River Gunboats
Page 43
Less glamorous than the seagoing Polish navy, but carrying between them a great deal more firepower, between the wars Poland built a considerable number of river monitors and armoured patrol boats. Sadly, budget restrictions prevented their being up-armed for modern warfare until too late: although Toru was at least refitted with DP guns, the plans for rearming the ‘Krakowski’ class monitors with 40mm Bofors were never carried out. However, despite the overwhelming German air superiority in 1939, the fate of the majority of the Polish river flotilla vessels was to be scuttled by their own crews when water levels dropped too low to allow them to relocate. Also, the Soviet invasion from the East sealed the fate of many units. The patrol boat Zaradna and large armoured cutter Nieuchwytny were raised by the Germans and used by them, and many other ex-Polish vessels were raised by the Soviets and incorporated in their own river flotilla, most being quickly lost again during Operation ‘Barbarossa’.
Because of the dramatic turn of events in September 1939, as well as all the vessels, many of the records of the Polish river flotillas were lost. Those photographs which have survived are often of poor quality, and we have attempted to restore them here as much as possible. For some vessels it has not been possible even to describe their principal dimensions. It is to be hoped that Polish researchers and enthusiasts can help fill in the gaps in this chapter. Much of the following data and many of the illustrations come from the article by Ignacy Sienicki and Piotr Jedrysik in Warship International, or from the excellent website in Polish at https://forum.dobroni.pl/f/flotylla-pinsk.
Vessels of the Pińsk Flotilla photographed after 1923, when Mozyrz was renamed Toruń. Note the anchors which closely resemble the Austro-Hungarian Danube type.
The two monitors in the centre of the photo are Warszawa and Toruń, armed with two 105mm Schneider guns. The third monitor to the left appears to be temporarily lacking at least her forward turret, which could mean this shows the interim period when they were rearmed with 75mm APX guns forward. The vessel on the right is the armed paddle steamer General Sikorski, the former Soviet Pereval captured by the Poles in 1920. Initially used for administrative purposes, she was later converted to an AA ship. Scuttled on 18 September 1939, she was raised by the Soviets and served as their staff ship Bug until sunk during the German invasion in the summer of 1941.
RIVER MONITORS
‘Gdanski’ Class Monitors
The ‘Gdanski’ class gunboats were ordered in 1920 from the Danziger Werft shipyard in Gdansk, then known as the Free City of Danzig. The Polish War Ministry’s Sea Department went to some lengths to ensure security: the construction drawings were sent to the shipyard in batches, so that if any one batch were to be intercepted by Soviet agents, the whole design could not be seen. The German workers in Danzig were unsympathetic to Polish ambitions, and they worked extremely slowly. One telling act of sabotage by the Danzig workers was not to come to light until the main turrets of Toruń were being replaced in 1938. Before being sunk as anchors for mooring buoys, they were subjected to machine-gun fire, when it was discovered they had been constructed not out of the supposed 10mm armour plate, but from boiler plate, the test pieces being turned into sieves. Needless to say the turrets on the other three monitors were hurriedly modified with proper armour plate.
ORP Warszawa on the Pina River in autumn 1922. (Photo via Ignacy Sienicki, courtesy of Warship International)
Horodyszcze armed with French APX guns forward and a 100mm howitzer aft. She is fitted with the flotation tanks for use in shallow water, and is now wearing camouflage, so the photo probably dates from 1939. In the foreground are two of the KU-1 class armed cutters.
A drawing of Toruń as modernised in 1938. Note that she now has three 75mm guns, but the former APX Model 1897 guns have been replaced by long-barrelled modern guns, with the turret roofs cut away to allow for high-angle AA fire. Note the high-angle rangefinder mounted on the raised conning tower. The MG turret alongside the conning tower has been replaced by stowage for camouflage nets. (Official plan via Ignacy Sienicki, courtesy of Warship International)
Originally designed with a mixed main armament of a 105mm Schneider in the fore turret and an 88mm in the aft turret, they were completed with a 105mm in each turret. The conning tower was severely cramped. The folding foremast was offset to starboard, operated by a crank handle, and the aft mast folded flat as well. They had three shafts in tunnels, and their three 60bhp Daimler Benz motors were connected to the shafts via reversing reduction gearboxes.
