ORP "Kujawiak" - the Polish escort destroyer (1942 appearance)

The escort destroyer ORP "Kujawiak" was transferred by the Royal Navy to the Polish Navy on 30 May 1941, together with the ship of the same type ORP "Krakowiak". It belonged to a series of 34 ships, called the "Hunt II" class. Ships of this type, designed even before the start of the war, were mainly intended for escort tasks - covering convoys, fighting enemy submarines and aviation. They differed from the classic British destroyers in that, they did not have torpedo armament and were smaller. However, the number and quality of their anti-submarine and anti-aircraft defenses were greater. For this reason, they were a very excellent and formidable weapon for the Allies in the fight against German U-Boats during the Battle of the Atlantic. After the completion of building, but before leaving the shipyard, the name of the British destroyer HMS "Oakley" was changed to ORP "Kujawiak". After the necessary crew training period, the ship was sent to convoy duty in the coastal zone of the English Channel. Until the end of 1941, "Kujaviak" escorted convoys around the British Isles, repeatedly clashing with German Luftwaffe forces. The beginning of 1942 - the performance of further convoy tasks. In March - May 1942, the ship was repaired in Plymouth. In early June, "Kujaviak" was included in the composition of the convoy, which was directed to the Mediterranean Sea within the framework of Operation "Harpoon". When the convoyed cargo ships reached Malta, the escort ships remained in the Mediterranean Sea and performed patrol tasks there and covered Malta from enemy attacks. On the night of June 15, the patrolling destroyer HMS "Badsworth" unexpectedly entered a minefield. Since only ORP "Kujaviak" was nearby, the Polish ship immediately went to help the badly damaged ship. But the Polish ship suffered the same fate, it also ran aground on a mine and it severely damaged the hull in the area of the second gun turret. The destroyer sinks very quickly. It sank under water for 1 hour and 20 minutes, 13 of its crew members died with the ship, the rest were rescued by British ships. During its short service, ORP "Kujawiak" sailed 32,000 nautical miles, performed 11 patrol missions, repelled air attacks 50 times, escorted 4 Allied and 69 coastal zone convoys. During these actions, 1 cargo ship was sunked, 1 aircraft was shot down (4 other aircraft were probably shot down), participated in 5 major operations, clashed with U-boats twice and destroyed 16 mines.

A not very large model of a large-scale ship, the entire architecture and construction of which does not look very complicated. Although the model is intended for intermediate and experienced modelers, it can be built by less experienced modelers,worked under the supervision of a more experienced colleague. There are no text instructions, the graphic instructions are not very extensive, but quite detailed. There are a number of colors reserves, but not many gray colors.