ORP Orzeł — Grudziński and the threat of internment

The ORP Orzeł ("Eagle") is one of the 2 most modern submarines in the Polish Navy, built in the Netherlands and commissioned in February 1939 — 1,100 tons, 12 torpedo tubes, a range of 7,000 nautical miles. When war breaks out, she is patrolling the Baltic under the command of Lieutenant Commander Henryk Kłoczkowski.

On 4 September, Kłoczkowski falls ill — perhaps malingering; the debate is unsettled. On 14 September, he steers for Tallinn (Estonia, neutral) to be put ashore at the hospital. The Orzeł enters Tallinn harbour at night. Under international law, a belligerent may call at a neutral port for 24 hours. But on the morning of 15 September, the Estonian authorities — under German diplomatic pressure — decide to intern the vessel: disarmament has begun, the charts are removed, cables are made fast to the hull.

The second-in-command, Jan Grudziński, 32, takes effective command. He knows 2 things: Warsaw will fall within days; and if the Orzeł stays in Tallinn, she will be seized by either the Soviets (who will impose a protectorate on Estonia a few weeks later) or the Germans. The crew has no charts for the Baltic or for the Sound.