ORP Garland in PQ16

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greendragon
Posts: 179
Joined: Sat Sep 14, 2019 6:16 am

ORP Garland in PQ16

Unread post by greendragon »

I have found three accounts by three officers of the ORP Garland (ex HMS Garland) about that memorable convoy escort duty to Murmansk.
All three survived, one was seriously wounded by bomb fragments.
On the 27 of May 1942 the Germans aircraft dropped four bombs which missed the destroyer and exploded on top of waves spraying the deck with fragments.
In a split of a second 22 crew members were killed and 46 wounded (two Polish and one British, BNLO team member died soon after in hospital in Murmansk) almost all of them gunners ("gunnery - the pride of the ship"). The ship - which actually had only minor demages - was no more combat effective member of the escort and SOE CDR Onslow on HMS Ashanti permitted Garland to leave the convoy and proceed to Murmansk independently in order to save lifes of seriously wounded crew members.
The hull and suprstucture was holed in about 500 places.
LT Plewako who was the 2nd gunnery officer (LT Bartosik, later RADM in HM Navy was No1 gunnery officer ) was tasked with delivery of the killed to a morque in Murmansk. The bodies were loaded on a Russian Army lorry and went to the place.
What Plewako to his horror found was a bare field with hundreds of frozen naked bodies of killed soldiers - the driver explained that uniforms were needed for those still alive. Plewako of course returned with the killed crewmembers to Garland and on the 31st May HMS Niger took the coffins with 24 Polish and one British seamen to open sea for naval funeral.
What old seamen superstision says that no ship should take dead on its deck sadly happened to HMS Niger which soon after due to the navigational error went into a minefield and sunk with great loss of life including some of the survivors from HMS Edinbourgh and merchants.
Polish destroyer ORP Orkan before being sunk by an U-boat torpedo, with 186 casualties, had before carried remains of the Polish PM and Chief Armed Forces GEN Sikorski who was killed in an air accident in Gibraltar.

AS for minor technical information both the a/m Garland's gunnery officers mentioned that the Oerlikons mounts on the bridge wings were double barrel model.
On a picture of Garland in Murmansk it might to be true for the both shield plates seems to be more wider fixed.


GD
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jbryce1437
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Re: ORP Garland in PQ16

Unread post by jbryce1437 »

Many thanks GD for the account. I have this colourised version of a Garland photo but not sure when it was taken or whether she was ORP at that time. Also, B turret appears to differ from A turret.

Jim
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HMS Raleigh 1963 , HMS Collingwood 1963 & 67 , HMS Ark Royal 1964-7, HMS Undaunted 1968-71, HMS Victory (Fleet Maintenance Group) 1971-72, HMS Exmouth 1972-74
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Then 28 years in the Fire Brigade
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greendragon
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Joined: Sat Sep 14, 2019 6:16 am

Re: ORP Garland in PQ16

Unread post by greendragon »

Thanks jbryce for replay.
I have made a quick investigation and on the picture ORP Garland sports the 1945 camouflage.
In place of the B gun there is the Hadgehog (the ship was refitted to escort duty in the end of 1943).
ORP Garland name was the same as this destroyer possesed when under HM flag and probably that was the name of the first Royal Navy ship dated XIV Century.
For courtessy reasons the PL Navy did not changed it.
Garland was the only WW2 survivor of the G-class destroyers which all were lost in action.
ORP Garland proved the ruggedness of the British built destroyers as well as the credit to Polish crew, the "black gang" in particular because she served till 1964 the Dutch Navy under the name of Marnix.
Under Polish flag (from the 3rd May 1940)the ship covered 217 000 miles, carried out 84 missions, escorted 87 Atlantic and 35 coastal convoys.
Took part in sinking the U 407 on the Med, probably damaged one more and shot down two aircraft.

Regards

GD
greendragon
Posts: 179
Joined: Sat Sep 14, 2019 6:16 am

Re: ORP Garland in PQ16

Unread post by greendragon »

After receiving damages in defense of the PQ16 Garland some repairs were made in Murmansk.
The fate of Garland was interesting because the ship itself suffered not important damages to hull and to engineering department (one boiler out of commission due to cut high pressure seam pipe) but suffered close to 50%of its deck crew KIA and WIA being raked by bombs fragments which made th ship of little use for escort duties.
Hundreds of holes made by bombs fragments were welded by Russian yard workers.
Repair - or as much as possible without spare parts - of the ship damages to fire control system like director and rangefinder (the personnel on duty there was also wiped out) as well as guns were done with the help of artificiers and other specialists, survivors from already sunk HMS Edinburgh.
Much needed help because most of the Garland gunners were KIA and most importantly the Ordnance Artificier as well.

gd
greendragon
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Re: ORP Garland in PQ16

Unread post by greendragon »

Arctic convoys to Russia so important for the Soviet Army and to the Allies effort to finish off Nazi Germany were seen bit different by the Polish.
It is quite often forgotten (though not in Poland) that on the 17 SEP 1939 poland was invaded by the Soviets from the east. This actuallly sealed fate of Poland for it was impossible to fight with two huge military powers the Nazis and the Soviets.
(my Grandpa watched some skirmishes between the Polish and Red Army - luckily he was latr taken POW by the Germans, otherwise he would porobably ended in Katyn forests).
so no doubt resentments and to many hatedry was pretty high among the Polish, many of them fought against the Germans in the UK.
I have seen one information that convoys to Soviet russia were not they way some Polish would like to go in fight with the Nazis.
On one of the PN ships there was like a petition to the PLN commanders to be excluded from the arctic operations.
It is unknown to me if this appeal was proceeded further .
PLN ships took part in many arctic convoy escorts but in the initial phase of the operation.
Might be the reason was quite different (short legs of the PLN ships?).

A personal disaster struck the Polish navigation officer (name not in my memory, but I will add it later)who was on Garland deck in a introductionary trip in that memorable day of 1942 in convoy with supplies to the Soviets.
Why the introductionary trip?
It was his first trip on the deck of the Polish warship after being recently released from the Soviet gulag being interned in 1939. He was lucky not to be murdered at Katyn, worked in forests and released to England after Sikorski-Stalin agreement .
A fragment cut off his leg - I do not know if he was ale to serve later on.

gd
greendragon
Posts: 179
Joined: Sat Sep 14, 2019 6:16 am

Re: ORP Garland in PQ16

Unread post by greendragon »

My question about double barreled Oerlikons on Garland has been clearly explained.
There is a post action photo of the stb Oerlikon (with the body of killed gunner still lying on the mount) and it was the single barrel weapon.
So why in their memories both the gunnery officers from Garland described the weapon as "double barrel" remain a mystery.

gd
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