ORP Wicher (1928)

Wicher, the lead ship of her class
History
Poland
Name:	ORP Wicher
Namesake:	Polish: Gale
Ordered:	2 April 1926
Builder:	Chantiers Navals Français, Blainville-sur-Orne, Caen
Laid down:	19 February 1927
Launched:	10 July 1928
Commissioned:	8 July 1930
Fate:	Sunk 3 September 1939
Notes:	54°36′N 18°46′E / 54.600°N 18.767°E / 54.600; 18.767 (Remnants of ORP Wicher) (remnants)
General characteristics
Class and type:	Wicher-class destroyer
Displacement:	1,540 t full: 2,010 t
Length:	106.9 m (351 ft)
Beam:	10.5 m (34 ft)
Draught:	3.5 m (11 ft)
Speed:	33.8 knots (62.6 km/h)
Complement:	162
Armament:	1930: 4 × 130 mm guns 2 × 40 mm wz. 28 AA guns 2 × triple 550 mm/533 mm/450 mm torpedo tubes 2 × 240 mm Thornycroft depth charge launchers 2 × Wz BH200 depth charge launchers 2 × 60 wz. 08 naval mines 1939: 4 × 130 mm wz. 19/24 Schneider-Creusot Model 1924 guns 2 × 40 mm wz. 28 Vickers-Armstrong 2 pdr Mk II AA guns 4 × 13.2 mm wz. 30 HMGs (2x2) 2 × double 550 mm/533 mm/450 mm torpedo launchers 2 × Wz BH200 depth charge launchers 60 × wz. 08 naval mines

ORP Wicher, the lead ship of the Wicher class, was a Polish Navy destroyer. She saw combat in the Invasion of Poland, which began World War II in Europe. She was the flagship of the Polish Navy. The destroyer was sunk by German bombers on 3 September 1939., being the first warship sunk during World War II.

The ship was built at Ateliers et Chantiers Navals Français, Blainville-sur-Orne, near Caen and construction took 4 years, almost two more than initially planned. The steam turbines were built by Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire in St. Nazaire, while the armament was mounted in the French Marine arsenal in Cherbourg. The ship was launched on 10 July 1928, but it was not until 8 July 1930, when she was finally commissioned by the Polish Navy in Cherbourg harbour. She was named ORP Wicher (Polish: gale), in accordance with the French tradition of naming destroyers after meteorological phenomena. A week later she arrived at Gdynia and became the first modern ship of the Polish naval forces. Her sister ship, Burza, was started at the same time, yet was finished two years later, roughly four years after the initial deadline.

During the Interbellum, Wicher served a variety of roles, mostly political. For instance, on 15 June 1932, she was sent to the port of the Free City of Danzig (Gdańsk) to meet two British destroyers entering the port and to underline the Polish political influence in that city. In March 1931 she also sailed to Madeira, from where she brought Marshal of Poland Józef Piłsudski and his family. This passage was the greatest distance Wicher ever travelled from Poland. She also visited in August 1932, Leningrad in July 1934, Kiel in June 1935 and Helsinki and Tallinn the following month. In 1937, while serving as a school ship, she visited Pärnu, Narva, Vyborg, Turku, Mariehamn, Nexo, Skagen, Assens and Helsingor, as well as Tallinn and Riga.