ORP Dragon

The cardboard model of the Polish ORP Dragon cruiser was made in 1:200 scale from the GPM publishing house.

The British HMS Dragon cruiser was built with a fight against destroyers in mind. The ship entered service in 1918 at the end of the First World War and it immediately turned out that her maximum speed was 29 knots, which was too low for her main task. The enemy destroyers could swim at speeds in excess of 30 knots.

After entering the service, the Dragon still took part in the First World War, working patrol duty in the North Sea.

In the interwar period, she swam on various waters. The cruiser also took part in a trip around the world in the company of other ships.

During the outbreak of World War II, she was in the Home Fleet, whose task was to defend British territorial waters.

In 1943, HMS Dragon was transferred to the Polish Navy and changed the name to ORP Dragon. She was manned by a Polish crew.

The Normandy landing operation began on June 6, 1944. The Dragon took part in it from the very beginning, firing at enemy's coastal batteries and enemy groupings. On July 8, one month after the start of the invasion, she was hit by a live torpedo. 37 Polish sailors were killed. The torpedo operator survived and was taken prisoner.

The ship did not sink, but the damage caused by the torpedo explosion was so great that the renovation became unprofitable. It was decided she will be served as an artificial breakwater. For this purpose, the ship was towed and sunk in the area of the temporary harbor being built by the Allies near the city of Caen.

The armament of the cruiser has changed over the years. State of armament in 1944:

• Five 152 mm (5.98 in) guns,
• Two 102 mm (4.02 in) guns in a 1 x 2 system,
• 8 anti-aircraft 40 mm (1.57 in) "pom-pom" guns in a 4 x 2 system,
• 12 anti-aircraft Oerlikon 20 mm guns, 4 single and 8 in a 2 x 4 system,
• A depth charge launcher.

Some technical data:

• Propulsion: 2 steam turbines with a total power of 40,000 hp (29,420 kW), driving 2 screw propellers,
• Max speed: 29 kn (53.7 km/h, 33.37 mph),
• Length: 146.5 m (480.6 ft),
• Width: 14.02 m (46 ft),
• Draft: 4.41 m (14.47 ft),
• Crew: 492,
• Deck armor: 25 cm (9.84 in),
• Side armor: od 38 do 76 cm (14.96-29.92 in).

Sources:

• https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/ORP_Dragon

12 Jan 2020