Hi there, I drink in a public house called the Jolly Sailor’s in Whitby in the north east of England, every year a group of Polish divers come to look for this wreck, we all get on very well and they tell story’s about this submarine, as soon as I saw the title for this video I knew it would be the submarine that these divers talk about, top video. Thanks 👍👍👍
We had no our land on the Europe's map for 123 years straight yet we managed to survive with our language, culture, literature and the gut. The Polish spirit has always been really strong with a great hatred for unjustice. Glad to see the society unite now when we need to help other Russian opressed nation - Ukraine.
A sad end to a honorable and heroic ship and crew. Polish soldiers, Sailors and Airmen we're among the braves to fight in the Second World War, homeless orphans who struck blows every chance they got. Their sacrifices should never be forgotten.
I once asked a Polish sabre fencer if he would rather defeat a Russian or a German. He said "I beat the German first, then the Russian. Always business before pleasure."
Interesting triva about the Orzel, all the chairs on board had to be modified with 2 bowling ball sized indentations to accomodate the anatomy of the crew.
I’ve heard of “orphaned” subs that escaped the German juggernaut. That somehow made it to England. There was a Dutch sub that foundered on rock and U.S.S Cod rescued the Dutch crew. I wonder how many submarines had to make a run for it to a friendly country, refit and rearm and go after the axis powers? The bravery of being alone and then coming back to fight I salute them all !
only human who really love own country can take such action . others only talk. Poles suffer millions of deaths from soviet hands. 13 500 000 of Poles became by brutal force soviet citizens . since 1939 remain 100 000 up today. 2022. what about that .????????????? is anybody who knows that??????? it is bigger than holocaust.
When I was in London, years ago, my friends and I were wandering around London, and stumbled across "The British-Polish Friendship Society." At least, I believe that was the name. They were open for visitors, with a library and inexpensive meals available. Alas, I wasn't able to coax my friends in. I was aware of some of this story then, although the Estonian part was new. and much appreciated.
This is a good time to talk about how magnificently the People of Poland have responded to the plight of Ukrainian refugees in the last 6 weeks. Their Humanity and Selflessness should never be forgotten. And no mistake, they are ready to fight if need be.
When the Soviet Union invaded Poland on 17 September 1939, Orzeł fled Tallinn the next day. "Orzeł's escape was very easy," recalled the sailor Boris Kivik, " - the electric telephone line was cut and the guard on the pier, Boris Mahlstein, was lured to the ship, where he was knocked out, and the ship began to move away from the berth." The submarine appeared near Gotland and sent two estonian sailors who had taken them ashore in a rubber boat with food and home travel money. The escape of the interned ship gave the USSR an excuse to accuse Estonia of aiding a country at war with the Soviet Union. On 24 September, the Soviet Union ultimatively demanded that Estonia sign a mutual assistance pact, threatening war if it refused. Estonia surrendered and on 28 September 1939 the unbearable treaty was signed.
The Orzeł-class were not minelaying submarines. It is a common misconception, because their design was influenced by the Dutch O-19 class of minelaying submarines.
Exactly. It was rather an attack sub. But taking into consideration a short history of newely established Polish state (the 2nd republic) and thin resources it was planned to be used in many roles.
AMEN. At beginning of the October, 1939 - Germans & Soviets joined in a military parade TOGETHER at the former Polish City of Brzesc over the Bug River. They were a very good BODIES at the start of the World WAR the Second !!!!
@@sorryi6685 Stalin killed more people than Hitler did. Stalin starved the people of Ukraine. While he might not have been as overtly racist, he engaged in ethnic cleansing. If people of different races had been under his control, he would have attacked them over race as well. He was also anti-Jewish although not as blatant about it.
@@sorryi6685 >>>> Killing, grabbing, and stealing, etc. .... made them comrades TOGETHER as always !!!! ONLY that time it happened up to June of 1941 !!!!
This moment when I knew this story from litle kid because of my grandfather. I know it better then anything but still I loved to watch it. Good job mate
Another cool story is about a finnish submarine that tried to torpedo a russian sub twice unsuccessfully and then decided to ram it. The russian sub rolled over and sank...
@@smokeonthewater5287 something I wasn't aware of until recently. There has never been a sub sunk by torpedo from another sub. I know that sounds crazy with all the movies and such, but true.
There are a lot of mistakes: 1) ORP Orzeł didn't had minus. She wasn't a minelayer. 2) We didn't loose any subs in september, all sailed to Sweden or out of Baltic. 3) POLAND NEWER CAPITULATED IN 1939. Warszawa, our capital and most of armada Forbes did, but the country as a whole didn't.
