Polish Destroyer Which Spared Towns Remembered
EVENTS HAVE taken place on the Isle of Wight marking the 75th anniversary of the destructive blitz on the island on 4 May 1942. Seventy people were killed in the raids, in which 160 Luftwaffe aircraft participated, focusing on ship-building facilities in Cowes and East Cowes. However, the towns and the wider island were spared from what may have been a much more destructive raid.
A Polish destroyer, ORP Błyskawica, was moored in the docks at Cowes undergoing an emergency refit. A German reconnaissance flight indicated to the ship’s captain, Wojciech Francki, a raid might be on the way, and he ensured his warship had stocks of ammunition on board. Sure enough, German aircraft attacked in two waves on the night of 4/5 May.
Błyskawica, launched in 1936, was one the best-armed destroyers of the conflict – one of a few ships fast enough to escort the RMS Queen Mary. During the raid, she deployed a smokescreen to obscure Cowes and sailed just outside the harbour, lending her eight dualpurpose 4in guns and her array of lighter guns to the defence of the island.
This forced aircraft to remain at a higher altitude, reducing their accuracy. Her crew also assisted in rescue efforts.
