He notably fell out with Poland's war time Prime Minister-in-exile, General Sikorski, but was backed by the British and survived in post.

From 1905 he served in the Black Sea Fleet, as watch officer on the destroyer, Rostislav, on the Bug [ru]-type minelayer Dunay and on the frigate, Donetz.

Throughout World War I he was the navigation officer of the Black Sea Fleet, rising in 1917 to the rank of Captain, then naval commander.

[2] In 1919 he joined the Polish Army and was integrated into the Department for Maritime Affairs in Warsaw, becoming head of the Organisational Section.

[6][7] On 24 November 1922 the Polish Premier and the Chief of staff confirmed his status, as of 1 January 1922, as Head of the Fleet, based in Puck.

In May 1925 the President of Poland, Stanisław Wojciechowski released him from the Fleet Command and appointed him as chief of Marine Operations in Warsaw.

On behalf of the Polish Treasury, he signed contracts for the procurement of naval Destroyer, Submarines and in 1938 for the Minelayer, ORP "Gryf".

On 5 September 1939 Świrski and his staff left Warsaw for Pińsk, but due to heavy bombing they diverted to the border at Kuty and crossed into Romania, arriving in Paris on 6 October.

[10] On 18 November 1939 the British and Polish governments had signed an Anglo-Polish naval agreement and protocol laying out how their forces would co-operate.

Świrski was a co-signatory of the Anglo-Polish military alliance, alongside Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Władysław Sikorski and Ambassador Edward Bernard Raczyński.

[12] In 1941, shortly after his promotion to Vice admiral, differences emerged between Świrski and Sikorski who had decided to stand him down.

The reason for the dismissals was their management and procurement style in the Marines and especially Świrski's tendency towards independent thinking.

[14] Following Sikorski's dramatic death in an air accident off Gibraltar in July 1943, Świrski continued in his earlier role.

Among his signal achievements was his three-pronged plan to ensure the sustainability of the Polish Marines as a defence force: 1.