ORP Sokół Submarine – The “Terrible Twins”

On January 19, 1941, the Polish Navy welcomed into its fleet the submarine ORP Sokół (Falcon). Thus began the career of one of “the Terrible Twins.”

ORP Sokół was a brand-new British U-class submarine that was leased to the Polish Navy by the Royal Navy for the duration of WWII, along with its sister sub, ORP Dzik (Wild Boar). The designation “ORP” is an abbreviation of Okręt Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, “Warship of the Republic of Poland.”

The Polish banner was raised for the first time over ORP Sokół under the command of Commander Borys Karnicki. As described by Michael Peszke in his book Poland’s Navy: 1918–1945, the Poles and the British went out of their way to make this a big publicity occasion.

As the war progressed, ORP Sokół and ORP Dzik racked up such an outstanding record in sinking enemy ships in the Mediterranean, that the British dubbed them “the Terrible Twins.”

In November 1941, after Sokół had already begun its illustrious string of victories, Polish Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief General Władysław Sikorski presented the sub with a Jolly Roger flag, on which its exploits would thereafter be recorded.

Altogether, during her wartime service Sokół sank or damaged 19 enemy vessels of about 55,000 tons in total. All of the commanding officers of the boat—Lieutenant Commander Karnicki, Lieutenant Commander Koziołkowski and Captain Bernas—were awarded the Virtuti Militari. The full patrol records of the ORP Sokół are stored at the National Record Office, Kew, England.