They were developed by the Central Design Bureau for Special Shipbuilding TsKBS-1 under the program "naval shipbuilding for 1933-1938", adopted on July 11, 1933 by the Council of Labor and Defense of the USSR. V.A. Nikitin was appointed the main head of the project, and P.O. Trakhtenberg was appointed the responsible executor. The project was based on the theoretical drawings of the Italian company "Ansaldo" brought by V.A. Nikitin from Italy, in addition, the model was run in an experimental pool in Rome. Our designers borrowed both the layout of the machine-boiler plant and the general architecture of the ship, however, domestic weapons, mechanisms and equipment forced us to move away from the prototype in many respects. The ships were intended for delivering torpedo strikes against large enemy ships on remote sea lanes, repelling mine attacks, guarding their large ships and convoys during the transition in the far and near sea zone, as well as laying minefields.

The hull of the ship is riveted, with limited use of welding, from sheet low-manganese steel, which had increased strength, but at the same time greater fragility. The ship had a forecastle, an upper deck, bow and stern platforms, and a second bottom. Throughout the engine and boiler rooms, a longitudinal hull framing system was used, and a transverse framing system was used at the extremities. Spacing along the entire length of the hull was 510 mm. In the bow and stern of the engine and boiler rooms there was a living deck covered with linoleum. The main watertight bulkheads reached the upper deck and were 3-4 mm thick. The leader did not have armor protection for the sides and deck, the thickness of the skin sheets was 5-9 mm, and in the area of ​​​​engine and boiler rooms 10 mm. The bow and stern bridges were equipped with ship control devices, as well as a command and rangefinder post (KDP-4) was located on the bow bridge, and a DM-3 rangefinder on the stern. Under the bow bridge was a two-tier bow superstructure. In the lower tier of the bow superstructure there were cabins for the senior command staff (commander and commissar of the ship, command of the formation), a headquarters cabin, a long-distance radio room, a hydroacoustic post, and a modular one. In the upper tier there was a GKP, a running and navigational cabin, a short-range communication cabin, and a cipher post. Under the aft bridge was a single-tier aft superstructure. In the aft superstructure, there was a cabin on duty and sanitary facilities for junior command personnel and teams. A casing was placed from the forecastle and behind the chimney chimney, post energy and survivability (PEZh) and rostra for life-saving equipment. Above the bulkhead separating 1 and 2 MO, on the upper deck, there was another superstructure with a galley, a dishwasher and a diesel generator room. The officers' quarters were located in the bow, and the sailors lived in cockpits in the bow and stern. The ammunition cellars were equipped with irrigation and flooding systems. Both systems were connected to the fire main. The spar was represented by two masts. The silhouette of the destroyer had sharp contours in the bow and one sloping, oval chimney.

  1. Feed water tank, artillery cellar No. 1, crew quarters No. 2, officers' cabins (frame 33-44);
  2. Fuel tank, artillery cellars No. 2 and No. 3, crew quarters No. 3, officers' cabins (frames 44-61);
  3. Boiler room No. 1 (frame 61-78);
  4. Boiler compartment No. 2 (frame 78-94);
  5. Boiler room No. 3 (frame 94-109);
  6. Engine room No. 1 (frame 109-133);
  7. Auxiliary boiler compartment (frame 133-138);
  8. Engine room No. 2 (frame 138-159);
  9. Tiller compartment and chemical cabin (frame 205-220);

The anchor device included two electric capstans, two Hall anchors and one aft stop anchor. The mass of the dead anchor is 1 t, the length of the anchor chains is 184 m. The mass of the stop anchor is 350 kg, the speed of the anchor chain is 0.2 m/s.

The steering device had an electric drive and one semi-balanced steering wheel located in the diametrical plane. Management was carried out from the main and spare navigation bridges and from the chart house. Emergency control was carried out manually from the tiller compartment.

Drainage means were represented by 13 water-jet ejectors with water supply from 10 to 100 t/h and 2 portable ejectors with water supply of 20 t/h.

Rescue equipment included 1 powerboat, 3 six-oared yawls, life buoys and individual life belts.

The power plant is mechanical, two-shaft, with two three-case turbo-gear turbines of the Kharkov Turbine Plant model GTZA-24 with a capacity of 25,250 hp each. With. each, located one in the forward engine room and one in the aft MO. The turbines transmitted rotation through the side shafts to two three-blade fixed-pitch propellers (FS). The steam for the turbines was produced by three triangular-type water-tube boilers with oil heating and with a symmetrical arrangement of superheaters located in the boiler rooms. The steam capacity of boilers No. 2 and No. 3 was 98.5 t / h each, and the front one - 83 t / h, since it had 7 nozzles instead of 9 due to the narrowing of the body, and the heating surface reached 1077 m2, instead of 1264 m2 for the last two. The control of the main engines was carried out manually with the help of speaking pipes and a machine telegraph. To store fuel oil, not only fuel tanks were used, but also double-bottom space, which increased the fuel supply to 500 tons. The ship's full speed was 38 knots. The actual cruising range at an economic speed of 19 knots was 2,500 miles.

