Diving on the wreck site
One of the shallower wrecks in the Gdańsk Bay, offering an attractive dive for any underwater enthusiast, from Open Water Divers to advanced divers who aim to practice wreck procedures. The maximum depth at the bottom is 21 meters, with the deck located at a depth of a couple of meters. Before sinking, the 42-meter-long vessel was cleaned of elements that could be environmentally dangerous, including engines and munitions.
Unfortunately, a few years ago, the slightly tilted to the left side wreck was damaged, with the superstructure of the wreck torn off.
The site remains attractive, free of nets and currents.
Worth noting are the galleries with distinct shapes and open hatches in the midsection of the ship.
Story
This wooden minesweeper of American construction was launched in 1943, and given to the British Navy as BYMS-2211. In 1947, it was decommissioned and returned to the US Navy. The ship was then bought by the Polish Ministry of Marine Economy and Inland Navigation, and in 1948 it hoisted a Polish flag under the name "Delfin". The vessel participated in minesweeping operations along the shipping route from Szczecin to Sweden, at the entrance to the port of Kołobrzeg, and in the Gdańsk port.
Together with its sister ships “Foka” and “Mors,” it served in the 4th Minesweeper Flotilla. The ship's equipment included a set of three minesweeping tools, two machine guns, and from the early 1950s, an 85 mm cannon. In 1957, ORP Delfin was decommissioned and sunk as a training target for military aviation. The ship had a structure similar to “Calypso” the famous research vessel used by Jacques Cousteau.
Technical Specifications
According to Marek Soroka (Polish Navy Ships 1945-1980, Maritime Publishing, Gdańsk 1986):
displacement - 277 tons;
top speed - 12.6 knots; travel speed - 9.6 knots;
armaments - 1 x 85 mm gun, 4 Colt system (water-cooled) 12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine guns (2xII);
minesweeping equipment - acoustic sweeper type SA-IV, TEM-VI electromagnetic sweeper, OROPES contact sweeper;
propulsion - 2 GMC Diesel engines with a total power of 735 kW (1000 HP), 2 propellers;
crew - 42 people.
Text by: Bartosz Słaboń
Translation: Szymon Rydzewski
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