The search for the legendary submarine ORP Orzeł (Eagle) is still ongoing, so far no one has been able to find the ship, lost in 1940. Without a doubt, this is one of the greatest mysteries of World War II.
Although the SANTI Find the Eagle project has been active for nine years, the team remains as determined as at the start and persistently strives to succeed in reaching its goal. Preparations for this year’s expedition have been going on for a long time. After a 3-year break, mainly caused by the pandemic and problems with accessing the archives, the Polish crew is ready to return to the North Sea. Soon, at the beginning of August 2023, the tenth Expedition to Find the Eagle will set off from the port of Ijmuiden in the Netherlands, aimed at finding the wreck of the famous Polish submarine ORP Orzeł.
So far, several expeditions have been carried out, focused on testing many hypotheses, including the so-called „Friendly Fire” theory, i.e. the accidental sinking of ORP Orzeł by the British air force. For some time, however, the Santi Find the Eagle team has been focusing on an area of the North Sea around the A3 zone – this is where the submarine should have been located in the first days of her patrol.
“We are very much convinced that Orzeł sank in the first days of the patrol because it is very unlikely that communications would have remained silent for almost two weeks. Let’s remember that the submarine’s main task was to report on enemy movements, and in previous patrols, she did this very regularly. This time no reports were sent after leaving port at Rosyth. Hence the hypothesis that something bad must have happened at the beginning of the patrol.” – says Tomasz Stachura, diver and head of the Project.
Santi’s team has already been to this area twice. They have managed to find and explore several hundred wrecks, including HMS L10, a British World War I submarine whose position was previously unknown.
This year, the expedition will focus mainly on searching the next area and verifying previously set assumptions.
“We know more and more about the wrecks lying on the bottom of the North Sea, we have already done a lot of work. During the previous years, we managed to find 400 wrecks, including 3 previously unknown submarines. We push further, and this year, we will focus mainly on the area north-east of the A3 zone, where there were German minefields. We will be located approximately 100 miles from the coast of the Netherlands. Thanks to the cooperation with Gert Normann and the Sea War Museum Jutland, we know that this search area has been very poorly researched so far. There are no pipelines, no offshore investments, which gives us high hopes.” – says Tomasz Stachura – head of the expedition.
“Our next expedition focuses on a new area based on surveys of the routes taken by other Allied submarines operating in the North Sea in May/June 1940, including those that unexpectedly deviated from their assigned patrol areas. Additionally, anecdotes circulating after the disappearance of ORP Orzeł suggest that the Polish submarine may have also strayed off course during its last mission. These are just anecdotes, but they support our new area of research. After testing the more likely theories, the theoretically less likely hypotheses that could lead to success should also be tested.” – says Piotr Michalik – a historical researcher and member of the Santi team.
The area of this year’s search was based, amongst other factors, on information about the route of the British submarine HMS Taku, which set out on patrol immediately after ORP Orzeł. During this vessel’s time in the A3 zone, an explosion was recorded, which might relate to the disappearance of the Polish submarine. In addition, it is documented that HMS Taku left A3 and patrolled eastwards, cutting through German minefields for reconnaissance, then returned to A3.
This year, exploration in the North Sea will be carried out using the M/Y TONIJN vessel, 34.24 m long and 7.00 m wide.
The costs of the charter are covered entirely by the Santi company, and all participants of the expedition work as volunteers.
A team of 6 will take part in the expedition, including hydrographers: Benedykt Hac, Karol Jacob, Michał Niemkiewicz, divers: Tomasz Stachura, Marek Cacaj and historical researcher – Piotr Michalik. They will set off towards the Netherlands at the beginning of August 2023, six full days of exploration in the North Sea are planned.
“The Santi Finding the Eagle Expedition, planned for 2023, uses the most up-to-date Hydrographic technology. Thanks to Norbit, a world-class manufacturer of multi-beam echo sounders (MBES), we will be able to obtain even more detailed bathymetric data on verified positions. In addition, thanks to TopWave, a manufacturer of satellite positioning systems, we will obtain very accurate location data. The list of potential wrecks is large, as it includes about 100 items. We will do our best to check as many of them as possible. In fact, we don’t need so many of these positions, one is enough! The one in which the wreck of the ORP Orzeł lies.” – says hydrographer Karol Jacob.
ORP Orzeł, one of the most famous Polish submarines, was lost during World War II in 1940. Since then, many researchers, historians and military enthusiasts have tried to find its wreck, but all attempts so far have failed. The SANTI Find the Eagle team hopes that thanks to modern technology and their great experience, they will be able to find the remains of this historic ship.
Finding ORP Orzeł would be an important step in advancing Polish maritime history and honouring the memory of the servicemen who served on this ship. The world is waiting impatiently for news from the tenth SANTI expedition and keeps its fingers crossed for success. We believe that our persistent efforts will bring a positive result.
The SANTI Find the Eagle project is extremely grateful to all sponsors and individuals who generously contribute to the achievement of the expedition’s goals, especially the main sponsor – the SANTI company for supporting the Foundation and each of the expeditions. It is their commitment and huge financial contribution that enables the research and efforts to find the lost wreck of the ORP Orzeł to continue.
www.santifindtheeagle.com – project website
promotional films:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ_dnA1eOhI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lExIavrAWwE&list=UUSMMbSOX2pWwBpznedKPLMA
https://www.facebook.com/SantiOdnalezcOrla/ – Facebook
https://www.instagram.com/santiodnalezcorla – Instagram
SANTI sp. z o.o. – main sponsor:
SANTI Diving is one of the world’s leading brands in the production of diving equipment. It provides innovative and high-quality products to divers around the world. From the very beginning, SANTI has been actively involved in the SANTI Find the Eagle project and financially supports the expedition.
Partners:
Norbit – https://norbit.com/
TopWave – https://www.facebook.com/KarolJacobPL/?locale=pl_PL
BMB Baltic Maritime Broker – http://balticmaritimebroker.eu
Additional information:
Tomasz Stachura – t.stachura@santidiving.com (Poland)
Piotr Michalik – piotr@santifindtheeagle.com (UK)