The 115 V direct current electric power system was powered by three PST 30/14 dynamos with a power of 50 kW each and one standby diesel generator PN-2F with a power of 30 kW with distribution stations.

The armament of the ships consisted of:

  1. Of 2 single-barreled 76-mm anti-aircraft guns 34-K with a barrel length of 55 calibers, located side by side on the rosters behind the main mast. The gun in the deck installation had a shield made of bulletproof armor 13 mm thick. The rate of fire of the installation was 15 shots / min. The vertical guidance angle is from -5° to +85°, and the horizontal firing angles of both installations are from 20° to 180° on both sides. The initial velocity of the projectile is 800 m / s, the firing range is up to 14.6 km, and the reach in height is 9 km. Ammunition according to the norm was 350 shots per gun, 846 shots were taken into overload (according to the capacity of the cellars). The mass of the gun was 4.872 tons.
  2. Of 2 single-barreled 45-mm universal semi-automatic 21-K with a barrel length of 46 calibers, located on the side at the forecastle cut and providing shelling of air targets from forward heading angles. These installations did not have anti-fragmentation shields and mechanical pickup drives. The calculation of the gun consisted of 3 people. The semi-automatic fire rate was 25 rounds / min. Elevation angle from -10° to +85°. The initial velocity of the projectile is 740 m / s, the firing range is up to 9.2 km, and the reach in height is 6 km. The mass of the gun reached 507 kg.
  3. Of 2 single-barreled 12.7-mm machine guns DK-32, located side by side on the command bridge. The fire mode is only automatic, built on the gas exhaust principle. The rate of fire was 125 rounds / min. followed by a break to cool the barrel. Sighting range firing reached 3 km, and the ceiling up to 2 km. The machine guns are fed by belt, in the tape there are 50 rounds. The calculation of the machine gun included 2 people. The machine guns had a muzzle brake, a recoil absorber on the machine, a shoulder rest and a manual control system with an optical sight. Installation weight - no data.
  4. Of 2 triple-tube 533-mm torpedo tubes (TA) 39-Yu, located in the diametrical plane with the ability to conduct salvo firing of torpedoes from the Mina PUTS. TA deck swivel with turning angles from 62.5° to 118° on both sides. Gunpowder torpedo tubes were equipped with a manual drive and a mechanical electric drive for remote aiming. For remote control of torpedo firing, the Mina torpedo firing control device was used, which ensured a sequential firing of torpedoes. PUTS "Mina" made it possible to solve the torpedo triangle and produce guidance, both hardware and by ship. The torpedo 53-38 is a combined-cycle, dual-mode torpedo, that is, a range mode of 4 km and 8 km or 4 km and 10 km can be set on the base. The weight of the warhead of the torpedo was 300 kg, while the weight of the torpedo itself was 1.615 tons. The speed of the torpedo reached 44.5 knots (4 km), 34.5 knots (8 km) and 30.5 knots (10 km). The ammunition consisted of 16 torpedoes, 8 of them in the cellar, and the rest in the TA.
  5. Of 2 bombers for 16 BB-1 depth charges located at the aft cut of the upper deck. The total weight of a large depth charge was 165 kg, and the weight of TNT was 135 kg with a length of 712 mm and a diameter of 430 mm. The immersion speed reached 2.5 m / s, and the radius of destruction ranged from 8 to 20 meters. The bomb provided the setting of the depth of the explosion from 10 to 210 meters.

The ships were equipped with a Kurs gyrocompass, a Poseidon noise direction finder, 2 sets of DA-1 smoke equipment, a DA-2 aft smoke equipment kit, a Guys-1 radar (on the Gromkom SF), a Guys-1M radar (on " Ryan" Pacific Fleet).

