Among the NATO member countries, Poland has a good fleet, which, according to various sources, contains about four dozen ships of various classes. The Polish naval forces participate in joint NATO exercises. In this article we will consider the main aspects, such as submarines, the modern composition of the Polish Navy.
How the Polish fleet was born
When the war ended in 1918, Poland declared independence. Then laid the Polish naval forces. The signing of the treaty at Versailles gave the country a corridor 70 km wide and two ports. One of the ports was Puck, and the Polish Navy began to be based on it. When Germany surrendered, Poland took over a dozen ships, of which four were minesweepers, six destroyers, and a couple of gunboats.
The first fleet development program in Poland was introduced in 1920. It was designed for ten years and assumed the construction of:
- Battleships - 2 units.
- Destroyers - 28 units.
- Cruisers - 6 units.
- Lots of small ships.
But such an ambitious program was not implemented, and four years later they developed a "small program", which was more modest and consisted of a dozen submarines and destroyers, a couple of cruisers and six destroyers. This program was also not fully implemented; three units of mine-layers were purchased. After some time, two destroyers were added to them.
Worked in Poland and on coastal infrastructure. As a result of such work, the first Polish naval aviation appeared in Puck in the same period of time. As a result of the Great Depression, they decided not to implement the small program.
The 1936th was marked by a new program, according to which they planned to rearm the Polish Navy, designed for six years. This program included:
- 12 submarines;
- torpedo boats - 10;
- destroyers - 8;
- minesweepers - 12;
- producer of minefields.
Before the Second World War, Poland had 5 submarines, 2 gunboats, 4 destroyers, one warship for setting minefields, and 6 mine sweepers.
A few months after the liberation of Poland from the Nazis, a decision was made to create a navy with a headquarters located in Gdynia. The Polish Navy was tasked with protecting maritime borders and extracting mines from adjacent maritime territories. Poland’s corridor at sea was now 500 km.
A year later, 23 ships from the USSR entered the Polish Navy.
Poland was a party to the Warsaw Pact until in 1991, 8 years after the collapse of the USSR, it joined NATO.
The modern composition of the Polish fleet
In 2012, the modern Polish Navy, which includes ships, submarines, patrol boats, according to some sources, totaled 41 combat units, including ships and boats. Auxiliary vessels and boats reached 15 units.
In addition to naval combat and other vessels, the Polish Navy currently has coastal missile systems, aircraft and helicopters of naval aviation.
Submarines
According to the website of the Polish Navy and Wikipedia, they include five submarines:
- Ozhel, project 877E. It was commissioned 04/29/1986, is under repair since 2014.
- Sokul of the Cobben project. It was commissioned on 06/04/2002.
- Submarine "Semp" project Cobben, became part of the Navy 08/16/2002.
- "Belik" project Cobben, which became part of the Navy 08.09.2003.
- Submarine "Condor" project Cobben, in the fleet appeared 10/20/2004.
The Norwegian Cobben diesel-electric submarines were launched in the 1960s. The submarines were in service with this country until the 1990s. Then several units were transferred to Poland. This is the current composition of the Polish Navy.
Submarines of project 877 or "Kilo" (according to NATO classification) were produced in the Soviet Union since 1982. Since it was planned to equip the Warsaw Pact countries with these combat underwater vehicles, the project was called Varshavyanka. One submarine of this project is in service with Poland.
Detailed information on the history of warships and submarines can be found on the page of the Polish Navy on the balancer.
Frigates
Not every country in Europe can boast of the presence of frigates, and Poland has two:
- "General Kazimir Pulawski."
- Frigate General Tadeusz Kosciuszko.
The frigates of the Oliver Hazard Perry project have been built since 1977 in the United States. Their main purpose is escort ships. The ship of this class has anti-submarine, anti-aircraft, artillery, anti-ship weapons, helicopters for anti-submarine defense and other tasks.
These are the warships of the Polish Navy, photos and characteristics of which can be found on the official website of the department and some in our article.
Corvette
In the ranks of the Polish Navy there is one patrol ship of project 620 "Kashub", which was put into service in the country in 1987. The ship has weapons:
- Radar.
- Radio electronic.
- Artillery (including anti-aircraft mounts).
- Anti-submarine.
- Mine torpedo.
The task of this warship is to protect the sea borders of Poland.
Rocket boats
Project 660 missile boats were to replace the old Oliver Hazard Perry and Project 621 corvettes. The Polish Navy has three combat units:
The ships of this project are armed with anti-ship missiles RBS15 Mk3, with a range of more than 200 km.
What is the composition of the Polish Navy, time will tell. But no matter how criticized the Polish fleet, it still has something to demonstrate.
Other ships
In addition to these vessels, the Polish naval forces include:
- Searchers min.
- Minesweepers.
- Landing ships.
- Landing boats.
- Ships supply.
Coast Defense and Naval Aviation
In addition to the listed vessels, there are coastal defense and naval aviation facilities, including:
- Anti-ship missile systems.
- ZU-23 anti-aircraft installations.
- MANPADS.
- Patrol aircraft.
- Anti-submarine helicopters.
- Transport aircraft and helicopters.
- Rescue Helicopters.
Problems of the modern Polish fleet
Despite its formidable strength, warships, submarines, aircraft, helicopters and other weapons need modernization. Some weapons went through this modernization, for example, Project 660 missile boats, coastal anti-ship systems. But this is clearly not enough to carry out combat missions in modern naval theaters of operations.
Yes, and the modernized equipment went through a thorny path before it became more or less modern. What are the reasons for the lack of modern technology in the Polish fleet? It:
- Lack of funding. Poland is a member of NATO, but the country does not receive a sufficient amount of new weapons from its older brothers in the alliance. Those warships that are in service need modern modifications.
- In Poland itself, there are no production and scientific and technical capabilities for developing their own warships. Otherwise, they would have long been built or stood in service. Poland is forced to apply for the purchase of such vessels to technologically advanced powers.
- The economic crisis slowed down the development of armaments in Poland.
- The limitations that NATO membership imposes on a country. Poland can apply for armament only to the member countries of the alliance. It is unlikely to dare to purchase weapons from other countries.
Time does not stand still. Over time, old weapons will have to be written off, it does not last forever. The Polish Navy needs to look for a way out, how to modernize weapons and equipment. Without solving this problem, the number of military equipment of the fleet will gradually decline.