|1050|hp|abbr=on}} total
| Ship speed               = {{convert|17.5|kn}}
| Ship range               =
| Ship complement          =
| Ship sensors             =
| Ship EW                  =
| Ship armament            =
*1 × 75 mm
*2 × 7.92 mm machine guns
*20 [[Naval mine|mines]] or 20 depth charges
| Ship armour              =
| Ship armor               =
| Ship aircraft            =
| Ship aircraft facilities =
| Ship notes               =
}}
|}
'''ORP ''Rybitwa''''' was a {{sclass|Jaskółka|minesweeper}} of the [[Polish Navy]] at the outset of [[World War II]]. ''Rybitwa'' participated in the defence of Poland during the [[Invasion of Poland|Nazi German invasion of 1939]]. The ship was damaged by a German bomb on 14 September 1939. The ship was later captured by the Germans, but returned to serve under the Polish flag after the War.

== History ==

=== Construction ===
''Rybitwa'' was constructed in the riverine dockyard in [[Modlin (Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki)|Modlin]] between 1933 and 1935. The first commander of the ship was Lieutenant Commander [[Jerzy Kossakowski]]. The ship was named after the bird [[tern]], "Rybitwa" in Polish.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/9992.html |title=ORP Rybitwa (R) - Minesweeper of the Jaskolka class - Allied Warships of WWII |publisher=uboat.net |date=1939-09-03 |accessdate=2010-07-15}}</ref>

=== Service ===
Lieutenant Commander [[Kazimierz Miładowski]] was the captain of the ship during the September campaign.<ref>Polish Navy Homepage, [http://www.polishnavy.pl/PMW/OdeB/index_02.html Ordre de bataille of the Polish Navy on 31 VIII 1939]</ref> On 26 or 27 August  ''Rybitwa'', which together with two other Polish ships had been stationed in [[Riga]], Latvia, left for [[Gdynia]], along with {{ORP|Czajka}} on full [[Combat readiness|combat alert]]. After arriving in Gdynia she conducted reconnaissance operations in [[Gdańsk Bay]], between the [[Free City of Danzig]] and the [[East Prussia]]n coast. On 1 September 1939, after the outbreak of the Second World War, ''Rybitwa'' and all other 5 minesweepers of her class joined with the minelayer {{ORP|Gryf|1936|2}} and took part in the ''Operation Rurka'', an attempt to mine the entrances of the Gdańsk Bay.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5700.html |title=ORP Gryf - Minelayer of the Gryf class - Allied Warships of WWII |publisher=uboat.net |date= |accessdate=2010-07-15}}</ref>

[[File:Gdansk Bay Details 1939 english.PNG|left|thumb|280px|Polish ports of Gdynia, Hel and Jastarnia in 1939]]

The Polish flotilla, which included the destroyer {{ORP|Wicher|1928|2}} and two gunboats, [[Battle of the Danzig Bay|was attacked by a large formation of German bombers]]. ''Rybitwa''{{'}}s [[sister ship]], {{ORP|Mewa|1935|2}}, was hit. Despite the great risk involved, the captain of ''Rybitwa'', Miładowski, made the decision to tow ''Mewa'' into port; the operation was a success.<ref name=tatar>Kozmice Male, website, [http://www.kozmice.pl/tatara_wspomnienia.html "Stanisław Tatara - wspomnienia z września 1939 roku"] (Recollections of Stanislaw Tatar from September 1939". Retrieved July 14, 2010.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zgapa.pl/zgapedia/ORP_Mewa.html |title=ORP Mewa |publisher=Zgapa.pl |date=2005-06-05 |accessdate=2010-07-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weu1918-1939.pl/kmw/nawodne/rybitwa_II/kmw_bojowe_nawodne_rybitwa_II.html |title=Wielka Encyklopedia Uzbrojenia M.S.Wojsk. 1918 - 1939 |publisher=Weu1918-1939.pl |date= |accessdate=2010-07-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naval-history.net/xDKWW2-3909-06SEP01.htm |title=Naval Events, 15–30 September 1939 |publisher=Naval-history.net |date= |accessdate=2010-07-15}}</ref>
In the next few weeks, the ship was based at the port of [[Jastarnia]] and conducted patrols and mine laying operations at night, while defending the [[Hel peninsula]] during the day. On 19 September, ''Rybitwa'' was damaged by bombs while still in port - most of the crew were not onboard at the time. In order to prevent capture by German troops, the ship was [[Scuttling|scuttled]] soon after.<ref name=tatar/> The Polish defense of Hel peninsula lasted until 2 October.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QTUTqE2difgC&dq=defense+of+Hel+peninsula&pg=PA648|page=648 |title=Historical dictionary of Poland, 966-1945|author1=Jerzy Jan Lerski |author2=Piotr Wróbel |author3=Richard J. Kozicki |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=1996|isbn=0-313-26007-9}}</ref> The Germans refloated the ship, renamed her ''Rixhöft'' and commissioned her into the ''[[Kriegsmarine]]''.<ref>Warships of World War II, {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110720174456/http://www.warshipsww2.eu/shipsplus.php?language=E&period=2&id=69179 OPR Rybitwa - Warships 1900-1950]}}. Retrieved July 14, 2010.</ref> After the end of World War II the Polish naval mission in Germany found ''Rybitwa'' together with three of her sister ships in [[Travemünde]]. The Polish flag was raised again and her original name was restored. Though [[German Mine Sweeping Administration|under British supervision]], the German crew purposely destroyed much of their equipment but Polish sailors managed to make the ships seaworthy again and the ships returned to Poland.<ref>{{cite web |author=Former Naval Person |url=http://ww2.debello.ca/polish/navy.html |title=Polish navy |publisher=Ww2.debello.ca |date= |accessdate=2010-07-15 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

''Rybitwa'' served in various roles up to 1972 when she was finally decommissioned and scrapped.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wp39.pl/orp-rybitwa |title=ORP "Rybitwa" |language=Polish|publisher=Wp39.pl |date=2007-09-16 |accessdate=2010-07-15}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
''Rybitwa'', along with other Polish ships of the ''Jaskółka'' class, is mentioned in the [[Günter Grass]] novella [[Cat and Mouse (novella)|''Cat and Mouse'']].<ref>Günter Grass, [https://books.google.com/books?id=-HQZ-dKT8tkC&q=rybitwa&pg=PA38 Cat and Mouse], Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1991, p. 38 {{ISBN|0-15-615551-6}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.1939.pl/uzbrojenie/polskie/marynarka/orp-rybitwa/index.html pics of Rybitwa on www.1939.pl]{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

{{Jaskółka class minesweepers}}
{{October 1939 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rybitwa}}
[[Category:Jaskółka-class minesweepers]]
[[Category:Ships built in Poland]]
[[Category:Naval ships of Poland captured by Germany during World War II]]
[[Category:1935 ships]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in October 1939]]
[[Category:Scuttled vessels]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Poland]]