Commander at the bottom

44
Commander at the bottom
Captain of the third rank Henryk Klochkovsky seated second from the left among the personnel of the Polish Navy on the occasion of the celebration of Christmas, 1938.

The end of the article Baltic odyssey "Eagle".

The myth of the great patriot


Before the war Henryk Kloczkowski was considered one of the best Polish submariners, also thanks to his experience gained while serving in Russian navy in the First World War. Therefore, his true and abhorrent behavior during the Second World War was shrouded in silence for ideological and patriotic reasons.



"A man of strict rules, a great patriot",

those who appointed Klochkovsky as commander of the flagship of the Polish submarine fleet spoke about him.

But not only these qualities influenced his career advancement - whether in Russia, Poland or France, Klochkovsky was always distinguished by his academic success. He quickly became an expert in underwater weapons, rationalizer, good organizer and commander of the submarine "Zhbik" ("Wild Cat"). At the age of 34, he became the youngest captain of the third rank (Polish - Second Lieutenant Commander) in the Polish Navy.

The first signals that Henryk Klochkovsky did not properly treat his official duties appeared in the summer of 1938, even during the work of the selection committee in Holland. There Klochkovsky got involved in an affair with a prostitute. This, of course, caused a scandal, but this was not the most significant change in the behavior of the "commander".

In Holland, Klochkovsky suddenly became an ardent admirer of Adolf Hitler. If earlier he was not noticed in an interest in politics, now he began to openly praise the policy of the Nazis and impose his opinion on his colleagues. But the authorities did not seem to notice the oddities in Klochkovsky's behavior.

It only got worse over time. And finally, on the eve of the outbreak of the war - despite the extremely tense situation between Germany and Poland, the commander went ashore, giving the crew members a dismissal. As a result, when the Germans attacked Poland, he was not on the ship, but arrived at the port on September 1 at 6:30 am, when the submarines Lynx, Semp, Wilk and Zhbik had long gone to sea.

The situation did not improve even after the "Ozel" under his command went to fight the Kriegsmarine. On the contrary, subsequent reports of German successes became increasingly depressing. Already on the second day of the war, after the meeting between the Ozhel and Vilka at sea, the commander of the latter (Lieutenant-Commander Boguslav Kravchik) aptly noted that the moral side of "Kloch" was none.

The commander of the "Ozhel" was depressed and spoke with irritation about the senselessness of the war, that is, clearly showed panic fear
... From the very beginning of hostilities, the Polish command had the most problems with communication with the Ozhel. This submarine did not report on itself in due time and did not indicate its position.

The whole day on September 3, the "Ozhel" spent under water at a depth of about 28 meters. Despite this, Luftwaffe aircraft tracked her down and bombarded her. They were joined by the ships of the Kriegsmarine. The attacks were repeated several times, but the submarine escaped hits.

Traitor Klochkovsky


The turning point was the day of September 4, when the "Ozhela" attacked a lone German plane. Despite an immediate dive to a depth of 70 m, one of the depth charges exploded in close proximity to the ship. The submarine escaped with only minor damage, which cannot be said about its commander.

The raid had a negative impact on his morale. Klochkovsky informed his officers that he intends to change the patrol area and move north to the Gotland area. He believed that the sector assigned to him was too small (which was just the truth), and numerous attacks from the sea and from the air made it impossible to conduct any military operation (which was already an obvious lie).

Without notifying the command, at 20:20 he made an entry in the ship's log of his decision. Thus, he withdrew 20% of the Polish submarine from the battle, which put the rest of the submarines in greater danger and negatively affected the morale of their crews.

In short, Klochkovsky fled from the battlefield to a safe area of ​​Gotland, where the enemy did not attack, but was almost not present, so there was no way to threaten him. Moreover, the Polish command was not notified of the movement of the "Ozhel".

In their testimony, already in Great Britain, the ship's officers pointed out other oddities of the "Commander's" behavior. He could, for example, smoke cigarettes underwater, degrading the already modest supply of air in an enclosed space. Didn't keep the ship log properly. The commission of inquiry subsequently found that his notes and reports were untrue. During meetings, he not only questioned the opinions of his subordinates, but also tried to ridicule them.

But the main thing was that since September 2, Klochkovsky had been complaining to everyone about some vague ailments. Allegedly, he poisoned himself with something else before the start of the war, in the officers' mess in Oksyva. The ship's doctor was unable to determine what the commander was ill with.

Officially, Klochkovsky did not eat anything, only drank tea. But later, the crew members claimed that they saw how some sailors secretly carried food to his cabin. While recharging the batteries, when the ship was in a flood position, Klochkovsky went out on deck, muttering something inarticulate, and sat down in the conning tower. If at this time the submarine was attacked by the enemy, a quick dive would be impossible.

The investigation into the Klochkovsky case did not answer the question of whether he was really sick or simply cowardly. However, in any case, the commander had to surrender the command to his deputy, which Klochkovsky did not.

The change of the district did not have a calming effect on Klochkovsky's nerves. Until September 7 "Ozhel" "patrolled" the waters near Gotland. Then he received an order to move closer to the German naval base Pillau. The "Commander" accepted the order, but was in no hurry to carry it out. At least there is no entry on this topic in the ship's log. But there is a record that the ship left the danger zone due to the poor health of the captain.

