Destroyer Wicher 1935 - Mirage Hobby 40068

The destroyer ORP Wicher was built at the French shipyard Chantiers Naval Francais in Blainville in the years 1927-1930. Drive: two 35,000hp steam turbines driving two propellers. Speed: 33 knots. Armament: four 130 mm AA guns, two 40 mm AA guns, four 13.2 mm heavy AA machine guns, six torpedo tubes, two depth charge launchers. A crew of 162 officers and sailors. Before the war, until 1937, it was the flagship of the Kontrtorpedowow Squadron, the crew was trained, the ship also participated in foreign courtesy visits, representing the Polish Navy. For example, during a visit to Kiel, at the invitation of Admiral Raeder, a group of Polish officers from Wichra flew to Berlin and met with Hitler at a special banquet. Just before the outbreak of the war in the last days of August 1939, three destroyers: Błyskawica, Grom, Burza, on the orders of the command, sailed to Great Britain, while Wicher remained in Poland and, as the only one of our destroyers, took part in the first days of the war in defense of Hel. On September 3, he was attacked by Luftwaffe bombers and sunk. Despite the fact that the ship turned with the keel up, only one sailor was killed. After the September defeat, the Germans towed the wreck to the shallows behind the breakwater and flooded it. The superstructures and chimneys protruded from the water. In 1945, the retreating Germans blew up what was left of the wreckage. The remains of the wreck are a protected monument, but diving is allowed. Numerous shots of the ship itself can be found in the pre-war Polish film "Baltic Rhapsody".