The class never attained their designed speed, barely reaching 8 knots, and the builders had to pay penalties. Their draught turned out at 0.80m (2ft 7½in), as against the planned 0.70m (2ft 3½in), which severely restricted their use in shallow rivers and at certain times of the year. So it was decided to fit them with buoyancy tanks whenever they were to venture into shallow environments. These could simply be bolted on and afterwards removed, and they could be trimmed by flooding then blowing with compressed air. With these tanks fitted the draught was reduced to 0.65m (2ft 1½in), but the maximum speed dropped to 6.4 knots. One interesting feature was that the twin rudders could be turned to lie flat against the stern, allowing mooring stern-on to a jetty or quay.
In 1938 Toruń was used as the prototype for modernisation, receiving DP guns, and two more powerful diesel engines, the centre shaft being no longer used. The three others were intended to be updated in the same manner, but the Second World War intervened. When Germany invaded Poland, the four monitors saw no action, and when the Soviets invaded the Eastern part of Poland, all four were scuttled by their crews. They were raised by the Soviets, and recommissioned under the following names: Warszawa becoming Vitebsk, Toruń became Vinnitsa, Horodyszcze became Bobruisk and Pińsk, Zhitomir. They were all sunk in 1941. For their service in Soviet hands, see RUSSIA Part 1.
Launched:
Warszawa and Horodyszcze August 1920, Pińsk October 1920, Mozyrz (later renamed Toruń) December 1920, by Danziger Werft, Gdansk.
Dimensions:
Displ: 100 tons; L: 34.5m/113ft 4in; B: 5.05m/16ft 7½in; D: 0.7m/2ft 4in (designed).
Crew:
40.
Power/Speed:
Triple screws in tunnels; 3 × 60hp Daimler Benz motors running on kerosene/10 knots (designed); 8 knots (actual). Toruń from 1938: Twin screws; 2 × Glennifer 100bhp diesel engines.
Guns/Armour:
Designed: 1 × 105mm L/28.4 Schneider Model 1913 (fore turret) + 1 × 88mm gun (aft turret). As completed: 2 × 105mm L/28.4 Schneider Model 1913. 5 × 7.92mm MG in 5 turrets (later reduced to 4 × MG in 4 turrets)/Main turrets 10mm; MG turrets and Conning tower 8mm; Deck 6mm; Hull sides 5mm. Rearmed with: 2 × 75mm APX Model 1897 in fore turret + 1 × 100mm Mod 1914/1919 howitzer (except for Toru 3rd 75mm) in aft turret; Toru rearmed 1938: 3 × 75mm DP guns.
Fate:
Lost September 1939.
‘Krakowski’ Class Monitors
The two monitors of the follow-on class were constructed in Kraków, hence their class designation. Kraków and Wilno were laid down in 1923, but financial problems meant they took three years to complete. Compared with the previous ‘Gdanski’ class, the pair were of extremely shallow draught and at the same time offered a minimal profile. The low freeboard aft meant that they were often awash even in rivers. Their decks were not planked, and were preserved from rusting by coating the steel with used engine oil, which made for slippery conditions on deck. Both masts could fold flat to pass under bridges. The conning tower was placed above the forward turret in a manner reminiscent of the original American monitors. Their semi-diesel engines were reliable, when the glow-heads were heated by petrol lamps, and they were far more economical than the original Daimler Benz engines in the ‘Gdanski’ class. They underwent no significant modifications during their career, and a proposal to attempt to correct their poor steering characteristics due to the use of just a single rudder was dropped because it would have involved reconstructing the entire stern section. In 1938–
9 plans were drawn up to modernise them, by fitting two 100bhp Kermetch diesels, new fire-control equipment and 40mm Bofors AA guns.
Official plan of Kraków. (Posted by Vorvan on Website: http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7443)
When the Soviet forces invaded eastern Poland, Wilno fought and delayed a Soviet river flotilla for a whole day, then retreated to Pińsk, where she was blown up by her crew. Kraków was scuttled, but raised by the Soviets and renamed Smolensk. For her service in Soviet hands, see RUSSIA.
Launched:
Kraków 20 August 1926, Wilno 10 October 1926, by L. Zieleniewski at Kraków on the River Vistula.
Dimensions:
Displ: 70.3 tons; L: 34m/111ft 8in; B: 6m/19ft 8½in; D: 0.4m/1ft 3¾in.
Crew:
41–44.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws in tunnels; 2 × 60bhp 6-cyl 2-stroke Perkun semi-diesel engines/7.5 knots.
