Soviet destroyer Sokrushitelny (1937)

Sokrushitelny (Russian: Сокрушительный, lit. 'Destructive') was one of 29 Gnevny-class destroyers (officially known as Project 7) built for the Soviet Navy during the late 1930s. Completed in 1939, she was initially assigned to the Baltic Fleet before she was transferred to the Northern Fleet in late 1939. After the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, the ship laid several 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 only fired at a German ship one time, 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 52 crewmen were lost.

Aerial view of sister ship Razumny, March 1944
History
Soviet Union
Name: Sokrushitelny (Сокрушительный (Destructive))
Ordered: 2nd Five-Year Plan
Builder: Shipyard No. 189 (Ordzhonikidze), Leningrad
Yard number: 292
Laid down: 29 October 1936
Launched: 23 August 1937
Completed: 13 August 1939
Fate: Sunk during a storm, 21 November 1942
General characteristics (Gnevny as completed, 1938)
Class and 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:
Propulsion: 2 shafts; 2 geared steam turbines
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:

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 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. 189 (Ordzhonikidze) as yard number 292, Sokrushitelny was laid down on 29 October 1936, launched on 23 August 1937, and was completed on 13 August 1939.[8] Initially assigned to the Baltic Fleet, she was transferred to the Northern Fleet in November and was refitted at Molotovsk from 18 July 1940 to 4 July 1941.[9] Now assigned to the 1st Destroyer Division of the fleet, Sokrushitelny, together with her sister ship Grozny and the minelayer Kanin, helped to lay 275 mines on 23–24 July at the entrance to the White Sea. The ship rendezvoused with the British minelayer HMS Adventure on 31 July in the Barents Sea and escorted her to Arkhangelsk. From 10 to 18 August, Sokrushitelny escorted convoys along the coast of Karelia. Together with Grozny, she escorted ships full of evacuees from the Arctic island of 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.[10]

On 24 October, the ship bombarded German positions near the Zapadnaya Litsa River with 114 shells from her 130 mm guns. On 29 October, she collided with the minesweeper T-896 in Kola Bay and was under repair for five days. Sokrushitelny bombarded German troops on 6, 9, 16 and 18 November, firing a total of 435 main-gun shells. The ship was assigned to the close escort for Convoy PQ 3 on 23 November. She resumed bombarding German positions between 26 and 30 November, firing 985 shells in four days. Escorted by Sokrushitelny and Grozny, the heavy cruiser HMS Kent sortied on 17 December in an unsuccessful attempt to intercept the German 8th Destroyer Flotilla that had engaged two British minesweepers attempting to rendezvous with Convoy PQ 6. On 31 December and 1 January 1942, Sokrushitelny fired one hundred 130 mm shells each day at German positions near Motovsky Gulf.[11]

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. 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. 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. She escorted Convoy QP 12 on 21–23 May and then helped to escort Convoy PQ 16 on 28–30 May.[12]

The ship unsuccessfully searched in early for ships from Convoy PQ 17 after it had scattered. On 10 July Sokrushitelny's steering gear and rangefinders were damaged by fragments from near misses by German bombers. After repairs, she rendezvoused with Allied ships on 23 August carrying supplies for a pair of British torpedo bomber squadrons that were intended operate in Karelia. On 17–20 September the ship was one of the local escorts for Convoy PQ 18. The following month, Sokrushitelny escorted a freighter from Iokanga to Arkhangelsk on 4–7 November and escorted Convoy QP 15 on 17–20 November. A severe storm struck on the 20th and severed her stern, killing six men. Valerian Kuybyshev, Uritsky and her sister Razumny were sent to her aid and were able to rescue 191 men, although 30 sailors died during the rescue operations. Low on fuel, they were forced to depart on 21 November, leaving the ship, which sank after their departure, with a skeleton crew of 16 men. Most of the officers abandoned ship before the crewmen; the captain was shot for cowardice and the executive officer was sent to a penal battalion.[13]

Citations
  1. Yakubov & Worth, pp. 99, 102–103
  2. Yakubov & Worth, p. 101
  3. Budzbon, p. 330
  4. Yakubov & Worth, pp. 101, 106–107
  5. Hill, p. 40
  6. Yakubov & Worth, pp. 101, 105–106
  7. Berezhnoy, p. 335
  8. Rohwer & Monakov, p. 233
  9. Yakubov & Worth, p. 108
  10. Platonov, p. 186; Rohwer, pp. 88, 93
  11. Platonov, p. 186; Rohwer, pp. 114, 127, 131
  12. Platonov, pp. 186–187; Rohwer, pp. 134, 138, 153, 158, 162, 167
  13. Platonov, p. 187; Rohwer, pp. 188, 196, 207, 213

Sources
  • Balakin, Sergey (2007). Легендарные "семёрки" Эсминцы "сталинской" серии [Legendary Sevens: Stalin's destroyer series] (in Russian). Moscow: Yauza/Eksmo. ISBN 978-5-699-23784-5.
  • Berezhnoy, Sergey (2002). Крейсера и миноносцы. Справочник [Guide to Cruisers and Destroyers] (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat. ISBN 5-203-01780-8.
  • Budzbon, Przemysaw (1980). "Soviet Union". In Chesneau, Roger (ed.). 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). Энциклопедия советских надводных кораблей 1941–1945 [Encyclopedia of Soviet Surface Ships 1941–1945] (in Russian). 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 (eds.). 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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