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{{Short description|1939 World War II battle}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Battle of Danzig Bay
| image             = [[File:ORP Gryf wrak rufa 1.jpg|250px|]]
| caption           = Wreck of [[ORP Gryf (1936)|ORP ''Gryf'']]
| partof            = [[Invasion of Poland (1939)|Invasion of Poland]]
| date              = 1 September 1939
| place             = [[Danzig Bay]], [[Baltic Sea]]
| result            = German victory
*Cancellation of Operation ''Rurka''
| combatant1        = {{flagcountry|Nazi Germany}}
| combatant2        = {{flagcountry|Second Polish Republic}}
| commander1        = ''Unknown''
| commander2        = [[Stefan de Walden]] <br/>[[Stefan Kwiatkowski]]{{KIA}}<br/>[[Viktor Lomidze]]
| strength1         = 33 [[Junkers Ju 87|Junkers Ju 87B]]
| strength2         = 1 destroyer ORP Wicher<br>1 minelayer ORP Gryf<br>5 minesweepers<br>2 gunboats<br>AA units at [[Hel Peninsula]]
| casualties1       = 7–10 aircraft destroyed or damaged
| casualties2       = 52 killed and wounded<br>1 minelayer and 1 minesweeper damaged
| map_type          = Poland#Baltic Sea
| map_relief        = y
| map_size          = 
| map_marksize      = 
| map_caption       = 
| map_label         = Hel Peninsula
}}
__NOTOC__
{{Campaignbox Polish September Campaign}}
The '''Battle of Danzig Bay''' ({{langx|pl|bitwa w Zatoce Gdańskiej}}) took place on 1 September 1939, at the beginning of the [[Invasion of Poland (1939)|invasion of Poland]], when [[Polish Navy]] warships were attacked by German [[Luftwaffe]] [[aircraft]] in [[Gdańsk Bay]] (then [[Danzig Bay]]). It was the first naval-air battle of [[World War II]].<ref name= DGW /><ref name= VOO/>

== Background ==
The [[Polish Navy]] of the [[Second Polish Republic]] (1919–39) was prepared mostly as means of supporting naval communications with France in case of a war with the [[Soviet Union]]. After it became apparent that the aggressor would be Germany, and the entrance to the [[Baltic Sea]] would be blocked, three out of the four Polish modern [[destroyer]]s were withdrawn from the Baltic Sea to Great Britain in what was called [[Operation Peking]]. The remaining forces, consisting of one large minelayer, one destroyer, five submarines and smaller vessels were to execute two major naval operations, both aimed at disrupting the German naval movement in the area of the [[Danzig Bay]] and transit movement between Germany and [[East Prussia]]. All submarines were dispatched for their operational zones in the southern Baltic to take part in the  [[Worek Plan]], an attempt to defend the Polish coast against possible German landings.

== Prelude ==
All the remaining surface vessels were to be dispatched from the naval base in [[Gdynia]] to [[Hel Peninsula]], from where they were to start the so-called Operation ''Rurka''. The plan was to lay a [[naval mine]] barrier between Hel Peninsula and Danzig to prevent any enemy ship from entering the area.

At dusk ten Polish warships left Gdynia for [[Hel, Poland|Hel]], located on the other side of the bay. There, the ships were to start the minelaying operation. They were as follows: large minelayer {{ORP|Gryf|1936|2}}, minelaying [[Minesweeper (ship)|minesweepers]] {{ORP|Jaskółka||2}}, {{ORP|Czapla||2}}, {{ORP|Żuraw||2}}, {{ORP|Czajka||2}}, {{ORP|Rybitwa||2}} and {{ORP|Mewa|1935|2}} and [[gunboat]]s {{ORP|Komendant Piłsudski||2}} and [[ORP General Haller|''Generał Haller'']]. The [[destroyer]] {{ORP|Wicher|1928|6}} had left for its position earlier that day and did not partake in the battle.<ref name= VOO>{{cite book| last = OÕHara| first = Vincent | title = The German Fleet at War, 1939-1945| publisher = Naval Institute Press| edition = reprint| date = 2013| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=GkbXBZttEsUC| isbn = 9781612513973 }}</ref>