The crew began to suspect that their commander was evading combat. Despite Klochkovsky's assurances of readiness to take battle, the Polish sailors realized that they were in an area where warships and merchant ships of the enemy did not visit. When a depressed mood from inaction and bad News from the war, suddenly, on September 12, "Ozhel" spotted a German tanker passing in the vicinity. Thirsty sailors were seized by euphoria, which their commander immediately extinguished, saying that the tanker was going empty.

The opinion spread among the crew that, in fact, their commander was in hysterics, and he was only looking for an excuse to go ashore. But Klochkovsky did not at all strive to break through to his native shores. And after four days of deliberation, he finally decided to go to safe harbor. The officers insisted that Kloch leave the submarine in a rowboat off the coast of Gotland. But his choice fell on distant Tallinn, which Klochkovsky knew. And where did he have acquaintances since the days of service in the Russian Navy.

Just a glance at the map raises many questions about the motives of the "commander". The Ozel was close to neutral Sweden. And Swedish ports were considered for the temporary entry of Polish ships there. As for Finland, Estonia and Latvia, their ports were considered only if absolutely necessary - these countries had allied treaties with Germany. And there was a great danger that the Polish ships would be handed over to the Germans.

But Klochkovsky referred to the acquaintances that he made under the tsar and supported during numerous visits during the interwar period. He considered Tallinn to be the best place for compressor repairs and other minor damage.

It is still not entirely clear who brought "Ozhel" to Tallinn: Klochkovsky or Grudzinsky. But what happened on the raid was a curiosity for some, and a scandal for others. Klochkovsky, still ill and barely dragging his feet, suddenly recovered and almost ran across the deck, giving orders. Then, on September 14, the Ozhel entered the port, where it was quickly surrounded by armed Estonian sailors, and the gunboat Laine approached the side.

The commander, without delay, went ashore to meet with the Estonian officer. What they were talking about is unknown. But there is no doubt that their long negotiations determined the further fate of the Polish "Commander".

Going ashore, Klochkovsky took with him suitcases, a typewriter and a hunting rifle. He found a long-awaited refuge in a Tallinn hospital. It became clear to the sailors that their commander had abandoned them and left them at the mercy of the Estonians. They were able to carry out their daring escape and breakthrough to Great Britain thanks to the fact that Grudzinsky was at his best.

Of course, the question of Klochkovsky's behavior was widely discussed among Polish officers and sailors, not only from Ozhel and Wilka, since the behavior of the “Commander” greatly undermined the morale of the Polish crews.

Longest in the betrayal of Klochkovsky,

"A man of strict rules, a great patriot",

the officer of the underwater weapon "Wilka", Lieutenant Boleslav Romanovsky refused to believe. Klochkovsky was a big disappointment for his former commander and patron, Captain First Rank Eugeniusz Plawsky.

In Britain, submarine crew members drew up detailed testimonies describing the circumstances of their ship's internment in Tallinn and the behavior of their commander, who was accused of cowardice and treason.

Meanwhile, Klochkovsky remained in Estonia. He stayed in the hospital for only 3 days, which indicates that he did not suffer from any serious illness. Then he settled in Tartu, where he discharged his family.

After the annexation of Estonia to the USSR, Klochkovsky was arrested and sent to a camp for Polish prisoners of war in Kozelsk. There he again changed his political views: he became an ardent admirer of the Soviet system and the Soviet-Polish union. But this did not help him - Klochkovsky remained in Kozelsk until July 1941, when he was released under the Polish-Soviet Sikorsky-Maisky agreement.

After his release, Klochkovsky joined the Polish army of General Anders, left the USSR with it and appeared in London.

Guilty of desertion


There he was put under the tribunal from the spot. The tribunal found Klochkovsky guilty of desertion in the face of the enemy and sentenced him to demotion to rank and file and expulsion from the ranks of the Polish Navy.

Additionally, sailor Klochkovsky was sentenced to four years in prison after the end of hostilities - this part of the sentence was never carried out.

It was a very lenient sentence. For cowardice in the face of the enemy, misinformation of the higher command, desertion from the battlefield and abandonment of the ship and its crew, Klochkovsky was entitled to the gallows. But the death penalty could not be based solely on the testimony of deceased witnesses.

However, his name does not deserve the legend of the Ozhel commander,

"Landed for health reasons."

It is worth noting here that the trial of Klochkovsky was superficial and full of procedural violations.

The panel of judges was most interested in the question of whether Klochkovsky was a Soviet agent. Soviet intelligence allegedly could have recruited him during the mentioned episode with a prostitute in Holland. For some reason, it did not occur to the judges that Holland was then under the close supervision of the Abwehr, who could well have recruited a Polish officer caught in a compromising act.

Klochkovsky was not remembered for his pro-Nazi views, but denunciations of his pro-Soviet sympathies were filed to the case. Finally, during the trial, he was accused of deliberately leaving Tallinn (closer to the Soviet border), not noticing that such a decision removed a valuable unit of the navy from hostilities against Germany.

After the trial, Klochkovsky sailed on American merchant ships in Atlantic convoys. And after the war he settled in the United States, where he worked at shipyards. In particular, his experience in the submarine business was useful to him while working in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, at a shipyard that built submarines for the US Navy. At that time, he was periodically checked by the US intelligence services. And, it is unlikely that (if they had found at least some evidence of cooperation between Klochkovsky and the USSR) they would have allowed him to stay in a job that requires complete secrecy and loyalty.

