Soviet destroyer Sokrushitelny (1937)

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Aerial view of sister ship Razumny, March 1944
History
Soviet Union
NameSokrushitelny (Сокрушительный (Destructive))
Ordered
2nd Five-Year Plan
Builder
Leningrad
Laid down29 October 1936
Launched23 August 1937
Completed13 August 1939
FateSunk during a storm, 21 November 1942
General characteristics (Gnevny as completed, 1938)
Class and typeGnevny-class destroyer
Displacement1,612 t (1,587 long tons) (standard)
Length112.8 m (370 ft 1 in) (
o/a
)
Beam10.2 m (33 ft 6 in)
Draft4.8 m (15 ft 9 in)
Installed power
Propulsion2 shafts; 2 geared steam turbines
Speed37 knots (69 km/h; 43 mph) (designed)
Range1,670–3,145 nmi (3,093–5,825 km; 1,922–3,619 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Complement197 (236 wartime)
Sensors and
processing systems		Mars hydrophone
Armament

Sokrushitelny (

minefields in the White and Barents Seas. Sokrushitelny spent most of her service escorting the Arctic Convoys, run by the British to provide weapons and supplies to the Soviets, or providing naval gunfire support to Soviet troops along the Arctic coast. The ship engaged a German ship just once, while defending Convoy QP 13 in early 1942. While escorting Convoy QP 15
in November, she sank during a severe storm after breaking in half. Most of her crew was rescued by other destroyers sent to her aid, although 35 crewmen were lost.

Design and description

Having decided to build the large and expensive 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

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

AA guns 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, all in single mounts.[2] During the war, Sokrushitelny's anti-aircraft suite was reinforced with the addition of a pair of 37-millimeter (1.5 in) 70-K guns in single mounts in mid-1941 and her 45-mm 21-K guns were removed in early 1942.[6]

The ships carried six 533 mm (21 in)

paravanes intended to destroy mines[7] and could lay mines themselves if the depth charges were off-loaded. Their capacity varied with the type of mine, from sixty 1,065-kilogram (2,348 lb) KB types to sixty-five 960-kilogram (2,120 lb) Model 1926s, or ninety-six 600-kilogram (1,300 lb) Model 1912 mines. For anti-submarine work, the Gnevnys were fitted with two stern racks for ten 135-kilogram (298 lb) BB-1 and fifteen 25-kilogram (55 lb) BM-1 depth charges. Sokrushitelny may have been fitted with a pair of BMB-1 depth charge throwers before her loss in 1942. They were also equipped with a set of Mars hydrophones although they were useless at speeds over 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph).[8][9]

Construction and service

Built in

Spitzbergen through the White Sea to Arkhangelsk on 23–24 August; a week later, Sokrushitelny, Grozny and the destroyers Valerian Kuybyshev and Uritsky escorted the first supply convoy from Britain to the same destination. On 10–15 September, Sokrushitelny and her sisters in the 1st Destroyer Division (Grozny, Gremyashchy and Gromky) laid a pair of minefields off the Rybachy Peninsula using British mines delivered by Adventure.[13]

Sokrushitelny returned to Polyarny on 1 October and was assigned to the Separate Destroyer Division there. On 24 October, the ship bombarded German positions near the

8th Destroyer Flotilla that had engaged two British minesweepers attempting to rendezvous with Convoy PQ 6. During an escort operation together with Grozny between 24 and 26 December, the destroyer weathered a heavy storm during which a leak forced her to move on one boiler.[12] On 31 December and 1 January 1942, Sokrushitelny fired one hundred 130 mm shells each day at German positions near Motovsky Gulf.[14]

Sokrushitelny and Gremyashchy escorted Convoy PQ 8 into Kola Bay on 20 January and then formed part of the escort for Convoy QP 6 on 24–28 January. On 1 February Sokrushitelny and Grozny sortied to search for German transports in the region of Vardø and Kirkenes, but the operation was called off due to frost and poor weather conditions. Sokrushitelny was refitted from 20 February to 25 March. The same pair of destroyers were sent to escort Convoy PQ 13 four days later. Later that day the convoy was attacked by three destroyers of the 8th Destroyer Flotilla. Sokrushitelny briefly engaged Z26, claiming at least one hit, which was later sunk by a British destroyer. Sokrushitelny fired twenty main gun shells in the engagement.[12] From 10 to 12 April the sisters escorted the homeward-bound Convoy QP 10 and then the incoming Convoy PQ 14 from 17 to 19 April. They formed the local escort for Convoy QP 11 on 28–30 April. After the light cruiser HMS Edinburgh was torpedoed by a German submarine on 30 April, they reversed course to provide assistance. The destroyers were forced to return to port to refuel on 1 May and put to sea again on the morning of the following day, but returned to base when they received word that Edinburgh had already sunk. On 10 May Sokrushitelny bombarded German positions near the Zapadnaya Litsa River. While engaged in this task she survived a German air attack and her gunners claimed one bomber downed.[12] She escorted Convoy QP 12 on 21–23 May and then helped to escort Convoy PQ 16 on 28–30 May, together with Grozny and Kuybyshev.[15] PQ 16 was attacked on 29 May by German torpedo bombers with all fourteen torpedoes launched by the German aircraft missing their targets and Sokrushitelny's gunners claiming one bomber downed. On the next day they claimed a Junkers Ju 88 bomber destroyed and two more damaged, before the convoy reached Kola Bay on the evening of 30 May.[12]

The ship unsuccessfully searched for ships from

penal battalion.[17] Two minesweeping trawlers were named in honor of the senior lieutenants who led the skeleton crew.[16]

During the war, Sokrushitelny fired 1,639 shells from her main guns, of which 84 were directed at aircraft, 855 medium and 2,053 light AA shells, being credited with the destruction of six German aircraft (including two shared with other ships. There were two incidents of accidental torpedo firings, during one of which a sailor was killed. She did not suffer any casualties due to enemy action, while two more sailors drowned in accidents which were the only casualties suffered before her sinking.[16]

Citations

  1. ^ Yakubov & Worth, pp. 99, 102–103
  2. ^ a b c Yakubov & Worth, p. 101
  3. ^ Budzbon, p. 330
  4. ^ Yakubov & Worth, pp. 101, 106–107
  5. ^ Hill, p. 40
  6. ^ Budzbon, Radziemski, & Twardowski, p. 118
  7. ^ Berezhnoy, p. 335
  8. ^ Yakubov & Worth, pp. 105–106
  9. ^ Budzbon, Radziemski, & Twardowski, pp. 116, 118
  10. ^ Rohwer & Monakov, p. 233
  11. ^ Budzbon, Radziemski, & Twardowski, pp. 117, 121
  12. ^ a b c d e Balakin, pp. 151–153
  13. ^ Platonov, p. 186; Rohwer, pp. 88, 93
  14. ^ Platonov, p. 186; Rohwer, pp. 114, 127, 131
  15. ^ Platonov, pp. 186–187; Rohwer, pp. 134, 138, 153, 158, 162, 167
  16. ^ a b c Balakin, pp. 154–155
  17. ^ Platonov, p. 187; Rohwer, pp. 188, 196, 207, 213

Sources

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