Soviet destroyer Tashkent

	Tashkent on her builder's sea trials, 1937
History
Soviet Union
Name	Tashkent (Ташкент)
Namesake	Tashkent
Ordered	2nd Five-Year Plan
Awarded	September 1935
Builder	OTO, Livorno, Italy
Laid down	11 January 1937
Launched	28 December 1938
Completed	22 October 1939
Nickname(s)	"Blue Beauty" or "Blue Cruiser"
Fate	Sunk by aircraft, 2 July 1942
General characteristics (September 1941)
Class and type	Tashkent-class destroyer leader
Displacement	2,840 long tons (2,890 t) (standard)
Length	139.7 m (458 ft 4 in) ( o/a)
Beam	13.7 m (44 ft 11 in)
Draft	3.7 m (12 ft 2 in)
Installed power	2 Yarrow boilers; 100,000 kW);
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 geared steam turbines
Speed	42.5 knots (78.7 km/h; 48.9 mph)
Range	5,030 nmi (9,320 km; 5,790 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Complement	250
Armament	3 × twin 130 mm (5.1 in) guns; 1 × twin AA guns; 6 × single 37 mm (1.5 in) AA guns; 6 × single 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine guns; 3 × triple 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes; 76 mines; 24 depth charges, 2 × depth charge throwers, 1 × rack;

Tashkent (

Axis Powers invaded the Soviet Union

in mid-1941.

During the

constructive total loss and was scrapped

after the war.

Design and description

Unsatisfied with the structural weaknesses and construction problems with

Second Five-Year Plan. The Italian firm would build Tashkent in its own shipyard and provide assistance for the Soviets to build others in their own shipyards.^[3]

The Tashkent-class ships had an

kW), the turbines were intended to give the Tashkents a maximum speed of 42.5 knots (78.7 km/h; 48.9 mph). Tashkent herself reached 43.5 knots (80.6 km/h; 50.1 mph) from 125,500 shp (93,600 kW) during her sea trials in 1938, although her armament had yet to be fitted.^[6] The ship reached 42.7 knots (79.1 km/h; 49.1 mph) once her armament had been installed.^[7] The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 5,030 nautical miles (9,320 km; 5,790 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).^[6]

The main armament of the Tashkent class was intended to consist of six

amidships.^[6] The Tashkents could also carry 76 mines and 24 depth charges which were delivered by two throwers and one stern rack.^[8]

Modifications

During a brief refit in February 1941, the three B-2LM turrets were fitted. At the same time the 45 mm guns were replaced by an equal number of fully automatic 37-millimeter (1.5 in) 70-K AA guns. A twin-gun 39-K mount for 76.2-millimeter (3 in) 34-K AA guns was installed on the stern while she was under repair on 31 August; it had been originally intended for the destroyer Ognevoy which was still under construction.^[1]

Construction and career

*Tashkent*'s forward superstructure being swayed aboard, 1937

Tashkent, named after the capital of the

dry docked for repairs that lasted until 1 November.^[12]

That day she sailed to

Soviet Far East that consisted of three oil tankers and an icebreaker. Vladimirisky and his ships escorted the convoy as far as the Bosporus in very heavy weather before returning home. On 22 December, Tashkent took another load of ammunition to Sevastopol and remained there for the next five days, firing 1,037 shells in support of the defenders.^[13]

On 1 January 1942, the ship helped to transport elements of the 386th Rifle Division to Sevastopol and she remained there for the next few days, firing 176 main-gun shells in support of the defenders. On 7 and 8 January, she attempted to land reinforcements at Eupatoria during a Soviet counterattack, but was driven off by heavy German fire and bad weather, although she bombarded German defenses on the latter day with 79 shells from her 130 mm guns. After returning to Sevastopol, Tashkent escorted a pair of transports back to the Caucasus ports on the 15th. Two weeks later, she ferried replacements to Sevastopol and fired 79 shells at German positions on 30 and 31 January before departing on 1 February. The ship delivered 914 replacements to Sevastopol two days later. On 4 February Tashkent began focusing solely on bombarding Axis defenses; firing over three hundred 130 mm shells before resuming her transport duties on 29 April with the delivery of more replacements to Sevastpol. On 10 May the ship, together with the destroyer leader Kharkov, arrived in Feodosia Bay to bombard targets, but could not identify any and returned to base without firing. A week later she delivered 689 replacements and 50 metric tons (49 long tons) of ammunition, following that with 775 men and 65 metric tons (64 long tons) of ammunition on 22 May. On her return voyage, she carried 39 soldiers, 86 evacuees, 21 torpedoes and the contents of the state bank. On 24 May Tashkent ferried 983 soldiers and 100 metric tons (98 long tons) of ammunition to Sevastopol and made further trips with the same types of cargo on 28 May, and 2, 6, and 23 June. The following day, the destroyer leader was the last ship to arrive in Sevastopol, landing 1,142 men, supplies and equipment of the 142nd Rifle Brigade after evading attacks by Heinkel He 111H bombers of I. Gruppe (First Group) of Kampfgeschwader 100 (Bomber Wing 100) en route.^[14]

After having loaded 2,100 wounded and part of the

sandbar in the harbor. Deciding that it would not be economical to repair the ship, the navy left the wreck there until 1946 when it was towed to Nikolayev to be scrapped.^[1]^[15]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Budzbon, Radziemski & Twardowski, p. 104
^ Budzbon, Radziemski & Twardowski, p. 100
^ Rohwer & Monakov, pp. 45–46
^ Budzbon, p. 329
^ Platonov, p. 140
^ ^a ^b ^c Budzbon, Radziemski & Twardowski, p. 103
^ Hill, p. 44
^ Platonov, p. 140; Wright, p. 360
^ Platonov, p. 141
^ Bergström & Mikhailov, p. 205; Budzbon, p. 329
^ Platonov, p. 141; Wright, pp. 349–350
^ Platonov, pp. 141–142; Wright, p. 350
^ Platonov, p. 142; Wright, p. 352
^ Bergström & Mikhailov, p. 204; Platonov, pp. 142–143; Rohwer, pp. 131, 133
^ Bergström & Mikhailov, p. 205; Platonov, p. 143; Rohwer, p. 177; Wright, pp. 358–359