The traitor Klochkovsky died in the United States in 1962.

His case was the biggest shame for the Polish Navy during the Second World War.

It is not surprising that at the time when the "Ozhel" was elevated to the rank of a symbol of national heroism, the shameful story her commander was hiding.

This is evidenced by the feature film of the submarine "Ozhel", filmed in Poland in 1958. There, the personality of the first commander of the valiant submarine is depicted (contrary to the facts) very nicely.

(In preparing the text, materials from the field courts of the former Polish Armed Forces were used, kindly provided by the General Sikorski Institute in London, as well as documents from the personal archives of captains Eugeniusz Plawski, Boris Karnicki and Boleslav Romanovsky, kindly provided by their family members).
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44 comments
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  1. +6
    4 March 2021 18: 39
    Shameful death, shameful service!
    1. +12
      4 March 2021 19: 04
      Such behavior among Soviet submarine commanders is even impossible to imagine. Such officers are a disgrace to the fleet.
  2. +3
    4 March 2021 18: 47
    A strange story, why he left for England, could stay in the USSR, join the PUWP, become an admiral, perhaps stress, perhaps the understanding that Poland is doomed, their government fled from Warsaw and there was nothing to live well in London.
  3. +3
    4 March 2021 19: 36
    I see nothing surprising in the behavior of this Pole.
  4. +4
    4 March 2021 20: 37
    Yeah ... Scoundrel and Coward! Here are the "glorious" traditions of the Polish fleet, actually not surprised. negative
  5. +8
    4 March 2021 20: 43
    there is nothing surprising in the fact that in Poland the film was made in 1958, the traitor was heroized. The times were then already Khrushchev's. And it was then the general tendency of the communist parties of the entire Warsaw Pact to keep silent about the traitors. Say, among the countries whose people chose the communist path, there could not be so many traitors. So . In the USSR, under Khrushchev, they began to remain silent about the atrocities of the forest brothers in the Baltic states and about the atrocities of the Baderists in Ukraine, and Khrushchev released those traitors who had been planted there by Stalin from the camps. And the traitors to the policemen who served Hitler and the traitor Vlasov and the traitors of the Vlasov army under Khrushchev seemed to have been forgotten. How, how could there be so many traitors among the Soviet people! It could, and still as it could. Well, the Poles took a similar path during communist rule. They made heroes of their traitor - the submariner.
    This is thanks to the authority of the Stalinist USSR, the West betrayed the USSR under Stalin thousands of traitors and traitors to the Motherland. Under Khrushchev, such as Vlasov would have lived to old age anywhere in the USA or in England, and for many decades would have mocked the feat and self-sacrifice of Soviet people in the Second World War and the Great Victory. So any articles about any traitors in any state are very necessary and important to us. The genetics of betrayal must be studied. So that we remember what abominations these are ... and so that we remember that the Nazis did not bring policemen to the USSR with them. They found them here in the ranks of the fifth column, which hated everything Russian and everything Soviet.
  6. +2
    4 March 2021 20: 46
    one of the best Polish submariners, also thanks to his experience gained while serving in the Russian fleet in the First World War.

    Question to the author: HOW? How could a 14-year-old jerk who entered the Naval Cadet Corps in 1916 and was thrown out of there a year later because of the revolution, could gain some experience there, and even serve in the Russian Navy during WWI ?? Is it such a patriotic reflection - to pedal a "Russian trace" in the biography of this pepper?
    1. +3
      5 March 2021 12: 18
      That's right, I noticed it too, but this is how his former colleagues spoke about him, in particular, Captain Eugeniusz Plavsky. in addition, two years of military service - mind you, two years, 1916 and 1917, if anyone does not know, the Bolsheviks did not immediately come to power, there was still a provisional government before them - it was probably enough for a country without submarines, without a fleet, without naval traditions to become a specialist. in the end, at the same time, the young Arkady Gaidar was in command of the regiment.
      1. +3
        5 March 2021 14: 31
        A. Gaidar - he commanded not a linear infantry or cavalry regiment, but a railway guard that was part of the ChON troops (this is not a personnel unit, not a full force, in fact, something like the Amerov National Guard).
        1. +3
          5 March 2021 17: 44
          not by rail, but by rail:

          In 1918 (at the age of 14) he was admitted to the Communist Party (RCP (b)) as a candidate. At the end of December 1918 he was enlisted in the Red Army, served as an adjutant to the chief of defense and security of all railways of the Republic, E. I. Efimov. Since March 1919, he studied at 7 Moscow infantry courses for training the command staff of the Red Army, after disbandment - at 6 Kiev command courses named after Podvoisky. In May-June, as part of a combined company of cadets of a special-purpose combat detachment, he participated in the suppression of kulak revolts. He was elected chairman of the party cell of the RCP (b) courses. On August 23 he graduated from the courses (certificate No. 4377). In August-September he was the commander of the 6th company of the 2nd regiment of the Special Iron Brigade of cadets. In 1920, in March, he became the commander of the 4th company of the 303rd regiment of the 37th Kuban division. In October 1920, he was sent to Moscow for command staff courses. In the winter he studied at the courses "Shot", in February 1921 he graduated ahead of schedule from the Higher Rifle School on the detachment of regiment commanders, and in March 1921 he took command of the 23rd reserve rifle regiment of the 2nd reserve rifle brigade of the Oryol military district in Voronezh. Then he was appointed battalion commander at the front. Further, he is the commander of the 58th separate regiment. He took part in battles on different fronts of the Civil War, was wounded, contused. (googled in Yandex)

