Viktor Lomidze

Who is Viktor Lomidze?

Viktor Lomidze, also known by his Polish name of Wiktor Łomidze-Wachtang, was a Georgian-Polish military officer. After the Bolshevik take-over of his country in early 1920s he emigrated to Poland, where he joined the Polish Army and then the Polish Navy.

Between 1935 and 1939 he was the commanding officer of ORP Jaskółka, a Polish minesweeper and minelayer. Later on he became the deputy commander of the ORP Gryf.

At the outbreak of the Polish Defensive War of 1939, on September 1, with other Polish warships, Gryf left the naval base at Gdynia for the Operation Rurka, a failed attempt to lay a minefield at the entrances to the Gdańsk Bay. After boarding naval mines from a floating depot, the flotilla headed for Hel Peninsula, assisted by ORP Wicher and several smaller vessels. En route she was attacked by a squadron of 33 German Ju-87B dive bombers and hit with several bombs. Although the damages were minor, the ship lost 22 sailors, including its captain Lt.Cmdr. Stefan Kwiatkowski in what became known as the battle of the Gdańsk Bay. Kwiatkowski's deputy, Capt. Wiktor Łomidze decided to throw all defused naval mines in the waters for fear of explosion and headed for Hel naval base. There it was decided to use the ship as a floating anti-air artillery battery guarding the harbour.