That afternoon a German reconnaissance aircraft spotted ''Gryf''. Within half an hour a German airstrike was organized and launched.<ref name= DGW>Williamson, D. G. [https://books.google.com/books?id=wtg8a-0ggkEC&q=subject%3A%22History+%2F+Military+%2F+World+War+II%22+poland Poland Betrayed: The Nazi-Soviet Invasions of 1939] p. 67-68</ref>

== Battle ==
[[Image:ORP Gryf.jpg|thumb|300px|Polish minelayer [[ORP Gryf (1936)|ORP Gryf]]]]
While traversing Danzig Bay, the flotilla was surprised by a group of 33 German warplanes, mostly [[Junkers Ju 87B]] Stuka [[dive bomber]]s. The German aircraft divided themselves into two groups and attacked. The Polish ships zig-zagged wildly to avoid being hit. Concentrated AA fire forced the planes to bomb from a higher altitude.<ref name= DGW /> The air raid was mostly unsuccessful and the Polish vessels suffered only minor losses. The backbone of the Polish flotilla, ORP ''Gryf'' with over 300 [[naval mine]]s on board, remained unharmed.

However, soon after the first air raid was repelled, the German bombers returned, around 18:00. There were no direct hits, but two Polish [[minelayer]]s suffered damage from near misses and machine gun fire, ORP ''Gryf'' and [[ORP Mewa (1935)|ORP ''Mewa'']].<ref name= haar>Haar, Geirr H. [https://books.google.com/books?id=v8A7BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA52 The Gathering Storm] 47.</ref> A near miss disabled ''Mewa'', killing or wounding her 22 crewmen, so that she had to be taken in tow by [[ORP Rybitwa|ORP ''Rybitwa'']]. The commanding officer of ORP ''Gryf'', Cmdr. [[Stefan Kwiatkowski]], was killed by German machine gun fire, 29 of his men were wounded, and his ship's rudder was jammed. ''Gryf''{{'}}s executive officer, Lt. Cmdr. [[Wiktor Łomidze]] assumed command. Fearing that her cargo of 300 mines was a liability, he ordered the munitions be thrown overboard.<ref name= haar/>

== Aftermath ==
[[File:ORP Gryf wrak rufa.jpg|thumb|300px|Sunken [[ORP Gryf (1936)|ORP Gryf]]]]
After the air raids, the Polish flotilla arrived at Hel. However, since ORP ''Gryf'' had abandoned all of its mines and was damaged, Operation Rurka had to be called off. [[ORP Wicher (1928)|ORP ''Wicher'']], did not receive the orders calling off the operation and went straight to the pre-designed zone of operations to cover the minelayers. At night, ''Wicher'', commanded by Lt. Cdr. [[Stefan de Walden]], spotted two German destroyers, and later a ship misidentified as a light cruiser, but did not attack, not wanting to compromise the operation.

After return to Hel Peninsula, ''Wicher'' and ''Gryf'' were stripped of most of equipment and served as anti-aircraft platforms in the Hel naval base.

== See also ==
* [[Polish Navy]]
* [[Luftwaffe]]
* [[Worek Plan]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
{{more footnotes|date=September 2014}}
*{{in lang|pl}} Jerzy Pertek, ''Wielkie dni małej floty'', Poznań, 1976.

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Battle of Gdańsk Bay}}

{{Gdańsk}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danzig Bay, battle of}}
[[Category:Battles of the Invasion of Poland]]
[[Category:Baltic Sea operations of World War II]]
[[Category:Naval battles of World War II involving Germany]]
[[Category:Naval battles of World War II involving Poland]]
[[Category:Danzig in World War II]]
[[Category:September 1939 in Europe]]

[[pl:Obrona Wybrzeża w kampanii wrześniowej 1939#Działania na morzu]]