Thunder-class destroyers

Destroyer type "Thunder" ( Polish. Niszczyciele typu Grom ) - a series of Polish destroyers , which began to be built shortly before the outbreak of World War II. In total, two such ships were built in the shipyards of Great Britain under the names “Thunder” ( Polish. Grom ) and “Blyskavitsa” ( Polish. Błyskawica , “Lightning”), two more (“Orkan” and “Hurricane”) Poles did not have time to complete.

Thunder-class destroyers
Niszczyciele typu grom
ORP Błyskawica , the only surviving destroyer
Project
A country	Poland
Manufacturers	J. Samuel White, Cowes
Operators	Poland
Previous type	type "Wiher"
Years built	1937
Years in the ranks	1937-1939
Scheduled	2
Built by	2
Saved	one
Losses	one
Main characteristics
Displacement	1975 t (standard) 2183 t (normal) 2400 tons (full)
Length	114 m
Width	11.3 m
Draft	3.3 m
Engines	two Parsons turbines and 3 boilers
Power	54,000 l. with.
Mover	2 screws
Travel speed	39.5 knots
Navigation range	3500 nautical miles with 15 knots
Fuel reserve	350 tons (full)
Crew	192 people
Armament
Artillery	7 × 120mm Bofors wz. 34/36
Flak	2 × 2 40mm Bofors L60 4 × 2 13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine guns
Anti-submarine weapons	2 bombs, 200 depth charges wz. BH 200
Mine-torpedo armament	6 × 530-mm or 533-mm torpedo tubes 44 sea mines

Both of these destroyers were built with the latest ship technology and were the best ships of the Polish Navy: two Parsons turbines allowed destroyers to reach speeds of up to 40 knots, each of the destroyers was equipped with seven 120-mm powerful anti-ship guns and four 40-mm anti-aircraft guns Bofors , as well as eight Hotchkiss machine guns . A huge stock of depth charges and sea mines allowed them to successfully deal with enemy submarines.

During the Second World War, both vessels fought as part of the Great Patriotic Forces of Great Britain after the defeat of Poland. “Thunder” sank in 1940 during the Norwegian campaign, and “Blyskavitsa” went through the whole war and was returned to Poland after the war, becoming later a ship-museum.