On the 11th of June 1940 the Command of the Polish Navy issued the following report: "Because of the lack of any messages and of the failure to come back on time to base from her patrol, the Polish Submarine ORZEL is to be declared as lost in action with all hands". That was a dry, standard wartime formula, leaving no hopes as to the ship's safe return to base, and to the end of the story of a ship legendary still in service. Thanks to press, published by local resistance movement, the Poles in the seized country could get the word of the ORZEL her brave escape from the internment in Tallinn [Estonia], her reaching the British waters and her further struggle against the German Navy. Those news gave hope and helped to create Her legend that survived to the present day. Unfortunately we still do not know what has happened during Her seventh patrol and where She rests with Her Crew. She failed to return to base on the 8th of June 1940 and all subsequent calls remained unanswered.
Then one of crew members cut the searchlight wire, and the phone cable as well. The ship sank into darkness. Then the lines (prepared a bit earlier) were cut through. The electric motors started working and the submarine slowly moved on in shallow waters, towards the harbour entrance...
In August 2003, sixty-three years after, the ORP ORZEL Search Group had been formally set up. Its objective is to organize an expedition, based on analysis of the data available, to explore the most probable positions of the wreck and investigate the possible causes of Her loss. Engaged in this challenging task are historians, searchers, shiplovers, submariners and many more people both from inland and from abroad, to whom Her fascinating history still matters. The basic task is to collect the data, this being matter of years-long, painful research of many archives dispersed far between, and getting in touch with many people, some of whom would be able to enrich the knowledge with new data, unknown so far. The man behind it has been for several years Mr. Marek Nowak, explorer of Spanish Armada wreckage in America, member of the Cousteau Foundation/Endowment, creator of the Europe's greatest U-Boats' Archive, historian, traveller and author.
The idea of public funding of the construction of a submarine had come from an officer of the Polish Army, who called first his colleagues to join. But soon it started flourishing within the publicity. By June 1927 the Main Board of the corresponding Fund had had 200 thousand of zlotys on hand; the idea enjoyed support by the population and already in 1935 the Maritime Defence Fund "Józef Piłsudski" handed over to the Government of Poland the amount of more than 8 million of Zlotys for the construction of a submarine, which allowed the corresponding Government body to place the construction order.
The competition was won by Dutch shipyards. On the 14th of August 1936 the keel was laid on the slip of Messrs. N.V. Koninklijke Maatschappij 'De Schelde'. Early in February 1939 the Polish Colours were hoisted on the flagstaff of the ready unit, and on the 10th of Feb. that year the ship was festively greeted at the Polish Naval Base of Gdynia. On the same day a silver plate was unveiled on the port side of ORZEL her sail. It carried the message that the ship had been built for funds collected by the population of Poland. The plate was unveiled by the General Kazimierz Sosnkowski, and the message carried by it was following:
"To the Glory and Majesty of the Republic of Poland.
To the Honour of the First Marshall of Poland, Józef Pilsudski.
The amount of 2 644 567 Zl had been collected by the effort of the corresponding Committee among the Army and Navy Staff & Personnel,
and the amount of 5 555 433 Zl had been collected by the effort of the Maritime and Colonies' League among the whole population for the Maritime Defence Fund.
Total amount 8 200 000 Zl.
For the amount mentioned above the submarine ORP ORZEL was built,
coming for the first time to Gdynia from Holland on the 10th of February 1939
and adding new strength to our Maritime Forces."
At present, the Search Group desire to collect funds for the discovery of Her wreck, following the patterns from the thirties, i. e. by the way of collections and donations.
¡ At 11.00 p. m. on the 23rd of May 1940 the ORP Orzel sailed from the Rosyth Naval Base to patrol the area 200 nautical miles off Heligoland, designated to Her. For the Crew of 62, led by Lieut. Cdr. Jan Grudziński PN the seventh patrol had begun. The Submarine was for the last time heard from off the Forth river mouth; then radio silence was ordered. Early in June She was ordered to change to the Skagerrak western entrance, and on the 5th of June – the Submarine was ordered to return. Nothing is known as to the possible receiving of the messages by Her radio station, as to Her possible change of operations area, nor as to the possible place of Her death. Out of many assumed causes two seem to be more probable than the others: She could have been sunk by German bomber or might have struck a mine. The whole of the North Sea was then infested with both Parties mines.
The Ship and Her Crew have found Their grave somewhere on the North Sea bed. It is our everlasting duty to save this page of our National Heritage and our History from oblivion, as it is to tell the whole Story to the very end. The ORP ORZEL Search Group enjoy the growing positive response within the population of the Country. The present level of knowledge, and that of underwater search and exploration promise well for the success of the search for the ORZEL Her wreck. Nobody expects this to be an easy task, but the Ship and the Crew have deserved it. Only then the Ship returns to us from Her last patrol.
The Group started working together with many similar Groups and Societies whose members are eager to find certain wrecks on the seabed.
Recently the Group have established contact to a similar Dutch Search Group, eager to find their missing submarine O-13. The Dutch colleagues were traced and addressed by the Deputy President of our Group, Mr. Jan Wojcieszonek.
The history of the Dutch Submarine O-13 is intertwined with that of the ORZEL, even if some facts seem to deny it.
It is much assumed, the O-13 be rammed and sunk by another Polish submarine, the WILK who rammed a Dutch submarine. The position of the Dutch wreck corresponds to that of ORZEL Her possible death. The position is the same as that in which our Ship could have struck a mine several days earlier.
The ORZEL disappeared on the 6th of June, and the O-13 around the 13th of June 1940. Both the wrecks may rest close to each other possibly only some nautical miles away.
The same objectives and co-operation of both Groups may lead very soon to discovery of both wrecks and to giving answer to the old question of how did our Ship perish.
Now an international Search Group is in the process of being set up, to be composed of the Poles, Norsemen, Dutchmen, Americans, Russians, people from Estland, the Greeks, the Helvets and many others with the objective to undertake a common exploration in the North Sea in effort to find both wrecks.
Only the co-operation in very broad sense may result in finding the wrecks in question.
All the data and particulars can be found on our website.
The contact person to the Poles living abroad and interested in joining us, is the founder of our group, Mr. Marek Nowak.
The General Patron of the whole is the President of our Group, Captain Stanislaw Wielebski PN, the Submariner and shiplover, and technically the whole matter is held together by the Deputy President, Mr. Jan Wojcieszonek, wreckage exploration specialist, who works for the Maritime Service of our Salvage Institution.