          at the time, such biographies were not unusual.
  7. -3
    4 March 2021 21: 58
    Why is the author so diligently rewashing the pants of this indistinct loser? What is this strawberry for? To rub the worthlessness of Poles with toothless gums? What does it have to do with it naval history, the expert of which the author means himself?
    If you like - there is Karnitsky with his "Sokul" - write, damn it, about him, if you want to intrigue with the tonnage subscripts a'la "hailey likely sunk", torpedo squint and other colorful details such as "Jolly Roger", which he personally handed over to the boat Sikorsky is at least naval history, not serial soap.
    1. -2
      5 March 2021 01: 38
      I completely agree with you. After reading the first article, I believed that it would continue to focus on the boat as a ship that fought the Nazis and died in this war, but ... the author suddenly, for some reason, "washes the pants of this vague loser."
      The sense of presenting all this is also "indistinct" - why ?. negative
      1. -1
        5 March 2021 05: 55
        Hamsters - "collective farmers" went to "collective work" laughing
        with a song -
        Get up, branded with a curse
        The world of anonymous hamsters!
        Our minus is boiling indignant
        And ready to lead a mortal battle.
        we will destroy the "History" section to the ground, and then
        we will build our own section
        Who was nothing will become everything
        1. -4
          5 March 2021 05: 59
          Great, Dima! good Rodents now have their own hymn. laughing

          1. -3
            5 March 2021 06: 35
            Now the rodents have their own anthem

            What's the point, Kostya?
            Who was nothing - nothing and will remain. After all, they only stupidly anonymously minus the whole herd at the behest of the leader, and they themselves cannot communicate anything worthwhile. Whether to argue to be afraid, or whether they do not own the topic, or simply do not care
            And the section "History" itself is interesting to me not only by the articles themselves, but also by the comments to them - where do you get a lot of previously unknown. I have never been offended if they correct me, or point out a mistake, but you will not get a single comment or objection from them. Only cons. And I strongly doubt that if they straddle the section, they will have something worthwhile. They can only kill him.
            1. -4
              5 March 2021 07: 15
              ... They can only kill him.


              So they can't do anything else.
    2. +6
      5 March 2021 06: 36
      Quote: Paragraph Epitafievich Y.
      this is at least a naval story, not a serial soap.

      And the desertion of a ship commander with an escape in a foreign port is NOT the history of the ship? Vaughn what ...
      1. 0
        5 March 2021 07: 18
        This is the story of a former commander. And the boat fought with another commander and died with the entire crew, this is the history of the boat. However, to each his own, who is looking for a real story, and who collects dirty footcloths. "Look what ..."
        1. +1
          5 March 2021 12: 41
          Quote: Sea Cat
          And the boat fought with another commander and died with the entire crew, this is the history of the boat.

          Good approach, right .. aha ..
          SUDDENLY turned out to be by the boat other commander...
          Not provided for by the regulations - "Discharge of duties in connection with the desertion of the commander", there is no such thing in the regulations ....
          What if the boat died because of his desertion? Not?
          Consider these footcloths, your right ...
          Only the commander of the sinking ship leaves the last, and this also history of the ship ...
          1. +2
            5 March 2021 13: 46
            Minusers!
            "I stayed on the sinking ship together with the commander, who was kept in the water for several hours until they were picked up by Japanese fishermen." - this is an indicator ...
          2. +1
            5 March 2021 15: 12
            What if the boat died because of his desertion? Not?


            Do you know when, where and why this boat died? Not?
    3. +2
      5 March 2021 12: 19
      I will explain this in the next article.
      1. +9
        9 March 2021 06: 16
        Quote: Former Naval Person
        I will explain this in the next article.

        Thank you, we are waiting for the continuation!
  8. +3
    4 March 2021 22: 20
    Sometimes such topics are worth voicing. Thanks to the author!)
    1. -3
      5 March 2021 06: 07
      The article is not bad, but IMHO, the author was given a "disservice" by the comments about Henryk Klochkovsky in the previous article. After them, reading this article, unfortunately, is no longer so interesting.
      But I will repeat it - not the author's fault, the author has no idea about the release date of the material submitted for review. Therefore, I put "+"
  9. +3
    4 March 2021 23: 20
    In general, if someone goes to prostitutes, he is a potential coward, traitor and deserter .... It is necessary to check all clients of port ladies with low social responsibility and all with a pencil!
    It's hard to argue that this is a scoundrel and a parquet careerist, but this is not because he walked around women, Marinesco was not an angel in everyday life, but this did not prevent him from being one of our best submariners, and Dönitz's wolves are also not all puritanical customs were
    1. +2
      5 March 2021 12: 25
      when someone goes to prostitutes, or commits other impartial acts, then he has something to hide and then some well-wishers in civilian clothes appear who are ready to understand and forgive in return for trifling services.
      Marinesco, by the way, was punished.
  10. +4
    5 March 2021 00: 11
    In Holland, Klochkovsky suddenly became an ardent admirer of Adolf Hitler. If earlier he was not noticed in an interest in politics, now he began to openly praise the policy of the Nazis and impose his opinion on his colleagues. But the authorities did not seem to notice the oddities in Klochkovsky's behavior.
    And why strange, after all, there were friends-allies, the Polish leadership dreamed of going with Hitler to conquer the USSR. So it is quite normal views ... for a Polish officer of that time, because 1938 is not September 1939 ...
  11. +6
    5 March 2021 04: 48
    Before the war Henryk Kloczkowski was considered one of the best Polish submariners, a promising officer "