Radar "Guys-1" - the first serial shipborne radar with one antenna (channel), two-coordinate, meter (1.5 meters) wavelength range, made it possible to detect and determine the range and azimuth to air and surface targets. The station operated in circular - 360° and sector - with an azimuth of 18° modes, with an operating radiation frequency of 200 MHz. Antenna - type "wave channel" with the number of revolutions per minute - 3 and the rate of view - 20 seconds. The operator observed the detected targets on the CRT screen, which were displayed as vertical pulsating pulses. The radar had a power consumption of 80 kW with a detection range of surface targets such as a battleship of 15 km, a cruiser of 13 km, a destroyer of 9.26 km, and a minesweeper of 7.4 km. The accuracy of determining the range was 92.6-129.6 meters, and the median error in determining the azimuth was no more than 0.55%.

The ships were built at the plant No. 190 (7) and at the Baltic Shipyard No. 189 (3) in Leningrad, at the Andre Marty plant No. 198 (4 for the Black Sea Fleet / 12 for the Pacific Fleet) and at the plant No. 200 (1 for the Black Sea Fleet / 1 for the Pacific Fleet) in Nikolaev with subsequent assembly of sections at plant No. 199 in Komsomolsk-on-Amur (9) and at Dalzavod No. 202 in Vladivostok (9).


Tactical and technical data of the destroyers of the project 7 Displacement: standard 1500 tons, full 2180 tons Maximum length: 112.5 metersLength according to design waterline: 110 meters
Maximum width: 10.2 meters
Width on design waterline: 10.1 meters
Nose side height: 8.5 meters
Board height amidships: 6 meters
Board height in the stern: 3.2 meters
Hull draft: 3.8 meters
Power point:
3 boilers, 2 FSH propellers, 1 steering wheel
Electric power
system: 		3 dynamos PST 30/14, 50 kW,
D.C. 115 V, 1 diesel generator PN-2F for 30 kW.
Travel speed: gross 38 knots, economic 19 knots
cruising range: 2500 miles at 19 knots
Seaworthiness: up to 7 points
Autonomy: 10 days
Armament: .
artillery:
anti-aircraft: 2x1 76 mm 34-K guns, 2x1 12.7 mm DK machine guns,
2x1 45-mm semi-automatic 21-K.
torpedo: 2x3 533-mm swivel TA 39-Yu with "Mina" PUTS.
mine: 65 anchor mines mod. 1926
anti-submarine: 2 bombers, 16 BB-1 bombs.
hydroacoustic: 1 noise direction finder "Poseidon"
radio engineering:
navigational:
1 log GO-3
chemical: 2 sets YES #1, 1 set YES #2
Crew: 197 people (15 officers, 44 foremen)

In total, destroyers were built from 1938 to 1940 - 28 units.

    Project 7U destroyers
- This is an improved version with an echelon arrangement of the main power plant, developed under the leadership of O.F. Jacob. The project was developed by the Central Design Bureau of Special Shipbuilding TsKBS-1 and Design Bureau of Plant No. 190 under the leadership of Chief Designer N.A. Lebedev. The project was finally approved by the People's Commissariat of the Navy on August 29, 1938.

The hull of the ship differed from Project 7 in the location of the engine and boiler rooms, as well as the presence of a fourth boiler, which slightly increased the displacement. The bow watertight bulkhead 1 KO was moved 3 spaces forward: from the 61st to the 58th frame. Also, the bow superstructure, along with the KDP-4 and 130-mm guns, was moved to three spacings. The bow superstructure remained bunk with a bow bridge. In the lower tier of the bow superstructure there were cabins for senior command personnel (commander and commissar of the ship, command of the formation), a headquarters cabin, a hydroacoustic post, aggregate, battery and charging batteries. In the upper tier there were GKP, navigation and navigation cabins, a cipher post, a secret communications post and a short-range radio room. The single-tier aft superstructure had a stern bridge. In the aft superstructure, there were sanitary facilities for junior command personnel and teams, a battery room, an aggregate room, a diesel generator room and a long-distance radio room. From the forecastle and behind the first chimney, there was a chimney casing, a galley, a dishwasher and, on top, rostra for boats. Near the second chimney there was another superstructure with a workshop and a chemical post, and on top of the rostra for six-oared yals, there was also a DM-3 rangefinder. The officers' quarters were located in the bow, and the sailors lived in cockpits in the bow and stern. The ammunition cellars were equipped with irrigation and flooding systems. Both systems were connected to the fire main. The spar was represented by two masts. The silhouette of the destroyer had sharp contours in the bow and two sloping, oval chimneys.
The unsinkability of the ship was ensured by dividing the hull with watertight bulkheads into 15 compartments:

  1. Forepeak, skipper and paint pantries (0-6 frames);
  2. Chain box, provisional pantry, room for a capstan machine (6-18 frames);
  3. Fresh water cistern, room for a refrigerator car, crew quarters No. 1, wardroom (frame 18-33);
  4. Feed water tank, artillery cellar No. 1, crew quarters No. 2, officers' cabins (frames 33-41);
  5. Fuel tank, artillery cellars No. 2 and No. 3, crew quarters No. 3, officers' cabins (frame 41-58);
  6. Boiler compartment No. 1 (frame 58-72);
  7. Boiler compartment No. 2 (frame 72-86);
  8. Engine room No. 1 (frame 86-109);
  9. Boiler room No. 3 (frame 109-123);
  10. Boiler room No. 4 (frame 123-137);
  11. Engine room No. 2 (frame 137-159);
  12. Artillery cellars No. 4 and No. 5, MPUAZO premises, posts (159-175 frames);
  13. Chemical pantry, artillery cellar No. 6, crew quarters No. 4 (frame 175-186);
  14. Artillery cellar No. 7, fuel tank, crew quarters No. 5 (frame 186-205);
  15. Rump department. (205-220 frame);
According to the calculations, the destroyer was guaranteed to maintain buoyancy and stability with the simultaneous flooding of any two compartments. When three adjacent compartments were flooded, it was not always possible to maintain buoyancy.

The power plant is mechanical, two-shaft, with two three-case turbo-gear turbines of the Kharkov Turbine Plant model GTZA-24 with a capacity of 25,250 hp each. With. each, located one in the forward engine room and one in the aft MO. The turbines transmitted rotation through the side shafts to two three-blade fixed-pitch propellers (FS). Steam for the turbines was produced by four tent vertical water-tube boilers with oil heating, a side screen and a one-way gas flow, equipped with loop superheaters. The steam capacity of the boilers was 80 t/h, the heating surface of each boiler reached 655 m2, and the pressure was 27.5 kg/cm2 at a temperature of 340°C. The control of the main engines was carried out manually with the help of speaking pipes and a machine telegraph. For the storage of fuel oil, not only fuel tanks were used, but also the double-bottom space. The ship's full speed was 37 knots. The actual cruising range at an economic speed of 19 knots was 2380 miles.

The 115 V direct current electric power system was powered by two PG-3 turbogenerators with a capacity of 100 kW each and two backup diesel generators with a capacity of 50 kW each with distribution stations.

The armament of the ships consisted of:

