Probably very close to ASB (as the folks of a certain other site would say), but this is rooted in some actual historical facts...
So what if by a miracle of diplomacy the Poles actually receive all those ships? (Perhaps the Western democrices in this timeline wanted a strong Poland to check potential German & Russian ambitions in the Baltic? And maybe a far worse Russian Civil War meaning a weaker USSR at the negotiation table)
Edit: additional useful info on the interwar period Poles:
Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1906-1921 said:... In December 1919 only six ex-German torpedo-boats were allocated to Poland, though strong protests were issued by the Polish delegation to Versailles. The delegation demanded 2 light cruiser, 2 destroyers, and a number of submarine chasers, motor boats and auxiliary ship. These Claims were based on the economic potential of inland Polish industrial districts, which until 1918 had been under German and Austrian administration for more than a century: the protests were not approved
... Poland also claimed her share from the Russian Navy during the Polish-Soviet peace talks in Riga in 1921. At these negotiations 2 Gangut class battleships, 10 large destroyers, 5 submarines, 10 minesweepers, 21 auxiliaries and transports, 2 uncompleted Svetlana class cruisers and other equipment (guns, mines, etc) were demanded...
So what if by a miracle of diplomacy the Poles actually receive all those ships? (Perhaps the Western democrices in this timeline wanted a strong Poland to check potential German & Russian ambitions in the Baltic? And maybe a far worse Russian Civil War meaning a weaker USSR at the negotiation table)
Edit: additional useful info on the interwar period Poles:
Conway's all the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946 said:The considerable investments made by the Polish Government in Gdynia and the gradual stabilisation of Poland's economy brought about the possibility of additional military expenditure, and in 1924...
... A naval base would be built at Gdynia to house and supply the Polish ships as well as those of the French Navy which, according to the 1921 alliance, could be expected in case of war with Russia. ...
... but by mid-1925 the Polish currency was in serious trouble and all but the minelaying submarines fell victim to budget cuts.
Conway's all the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946 said:By the end of the 1920s the Polish community had become widely interested in maritime affairs, thanks to the development of Gdynia: spontaneous local action had produced funds for the expansion of the Navy. In 1930 the Reichminister Treviranus questioned the legality of the Polish possession of Pomerania, and thereupon the Polish public organisations arranged a nationwide subscription for the building of a submarine. By the middle of 1935 the equivalent of £200,000 had been raised from voluntary contributions, ...
... It was also planned to build 17 MTBs from public subscription - one from each of the Polish provinces.
Conway's all the World's Fighting Ships 1922-1946 said:The introduction of national service in Germany in 1935 and the militarisation of the Rhineland posed problems for the defense of Poland. Steady economic growth and political changes had made Polish military planning receptive to new ideas. The six-year re-armament programme authorised in 1936 promised a through modernisation of the Polish armed forces, based mainly on the country's own industrial capability. A large industrial complex, located between the Vistula and San trivers (far from both the German and Russian borders) had been planned in the late 1930s, but unfortunately little had been completed before the outbreak of war.
Conway's all the World's Fighting Ships 1906-1921 said:Meanwhile, the fleet expansion programmees were drawn up. The 1920 programme called for a fantastic 2 battleships, 6 cruisers, 28 destroyers, 45 submarines, 28 minesweepers and auxiliaries. Four large and twenty small monitors had to be built on Poland's rivers together with 49 motor boats. This programme had to be completed by 1929. This date was totally unrealistic, due to Poland's economic situation, ...
... though talks were underway with the British Admiralty for transferring 1 cruiser, 4 destroyers, 2 floating workshops and some CMBs to Poland.
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