In the 1960s design work commenced in Poland on new steel-hull lifeboats to replace a fleet of old, mostly wooden craft of several types used on the Polish Baltic Sea coast.

[1] It was decided to build two series of craft, the larger R-27 and the smaller R-17 (the numbers coming from predicted hull lengths in meters, R standing for ratowniczy (rescue in Polish)).

[2] The smaller R-17 class was initially intended to be a pure lifeboat design, but eventually it was decided to add salvage capabilities as well.

[3] The low maximal speed (predicted 14 knots, eventually 11 knots) raised some discussion, but its increase would have demanded usage of heavier engines and increase of dimensions, while the priority was good sea-keeping qualities and possibility to operate on shallow waters near the coast.

In 2002 Polish SAR ships were handed over to government Morska Służba Poszukiwania i Ratownictwa (Maritime Search and Rescue Service).