  1. Of the 4 single-barrel 130-mm gun mounts B-13 with a barrel length of 50 calibers, two are located on the tank and two in the stern. Ammunition, amounting to 150 shots per barrel (175 in overload), was located in four artillery cellars. Its supply was carried out by two elevators (one for charges, the other for shells) for each gun; in case of failure, there were tubes for manual feeding, and the loading of the guns was carried out manually. The gun in the deck installation had a shield made of bulletproof armor 13 mm thick. The calculation of the gun included 11 people. The rate of fire of the installation, depending on the elevation angle, was 6-10 shots / min. Elevation angle from -5° to +45°. The initial velocity of the projectile is 870 m / s, the firing range is up to 27.5 km. The mass of the gun with the machine and the shield was 12.8 tons. The artillery fire was controlled by PUAO "Mina", which made it possible to determine the full angles of vertical and horizontal guidance of the guns while constantly monitoring the target. Surveillance of the surface target was carried out using two 4-meter rangefinders located in the bow command and rangefinder post (KDP-4).
  2. Of 2 single-barreled 76-mm anti-aircraft guns 34-K with a barrel length of 55 calibers, located side by side on the aft bridge. The gun in the deck installation had a shield made of bulletproof armor 13 mm thick. The rate of fire of the installation was 15 shots / min. The vertical guidance angle is from -5° to +85°, and the horizontal firing angles of both installations are from 20° to 180° on both sides. The initial velocity of the projectile is 800 m / s, the firing range is up to 14.6 km, and the reach in height is 9 km. Ammunition according to the norm was 350 shots per gun, 846 shots were taken into overload (according to the capacity of the cellars). The mass of the gun was 4.872 tons.
  3. Of the 3 single-barrel 45-mm universal semi-automatic 21-K with a barrel length of 46 calibers, two are located on the side and one in the diametrical plane on the site behind the first chimney. These installations did not have anti-fragmentation shields and mechanical pickup drives. The calculation of the gun consisted of 3 people. The semi-automatic fire rate was 25 rounds / min. Elevation angle from -10° to +85°. The initial velocity of the projectile is 740 m / s, the firing range is up to 9.2 km, and the reach in height is 6 km. The mass of the gun reached 507 kg.
  4. Of the 4 single-barreled 12.7-mm DShK machine guns with a barrel length of 84 caliber, two are located side by side on the command bridge and two are side by side at the forecastle cut. The fire mode is only automatic, built on the gas exhaust principle. The rate of fire was 125 rounds / min. followed by a break to cool the barrel. The effective firing range reached 3.5 km, and the ceiling was up to 2.4 km at an initial bullet speed of 850 m/s. The machine guns are fed by belt, in the tape there are 50 rounds. The calculation of the machine gun included 2 people. The machine guns had a muzzle brake, a recoil absorber on the machine, a shoulder rest and a manual control system with an optical sight. Installation weight - no data.
  5. Of 2 triple-tube 533-mm torpedo tubes (TA) 1-N, located in the diametrical plane with the ability to conduct salvo firing of torpedoes from the Mina PUTS. TA deck swivel with turning angles from 45° to 135° on both sides. Combined torpedo tubes with the ability to fire both gunpowder and pneumatic. They were equipped with a manual drive and a mechanical electric drive for remote aiming. For remote control of torpedo firing, the Mina torpedo firing control device was used, which provided a consistent and salvo torpedo firing. PUTS "Mina" made it possible to solve the torpedo triangle and produce guidance, both hardware and by ship. A number of improvements were made to the design of the TA, which doubled the accuracy of its guidance to the target. The torpedo 53-38 is a combined-cycle, dual-mode torpedo, that is, a range mode of 4 km and 8 km or 4 km and 10 km can be set on the base. The weight of the warhead of the torpedo was 300 kg, while the weight of the torpedo itself was 1.615 tons. The speed of the torpedo reached 44.5 knots (4 km), 34.5 knots (8 km) and 30.5 knots (10 km). The ammunition consisted of 16 torpedoes, 8 of them in the cellar, and the rest in the TA.
  6. From 65 anchor mines of the 1926 model. A shock-mechanical mine with a spherical-cylindrical body made of galvanized sheet iron had dimensions of 1840x900x1000 mm. The drum with the minrep, located on the body of the mine, had a hydrostatic device that controlled the unwinding of the minrep. After dropping, the mine sank to the bottom without separating from the anchor. After a while, the sugar disconnector worked and she began to float. When the predetermined recess was reached, the hydrostatic device stopped the unwinding of the minrep. The warhead contained 254 kg of explosive, the time to enter the combat position was from 15 to 25 minutes. For laying mines, mine rails were used, which simplified the laying of mines on the go. The greatest depth of the setting was 130 meters, the smallest 18 meters. The deepest mine from the surface is up to 6.1 meters, the smallest is about 1.2 meters. The minimum mine interval reached 41 meters at the highest speed when setting mines at 24 knots and highest altitude sides 4.6 meters. The explosion delay when the mine was triggered was 0.05 seconds.
  7. Of 2 bombers for 16 BB-1 depth charges located at the aft cut of the upper deck. The total weight of a large depth charge was 165 kg, and the weight of TNT was 135 kg with a length of 712 mm and a diameter of 430 mm. The immersion speed reached 2.5 m / s, and the radius of destruction ranged from 8 to 20 meters. The bomb provided the setting of the depth of the explosion from 10 to 210 meters.

The fire control system of the main caliber "Mina-7" included:

  • Artillery fire control device of the main caliber (PUAO) "Mina-7" consisting of:
    • From the central automaton for firing control of the main caliber TsAS-2 (calculating device), which, on the basis of the data received from the rangefinder posts, developed the coordinates, speed and heading angle of the target, while simultaneously giving out the angles of horizontal and vertical aiming of the guns. In addition to controlling the fire of the main caliber, he had a scheme for generating a torpedo aiming angle, that is, he could also be used as a torpedo firing machine.
  • Data on the course of your ship was automatically received from the Kurs gyrocompass, unfortunately, in practice, its capabilities were severely limited due to low accuracy.
  • Information about the target went to the fire control system from the rangefinders of the KDP-4 command and rangefinder post and the night sights of the central aiming of the VMC-2.
The Mina-7 system made it possible to separate the fire of the bow and stern artillery groups, as well as to fire at a temporarily hiding sea target. In addition, she ensured the firing of torpedo tubes.

The ships of the project were equipped with a Kurs gyrocompass, a Poseidon noise direction finder, 2 sets of DA-1 smoke equipment, a DA-2 aft smoke equipment kit, MDSh smoke bombs, and a Guys-1M radar (on the Strict BF).

