Soviet guard ship Groza

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Groza shortly after completion in 1932
History
Soviet Union
NameGroza
NamesakeГроза, Russian for "thunder"
Ordered
1st Five-Year Plan
Builder
Leningrad
Laid down13 August 1927
Launched28 September 1930
Commissioned22 July 1932
Out of service12 November 1952
RenamedAs PKZ-51, 25 February 1953
Reclassified
  • As a target ship, 12 November 1952
  • As an
    accommodation ship
    , 25 February 1953
General characteristics (as built)
Class and typeUragan-class guard ship
Displacement490 t (480 long tons) (standard)
Length71.5 m (234 ft 7 in)
Beam7.4 m (24 ft 3 in)
Draught2.95 m (9 ft 8 in)
Installed power
Propulsion2 shafts; 2 geared steam turbines
Speed21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph)
Range850 nmi (1,570 km; 980 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement114 men (1943)
Armament

The Soviet guard ship Groza was a Uragan-class guard ship built for the Soviet Navy during the 1920s and 1930s. The ship was one of the Series I ships known officially as Project 2. Initially assigned to the Baltic Fleet, she was transferred to the Northern Flotilla shortly after she was commissioned in 1932 and played a minor role in the 1939–1940 Winter War against Finland.

During

hulked as an accommodation ship
in early 1953.

Design and description

The

naval architects and shipyards lacked experience when the Soviet Navy decided to replace the few old Tsarist torpedo boats still in service.[1] The initial requirement was based on that of the later batches of the World War I-era German A-class torpedo boat[2] that could carry mines as necessary to serve as fleet escorts and conduct torpedo attacks. The Uragans were almost 6 knots (11 km/h; 6.9 mph) slower than designed due to this inexperience and, in their intended role, they "were complete failures – they were too slow for use as torpedo boats and of no value as ASW vessels because of their lack of depth-charge handling equipment and underwater detection devices".[3]

General characteristics

The Series I Uragan-class ships, officially known as Project 2, displaced 490

boiler rooms.[1] In 1943 Groza's crew numbered 114.[5]

The Uragan-class ships were powered by two

kW) which gave them a speed in service of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). Groza carried 102–116 metric tons (100–114 long tons) of fuel oil that gave her a range of 850 nautical miles (1,570 km; 980 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph).[6]

Armament and fire control

The main armament of the Uragan-class guard ships consisted of a pair of Tsarist-era

2-pounder (40 mm (1.6 in)) guns, but deteriorating relations with the United Kingdom prevented the Soviets from buying any of these weapons. A pair of 7.62-millimeter (0.3 in) Maxim machine guns were fitted in their place.[8]

A rotating triple mount for 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedoes was fitted between the

abaft the rear funnel.[7][9][10]

Modifications

Beginning in 1934, four semi-automatic 45 mm (1.8 in) 21-K AA guns in single mounts were being fitted to the Uragans. The 45 mm guns were generally mounted fore and aft of each of the 102 mm guns. Four years later 12.7 mm (0.50 in) DShK machine guns began replacing the Maxim machine guns. Around the same time ships began exchanging their 21-Ks for three single mounts for fully automatic 37 mm AA guns. These were usually positioned between the forward gun and the bridge, between the searchlight platform and the aft 102 mm gun, and abaft the rear gun. Some ships retained one or two of the 21-Ks into the war. When the Soviets began receiving 12.7 mm Colt-Browning machine guns through Lend-Lease, they began supplementing the DShKs aboard the Uragans, up to a total of six barrels in four mounts, with one twin-gun Colt-Browning mount replacing the searchlight in some ships. Some Uragans had a pair of BMB-1 depth charge throwers installed on the stern in 1941; Groza received hers on 13 August. Beginning in 1942, gun shields for the 102 mm guns were installed. By 1943, the ship had had a British Type 128 sonar installed.[11][12][13][14]

Construction and career

Groza was

minefield off Petsamo.[17]

After the

naval infantry that counter-attacked German forces driving on Murmansk during Operation Platinum Fox. She bombarded German positions with 36 rounds from her main guns on 1 January 1942. The ship received emergency repairs on 8–13 January and then spent the time between 24 March and 17 June under repair. Groza's crew claimed to have damaged a German U-boat on 10 September, but this has not been substantiated by post-war research.[18][19]

Groza and Uragan were among the Soviet ships that met Convoy JW 53 as it approached Soviet waters in mid-February 1943 and arrived at Kola Inlet on 26 February. The ship was part of the escort for Convoy KB.23 from Murmansk to Archangel on 21–23 September. Six months later Groza escorted Convoy BK.2 as it sailed from Archangel to Murmansk on 5 February 1944. Six days later she is one of the Soviet escorts that rendezvoused with Convoy JW 64 on 11 February.[20] Groza was modernized from 25 November 1943 until December 1944. The ship was converted to serve as a target ship on 12 November 1952 and was hulked as a barracks ship with the name of PRZ-51 on 25 February 1953.[21]

Citations

  1. ^ a b Budzbon & Lemachko, p. 143
  2. ^ a b Budzbon, Radziemski & Twardowski, p. 12
  3. ^ Budzbon & Lemachko, p. 199
  4. ^ a b Budzbon, Radziemski & Twardowski, p. 11
  5. ^ Platonov, p. 254
  6. ^ Platonov, pp. 253–254
  7. ^ a b c Budzbon & Lemachko, p. 144
  8. ^ Hill, p. 21
  9. ^ Platonov, p. 253
  10. ^ Hill, p. 17
  11. ^ Hill, pp. 16, 21
  12. ^ Platonov, pp. 253–255, 259
  13. ^ Budzbon, Radziemski & Twardowski, pp. 13–14
  14. ^ Breyer, p. 189
  15. ^ Platonov, p. 258
  16. ^ Budzbon & Lemachko, pp. 202–203
  17. ^ Rohwer, p. 13
  18. ^ Rohwer, pp. 83, 85–86, 131
  19. ^ Platonov, p. 259
  20. ^ Rohwer, pp. 232, 277, 392
  21. ^ Budzbon, Radziemski & Twardowski, p. 14

References

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