Guns/Armour:
2 × 75mm APX Model 1897 in fore turret; 1 × 100mm Mod 1914/1919 howitzer in aft turret; 3 × 7.92mm MG in 3 turrets/Turrets: 8mm; Hull sides 6mm; Deck 5mm.
Fate:
Both lost September 1939.
PATROL BOATS
‘Z’-Class Gunboats
The three ‘Z’-class gunboats were named Zuchwała (‘Daring’), Zawzięta (‘Fierce’) and Zaradna (‘Resourceful’). Zaradna was intended to have a retractable observation tower but it was never fitted. The three gunboats were scuttled by their crews on 19 September 1939. Zaradna was raised by Soviet forces and used by them in combat against the invading Germans in the summer of 1941. She was captured in a damaged state by the Wehrmacht on 18 September 1941 and put back into commission. On 5 April 1942 Zaradna ran aground in the Królewski Canal, and later suffered heavy damage at the hands of Polish resistance fighters. The Germans towed her back to Pińsk, where she was dismantled.
Launched:
1932–3 in Pińsk.
Dimensions:
Displ: 35 tons; Approximate
Dimensions: L: 18.7m/61ft 4in; B: 4.83m/15ft 10in.
Crew:
41–44.
Power/Speed:
?
Guns/Armour:
1 × 100mm howitzer in fore turret; 1 × 37mm Puteaux SA 18 + 1 × 8mm Hotchkiss AA MG in Wz.29 armoured car turret/Bulletproof plating.
Fate:
Scuttled 1939.
KM-12 Class
The KM-12 class were four armed liaison cutters built in Pińsk in about 1930. They displaced 4.7 tons, had bulletproof plating and were armed with a 7.92mm Hotchkiss AA MG and a 7.92mm Maxim MG.
‘Austrian’ type patrol launches at Gdynia in 1924. From left to right: M3, M2, M4, M5 and M1.
KU-1 Class and KU-4 Class
The KU-1 class (Kuter Uzbrojony = Armed Cutter) consisted of three boats built by Austriawerft in Linz at the end of the First World War for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. They were purchased by Poland in 1919 and initially numbered M1, M2 and M3. Displacing some 4 tons, they were around 11.6m/38ft long. The KU-4 class were larger versions of the KU-1s, purchased at the same time and initially numbered M4 and M5. They were some 13.3m/43ft 7in long. Both types were armed with a 37mm Hotchkiss Model 1885 QF and a 7.92mm Maxim MG.
KU-6 and KU-7
KU-6 was a scout and communications cutter with bulletproof superstructure. She displaced 9 tons and was armed with a single 7.92mm Maxim MG. Length approx. 10.5m /34 ft 5in.
KU-7 was a 9-ton scout and communications cutter with bulletproof superstructure, armed with a 7.92mm Maxim MG in a turret taken from the ‘Gdanski’ class monitors. The MG turret to port of the conning tower on these monitors had been replaced by storage for camouflage nets, thus releasing the turrets for further use. Length approx. 12.5m/41ft.
KU-16 Class
The four boats of the KU-16 class had a bulletproof superstructure and a turret from the Wz.29 armoured car, mounting a 37mm SA 18 Puteaux SA 18 QF and a 7.92mm Hotchkiss MG. The inset shows a version with the Hotchkiss mounted in an angled armour plate for AA use. They were some 10.7m/35ft long.
The second launch from the left is one of the KU-21 type, with a 37mm Model 1885 Hotchkiss QF up front and a 7.92mm Maxim behind a shield at the stern.
KU-21 Class
The KU-21 class were four small armed launches built by Erste Böhmisch-Mährische Maschinenfabrik in Prague. They displaced 4 tons and were approx. 7.3m/24ft long.
KU-25 Class
The five patrol boats of the KU-25 class had an armoured superstructure and a turret from the Wz.29 armoured car. They were around 8m/26ft 3in long. The turret was armed with a 37mm Puteaux SA 18 QF and a 7.92mm Hotchkiss MG.
KU-30, armed with a twin 13.2mm Hotchkiss anti-aircraft mount. (Drawing by Mgr Jerzy M. Jaźwiński, Biblioteka Narodowa, Warszawa, via Website www.odkrywca.pl)
KU-30
KU-30 was a fast armoured cutter built in Modlin between 1936 and 1939. She weighed 9 tons and was some 14m/46ft long. The superstructure and turret were bulletproof, and she carried a dual-purpose twin 13.2mm Hotchkiss MG mount, which was an effective AA weapon. She was scuttled in Modlin in September 1939.
