ORP Kujawiak - wreck of a submarine available for everyone

The submarine ORP Kujawiak is one of six M XV-bis type vessels acquired by Poland in the 1960s from the Soviet Union. The purchase of the design by F. Połuszkin, was a great deal (as many were at that time), unfortunately only for the Soviet side.

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In the mid-1950s, the Polish fleet was “expanded” with “new” vessels. These included M-type coastal submarines: Kujawiak, Kaszub, Krakowiak, Kurp, Mazur and Ślązak. In the first phase, the vessels were leased, but in 1962 they were definitively purchased.

In the Baltic Fleet of the USSR, the vessel was designated M-246, while after the transfer to the Polish Army in May 1955, her subsequent designations were: M-104, P-104 and 305: M-104, P-104 and 305. It is officially claimed that the ships acquired by Poland were produced in 1949. However, Jane’s Fighting Ships states that ORP Kujawiak was built 9 years earlier in 1940!

In view of the above, the autonomous voyage of the vessel to the North Sea in 1957 (Kurp and Krakowiak also made such a voyage) should be considered a considerable feat.

The ship was withdrawn from service in 1966. After being deleted from the fleet, ORP Kujawiak was sunk on Rybitwy Mielno, in the waters of Puck Bay, where it became a bombing range.

Interestingly, the design of submarines of the M XV-bis class had fewer sleeping places for the crew than the number of its members. The assumption was that during a voyage, they would not all rest at the same time, and while in port, some seamen would be accommodated on land. Such an approach was dictated by the extremely small amount of space offered by the construction of the design by Polushkin.

Today, the wreck of the Kujawiak lies at a depth of 3-4m, half-covered with sand. Its kiosk sticks out above the water surface and is visible from afar. The hull is relatively well preserved. Near the turret there is a breach, large enough to get inside. Being inside, you can see what a “colander” Kujawiak has become since she became a training ground. The sun’s rays penetrate through the many holes left by bullets from machine guns. The remnants of ballast tanks are scattered around. Apart from divers, the whole area has been adapted by local fish, which find shelter inside the ship.

The wreck is 49.5m long and 4.4m wide. During its service, its electivity on the surface was 280t, while when submerged, it increased to 353t. The vessel was capable of developing a speed of over 15 knots on the surface and almost 8 knots when submerged. The operational range was 4500Mm and the maximum draught was 70m. The propulsion unit was powered by two diesel engines with a total output of 1200HP and two PG17 electric motors with a total output of 436HP. The crew of 28 men could stay out of port for up to 15 days, while the ship could stay submerged for 48 hours. Kujawiak was armed with 4 bow torpedo launchers cal 533mm and a bow cannon type 21-K.

Source: mw.mil.pl