Cheers, I am sure you ment "that fateful september 1939" (in your intro text). Or did I miss something? Also, please notice that majority (well, it was a small force) of the modern polish fleet (destroyers) escaped to England just few days before WWII outbrake, in line with Operation Pekin (Beijing?) Otherwise AWESOME vid. I also applaud you sincerely for the info about those two estonian guards, being released and given smokes and money. It is a detail (of Orzels escape) that very few people are aware of. Kudos and cheers.
We had a lot if subs during WWII. There were 5 of them not counting the 3 interned in Sweden. We lost 2, that is ORP Orzeł to unknown couses and ORP Jastrząb (former american SS25) to friendly fire.
Few Issues there: 1. In the title it reads that the sub escaped Russia, but this is not true. The boat was interned in Estonia, which had agreement with Germany. Russia not involved. 2. The boat didn't start the war, the military action started on 1st of September. The incident took place later. 3. Video description states September 1940, but this was in September 1939. The video itself seams fine though.
This isnt the only story like that. Most of things that Poles did during the war is unheard. For example poles were fighting bismarck in a destroyer waiting for help from alies.
There are actually theories regarding her disappearance, but as they are theories they are not set in stone. 1. She ran into a British or German sea mine - The British never really clearly mapped out where they mined the area, nor give their allies rough locations. So this could be a valid reason. Germany of course doesn't tell their enemies where they mined the place, so that still could also be an option. 2. She collided with a Dutch submarine, the O 13. The Dutch navy is still looking for their lost submarine to this day and keeping this thought in mind that they might find the ORP Orzel in the same area. However this needs to be taken with a grain of salt at the same time as the Dutch navy doesn't know how the O 13 was lost either. Another option might be that it was lost in the same mine field which would suggest a German mine field just north of the Netherlands.
Sorry it was no joint venture of dutch and polish submarine buildes it was an adoptation of the O16 for the polish navy . The company designing and building these submarines Was the Dutch IVS /INKAVOS . Also designed and build the prototypes of the U-boat Type VII , Sovjet S class , swedish submarines, and the dutch submarines, There was no cooperation with polish shipyards they where designed and orderd at dutch shipyards .
A stirring tale and a high class site ( mostly) . It is however a pity that like so many other sub standard sites, in this instance it falls into the trap of using the terms “ English” and “ British” interchangeably. They are not synonymous. (and the submarine surrendered in Scottish waters ). Some may view this point as trivial. However the widespread and habitual habit of using “English” to mean “British” effectively demeans the three other nations of the “United” Kingdom and feeds narrow and destructive political agendas. Terminological exactitude please!
The most modern of the Polish surface fleets were destroyers that were sent to the North Sea as a precaution. They served alongside other Allied ships throughout the war. What was left besides the submarines were light vessels of dubious fitness. One of these vessels was sunk at its moorings but the crew kept firing their AA guns even with the decks awash.
Nope. ORP Wicher remained along with fast minelayer ORP Gryf. Only 3 out of 4 DD were part of plan Peking. You canon cleary see it ewentualnie in the famous photo of Thatcher operation. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peking_Plan
"No-one suspected the witty Poles were about to accomplish a feat worthy of the history books." Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down? 😁
What a great story of guile and bravery, not to mention the Pols wonderful decency. Nicely presented and narrated. Thank you.
Hi there, I drink in a public house called the Jolly Sailor’s in Whitby in the north east of England, every year a group of Polish divers come to look for this wreck, we all get on very well and they tell story’s about this submarine, as soon as I saw the title for this video I knew it would be the submarine that these divers talk about, top video. Thanks 👍👍👍
Is doggerland off the coast there ?
@@johnscanlon2598 yup.
Comments like these bring a smile to my face - many thanks and all the best !
@Kim Kevan Concur Kim...and cheers to them finding her and giving the men their just due honors.
I use the Jolly Sailor too occasionally. Good luck to the Poles I hope they find her. RIP to the crew.🇬🇧🏴
I'm from Rosyth , we are proud to have had Orzel based in our dockyard during the war.🇵🇱 🏴
oh nice. respect! im trying to find this submarine with friends, since 2000 but... still nothing...
This one of the coolest unheard war stories ever 👍
BRAVO ! ANOTHER GREAT STORY I NEVER HEARD OF . THEY SHOULD MAKE MOVIES OF THESE STORIES !!!
1958 movie "Orzeł"
Herd of cows?
@@bartosss1982 Eagle
th-cam.com/video/5s4b7-Jl8Js/w-d-xo.html
When no one stood against anyone Poland stood against everyone, for their rights and nothing else, and for that they should be proud
We had no our land on the Europe's map for 123 years straight yet we managed to survive with our language, culture, literature and the gut. The Polish spirit has always been really strong with a great hatred for unjustice.