    An important role in his rapid pre-war career was played by his own uncle, Deputy Head of the Polish Navy, Rear Admiral V. E. Klochkovsky
    1. +3
      5 March 2021 04: 51
      Vyacheslav Evgenievich Klochkovsky
      (Polish Wacław Kłoczkowski) (February 14, 1873, St. Petersburg, - January 15, 1930, Warsaw) - Russian and Polish naval commander, rear admiral of the Russian fleet, rear admiral and brigadier general of the Polish Army, hero of the Battle of Tsushima.
      1. +9
        5 March 2021 05: 26
        Vyacheslav Evgenievich Klochkovsky

        In the Tsushima battle on the Admiral Nakhimov. served as navigator's assistant without interruption 26 hours before the sinking of the cruiser. He stayed on the sinking ship together with the commander, who was kept in the water for several hours until they were picked up by Japanese fishermen. He was in captivity until November 1905. For his heroism he was awarded the Order of St. Vladimir, IV degree with swords and a bow and the Golden Arms of St. George.
        Since 1909 - submarine. Commanded a number of submarines
        In PMV - the commander of the Black Sea submarine brigade.
        After the civil war he emigrated to Poland
        1. +2
          5 March 2021 10: 17
          Quote: Richard
          Vyacheslav Evgenievich Klochkovsky

          Here! This is what I am talking about - are there really no more worthy biographies ??
          Quote: Richard
          Remained on a sinking ship with the commander,

