Maritime holiday in the 60s

A still from a naval parade in 1965. A scan of a photograph prepared by the WAF for official publication in the press, hence the censored name on the hull of the ORP Kujawiak submarine. VAF photo

After the Szczecin parade in 1959, the naval command decided to change the approach to organizing their own holiday. It was decided that spectacular parades and parades would be prepared every five years. As agreed, so they did. In 1960, on the occasion of the XNUMXth anniversary of the creation of the "people's" fleet, celebrations in Gdynia were planned according to the scheme of previous years.

The title will not fully correspond to the content of the article, the content of which will cover the years 1960-1969 and will mainly describe the events of two holidays, namely 1960 and 1965. In the rest of the June celebrations were much more modest.

Return to Gdynia

After an off-site celebration in Szczecin in 1959, it became known that next year the main celebration of the Day of the Sea and the Navy Day associated with it on the last Sunday of June would take place in Gdynia. The fifteenth anniversary of the liberation from the German occupation and the entry of the armed family into the sea could not be celebrated anywhere.

Traditionally, formal preparations began in May with the appointment of personnel for the celebration. It was headed by the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Navy Kadmiy. Ludwik Yanchishin. The holiday commission was created by order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy No. Pf6 / Oper. dated May 21, 1960. After the first decisions were made by order Pf8 / Oper. On June 3, a draft script for all the celebrations was ready.

As in previous years, the whole event was divided into several stages, of which three stood out in particular: a land parade, an air show and a sea parade. In the city, the parade was supposed to pass along an already beaten path. it is the most important artery of the city, leading along Sventojanska Street to the seat of the then Municipal National Council (today the City Hall).

The beginning of the arrangement of units for inspection was laid on the corner with Lutego street, 10. For the presentation, and then the march, the following were chosen:

• parade command;
• MW Representative Orchestra;
• officer battalion, consisting of three companies: 1. - officers of the Main Command of the Navy (DMW), the Main Headquarters of the Navy (SG MW) and the Quartermaster of the Navy, 2. - officers of the Gdynia and Gdynia Oksywie garrisons, 3. - officers of the Gdynia and Gdynia Oksywi garrisons, XNUMX . - non-commissioned officers from WSMW;
• two battalions of the 3rd Marine Regiment, 3 companies each;
• a mixed battalion consisting of: 1st company - issued by the Coastal Artillery School of non-commissioned officers (SPAN), 2nd company - issued by the 22nd guards battalion, 3rd company - issued by the 77th chemical protection company;
• a mixed battalion consisting of two companies of the 51st Communications Battalion and the 3rd company of the 22nd Guards Battalion;
• 3 battalions, each consisting of three companies, all deployed by the Naval Training Center;
• a battalion of two OSSM companies and one SPAN company;
• 2 battalions of the Border Troops (BOP), naturally with three companies, but one with military personnel in naval uniform;
• 2 battalions (3 companies each) as part of the 23rd Rifle Division;
• a battalion with three companies of the Internal Security Corps;

The order stipulated that each battalion should consist of three commanders (commander, chief of staff and deputy), and each company - of the company commander, three platoon commanders and 3 privates. The parade was to be held in eight columns. As it is easy to count, 64 soldiers were built in each battalion, and since there were fourteen battalions, this totaled 207 soldiers without an orchestra and parade command.

According to the adopted schedule, 20 June was the day of the arrival of all military personnel who participated in the parade, at the airport and the surrounding areas of Babie Dola near Gdynia (within its borders since 1972), the number of troops. The runway was an ideal surface for parade drill, parade step, and battalion column marches in compact formation. There was little time for rehearsals, since already on June 23 a check was made of readiness for the parade on the airport platform, and on June 24 from 03:00 to 06:00 a general rehearsal was held on Sventoyanskaya Street.