Glad to see the society unite now when we need to help other Russian opressed nation - Ukraine.
A sad end to a honorable and heroic ship and crew. Polish soldiers, Sailors and Airmen we're among the braves to fight in the Second World War, homeless orphans who struck blows every chance they got. Their sacrifices should never be forgotten.
I agree completely
Seldom I see this kind of true-to-bottom comment in YT. Best regards from a Pole. Cheers man!
I once asked a Polish sabre fencer if he would rather defeat a Russian or a German. He said "I beat the German first, then the Russian. Always business before pleasure."
@@honorguardsfencingclub7322 the Russians are like the Borg…
Interesting triva about the Orzel, all the chairs on board had to be modified with 2 bowling ball sized indentations to accomodate the anatomy of the crew.
I'm a submarine fan, yet have never heard this story. Thank you for producing this video!
I'm so grateful for all your videos. At 68, I'm STILL finding stuff out.
I’ve heard of “orphaned” subs that escaped the German juggernaut. That somehow made it to England. There was a Dutch sub that foundered on rock and U.S.S Cod rescued the Dutch crew. I wonder how many submarines had to make a run for it to a friendly country, refit and rearm and go after the axis powers? The bravery of being alone and then coming back to fight I salute them all !
At least one other Polish sub Wilk (Wolf - pronounced Veelk) also escaped to England. Two other subs were, unfortunately, interned in Sweden.
USS marblehead and Orzel made the best escape of the war and there are many more stories like this unheard.
What a great story of courage,daring and bravado.I love these kinds of stories.Great job on presentation and content.
only human who really love own country can take such action . others only talk.
Poles suffer millions of deaths from soviet hands. 13 500 000 of Poles became by brutal force soviet citizens . since 1939 remain 100 000 up today. 2022.
what about that .?????????????
is anybody who knows that???????
it is bigger than holocaust.
Everything I’ve ever heard about the Polish people during WW2 is that they decent, fierce and very brave. Well done Poland 🇵🇱. Cheers Stuart 🇦🇺
History Guy has a great episode on these polish subs
What a bunch of hero’s. Kind and respectful to everyone. The pols people. Just awesome.
A treasure trove of footage, every angle, these cameraman documented everyone and everything. Amazing this stuff made to archives.
When I was in London, years ago, my friends and I were wandering around London, and stumbled across "The British-Polish Friendship Society." At least, I believe that was the name. They were open for visitors, with a library and inexpensive meals available. Alas, I wasn't able to coax my friends in. I was aware of some of this story then, although the Estonian part was new. and much appreciated.
this needs a movie
This is a good time to talk about how magnificently the People of Poland have responded to the plight of Ukrainian refugees in the last 6 weeks. Their Humanity and Selflessness should never be forgotten. And no mistake, they are ready to fight if need be.
When the Soviet Union invaded Poland on 17 September 1939, Orzeł fled Tallinn the next day. "Orzeł's escape was very easy," recalled the sailor Boris Kivik, " - the electric telephone line was cut and the guard on the pier, Boris Mahlstein, was lured to the ship, where he was knocked out, and the ship began to move away from the berth." The submarine appeared near Gotland and sent two estonian sailors who had taken them ashore in a rubber boat with food and home travel money. The escape of the interned ship gave the USSR an excuse to accuse Estonia of aiding a country at war with the Soviet Union. On 24 September, the Soviet Union ultimatively demanded that Estonia sign a mutual assistance pact, threatening war if it refused. Estonia surrendered and on 28 September 1939 the unbearable treaty was signed.
That story would make a great film .
Determined dedicated brave men who fought for their nation. May they Rest In Peace.
The Orzeł-class were not minelaying submarines. It is a common misconception, because their design was influenced by the Dutch O-19 class of minelaying submarines.
They were built in the Netherlands, too. :)
Exactly. It was rather an attack sub. But taking into consideration a short history of newely established Polish state (the 2nd republic) and thin resources it was planned to be used in many roles.
This deserves a movie
Terenie is a film about her. th-cam.com/video/Gh_LWZhTFKU/w-d-xo.html
Thanks
People need to remember that Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union started the war as allies. Stalin and Hitler were the same.
AMEN.
At beginning of the October, 1939 - Germans & Soviets joined in a military parade TOGETHER at the former Polish City of Brzesc over the Bug River. They were a very good BODIES at the start of the World WAR the Second !!!!
While they were allies. Hitler was a racist while Stalin was not.