          in 1915 and 1916 he personally took part in the campaigns of the minelay "Crab" to mine the mouth of the Bosphorus. For the first campaign he received capraz and Vladimir with swords. The trip was very difficult, the "Crab" was imperfect, but the team made the trip to the "yat", coping with all the difficulties. What, I believe, is the great merit of Klochkovsky as the Beginning. brig. PL. And although the widespread assertion that it was on mines that "Crab" was blown up and out of order for six months "Breslau" has no basis, the submariners deservedly received a promotion in ranks and awards. The second trip was even more exciting for the "Crab", ended in tow behind the EM "Wrathful", even had to withstand the bombardment from seaplanes. The commander of the Black Sea Fleet called this "Crab" raid "an outstanding feat", Klochkovsky was awarded the St. George's weapon.
  12. +2
    5 March 2021 06: 18
    typical bastard
  13. +2
    5 March 2021 11: 23
    Michael, thanks for the great sequel!
  14. +1
    5 March 2021 11: 36
    Maybe Soviet upbringing is letting me down, maybe just fragments and fragments of Poles' memories, like pieces of smalt, do not fit into a mosaic for me ... The large underwater minelayer of Poland from Holland was called both "Sip" and "Senp" in Russian-language materials. I still do not understand why the Poles did not plan to use it for setting mine cans near Memel, Pillau and on the approaches to Danzig. As the surface ships of Poland scrambled towards Great Britain, at the signal from "Beijing", so, in my opinion, "Sip" and "Forest Cat" had to refuel, collect all the supplies to the maximum and a little more - and at sea, to the ports of East Prussia are closer, and they seem to be themselves. loved ones, rescued .... "Wolf" was able to install a mine bank near Danzig ... And over the commander of the "Eagle" at the end of August 1939 there were no chiefs? Is the commander ashore and part of the crew on leave? And messengers in the Polish Navy were not appointed? The telephone, I believe, might not have been in the house of the submarine commander. The war has begun - part of the crew of unknown prostitutes? Can't find them or don't want to?
    04 September 1939: "Without notifying the command, at 20:20 he made an entry in the ship's log of his decision. Thus, he removed 20% of the Polish submarine from the battle, which put the rest of the submarines in greater danger and negatively affected the morale. their crews. "I did not send a radiogram to the headquarters, where I decided to go to patrol. He sent carrier pigeons or Baltic mail seals to the rest of Poland's submarines, otherwise how did the crews of the other boats fall into despondency? Unclear...
    On September 07, 1939, the Orel received a radio message from the headquarters about the transition to Pillau. Was there no confirmation from the boat about the receipt of a radiogram, a response radiogram about the fulfillment or non-fulfillment of the headquarters order?
    “And after four days of deliberation, he finally decided to go to a safe harbor. The officers insisted that Kloch leave the submarine on a boat off the coast of Gotland. But his choice fell on distant Tallinn, which Klochkovsky knew. And where he had acquaintances. since the time of service in the Russian fleet. " ... "The officers insisted" - how's that? He gave a radio to a friend in Tallinn: "I'm going to you, old friend, prepare a sauna and beer!" And his acquaintance did not retire from the fleet (since 1917), did not fall ill, did not die, was not on vacation, he could easily solve issues with the President or the Minister of Defense and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia when a warship of a belligerent country (Estonia does not participate in the war neither on the side of Germany and Slovakia, nor on the side of Poland, Great Britain and France) goes to the port of the capital?
    Interestingly, I went ashore to speak with an Estonian officer. "Here!" "Ma ei saa aru." What language did the dialogue go on next? One officer without counterintelligence and a Foreign Ministry official?
    The commander leaves the boat with suitcases (in which the codes of the Polish Navy and gold?), A typewriter and a gun? Nobody stopped him and looked through his suitcases? Even the sentry from the Estonian army, which was posted at the gangway?
    What does he live on in Tartu? And the kindly officers of the Gestapo or the NKVD are kind enough to send his family from Poland? How many borders or by sea directly on a personal steamer on the route "Former Poland - Tallinn", and there it takes a few hours to get to Tartu, and no one closes the refugee camp for inspection?
    When are the evil NKVDeshniki sending him to the prisoner camp for Polish officers in Kozelsk? 1940 or 1941? And the family during the June 1941 deportation from Tara is sent as special settlers to the Kirov or Novosibirsk region? Or were they taken immediately after the arrest, and, as members of the spy's family, were convicted and sent to the Pinezhsky District of the Arkhangelsk Region to cut down the forest?
    The court is also muddy ... Why the Dutch counterintelligence service could not tidy him up as an agent? And why not the British, either themselves, or "under a false flag"? Estonia and Britain kissed passionately, not only with Germany ...
    1. +3
      5 March 2021 13: 15
      it is not the Soviet upbringing that brings you down, but the lack of Soviet education. in order:
      1) ogel and semp were not built for setting mines. they were built for the ocean-going fleet. Poland then dreamed of overseas colonies and built an ocean-going fleet to protect communications. when it became clear that the colonies did not shine for them, plans changed - it was decided to use submarines for actions against the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, block the exit from the Gulf of Finland, torpedo Soviet ships when trying to enter the Baltic.
      2) the commander let the crew go on dismissal without permission, and when the war began, it turned out to be such a mess that there was no time for disciplinary details. the same as in the USSR on June 22, 1941, as well as in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
      3) the ships send and receive radiograms, from which it is possible to compose a picture of what is happening, draw conclusions. conclusions can also be drawn from the fact that some ship does not respond to callsigns.
      4) about the strangeness of radio communications and that the commander was persuaded to go ashore in Sweden, the crew members drew up notes upon arrival in the UK. alas, they are not detailed enough to answer your questions. and then the crew died and there was no one to ask clarifying questions.
      5) Zelny entered the roadstead of Tallinn and from there sent a radiogram to the Estonian authorities with a request for permission to enter the port. Believe it or not, this is a standard procedure and is followed by warships, merchant ships, and even yachts.
      6) you apparently did not read the text carefully - it says that the commander maintained contacts with tallinn for the entire interwar period. even if they retired (at 40, yeah ...), they also have connections.
      7) Believe it or not - in Estonia you can still freely negotiate in Russian. even more so at that time. all the more to the former officers of the tsarist fleet. in addition, the commander spoke French. in the film, he talks to Estonians in German.
      8) there is no information about either the inspection at disembarkation, or about the details of the conversation with the Estonians, except that the commander alone talked with some Estonian officers (in the plural), after which he took his things from the ship. The members of the crew did not know the content of the conversation.