A two-rotor gyrocompass of the "Kurs" type with a sensitive element in the form of a floating gyrosphere, the prototype of which was the "New Anschutz" gyrocompass, created in Germany in 1926. The gyrocompass had an attenuation switch that provided a lower ballistic error, the readiness time after launch was 4-6 hours, in addition, manual inputs were required to take into account the velocity correction with each change in speed, as well as with a change in latitude. The disadvantage of the gyrocompass was the lack of an autonomous emergency power source, a tachometer to determine the number of revolutions of the power unit, and non-self-synchronizing receiving peripheral devices, which required systematic monitoring of their consistency with the main compass. The gyrocompass readings were sent to the repeaters. The latter were located in various combat posts and, after turning them on and agreeing with the gyrocompass, showed the course of the ship.

ShPS "Poseidon" was intended for passive detection of targets, by registering and classifying their noise. The station provided target detection "on the foot" according to the structure of the noise signal at a distance of 740 meters to 2.5 km, the bearing accuracy varied within 5-10 °, and the distance to the target could not be determined by the NPS.

Smoke apparatus DA-1 steam-oil (smoke substance - fuel oil), had an exhaust through the chimney at a capacity of 50 kg / min. The height of the curtain was 40 - 60 meters.

Smoke equipment DA-2 was mounted on the stern and was acidic - they used a mixture of C-IV (a solution of sulfurous anhydride in chlorosulfonic acid) as a smoke-forming substance, which was supplied to the nozzles with compressed air and sprayed into the atmosphere.

The marine smoke bomb MDSH, adopted in 1935, was intended for ships that did not have stationary smoke equipment. As a smoke generator in the checker, a solid smoke mixture based on ammonia and anthracene is used. With a length of 487 mm and a mass of 40-45 kg, its operation time is eight minutes, and the smoke screen created reaches 350 meters in length and 17 meters in height.

Radar "Guys-1M" - a shipborne radar with two antennas (channels), two-coordinate, meter (1.43 meters) wave range, made it possible to detect and determine the range and azimuth to air and surface targets and the coastline for ships of the type MO, BO, TFR, TS and destroyers. The station operated in circular - 360° and sector - with an azimuth of 18° modes, with an operating radiation frequency of 209.79 MHz. Two antennas - of the "wave channel" type with a beam opening angle in the horizontal plane of 22 °, the number of revolutions per minute - 3 and the viewing rate - 20 seconds. Radiation and reception could be carried out both on both antennas, working in phase, and on one. The operator observed the detected targets on the CRT screen, which was an oscillographic marker on the LO-709 tube. A "strobe signal" and a system of strict linear scanning of the electron beam were introduced into the CRT. The use of the "electric magnifying glass" scheme made it possible to increase the resolution in distance and at long detection ranges to consider and determine the number and nature of surface targets in more detail. The radar had a power consumption of 80 kW with a detection range of surface targets such as a cruiser - 11 km, a destroyer - up to 8 km, a minesweeper - up to 6.5 km. The weight of the equipment is 174 kg. The accuracy of determining the range was 92.5 meters, and the median error in determining the azimuth was no more than 0.42%.

The ships were built at the plant No. 190 (10) and at the Baltic Shipyard No. 189 (3) in Leningrad and at the plant No. 200 (5 for the Black Sea Fleet) in Nikolaev.

The lead Watchtower entered service with the Baltic Fleet in October 1940.


Tactical and technical data of destroyers of project 7U Displacement: standard 1800 tons, full 2404 tons Maximum length: 112.5 metersLength according to design waterline: 110 meters
Maximum width: 10.2 meters
Width on design waterline: 10.1 meters
Nose side height: 8.5 meters
Board height amidships: 6 meters
Board height in the stern: 3.2 meters
Hull draft: 3.8 meters
Power point: 2 steam turbines GTZA for 25 250 hp,
4 boilers, 2 FSH propellers, 1 steering wheel
Electric power
system: 		2 turbogenerators PG-3, 100 kW each,
direct current 115 V, 2 DG-50s, 50 kW each.
Travel speed: gross 37 knots, economic 19 knots
cruising range: 2380 miles at 19 knots
Seaworthiness: up to 7 points
Autonomy: 9 days
Armament: .
artillery: 4x1 130-mm gun mounts B-13 from PUAO "Mina-7"
anti-aircraft: 2x1 76 mm 34-K guns, 4x1 12.7 mm DShK machine guns,
3x1 45-mm semi-automatic 21-K.
torpedo: 2x3 533-mm rotary TA 1-N with "Mina" PUTS.
mine: 65 anchor mines mod. 1926
anti-submarine: 2 bombers, 10 BB-1 bombs.
hydroacoustic: 1 noise direction finder "Poseidon"
radio engineering: transmitter "Shkval-M", receiver "Metel",
1 VHF transceiver "Raid".
navigational: 1 Kurs-2 gyrocompass, 4 127 mm mag. compass ZMI,
1 log GO-3
chemical: 2 sets of YES No. 1, 1 set of YES No. 2,
smoke bombs MDSH
Crew: 207 people (15 officers, 45 foremen)

In total, destroyers were built from 1940 to 1942 - 18 units.