@@sorryi6685 Stalin killed more people than Hitler did. Stalin starved the people of Ukraine. While he might not have been as overtly racist, he engaged in ethnic cleansing. If people of different races had been under his control, he would have attacked them over race as well. He was also anti-Jewish although not as blatant about it.
@@VTPSTTU Yeah, Motive makes a lot of difference.
@@sorryi6685 >>>> Killing, grabbing, and stealing, etc. .... made them comrades TOGETHER as always !!!! ONLY that time it happened up to June of 1941 !!!!
You do great work, thank you!
Poland has always shown strength and honour. Even now by the way they are assisting Ukraine is very commendable.
Fair winds and following seas gentlemen. RIP these Polish heroes 🇵🇱 respect from Australia 🇦🇺
That was probably your best video to date. Thanks for your great work.
Stunning history. Thank you. Fabulous effort in the face of relentless enemy actions.... remarkable men.
I truly enjoy and appreciate the subject matter this channel addresses
Holy shit. Great ship and crew!
This moment when I knew this story from litle kid because of my grandfather. I know it better then anything but still I loved to watch it.
Good job mate
you always have something unique that i have never heard of before keep up the good work!
Lesson, learned by Poland, "NEVER,EVER", TRUST RUSSIANS" !
I think that Poland learned this lesson much much earlier than during the WWII.
@@denar1750 no kidding, my grandfather Martin Bernadzikowski fought them in the Polish Soviet War pretty much right after WW-1 ended.
i think it was a lesson learned by the estonians in case
If the slavs learned not to be divided by Germans and treasonous Brits the World would look much better..
@@Manco65 based
Again that was a wonderful story thank you for sharing it.
This should be a movie. Instead, we get Casablanca.
There is one, a fairly old Polish movie titled "Orzeł" :-)
Another cool story is about a finnish submarine that tried to torpedo a russian sub twice unsuccessfully and then decided to ram it. The russian sub rolled over and sank...
@@smokeonthewater5287 something I wasn't aware of until recently. There has never been a sub sunk by torpedo from another sub. I know that sounds crazy with all the movies and such, but true.
we need more naval movies about the germans,polish and other axis powers instead we got more
allies.
@@FrugalPCOG Sorry to say but I know two other stories when a sub did sunk another during WWII.
Thank you for sharing this story
There are a lot of mistakes:
1) ORP Orzeł didn't had minus. She wasn't a minelayer.
2) We didn't loose any subs in september, all sailed to Sweden or out of Baltic.
3) POLAND NEWER CAPITULATED IN 1939. Warszawa, our capital and most of armada Forbes did, but the country as a whole didn't.
Cheers, I am sure you ment "that fateful september 1939" (in your intro text). Or did I miss something? Also, please notice that majority (well, it was a small force) of the modern polish fleet (destroyers) escaped to England just few days before WWII outbrake, in line with Operation Pekin (Beijing?) Otherwise AWESOME vid. I also applaud you sincerely for the info about those two estonian guards, being released and given smokes and money. It is a detail (of Orzels escape) that very few people are aware of. Kudos and cheers.
brilliant story
Great stuff!
simply an awesome story ... had to share
This would be another great WWII submarine movie !
We have a film about her! th-cam.com/video/Gh_LWZhTFKU/w-d-xo.html
the Poles fought in every branch of the British military and excelled in all of them ...
I wasn't just a Nazi invitation. The soviets started WW2 by invading Poland also. They just got away with it.
great video
Great stuff!👍👍
Brave people. And now, their country is helping Ukraine fight Russian tyranny.
Tring to pronounce all this Polish names must be hard for you XD I'm accaulty form Poland and I give you respect for even tiring.
Excellent work.
Does anybody know who owns all the Dark channels?
Excellent story.
Awesome as always.🇦🇺
ORP Orzel never laid a single mine! It was not a mine laying sub. You made a mistake with ORP Wilk (Wolf).
SLAVA POLSCE!!!
Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it I hope you get this message
I disagree that Poland's military was inferior to the German military, it was just severely undermanned in comparison to Germany/Russia
Great story!
Wow. Awesome!
Dark Seas😊. Subbed!
I never knew Poland had subs back then. Very interesting.
We had a lot if subs during WWII. There were 5 of them not counting the 3 interned in Sweden. We lost 2, that is ORP Orzeł to unknown couses and ORP Jastrząb (former american SS25) to friendly fire.
3:09 Orzel wasn't a mine layer sub, Wilk was.
Never heard of this. You just can't beat freedom loving people.