      9) a very interesting question about money. I think that the captain of the third rank is a well-to-do man. in addition, gold deposits were allocated to Polish submarines even before the war in case they had to cover expenses in neutral ports. I did not find any information about the deposit from the otel, except that soon after her arrival in Scotland, the same deposit was withdrawn from Wilk. well, no one canceled additional sources of income. a free market, sir, it is free in wartime, sir.
      10) it was impossible to get directly to Estonia from SG, but through Germany and further through Sweden or Lithuania - please. the iron curtain did not exist then. the winky cry in the fall of 1941 returned from Romania to the GG through Hungary and Slovakia. and no, not skiing to the sound of the power plant, but by train, in a first class carriage, accompanied by Polish and Hungarian adjutants.
      11) if you were studying history, you would know that estonia became part of the ussr in August 1940. already after the polz government in exile declared in November 1939 that it was at war with the ussr. so that the Polish servicemen on the territory of the USSR automatically moved from the category of internees to the category of prisoners of war. so that the Polish commander from Tartu the road directly to Kozelsk. by the way, in estonia he was not interned - he had the status of a private person.
      12) the family of the commander in August 1940 managed to leave for Sweden. I still could not find out her further fate. I only know that the commander lived alone in the United States.
      13) I do not know anything about the actions of the Dutch intelligence, but I don’t know why they should recruit a Polish officer. I also do not know anything about the actions of British intelligence. again, what is the point of recruiting an officer from an allied country? Yes, they say about Jozef Retinger that he was recruited by British intelligence, but the British sent a destroyer after him in the midst of the chaos of the defeat of France. and in tallinn the British embassy limited itself to handing over to the Poles a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates.
  15. 0
    5 March 2021 15: 38
    Former Naval Person (Mikhail Arushev), my dear, when, where and why did you see my diplomas from the times of the USSR? Where and why are you peremptory in your own righteousness about my lack of Soviet education and rushing all over the world?
    "Conclusions can be drawn from the fact that some ship does not respond to callsigns." I agree. Only the conclusions can be different: the "Eagle" lies at the bottom, heroically counting the depth charges dropped on it by the Germans; the "Eagle" surrendered to the Swedish authorities, they, almost like decent neutrals, took the submariners' personal weapons, removed the torpedoes, shells, sealed the radio station and placed it near the sentry's radio room, or took the radio transmitter together with torpedoes to their warehouse; the boat surrendered to the Germans and is being pulled by the Fritzes in tow in Pillau; the boat is fighting heroically on the surface, the radio operator is killed or seriously wounded; the boat was lost and lies at a depth of more than 80 meters, falling apart in 2 parts. What conclusion should be drawn to the headquarters of the Polish Navy?
    "I went to the raid of Tallinn and from there sent a radiogram to the Estonian authorities asking for permission to enter the port. Believe it or not, this is a standard procedure and is followed by warships, merchant ships, and even yachts." I will believe it. BUT! To a non-belligerent country, a belligerent submarine to raid the capital ?! It was supposed to emerge at the border of the terrorist and from there request permission to cross the border. Otherwise - a violator of the state border of a sovereign state with all the incoming and outgoing consequences.
    "You must have read the text inattentively - it says that the commander kept in touch with Tallinn for the entire interwar period. Even if they retired (at 40, yeah ...), they also had connections." Believe it or not, the military retires and retires for 25 years because of injury or illness, and at 30 for the same reasons, and at 35 for years of service. The Navy never gave anyone health benefits. Statistics, however, is science, including statistics of the VMA them. Kirov ... It is surprising that the Polish counterintelligence service did not consider the captain "Eagle" under a magnifying glass: he regularly writes to a foreign country, where in the capital the interests of many intelligence services converged ...
    "Believe it or not, in Estonia you can still freely negotiate in Russian. Especially at that time. Especially for former officers of the Tsarist Navy. Besides, the commander spoke French. In the film, he speaks with Estonians in German." I will believe it. In my first commentary, I wrote a couple of phrases in Estonian. I lived in the Estonian SSR for a single year. The last time I spoke with the "blacks" and citizens of the Republic of Estonia was in St. Petersburg in January 2021.
    “There is no information about the search at the landing, or the details of the conversation with the Estonians, except that the commander alone talked with some Estonian officers (in the plural), after which he took his things from the ship. The members of the crew did not know the content of the conversation. " - this is from your comment. "The commander, without delay, went ashore to meet with the Estonian officer. It is not known what they were talking about. But there is no doubt that their long negotiations determined the further fate of the Polish" commander. " - this is a quote from the material. I was surprised in my first comment that there was no representative of counterintelligence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but only one officer.
    "the winky cry in the fall of 1941 returned from Romania to GG through Hungary and Slovakia. And no, not on skis to the sound of the power plant, but by train, in a first-class carriage, accompanied by Polish and Hungarian adjutants." The fact that the Germans of the former colonel of the army of the Austro-Hungarian Empire let through to Warsaw in the fall of 1941 does not tell me anything. I do not know with the documents in whose name he crossed the borders and the adjutant from Hungary was next to him from the Hungarian Ministry of Defense or from the special services. The former Supreme Commander-in-Chief of Poland from Romania moved to Hungary with whose help and with documents in whose name? His special services in Romania did not lead him, his secret services in Hungary did not lead him? I don’t believe in this ... Hungary at that time was kissing Germany passionately after the First Vienna Arbitration ...
    "If you were to study history, you would know that Estonia became part of the USSR in August 1940. After the government in exile announced in November 1939 that it was at war with the USSR. So the Polish soldiers on the territory of the USSR automatically from the category of internees they were transferred to the category of prisoners of war. So the Polish commander from Tart can go straight to Kozelsk. By the way, he was not interned in Estonia - he had the status of a private person. " The Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic was formed on July 21, 1940. Was a private person in the Republic of Estonia in 1939 and 1940 based on what documents? On the documents, a photo of a Polish naval officer in uniform? Mr. Klochkovsky did not fight with weapons in his hands against the Red Army, he was detained not in uniform, for sure. The fact that he has a direct road to Kozelsk is not a fact, why not to Tallinn, and then Leningrad? There, many criminal cases against the inhabitants of the Estonian SSR were conducted under Article 58 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR in 1926 and in 1940, and in 1941 ... "if you studied history, you would know" which of the Polish army was disbanded by the soldiers of the Red Army in September 1939 years, and to which of the civilian population of the former Polish lands of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus in the fall of 1939 with a search and arrest warrant, NKVD officers came ...
