| Soviet destroyer Gnevny (1936) | |
|---|---|
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Aerial view of Razumny A 22471.jpg Aerial view of sister ship Razumny, March 1944 | |
| Career (Soviet Union) |  |
| Name: | Gnevny |
| Ordered: | 2nd Five-Year Plan |
| Builder: | Shipyard 190 (Zhdanov), Leningrad |
| Laid down: | 8 December 1935 |
| Launched: | 13 July 1936 |
| Completed: | 23 December 1938 |
| Fate: | Sunk by aircraft, 26 June 1941 |
| General characteristics (Gnevny as completed, 1938) | |
| Class & type: | Gnevny-class destroyer |
| Displacement: |
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| Length: | 112.8 m (370 ft 1 in) |
| Beam: | 10.2 m (33 ft 6 in) |
| Draught: | 4.8 m (15 ft 9 in) |
| Installed power: |
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| Propulsion: |
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| Speed: | 38.3 knots (70.9 km/h; 44.1 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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Gnevny was the lead ship of her class (officially known as Project 7) of 30 destroyers built for the Soviet Navy shortly before the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941.
Design and description[]
Having decided on the specifications of the large 40 knots (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 (200 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 two 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. Gnevny reached 39.4 knots (73.0 km/h; 45.3 mph) from 53,000 shp (40,000 kW) during her trials. 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). Gnevny herself demonstrated a range of 2,720 nmi (5,040 km; 3,130 mi) at that speed.[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]
Construction and service[]
Built in Leningrad's A.A. Zhdanov Shipyard No. 190 with the serial number 501, Gnevny was laid down on 8 December 1935, launched on 13 July 1936, and entered service with the Baltic Fleet on 23 December 1938. She bombarded Finnish fortifications on Utö in the Åland Islands on 14 December 1939 during the Winter War. On 23 June 1941, a day after Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began, Gnevny was tasked with covering minelaying operations at the mouth of the Gulf of Finland along with the rest of the 1st Division of the Baltic Fleet's Light Forces Detachment – the light cruiser Maxim Gorky and her sister destroyers Gordy and Steregushchy. She ran into a German minefield 16 to 18 nautical miles northwest of Tahkuna lighthouse and had her bow blown off by a mine. After being abandoned by her crew, the accompanying ships unsuccessfully attempted to sink her with gunfire. Two days later, the abandoned hulk was spotted by three German Junkers Ju 88 bombers, who bombed and sunk her.[7] The destroyer was removed from the navy list on 27 July.[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.
- 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.
- Whitley, M. J. (1988). Destroyers of World War 2. Cassell Publishing. ISBN 1-85409-521-8.
- 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.
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