Soviet destroyer Bezuprechny (1937)
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 Aerial view of sister ship Razumny, March 1944 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Soviet Union | |
| Name | Bezuprechny |
| Ordered | 2nd Five-Year Plan |
| Builder | Shipyard No. 200 (named after 61 Communards), Nikolayev |
| Laid down | 23 August 1936 |
| Launched | 25 June 1937 |
| Completed | 2 October 1939 |
| Fate | Sunk by aircraft, 26 June 1942 |
| General characteristics (Gnevny as completed, 1938) | |
| Class & type | Gnevny-class destroyer |
| Displacement | 1,612 t (1,587 long tons) (standard) |
| 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 & processing systems | Mars hydrophone |
| Armament |
|
Bezuprechny 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 assigned to the Black Sea Fleet. After the German invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa) in June 1941, the ship laid minefields and participated in the Siege of Odessa, ferrying men and supplies to the beleaguered city and providing naval gunfire support. Bezuprechny was damaged by German aircraft in September and was under repair for most of the rest of the year. During the Siege of Sevastopol, the ship resumed her duties in late December, only with a different destination. She was sunk by German aircraft while transporting supplies and troops on 26 June 1942 with the loss of approximately 300 crewmen and 320 passengers.
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. Bezuprechny reached 38.7 knots (71.7 km/h; 44.5 mph) during her trials in 1939. 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). Bezuprechny herself demonstrated a range of 3,145 nmi (5,825 km; 3,619 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 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]
