ORP Błyskawica

WWII destroyer moored at Southern Pier — the oldest preserved destroyer in the world

Address Aleja Jana Pawła II

ORP Błyskawica ("Lightning") is the older of Gdynia's two museum ships — a 114-metre Grom-class destroyer launched in 1936, with a six-year war record under the Polish Navy in exile, and the oldest preserved destroyer anywhere in the world. She has been moored as a museum at the Southern Pier since 1976.

The visit takes you below decks through the engine room, the crew quarters, the captain's cabin, and the operations rooms; many of the gun emplacements and bridge equipment are original. Labels in Polish and English. Allow 90 minutes. Combined tickets are available with the Dar Pomorza next door.

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A story
Błyskawica fled Gdynia in August 1939, days before the German invasion, and spent the war operating with the Royal Navy from British ports. She is credited with shooting down a German bomber over Cowes during the night raid of 4–5 May 1942 — for which the town later gave her crew the Freedom of Cowes. She is the only Polish ship to hold Poland's highest military decoration, the Virtuti Militari.

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