industrialized
An Encouter with the E-boats- as told by first Gunnery Officer ORP KRAKOWIAK-Lieut.J.TUMANISZWILI
The action I shall now relate took place in October of 1942.We were escorting a pretty large convoy we'd picked up from Milford Haven and were approaching the Eddystone Lighthouse, which marks the entrance to Plymouth/Devonport. A few minutes before 2000 hours the Commanding Officer - cmdr.J.TCHORZNICKI walked in to his way to the bridge. He said : "We just received a radio message about enemy activity in the sector we are about to enter.Please call me up as soon as you need me." A few minutes later, already on the bridge,I was in communication with the ship's artillery.I heard gun masters reporting their readiness. I also heard the short wave radioman reporting German chatter.E-boats were getting ready to attack.We fired starshells,and at the same time the radioman heard a high -pitched voice ordering a torpedo attack against the destroyer.In the yellow lights of the first starshells, I noticed a white mane on the dark surface, just as if someone with a fat white finger were making a comma sign. The enemy MTB's accelerated to attack. The C.O. ordered :"Full spead ahead !" I shouted :" Open fire!" Shortly after that ,the ship recoiled with the roar of the foregun ,located just below the bridge. Asdick reported hearings "pings" at 40 degr. and distance of half -mile ."Hard port!" - called the C.O.."Torpedo bearing 20 ! ,"Torpedo bearing 40!","Torpedo bearing 60!"- reported lookouts. To my horror,I saw fluorescent wawes moving rapiddlly on a collision course.In the yellow glow of our starshells,I could see three racing E-boats. Subconsciously I was waiting for a thunderous crash and explosion, but nothing happened.Torpedoes passed a few feet away without hitting us.Now the enemy opened fire with light artillery and machine huns.Multicolored tracers brightened up the sky line and engulfed us in a hail of bullets. In the roar of gunfire,the boom-boom of the pom-poms and excitable barking of our Oerlicons,the whistles,buzzes and cracks of bursting shells, reated an ear-splitting cacophony.Sudenly,something crashed close by. A shell exploded.We all fell flat."Are you all right ?" called C.O. getting up.I touched my legs.They were still in place.The lookout was crying, "They got me ...son of bithes...they got me ".I smelled the ominous smell of cordite and gun powder.The "guns" reported several men wounded. The noisy din suddenly stopped. The battle was over.The E-boats disappeared. One had been hit and was seen smoking.Looking astern,I saw a minesweeper sinking. It got one of the torpedoes fired at us.We circled around and picked up survivers.No other ship was hit.We radioed a request for permission to land the wounded.After that we enter Devonport with convoy."Close call,Captain" shaking his hand.I went to my cabin and could not believe my eyes. It was totally destroyed.A shell had exploded on my bunk and ruined everything. I walked towards the mess room feeling some pain in my left foot. When I removed my rubber boots,some dirty,brown blood oozed out. I was wounded and would have to be helped.Fortunately the bone was not damaged and I was permitted to go home.
According to the relation of Lieut.Z.WEGLARZ :
"Destroyer BLYSKAWICA,while in convoy duty at N.Atlantic was caught by very heavy storm of hurricane category.It was on 4th of December 1941 .Convoy nearly stopped,heavy rains drove in sheets and the motion of ships were extravagant.Keeping stations was impossible , each one heave to weather.The waves were about 17 metrs heigh,sometimes the head of watery cone would topple on board and swamped the deck.Side heeling up to 62 degrees.All lifeboats including their davits were gone,fore-deck and gun-shields were indented inside about 15 cms,Nr.2 torpedo-tube was damaged,steering gear jammed in position "Port 20 ",main gyro out of action,compartments partly flooded through ventilating ducts and looks like after earthquake. C.O. cmdr.W.FRANCKI gave me order to collect some 12 men and proceed astern to compartment of steering gear ,to move rudder with manual control. Same order got 2nd Eng.Lieut.F.CZELUSTA to repair jammed steam-rudder gear. Steering by hands in this situation was very difficult and accurate only to +/- 10 degrees each side.After some two hours engineers repaired steam-engine-rudder gear and we moved slowly back to Scotland.This time we had one Polish Army news reporter.Unfortunately this trip was his first and last - all time he remained in cabin,unable to move and completly shocked. After two days , without rest or meals we reached Greenock."
On the occasion of the visit Polish destroyers in England after the war and anniversary of the funeral of Vice-Admiral J.SWIRSKI the local press wrote :
"The Poles are always gallant fighters and as we were hard press, such allies were more than welcome, moreover under J.SWIRSKI command, we could always be certain of the readiness and efficience of his men and ships."
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