| Soviet destroyer Gromky (1936) | |
|---|---|
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Aerial view of Razumny A 22471.jpg Aerial view of sister ship Razumny, March 1944 | |
| Career (Soviet Union) |  |
| Name: | Gromky |
| Ordered: | 2nd Five-Year Plan |
| Builder: | Shipyard No. 190 (Zhdanov), Leningrad |
| Yard number: | 503 |
| Laid down: | 29 April 1936 |
| Launched: | 6 December 1937 |
| Completed: | 31 December 1938 |
| Renamed: | TsL-74, 18 April 1958 |
| Reclassified: | As a target ship, 18 April 1958 |
| Struck: | 17 February 1956 |
| Fate: | Sold for scrap, 15 September 1960 |
| General characteristics (Gnevny as completed, 1938) | |
| Class & type: | Gnevny-class destroyer |
| Displacement: |
|
| Length: | 112.8 m (370 ft 1 in) (o/a) |
| Beam: | 10.2 m (33 ft 6 in) |
| Draft: | 4.8 m (15 ft 9 in) |
| Installed power: |
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| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 38 knots (70 km/h; 44 mph) |
| Range: | 2,720 nmi (5,040 km; 3,130 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph) |
| Complement: | 197 (236 wartime) |
| Sensors and processing systems: | Mars hydrophone |
| Armament: |
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Gromky was one of 29 Gnevny-class destroyers (officially known as Project 7) built for the Soviet Navy during the late 1930s. Completed in 1938, she was initially assigned to the Baltic Fleet before she was transferred to the Northern Fleet in mid-1939.
Design and description[]
Having decided on the specifications of the large 40-knot (74 km/h; 46 mph) Leningrad-class destroyer leaders, the Soviet Navy sought Italian assistance in designing smaller and cheaper destroyers. They licensed the plans for the Folgore class and, in modifying it for their purposes, overloaded a design that was already somewhat marginally stable.[1]
The Gnevnys had an overall length of 112.8 meters (370 ft 1 in), a beam of 10.2 meters (33 ft 6 in), and a draft of 4.8 meters (15 ft 9 in) at deep load. The ships were significantly overweight, almost 200 metric tons (197 long tons) heavier than designed, displacing 1,612 metric tons (1,587 long tons) at standard load and 2,039 metric tons (2,007 long tons) at deep load. Their crew numbered 197 officers and sailors in peacetime and 236 in wartime.[2] The ships had a pair of geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller, rated to produce 48,000 shaft horsepower (36,000 kW) using steam from three water-tube boilers which was intended to give them a maximum speed of 37 knots (69 km/h; 43 mph).[3] The designers had been conservative in rating the turbines and many, but not all, of the ships handily exceeded their designed speed during their sea trials. Others fell considerably short of it, although specific figures for most individual ships have not survived. Variations in fuel oil capacity meant that the range of the Gnevnys varied between 1,670 to 3,145 nautical miles (3,093 to 5,825 km; 1,922 to 3,619 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph).[4]
As built, the Gnevny-class ships mounted four 130-millimeter (5.1 in) B-13 guns in two pairs of superfiring single mounts fore and aft of the superstructure. Anti-aircraft defense was provided by a pair of 76.2-millimeter (3.0 in) 34-K AA guns in single mounts and a pair of 45-millimeter (1.8 in) 21-K AA guns[5] as well as two 12.7-millimeter (0.50 in) DK or DShK machine guns. They carried six 533 mm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes in two rotating triple mounts; each tube was provided with a reload. The ships could also carry a maximum of either 60 or 95 mines and 25 depth charges. They were fitted with a set of Mars hydrophones for anti-submarine work, although they were useless at speeds over 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph).[6] The ships were equipped with two K-1 paravanes intended to destroy mines and a pair of depth-charge throwers.[7]
Construction and service[]
Built in Leningrad's Shipyard No. 190 (Zhdanov) as yard number 503, Gromky was laid down on 29 April 1936, launched on 6 December 1937, and was completed on 31 December 1938.[8]
Citations[]
Sources[]
- Balakin, Sergey (2007) (in Russian). Легендарные "семёрки" Эсминцы "сталинской" серии. Moscow: Yauza/Eksmo. ISBN 978-5-699-23784-5.
- Berezhnoy, Sergey (2002) (in Russian). Крейсера и миноносцы. Справочник. Moscow: Voenizdat. ISBN 5-203-01780-8.
- Budzbon, Przemysaw (1980). "Soviet Union". In Chesneau, Roger. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 318–346. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- Hill, Alexander (2018). Soviet Destroyers of World War II. New Vanguard. 256. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-2256-7.
- Platonov, Andrey V. (2002) (in Russian). Энциклопедия советских надводных кораблей 1941—1945. Saint Petersburg: Poligon. ISBN 5-89173-178-9.
- Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
- Rohwer, Jürgen & Monakov, Mikhail S. (2001). Stalin's Ocean-Going Fleet. London: Frank Cass. ISBN 0-7146-4895-7.
- Yakubov, Vladimir & Worth, Richard (2008). "The Soviet Project 7/7U Destroyers". In Jordan, John & Dent, Stephen. Warship 2008. London: Conway. pp. 99–114. ISBN 978-1-84486-062-3.
Further reading[]
- Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War 2. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0-87021-326-1.
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The original article can be found at Soviet destroyer Gromky (1936) and the edit history here.