The destroyer "Fast" was good example product "Soyuzverfi" of the Soviet Union. The destroyer became the eleventh warship of the project number "7" and was put into operation in the Black Sea Fleet.

Story

After the First World War, the participating countries tried to make up for their lost military potential. One of the directions was the Navy, which since the time of Alfred Mahan has been one of the predetermining factors in obtaining global power.

In addition, cruisers and battleships received a special trend. British destroyers type "V" and "W"; Japanese Hatsuharu and Fubuku; American "Porter", "Mahan", "Benson" and "Gridley"; French "Jaguar" and "La Fantask"; Italian "Maestralle"; German "Type 1934" and "Type 1936" - are the main representatives of foreign modern destroyers during the period 1920-1930.

Prerequisites for creation

Soviet Union also did not want to lag behind its European and Asian neighbors. At the beginning of the 1930s, there were only 17 ships in the operation of the Navy of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army (12 ships were in the Baltic Sea, the remaining 5 in the Black Sea), which remained from the time of the First World War. Moreover, destroyers of the Novik type did not meet the necessary characteristics of that time and could not represent the interests of the Soviet Union of Socialist Republics. As a result, the Command of the Naval Forces of the Red Army, together with Soyuzverf and the Council of Labor and Defense of the USSR, adopted a resolution on the construction of 50 destroyers of a new type. A new type of destroyers was the project number "7" (or as it is known the type "Angry"). Over time, a modernized version of the destroyer "7U" appeared (or, in another way, the "Watchdog" type).

The Great Patriotic War

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet Navy had 22 Project 7 destroyers. The remaining 25 destroyers, although they were laid down in 1935-1936, for one reason or another, were not put into operation by contractors (shipyards). All destroyers of project number "7" and its upgraded version "7U" were divided into 4 fleets:

  1. Baltic Fleet;
  2. Black Sea Fleet;
  3. Northern Fleet;
  4. Pacific Fleet.

However, in connection with strategic tasks, destroyers played a role in the first two fleets.

Baltic Fleet

The structure included one detachment of light forces and one squadron, consisting of destroyers of project numbers "7" and "7U", as well as other ships of various classes. The destroyers Watchtower, Glorious, Stable, Angry, Harsh, Strong were included in this list (upon completion of construction, they were supplemented with new "sevens"). Despite the fact that basically all of these warships were put out of action by the fascist forces, some of them made real progress in achieving the victory of the Red Army.

For example, the destroyer "Glorious" in general was able to overcome 3,700 nautical miles and produce an artillery fuse in the amount of about 2,000 shells from the main and anti-aircraft guns. Another example is the destroyer Stoykiy, which has traveled over 7,500 nautical miles. Moreover, the latter not only delivered strikes (more than 1,500 shells) on enemy units, but successfully used mines (about 300 units), depth charges (about 130 units) and transported more than 1,500 military personnel. "Strong" and "Angry" participated directly in the naval battle against the German ship group and achieved success in it. The destroyer "Severe" also participated in another naval battle in the Gulf of Riga, where, like his brothers "Strong" and "Angry", he achieved success.

Black Sea Fleet

The composition consisted of two divisions, but only one had the destroyers of the project number "7" and "7U". The second division included destroyers Fast, Svobodny, Smart, Smart, Capable (over time, the ranks were supplemented by new destroyers of the project number 7 and 7U). The main task of the fleet was the defense of Odessa and Sevastopol. Moreover, in the following year, the fleet provided support for landing operations in Feodosia.

The legend of the Black Sea Fleet is the destroyer of the project number "7" - "Smart". The latter went through the entire war without receiving a single significant injury and losing only 5 crew members. In general, "Smart" has passed more than 60,000 nautical miles (reaching 218 combat missions). For 4 years, the destroyer fired almost 3,000 artillery salvos, transported about 15,000 military personnel, shot down 5 Nazi bombers and towed more than 50 pieces of naval equipment. Moreover, the warship and all its crew were awarded the "Guards" title for excellent progress in Feodosia landing operation in 1941. As the experts of that time said, the main success of the "Savvy" is the synchronism of the commander of the ship - Captain 1st Rank N. Basisty and the crew of the destroyer subordinate to him - the legend.

