ORP Żuraw ORP " Żuraw " was a of the Polish Navy at the outset of World War II . " Żuraw " participated in the defense of Poland during the German invasion of 1939 . Construction and service 1939 . The Żuraw was built at the Polish Navy Shipyard ( Stocznia Marynarki Wojennej ) in Gdynia as a Jaskkóła ( swallow ) class warship minesweeper . She was named and launched on September 22 , 1938 . The ship was rushed into service and developed problems with the steering gear , possibly because the ship was incomplete when it was put into service . She was under the command of Capt Mjr . Robert Kasperski and her home harbor was at Jastarnia . On September 1 , 1939 the ship participated in the defense of the Hel Peninsula against a massive German aerial " carpet " bombing attack . On September 14 , 1939 the " Żuraw " was transferred to Hel , where the ship became part of the shoreline defense fleet . Continuation of service . After the capitulation of the Hel peninsula on October 2 , 1939 , the ship anchored at Hel harbor and was confiscated by the Germans . Following this , the ship was put in the service of the German Navy Kriegsmarine under the new German name " Oxhöft " . She was initially placed in service as a trawling ship , then later converted to an auxiliary hydro - graphical service ship . Under the German Navy the ship underwent a retrofit with modifications of the middle section , and the guard of the fight ramp was also altered . Together with three other Polish Navy trawlers that survived the war ( OORP : ORP Mewa ( 1935 ) " Mewa " , ORP Rybitwa ( 1935 ) " Rybitwa " , ORP Czajka ( 1935 ) " Czajka " ) , the Żuraw was in service for the auxiliary force of German trawlers . After the war ended , the ships were recovered by the Polish Government at Travemünde and returned to service with the Polish Navy on January 25 , 1946 . At Travemünde , the Polish Flag was raised and the ship regained its former Polish name " Żuraw " . On or about February 13 , 1946 , she was transferred to Kilonia , where new armament ( 5 German 20 mm cannons ) and trawling equipment were added . On March 12 , 1946 , the trawlers , together with ORP " Żuraw " , returned to Gynia Harbor , where they commenced service as the 1st Division . The warships had a mark on their sides ŻW , which was later altered to beŻR . In 1946 " Żuraw " underwent an overhaul , and then became part of a November 1 , 1946 mission , ( the earliest of the ship class " Jaskółka " ) , assigned temporarily to a group of trawlers type MT . On November 29 , 1946 the ship was assigned to Świnoujście , to join the Szczecin sub - naval region . Beginning in December 1946 , the ship went on multiple missions and hydro - graphical surveying . About May 14 , 1947 the " Żuraw " was permanently assigned to the hydro - graphic Division of the Polish Navy at St . Kierzkowski as the " Kompas " . At the end of 1947 the ship underwent a modification and was retrofitted for new service , with the hydro - graphical survey and a design and drafting studio . On or about September 15 , 1948 " Żuraw " was officially reclassified and converted as a hydro - graphical ship with the destination mark : HG - 11 . She became the first hydrological survey ship of the Polish Navy at the end of the World War II . On about September 1 , 1951 , 12 members from the crew took over the ship and rerouted the ship to the harbor of Ystad in Sweden , where they asked for political asylum to escape the newly formed totalitarian communist regime in Poland . On September 3 , 1951 the ship returned to Poland with the remaining crew . This event led to a series of political trials in the Polish Navy , which ended on or about November 7 , 1951 with the death penalty convictions " in absentia " of the escaped crew members . Some of the members of the crew who returned to Poland were also convicted and received the death penalty for allowing other crew members to escape from the communist state . The Polish government declared that this was an act of treason and put down the ships name and the ship was renamed " Kompas " . For the ship ' s remaining years of the service , she served as a hydro - graphical survey and measurements laboratory . During 1959 – 1963 ORP " Kompas " underwent a major retrofit at the Polish Navy Shipyard . A storm on New Year ' s Eve 1978 / 1979 broke the rigging and the ship was beached at the orchestra at basin X , and removed from active service . On or about July 16 , 1981 , she was towed by a tug boat ( H - 12 ) to the Hel peninsula and the salvage operation began .