In May 1941 ORP Piorun located the, and drew its fire, while other units of the Royal Navy task force caught up to sink the Bismarck.
After World War II, Piorun was returned to the Royal Navy and recommissioned as HMS Noble before being scrapped in 1955.
The eight ships of the N-class were ordered on 15 April 1939. They were a repeat of the J- and K-class destroyers, 16 of which were ordered in 1937.
The N-class were 339inchesft6inchesin (ftin) long between perpendiculars and 356inchesft6inchesin (ftin) overall, with a beam of 35inchesft8inchesin (ftin) and a draught of 9feet. Displacement was 17730NaN0 standard and 23840NaN0 full load. Two Admiralty three-drum boilers fed steam at and to two sets of Parsons single-reduction geared-steam turbines, rated at . This gave a design speed of at trials displacement and at full load. 491 tons of oil were carried, giving a range of 5500nmi at 15kn and 3700nmi at 20kn.
As designed, the N-class were to be armed with six 4.7inches QF Mark XII guns in three twin mountings, two forward and one aft. These guns could only elevate to an angle of 40 degrees, and so were of limited use in the anti-aircraft role. A short range anti-aircraft armament of a four-barrelled 2-pounder "pom-pom" anti-aircraft mount and eight .50 in machine guns in two quadruple mounts on the bridge wings was to be fitted, while torpedo armament was to be ten 210NaN0 torpedo tubes in two quintuple mounts. Early experience of the vulnerability of destroyers to air attack off Norway and during the evacuation from Dunkirk in 1940 resulted in the armament of the N-class being revised during construction. The aft set of torpedo-tubes was removed and replaced by a single 40NaN0 QF Mark V anti-aircraft gun, while the quadruple .50 in machine guns on the bridge wings were replaced by two single Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, with two more Oerlikons abaft the searchlight, while two twin .50 inch machine guns were mounted on the ships' quarterdeck.
The ship was built by John Brown & Company of Clydebank, Glasgow. She was laid down on 26 July 1939, launched on 7 May 1940. While initially ordered and launched under the name Nerissa, the ship was transferred to the Polish Navy in October 1940 and renamed Piorun. She was completed on 4 November 1940.
Piorun was based in Great Britain and commanded by Commander Eugeniusz Pławski. Between 13 and 15 March 1941, while undergoing repairs in John Brown's shipyard, she took part in the defence of Clydebank in the Clydebank Blitz against air raids by the Luftwaffe. A memorial to the ship's crew was later erected in Clydebank.[1]
See main article: Last battle of the battleship Bismarck. On 22 May 1941, Piorun, with ships of the British 4th Destroyer Flotilla (and), commanded by Captain Philip Vian, provided additional escort to troop convoy WS8B en route from Glasgow to the Indian Ocean. On 25 May, Vian's destroyers (including Piorun) were detached from the convoy to join the search for the .
Piorun took part, along with the British destroyers, in the search for Bismarck (she was the first of the destroyers to spot the German ship). She joined in the shadowing of and torpedo attacks on the German battleship the night before Bismarck was sunk. Arriving first on the scene with the British Tribal-class destroyer Maori, Piorun charged at Bismarck by herself, while Maori manoeuvred for position to fire torpedoes. Alone, Piorun exchanged fire with Bismarck for an hour, with neither side scoring any hits—although after the third salvo, Bismarck missed by only 20yd, causing Pławski to pull away.
According to one report (detailed at the Auschwitz I exhibition, Oświęcim, Poland), Pławski transmitted the message "I am a Pole" before commencing fire on Bismarck; other sources say the signal to commence fire was "Trzy salwy na cześć Polski" ("Three salvoes in honour of Poland").[2] [3] This manoeuvre and the subsequent withdrawal caused Piorun to lose contact with Bismarck.
Another often repeated story, possibly an embellishment, mentions that the Piorun constantly signaled "I am a Pole" using her signal lights for the entirety of the engagement. It does remain possible, perhaps even likely, due to the fact that the signalman would be posted at the light during Battle Stations.
Piorun was very low on fuel, so at 05:00 she was ordered home before she had used her torpedoes. Pławski was reluctant to leave the area and ignored Vian's order for an hour before returning to the United Kingdom.[4]
Piorun subsequently operated in the Mediterranean, taking part in Operation Halberd, one of the Malta convoys and Operation Husky, the invasion of Sicily. In 1944 she was transferred to the Home Fleet. On 8 June 1944, the Piorun took part in the Battle of Ushant against Kriegsmarine destroyers.
Piorun took part in Operation Deadlight, and took part in the sinking of the captured German Type XXI submarines,,,, and .
She was returned to the Royal Navy in 1946, as HMS Noble and scrapped in 1955.