[2] On 26 or 27 August Rybitwa, which together with two other Polish ships had been stationed in Riga, Latvia, left for Gdynia, along with ORP Czajka on full combat alert.

After arriving in Gdynia she conducted reconnaissance operations in Gdańsk Bay, between the Free City of Danzig and the East Prussian coast.

On 1 September 1939, after the outbreak of the Second World War, Rybitwa and all other 5 minesweepers of her class joined with the minelayer Gryf and took part in the Operation Rurka, an attempt to mine the entrances of the Gdańsk Bay.

[4][5][6][7] In the next few weeks, the ship was based at the port of Jastarnia and conducted patrols and mine laying operations at night, while defending the Hel peninsula during the day.

[9] After the end of World War II the Polish naval mission in Germany found Rybitwa together with three of her sister ships in Travemünde.