    "I do not know anything about the actions of the Dutch intelligence, but I don’t know why they should recruit a Polish officer. I also don’t know anything about the actions of the British intelligence. Again, what is the point of recruiting an officer from an allied country?" Holland in the 30s of the 20th century brought diamonds and gold from its colonies in a stream, everything by sea. Why does Dutch intelligence need a Polish Navy officer? And then why does Britain's intelligence service need it. At the beginning of the 30s of the 20th century, the USSR was ready to divide Poland and Germany, in 1938 Germany and Poland divided Czechoslovakia, in March 1939 Germany bit off the Memel region from Lithuania, and on 01.09.1939/180/XNUMX Germany and Slovakia attacked Poland. The policy of a country can change by XNUMX degrees, and an agent in the navy of another country is an agent in the navy of another country.
    You have not answered anything about carrier pigeons or Baltic mail seals in the service in the Polish Navy ...
    But seriously, thanks for the material! I was looking forward to the second part.
    1. +2
      6 March 2021 10: 10
      1) about radiograms: in order to recreate the picture of the battlefield as the submariners saw it, it is possible if you turn the naval archives. they are available in london and gdynia. if you are ready to pay for my work, then I will do it. and so, we must be content with what I dug up in the archive for them. General Sikorsky. I especially noted the materials of the military field courts. and in the case of the burned, and in the case of a riot in the Polish fleet.
      2) about Tallinn: you need to surface near the territorial waters in order to raise the yellow flag: "I'm going to the nearest port". of course, the owners may ask what kind of guest they were granted, this is not the 21st century, with satellites and 5G, a whole English squadron managed to get close unnoticed to the Genoa raid, so there is one submarine in the waters of estonia, which has a fleet it really was not. all available materials say that ozel first went to the raid, and from there he just sent a request. think out something from yourself? I’ll decide to write works of art, then I’ll decide.
      3) about dating - do not project the laws and regulations of the 21st century into the 1920s - 1930s. there was no social security then. they served in the armed forces until they became disabled or until they saved up for retirement, i.e. practically for life. well, and career growth - which lieutenant doesn't want to become an admiral? further - Poland had very close relations with Finland and Estonia. contacts between the Polish and Estonian military were in the order of things. as, say ... well, at a level you understand - as between the military of the USSR and the GDR.
      4) about languages ​​- if on your collective farm they speak only surzhik ("nI one year", "last time", is this something for someone who claims to have studied in a Soviet school. Or just went to school?) , then you are probably a wonder that in real life people can know foreign languages, even several languages. and if you also live in ruins or Baltic extinctions, then it is clear that you are a wonder that Russian can be the language of communication between foreigners.
      5) about the officers - I didn’t want to spill over the tree and add unnecessary details. so it turned out clumsy, alas. From my own experience, I can assume that one duty officer was waiting for the commander at the dock, who took him where necessary for further conversation. it is clear that the whole delegation with the orchestra did not meet the Poles. and then there are discrepancies in the testimony of different crew members. again, it makes no sense to do a detailed disassembly of court materials. for the article, only one thing is enough - the commander had a conversation with the Estonian officers, the content of which no one knew.
      6) war is war, and trains are on schedule. ordnung, you know, he is such a mousse zain. it's about the family of the commander. but about the cry, he traveled with his adjutant Shadkovsky and an unnamed Hungarian adjutant. in Warsaw he was personally met by Stefan Witkowski, the head of the underground group "Musketeers". the whole story is known only fragmentarily, since all participants died. under rather strange circumstances. Shadkovsky survived - he testified at political trials after the war, but they are still classified and are known only from fragments recorded by third parties. there is still some information in the book by hedgehog Klimkovsky "I was an adjutant of General Anders." well, and the phrase defended by the gene. Sikorsky at negotiations with Roosevelt - "rumors about an allegedly impending separate peace between Poland and Germany do not correspond to reality."
      7) about Kozelsk - there is no information in the available materials about the circumstances of the arrest and transfer of the commander from Tartu to Kozelsk. those who were sitting with the commander in the camp showed that initially he did not stand out in any way among other prisoners and only later, suddenly or "suddenly", became an ardent supporter of Soviet power. in the army of Anders, the commander was in charge of the warehouse. the command of the Polish navy several times rejected offers to send him to London and in the end he got there after the Anders army left the USSR. in what way is also not known for certain.
      8) about Dutch intelligence - very interesting. but I am not a supporter of conspiracy theories and the new chronology of Fomenko. it is necessary to rely on the fact, and they are not there or they are not known. it is known about the pro-Nazi sympathies that were replaced by the pro-Soviet, but nothing is known about the commander's connections with German or Soviet intelligence.
      9) about pigeons, seals and other nonsense - I consider it beneath my dignity to comment even in a sarcastic tone.
      glad I contributed to your education. write more.
  16. +2
    9 March 2021 17: 35
    REGULARITY:
    all the shit, traitors, traitors, accomplices of the Nazis and so on. evil spirits, after the 2nd MV invariably ends up in ... the USA.
    They specially collected all the scum there
  17. +9
    12 March 2021 12: 57
    Interesting article. Klochkovsky, not a traitor, no, he turned out to be a coward.
  18. 0
    April 16 2021 09: 23
    What is the cap, so is the fleet. Or vice versa.
    In the Soviet navy, a man with the Romanian surname Marinesco was a patriot and a hero, although not indifferent to women and parties.
    But a purebred Polish patriot ... no words, this is not a warrior.
  19. +1
    April 16 2021 10: 07
    The story with Klochkovsky and his submarine had a peculiar continuation - a riot in the Polish fleet and the suicide of the commander of the "Wilk" submarine.
    1. 0
      April 17 2021 16: 47
      really, it was. but I'm not sure if the public will be interested. let the readers have their say.
  20. 0
    April 24 2021 00: 42
    "Before the war, Henryk Kloczkowski was considered one of the best Polish submariners, also thanks to his experience gained while serving in the Russian fleet in the First World War."
    Who did he serve in the Russian Navy during the First World War? Vyacheslav Evgenievich Klochkovsky (February 14, 1873, St. Petersburg, - January 15, 1930, Warsaw) served in the Russian Navy - Rear Admiral of the Russian Navy, Brigadier General of the Polish Army, participant in the Battle of Tsushima.

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