New year has come, so it's time to add a bit to this thread (although this time it's more text than pictures).
Year 1957 bring reorganization of the
3 BPM, which from that point consisted of:
-Command and Staff unit,
-signals platoon,
-recconaissance platoon
-two infantry companies (each with two infantry platoons, platoon of 82mm recoilless guns, platoon of 107mm recoilless guns and two (?) platoons of 14,5mm AA machine guns),
-training company,
-artillery battery (command platoon, platoon of 120mm mortars, platoon of 85mm anti-tank guns, platoon of 37mm AA guns),
-tank platoon (3 T-34 tanks)
-sapper/engineers platoon,
-quatermaster platoon
That organization lasted for two years and on the 30th of december 1959
3 BPM was merged with
29 Kołobrzeski Batalion Saperów (
29th Sapper Batallion "of Kołobrzeg") to form
3 Pułk Piechoty Morskiej (
3rd Marine Infantry Regiment), still stationed in Dziwnów.
Organizational structure of the new unit was as follows:
-Command and Staff unit,
-marine infantry batallion,
-marine sappers batallion (former
29th Sapper Batallion, tasked mostly with defensive mine-laying and mine-clearance operations),
-tank company,
-training company,
-regimental artillery (command platoon, platoon of 120mm mortars, platoon of 85mm anti-tank guns, platoon of 82mm recoilless guns),
-anti-aircraft artillery battery,
-reconnaissance platoon,
-quatermaster platoon,
-medical detachment,
-regimental workshops.
It's planned structure upon mobilization was to be somewhat different:
-Command and Staff unit,
-three marine infantry batallions,
-tank company
-reconnaissance company
-regimental artillery (battery of 120mm mortars, battery of 85mm anti-tank guns, battery of 82mm recoilless guns),
-anti-aircraft artillery batallion,
-sapper company,
-signals company,
-NBC protection platoon,
-flamethrowers platoon,
-quatermaster company,
-security platoon.
Planned strength was: 192 officers, 434 NCO's and 1755 marines: total 2381.
Wartime equipment was to consist of: 16 T-34/85 tanks, 10 PTG transporters, 63 recoilless guns, 6 120mm mortars, 6 85mm D-44 guns, 24 14,5mm AA machine-guns, 6 37mm AA guns.
It should be mentioned that
3 BPM/PPM was not the only land unit in the Polish Armed Forces related to the marine assault operations in the 1950s. These other units were coastal-defence formations.
Succesful US landing at Inchon during the Korean war prompted militaries of the Soviet-bloc countries to undertake preparations against potential assaults on their own territories. In Poland during 1951 three coastal defence units were formed in the
Pomorski Okręg Wojskowy (
Pomeranian Military District):
-
2 Brygada Przeciwdesantowa (
2 BPdes, 2nd Anti-Landing Brigade) in Kamień Pomorski,
-
3 Brygada Przeciwdesantowa (
3 BPdes, 3rd Anti-Landing Brigade) in Kołobrzeg,
-
5 Brygada Przeciwdesantowa (
5 BPdes, 5th Anti-Landing Brigade) in Gdańsk,
Each of these brigades (which were to be upgraded to divisions during wartime) consisted of:
-Command and Staff unit,
-signals company,
-two anti-landing (infantry) batallions (
2 BPdes - 11th in Świnoujście and 14th in Kamień Pomorski,
3 BPdes - 15th and 18th in Kołobrzeg,
5 BPdes - 12th in Hel and 18th in Gdańsk)
-artillery batallion (
2 BPdes - 46th in Dziwnów,
3 BPdes - 54th in Kołobrzeg?,
5 BPdes - 60th in Gdańsk)
-120mm mortar battery,
-AAA battery,
-sapper company,
-recconaissance platoon,
-NBC protection platoon.
In june 1953 an umbrella formation to command these three brigades was formed:
Korpus Przeciwdesantowy (
Anti-Landing Corps) with headquarters in Bydgoszcz, however only after several months, in december 1953 it was reformed into
Inspektorat Przeciwdesantowy Pomorskiego Okręgu Wojskowego (
Anti-landing Inspectorate of the Pomeranian Military District).
Strength of the
Korpus Przeciwdesantowy during its brief existence was: 4619 officers and soldiers, 162 anti-tank rifles, 36 82mm mortars, 33 120mm mortars, 39 45mm anti-tank guns, 15 57mm anti-tank guns, 27 76mm field, guns, 42 122mm howitzers, 18 85mm AA guns.
In the october 1956
2 Brygada Przeciwdesantowa was disbanded and two remaining brigades were renamed
3 and
5 Brygada Obrony Wybrzeża (
BOW, Coastal Defence Brigade) respectively and strenghtened with elements from the disbanded brigade.
Two years later, in the autumn of 1958 it was decided that
3 and
5 BOW, together with several smaller units are to form an unified division-formation -
23 Dywizja Piechoty (
23 DP, 23rd Infantry Division), consisting of:
-Command and Staff in Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz,
-
34 Budziszyński Pułk Piechoty (
34rd Infantry Regiment "of Bautzen") in Słupsk,
-
76 Pułk Piechoty (
76th Infantry Regiment) in Gdańsk,
-
79 Pomorski Pułk Piechoty (
79th Infantry Regiemnt "of Pomerania") in Lębork,
-
41 Gdański Pułk Artylerii (41st Artillery Regiment "of Gdańsk") in Gdańsk-Wrzeszcz,
-11 Batalion Czołgów Średnich (11th Medium Tank Batallion) in Słupsk,
-93 Dywizjon Artylerii Przeciwpancernej (93rd Anti-Tank Artillery Batallion) in Kwidzyń,
-29 Dywizjon Artylerii Przeciwlotniczej (29th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Batallion) in Gdańsk,
-58 Batalion Saperów (58th Engineers Batallion) in Hel and from 1960 in Brodnica,
-37 Batalion Łączności (37th Signals Batallion) in Gdańsk,
-52 Kompania Rozpoznawcza (52nd Reconnaissance Company) in Lębork,
-54 Kompania Obrony Przeciwchemicznej (54th NBC Protection Company) in Brodnica,
-63 Kompania Samochodowa (63rd Transportation Company) in Gdańsk
-divisional workshops and depots in Gdańsk and Lębork.
In the late 1950s and 1960s numerical strength of Flotylla Środków Desantowych was rapidly dwindling. As a remedy new landing ships and craft were ordered. First of these were 15 small landing craft (cutters) of Pr. 709 Sztorm class (NATO code: Eichstaden). They entered service between 1962 and 1965, in late 1960s they were extensively rebuilt (with, among others, open compartment for landing party being covered by roof with hatches) and were decommissioned from 1987 to 1990.