On June 26, at Shipbuilding S.A. Shipbuilding Shipbuilding S.A. Shipbuilding Shipbuilding S.A. Shipbuilding Shipbuilding S.A. Shipbuilding S.A. Shipbuilding Shipbuilding S.A. Shipbuilding S.A. Shipbuilding S.A. Shipbuilding S.A. Shipbuilding S.A. Shipbuilding S.A. Shipbuilding S.A. Shipbuilding Shipbuilding S.A. Shipbuilding S.A. Shipbuilding Shipbuilding S.A. Shipbuilding S.A. Shipbuilding Shipbuilding S.A. Shipbuilding Shipbuilding S.A. Shipbuilding S.A. Shipbuilding Shipbuilding S.A. Shipbuilding S.A. Shipbuilding in Gdańsk took place the ceremony of baptism and launching the 4th of a series of modern mine destroyers of the task 258 kind KORMORAN II.
Proj. 258/4 ship is the fourth, after ORP Kormoran, ORP Albatros and ORP Mewa from a series of modern mine destroyers built for the Polish Navy. The future ORP Swallow with the 604 starboard number will be the first of 3 intended for the Świnouian 12th Tray Squadron from the 8th Coast Defence Fleet.
During the ceremony, Ms. Margaret Zdonek's godmother, wife of the erstwhile commander of the 8th Coast Defence Fleet, Rear Admiral Krzysztof Zdonek, said her baptism: “Fly in the seas and oceans of the world, the fame of the Polish shipbuilder and Polish sailor. I give you the name Swallow", followed by a symbolic impact of a bottle of champagne on the side and launching the ship. From this date will begin the phase of equipping the unit, assembly of weapons, equipment and ship systems.
ORP Swallow for the search, classification, recognition and control of marine mines
As intended, KORMORAN II kind mine destroyers are utilized to search for, classify, identify and combat marine mines, conduct the diagnosis of waterway tracks, conduct another units through mine hazard aquenes, place mines and distant control of self-propelled mine platforms. This applies to both operations in the Polish economical region and missions in tactical groups in the Baltic and North Sea (NATO, EU, or multinational coalition forces).
The ship is built by a consortium led by Renovation Shipbuilding SA. The consortium besides includes the investigation and improvement Centre of the Marine Technology Centre SA in Gdynia and the PGZ War Shipyard.
Together with the prototype ORP Kormoran (601) series ship and the ORP Albatros (602) and ORP Mewa (603) serial units, which already service in the Gdynia 13th Trailer Squadron, further ships will be part of the Polish Navy's mine defence system. A full of 6 ships of the kind 258 kind KORMORAN II will be part of the 8th Coast Defence Fleet.
Baptism and launching of ORP Swallow (FOTO: Polish Army) History of akin ships
The acquisition of the first prototype unit 258/1 was the consequence of the improvement work. The authoritative flag raising on the ORP Kormoran took place on 28 November 2017. Contract for the construction of 2 serial units of task 258, ORP Albatros and ORP Mewa, was signed in late December 2017. The second of the series – ORP Albatros – was launched in October 2019, while in November 2022 a solemn flag raising took place. The 3rd unit – ORP Mewa – was launched in December 2020, and the ceremonial flag lift took place in February 2023.
On 28 March 2023, the ORP Swallow was officially started with the alleged sheet metallic burning, and the prefabrication phase of the first fuselage was completed with the ceremonial location of the keel on 25 July 2023. Another 5th ship in the series – the future ORP Rybitwa – is besides in the construction process, which began with the burning of plates on January 19th, while the keel was laid down on March 20th, and from that day the process of assembling the individual elements of the floating vessel into the whole.
Three ships called ORP Swallow
ORP Swallow (Bort. 604) will be the 4th ship in past bearing this name. In the past of the Polish Navy there were 3 ships of this name. The first ORP JASKÓKA was a German FM-type red trawler from the interwar period that served from 1921 to 1931. The second ORP JASKÓKA was the first in a series of six Polish ed trawlers of the JASKÓKA type. They were the first and at the same time the only ships in the period II of the Republic completely designed and built in the country. The ship served in the Polish Navy from 1935 to 1939. As the 3rd name, ORP JASKÓKA was 1 of the russian trawlers of the 253Ł project, which served under the white-red flag from 1946 to 1950.
The names of the fresh vessels – ORP Swallow, Rybitwa and Czajka – will mention to the first ships, which in the 1930s formed a squadron of miners and recorded a arrogant card during the battles in defence of the Polish coast in 1939. Importantly, they were the first ships designed by Polish engineers and launched in the Polish shipyard, starting the past of modern shipbuilding in Poland.