CKU Nieuchwytny. (Drawing posted by formoza58 on Website: https://forum.dobroni.pl/f/flotyllapinska)
CKU Nieuchwytny
CKU (Ciężki Kuter Uzbrojony = Heavy Armed Cutter) Nieuchwytny (‘Uncatchable’) was a large armoured patrol boat, scuttled by her crew on 9 September 1939. She was raised by the Germans and commissioned under the name of Pionier. In 1943 her Beardmore diesel engines were replaced by Maybach units with a total of 600bhp. Scuttled by her German crew in December 1944, Pionier was raised by the Poles in 1945, and used up until 1957 by the Coast Guard under the name of Okoń (‘Perch’).
Launched:
1939 by Stocznia PZI, in Modlin.
Dimensions:
Displ: 38.5 tons; L: 23m/75ft 5½in; B: 4m/13ft 1½in; D: 0.62m/2ft.
Crew:
16.
Power/Speed:
Twin screws; 2 × Beardmore diesel engines total, 450bhp/12.5 knots.
Guns/Armour:
1 × 40mm Bofors AA in fore turret; 1 × 37mm Puteaux SA 18 + 1 × 7.92mm Hotchkiss AA MG in Wz.29 armoured car turret/Bulletproof plating, 6mm to 12mm.
Fate:
Stricken 1957.
ANCILLARY PATROL VESSELS
The river flotilla counted several paddle steamers, mostly used for staff purposes. Two armed examples are shown here. In addition, the T-1 class armoured minesweepers could double as patrol boats given their armament and protection.
The leading vessel is armed tugboat ORP Neptune. Note the Polish eagle on the bows of all three, and the 7.92mm Maxim on a sled mount on the bow of the communication cutter KM-8. The gun crew manning the 3-pounder QF on Neptune have no protection at all. (Photo posted by Maxhel on Website: http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7443)
The armed paddle steamer behind the seaplane is ORP Admiral Dickman, seen in Pinsk harbour circa 1932.
ORP Admirał Dickman
Built as 186-ton riverine tugboat Todleben, she was seized at Prype by the Reds. Captured by Poles in 1920, she was renamed Leon. Scuttled and raised 1920–1, she served until 1935 as a gunboat under the name of Admiral Dickman, armed with two 75mm APX Model 1897 and three 7.92mm MG. In 1935 she was converted to an AA ship, but two years later she was withdrawn from active service and used as a target. In 1939 she was patched up and repainted to hide the shell damage, fitted with false armament, located on a sandbank and used as a decoy ship to lure German aircraft away from the active combat units.
T-1 Class
T-1 to T-3 were a class of armoured minesweepers built at Pińsk in 1935. They displaced 10.2 tons and were some 11.3m/37ft long. With a crew of five they could make 6.5 knots. The T-1 class were armed with a 7.92mm Maxim and a 7.92mm Hotchkiss AA MG.
PORTUGAL
The story of river gunboats in the Portuguese Empire can be divided into two basic parts. In the late nineteenth an
d early twentieth centuries Portugal was viewed by major European powers as a ‘dying’ nation, and two countries in particular, Great Britain and Germany, planned in secret to take over the African territories of what they saw as a nation which harked back to its exploration heritage, and was economically and militarily incapable of running its empire successfully (that is to say, profitably). As the Portuguese administrators had never managed to penetrate far into the hinterlands of Angola and Mozambique, for want of military and police resources, the role of ‘showing the flag’ devolved on a small fleet of gunboats. For example, the campaign to pacify the Báruè region of central Mozambique in 1902 was led by the Navy and directed by Lieutenant Commander Joāo Coutinho, with the gunboats of the Zambezi Flotilla operating in support of the ground troops along the Pungwe River. This initial period came to a close at the start of the First World War, when the two plotting nations waged war on one another, and the Kaiser’s Germany ultimately lost not only its fleet (and therefore the need for Atlantic coast bases in Angola) but also all of its own territorial holdings in Africa. Ironically, the contemporary culture of thinking of tiny Portugal as ripe for plucking by larger countries also led to the need to patrol mainland Portugal’s river border with neighbour Spain, also classed as a ‘dying’ nation. With the traditional river gunboats are included a selection of larger ocean-capable gunboats of the type which could also operate on the larger river systems.