GLORY TO UKRAINE 🇺🇦
Video about Poland this dumbass posting about Ukraine
Absolutely mind blowing that they got to the UK with no charts.
Wow this would be a cool movie
There is one shoot on her sister ship.
th-cam.com/video/Gh_LWZhTFKU/w-d-xo.html
Few Issues there:
1. In the title it reads that the sub escaped Russia, but this is not true. The boat was interned in Estonia, which had agreement with Germany. Russia not involved.
2. The boat didn't start the war, the military action started on 1st of September. The incident took place later.
3. Video description states September 1940, but this was in September 1939.
The video itself seams fine though.
What a great story. Brave resourceful men. I hope Hollywood doesn't get hold of it and screw it up.
How interesting. I had never considered Polish subs during the outbreak of ww2.
Brave lads.
I give the Poles credit for fighting back regardless of odds.
Wouldn’t you do the same ?
This isnt the only story like that.
Most of things that Poles did during the war is unheard.
For example poles were fighting bismarck in a destroyer waiting for help from alies.
I see a film coming. Maybe?
I love it
Wait, why are poles targeted as being dumb? They always do such clever things!
There are actually theories regarding her disappearance, but as they are theories they are not set in stone.
1. She ran into a British or German sea mine - The British never really clearly mapped out where they mined the area, nor give their allies rough locations. So this could be a valid reason. Germany of course doesn't tell their enemies where they mined the place, so that still could also be an option.
2. She collided with a Dutch submarine, the O 13. The Dutch navy is still looking for their lost submarine to this day and keeping this thought in mind that they might find the ORP Orzel in the same area. However this needs to be taken with a grain of salt at the same time as the Dutch navy doesn't know how the O 13 was lost either. Another option might be that it was lost in the same mine field which would suggest a German mine field just north of the Netherlands.
Why isn't this a movie??
Terenie is one! Black and with shoot on her sister ship th-cam.com/video/Gh_LWZhTFKU/w-d-xo.html
There is an inconsistency in the commentary. The Estonians removed the deck gun but when escaping the submarine returned fire. With what?
The class had 2 guns. A deck gun 105mm Bofors and a double barrel 40mm Bofors AA gunb(yes that 40mm).
Kind of like a David and Golith story, but good! Almost like Ukraine and Russia. Hopefully David will win over!
Nice!!!!!
Brave men in an evil time. Rest in peace and honor.
Sorry it was no joint venture of dutch and polish submarine buildes it was an adoptation of the O16 for the polish navy . The company designing and building these submarines Was the Dutch IVS /INKAVOS . Also designed and build the prototypes of the U-boat Type VII , Sovjet S class , swedish submarines, and the dutch submarines, There was no cooperation with polish shipyards they where designed and orderd at dutch shipyards .
Brave souls all
If the guns were disabled how did they fire them?
Did any other country had people who joined to the alies and returned to defend their homeland?
A stirring tale and a high class site ( mostly) . It is however a pity that like so many other sub standard sites, in this instance it falls into the trap of using the terms “ English” and “ British” interchangeably. They are not synonymous. (and the submarine surrendered in Scottish waters ). Some may view this point as trivial. However the widespread and habitual habit of using “English” to mean “British” effectively demeans the three other nations of the “United” Kingdom and feeds narrow and destructive political agendas. Terminological exactitude please!
I loved the video, but way you day orzel kills me
Another brilliant but please don't use the term "English" as an interchangeable term with "British".
👏👏👏👏
The most modern of the Polish surface fleets were destroyers that were sent to the North Sea as a precaution. They served alongside other Allied ships throughout the war. What was left besides the submarines were light vessels of dubious fitness. One of these vessels was sunk at its moorings but the crew kept firing their AA guns even with the decks awash.
Nope. ORP Wicher remained along with fast minelayer ORP Gryf. Only 3 out of 4 DD were part of plan Peking. You canon cleary see it ewentualnie in the famous photo of Thatcher operation. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peking_Plan
. . . The Polish enigma machine was on this boat.... It's very similar to the Germans.
Ciekawe ujecia . Aczkolwiek wymowa Polskich nazw rowna zero ! Show some respect .
That was good apart from calling RAF Wellington bombers German dive bombers. You had to get something wrong- it’s probably in your contract.
She is now on Eternal Patrol.
"No-one suspected the witty Poles were about to accomplish a feat worthy of the history books."
Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down? 😁
By the way, "Orzel" is pronounced "Ozhaew"
I kept waiting to learn how this escape STARTED a war....
They started a war where Russia invaded Estonia.
Orzel
And what about Russians in title? ORP "Orzeł", and other Polish ships during II WW have NEVER troubles with Russians (or Soviets).