Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1365706
Submarines Submarines Squadron (Dywizjon Okrętów Podwodnych - dOP) of the 3rd Warships Flotilla (3 Flotylla Okrętów, 3 FO), is the unit that gathers together all of the Polish Navy's submarines. Un- fortunately, the name is the only thing that has been left here. The Squadron will only have a single Kilo-class vessel at its dis- posal (ORP Orzeł) soon. It was launched in 1985, in Riga, with commissioning happening a year later. It is the oldest Kilo-class submarine in service now. The above fact and the fact that the vessel is no longer main- tained by its OEM make it difficult to consider the ORP Orzeł as a valuable asset of full capability. Problems tied to mainte- nance began as Poland reoriented its politics to the West. For many years, the Navy has been able to overcome them. The situation was getting more and more convoluted as time went by, with the culmination point emerging during the last decade. To go through repairs, the vessel was pulled out of operation- al use in 2013. The overhaul was to involve the replacement of the batteries, overhaul of the sensors, and repairs of the ballast tanks. The first matter was dealt with until the year 2015. Small- er issues were being resolved for another year. Overhaul running so long was caused by technical issues and by the situation of the SMW facility that ultimately found itself bankrupt. All of the work came to an end in 2016. However, as Orzeł was leaving the dock, the hull was damaged. This meant that more work needed to be done, to rectify the damage. Orzeł had no luck later on. On September 27th, 2017, as the batteries were being charged, a fire appeared onboard, damaging some of the systems. Further damage was caused by the rescue operation itself. This [sic!] created a necessity to repair the submarine once again. Leaving the incidents involving ORP Orzeł aside, the work car- NAVY