- The Arctic Circle
According to Google - “The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth at about 66° 34' N."
[It varies slightly over time and was at
66° 32' N during WWII].
ORP Blyskawica conducted both operations and fighting North of the Arctic Circle in Vestfjord, near Narvik and Rombaken Fjord
between 21st. April 1940 [Vestfjord] and 1943 [Operation Source].
- Vestfjord, Norway: The Southernmost part of Vestfjord is at latitude 67° 42' N. The Northernmost part is at 68° 14’ N.
- Narvik: The latitude of Narvik, Nordland, Norway is 68° 28' N.
- Rombaken Fjord: The Southernmost part of Rombaken Fjord is at latitude 68° 26’ N. The northernmost part is at 68° 28’ N.
All off the above locations are North of the Arctic Circle.
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Timeline
I have established that these events are relevant:
- 21st April 1940:
Blyskawica entered Vestfjord. The Southernmost part of Vestfjord is at latitude 67° 42' N. The Northernmost part is at 68° 14’ N, both north of the Arctic Circle.
- 24th April 1940:
A bombardment of the Narvik area was carried out by the following ships; battleship HMS Warspite, other Royal Navy ships, ORP Blyscawica (Kmdr.por. (Cdr.) S.M. Nahorski) and ORP Grom (Kmdr.ppor. (Cdr.) A. Hulewicz).
- 2nd May 1940:
Blyskawica entered the Rombaken Fjord in the Narvik area. The northernmost part of Rombaken Fjord is 68° 28’ N and the Southernmost part is 68° 26’N.
She was ambushed by a German gun battery and machine guns firing at point-blank range. Despite this, ship didn't retreat. Polish gunners returned fire, destroying three guns and silencing rest of them. Blyskawica was hit four times by gun shells and damaged. Three members of her crew were killed. After this fight, she was sent to Skjel Fjord for repairs which lasted for two days.
- 5th May 1940:
Blyskawica was on patrol again in Rombaken Fjord. German aircraft conducted heavy but unsuccessful attacks on allied ships which lasted for 12 hours. In the evening, Blyskawica traded fire with a German 88mm gun battery on shore. She was hit eleven times, but suffered only minor damage. The enemy guns were silenced.
- 6 May 1940:
ORP Błyskawica, still in Rombaken Fjord, “fired its entire supply of anti-aircraft ammunition and shot down one enemy bomber,” after which she entered Skjelfjord (Skjel Fjord), Lofoten, Norway, where an Allied supply base had been set up. - Uboat.net. [The bomber was believed to have been a Heinkel].
- 10 May 1940:
Another heavy air attack. Blyskawica was operating in Skjel Fjord. She avoided all bombs and shot down one enemy bomber. Burza and Blyskawica left Norwegian waters in order to return to Scapa Flow.
- In 1943:
The ship was part of Operation Source, a joint British and Norwegian raid on Spitsbergen, an island archipelago about 74°N to 81°N in the High Arctic, well north of the Arctic Circle. Błyskawica escorted covering forces and anti-raider patrols north of the main fjord system.
Records of Polish destroyer flotilla movements during the operation show her as part of the Northern Patrol running north of Tromsø and Altafjord.
These patrol lines reached the approaches to the North Cape, at just over 71° N (over 2° inside the Arctic Circle).
- In 1944:
ORP Blyskawica took part in Operation Judgement, supporting a convoy operation to the Soviet Union that passed through the Arctic Ocean. The allies attacked the U-Boat base at Kilbotn, Norway, located at approximately 68° 43'N, though it is not clear how far North of that the ship traveled with the convoy.
So, the Blyskawica definitely saw action (not just “operational service”) north of the Arctic Circle in 1940, 1942, 1943 and 1944.
DISCLAIMER: The facts above are, to the best of my knowledge, verifiable and were accepted as a part of my application. I shall try to add current references to cite along with them.
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