Opytny-class destroyer

The Opytny (Опытный- Experienced) was a unique destroyer built for the Soviet Navy. The Soviet designation was Project 45. She was commissioned in 1941 and fought in World War II as part of the Baltic Fleet. She was indigenously designed in contrast to the Type 7 which was built with Italian assistance and intended as a prototype for future Soviet destroyers. She was not a successful ship, with severe problems with her machinery and with stability. Her intended armament was substituted for single guns and the turrets were transferred to the Tashkent.

Design
The Specfcations (TTZ in Russian) for this ship were issued in 1934. The ship was intended as a prototype to test a new propulsion system, which was intended to use high pressure Wagner type boilers developed by Germany. The Wagner boilers were more compact and powerful then conventional boilers and used superheated steam (75 atmospheres vs. the 26-27 atmospheres in conventional boilers used for the Project 7 destroyers). The machinery was mounted in a unit layout with two funnels and alternating boiler rooms and engine rooms. The design speed was 42 knots

Due to the weight savings it was designed to mount 3 twin enclosed gun turrets in positions A,X and Y similar to the Japanese Fubuki class destroyers. A new gun system, the B-2LM, was developed for this ship however due to poor weight control the twin turrets were substituted for single guns.

Service
The ship was built by Zhdanov Shipyard in Leningrad, laid down in 1935 under the name Sergo Ordzhonikidze. She was launched December 1935, and commissioned in 1941 after extensive trials and subsequent reconstruction. She served as a floating battery during the Siege of Leningrad. After the war she served as an experimental ship and was decommissioned in 1949. She was scrapped in 1955-1956.