Poland’s ongoing search for its WWII disappeared submarine

The sudden disappearance of the Polish submarine from the North Sea during the Second World War was an astonishing incident. This year, two teams from Poland will be on their way to find the lost submarine. Since 2008, several searches have been made in this relation but all failed to give any positive result.

The Polish submarine, ORP Orzel, was built in the Netherlands brought to action in 1939 after Poland was defeated by Nazi Germans on 1st September 1939. In the same month, the submarine was constrained in Estonia, now called Tallinn, but somehow it managed to escape. During that time, the Polish were on the side of the Allied forces. The submarine participated in the escort missions and also did the vigilance services for the British navy, the Business Insider reports.

It was not seen after its voyage for a mission for the Allied forces on 23rd May 1940 from Rosyth, Scotland.

At present, the Maritime Museum and the Culture Ministry in the Baltic port of Gdansk is managing the search operations for the disappeared Polish submarine.

Ian Harvey

Ian Harvey is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE