Destroyer Burza

Burza

Country	Poland
Ship Class	Wicher-class Destroyer
Builder	Chantiers Naval Francais
Laid Down	1 Nov 1927
Launched	16 Apr 1929
Commissioned	10 Jul 1932
Decommissioned	28 Jun 1960
Displacement	1,400 tons standard
Length	350 feet
Beam	34 feet
Draft	11 feet
Speed	34 knots
Crew	162
Armament	4x130mm Schneider-Creusot, 1x76mm Mk Vna, 2x40mm Vickers-Armstrong AA, 5x13.2mm Hotchkiss AA, 8x12.7mm Vickers AA, 3 torpedo tubes, 2 depth charge launchers, 2 depth charge throwers

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseBurza was a French-built destroyer of the Polish Navy. On 29 Aug 1939, she was among the three destroyers that participated in Operation Peking, aimed at preventing the total loss of the Polish Navy in the likely case of a war with Germany. After an uneventful run-in with German light cruiser Kˆnigsberg and a destroyer, the destroyers made rendezvous with British destroyers Wanderer and Wallace, then at 1737 on 1 Sep they docked in Edinburgh. She remained in service under the Polish banner (though under command of the British Royal Navy) for the remainder of the war. After serving in convoy duties, she became a training ship in 1944, then a submarine tender in 1945. After the war, she became a British warship between 1946 and 1951, then served as a Polish ship again between 1955 and 1960. Between 1960 and 1977, she was a museum ship. Burza was scrapped in 1977.

ww2dbaseSource: Wikipedia.

Last Major Revision: Apr 2007

Destroyer Burza Interactive Map

Photographs

Polish destroyers Grom and Burza during Operation Peking, viewed from destroyer Błyskawica, circa 29 Aug-1 Sep 1939

Burza as a museum ship, Gdynia, Poland, circa 1960s

Burza Operational Timeline

10 Jul 1932	Burza was commissioned into service.
24 May 1940	The Polish destroyer Burza was ordered to join the British destroyers HMS Vimiera (L 29) and HMS Wessex (D 43) and shell German positions in Calais area on the French coast. At 1620 hours the Allied vessels opened fire on a German armoured column at Sangatte Hill, west of Calais. Ten minutes later they were attacked by 27 German aircraft which hit and sank HMS Wessex about 5 miles off of the coast. HMS Vimiera managed to escape. Then the entire enemy air group concentrated on the Polish destroyer. The two 40-millimeter anti-aircraft guns jammed due to shrapnel hits. Three bombs exploded in the water and they caused boiler damage and loss of speed. The commanding officer, Lieutenant Commander Wojciech Francki, ordered to emergency launch the torpedoes and drop all depth charges, trying to avoid additional explosions. Shortly after this, two bombs hit the Burza and badly damaged her. However the airplanes had dropped all of their bombs and broke off the attack. The crew managed to stop the leakage and return to Dover, England, United Kingdom. One German airplane was shot down during the action.
28 Jun 1960	Burza was decommissioned from service.

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