Postwar

After the end of the Second World War, most of the destroyers of the project number "7" and "7U" were decommissioned. In their place came new and more modern at that time destroyers of the project number "30 bis". The main reason is the military-technological progress during the Great Patriotic War. The new destroyers were fully automated and equipped the latest installations like radar, sonar, etc.

The history of the creation of the destroyers of the project number "7"

In connection with the new ambitions of the country, the Command of the Naval Forces of the Red Army needed to update the outdated fleet. The first work on a new type of destroyer began in the late 1920s, but due to financial difficulties, the process stalled. Only in the early 1930s was the Central Design Bureau of Shipbuilding established, which was responsible for the design of new destroyers. The main requirements for the bureau were:

  1. The construction of destroyers was supposed to be inexpensive and fast;
  2. The new destroyers had to be no worse than their "brothers" from other countries.

The main persons responsible for the design were V. Nikitin (project manager) and P. Trachtenberg (project executor). The Central Bureau decided to seek help from the Italian shipyards for help in creating a new type of destroyer. There were two reasons for this:

  1. Italian destroyers of the Maestrale type (built by the Ansaldo shipbuilding company) evoked positive reviews from the Soviet leadership;
  2. Friendly relations between the Soviet Union and Italy.

The shipbuilding company "Ansaldo" gladly accepted the proposal of the TsKSB and decided to help our engineers. In connection with this turn of events, the silhouette and design of the hull of the new destroyer was a foregone conclusion. The delegation, which consisted of members of the Soyuzverf and the Command of the Navy of the Red Army, went to Italy. The Ansaldo company provided all the necessary documentation and drawings, and also gave Soviet engineers access to the shipyard.

After three months of joint work by Soviet-Italian engineers, in the fall of that year, the Main Revolutionary Military Council adopted the model of the new destroyer. According to its features, the project number "7" was supposed to have a displacement of about 1,300 tons, a maximum speed of 40 knots and a maximum cruising range of -1,800 nautical miles. It was planned to equip the destroyer with 4 artillery guns 130 mm and 3 anti-aircraft guns 76mm, as well as 2 torpedo tubes 533mm. Moreover, in general terms, it was designed according to the Italian style - the destroyer had a linear main power plant and a single-tube hull.

Selecting the optimal configuration

Due to the incomprehensibility of the desires of the command and the reality of the country's capabilities, the project was revised and redone. Firstly, the level of technology and the lack of the necessary equipment forced the TsKSB to move away from the Italian prototype. Secondly, the desire to build a more powerful, but with a smaller displacement warship - led the engineers to a dead end.

The final sketch of the new ship was approved and signed by the Council of Labor and Defense in 1934. The technical data of the vessel should have looked like this: displacement - from 1430 tons to 1750 tons; length - 112 m; width - 10.2 m; maximum speed- 38 knots; staff - 170 people; armament - 4 artillery guns 130 mm, 2 anti-aircraft guns 76 mm and 2 three-tube torpedo guns. It should be noted important fact- at that time, many of the guns and equipment existed only in the plans of engineers, and the layout of the ships did not have any spare displacement.

Construction and testing

The construction of destroyers of the project number "7" was divided between 4 main and 2 auxiliary shipyards of the country.

The main shipyards were:

  • Shipyard No. 189 im. Zhdanov;
  • Shipyard No. 190 im. Ordzhonikidze;
  • Shipyard No. 198 im. Marty;
  • Shipyard No. 200 im. 61 Communards.

Auxiliary shipyards were:

  • Shipyard No. 199;
  • Shipyard No. 202;

The main task of which was to collect finished parts of the destroyer on the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

Construction began in 1935, and almost all other destroyers were laid down the following year. However, despite the fact that at the beginning of the company everything went according to schedule, over time, construction lost its momentum. The main reasons were the lack of infrastructure and personnel in the country. Subsequently, in 1936, only 6 destroyers of the project number "7" were completed.

However, the turning point in the construction of Soviet destroyers was an incident that happened off the coast of Spain. At the beginning of 1937, the English destroyer Hunter was authorized to peacefully control the actions of the two sides of the Spanish Civil War (Republicans and Francoists). In the early spring morning of the same year, Hunter found a mine, which immediately disabled the main power plant of the ship. The incident had a huge impact on the project number "7" because. the warship "Hunter" as well as the "seven" had a linear power plant. Despite the fact that by European standards the Hunter was recognized as a fairly tenacious combat ship, the Soviet Union decided to change the design of the ship. Responsible designers - V. Brzezinski, P. Trachtenberg and V. Rimsky-Korsakov were exiled to Siberia for negligence. In the end, they decided to make a modification of the ship. The main task was to change the structure of the main power plant. The modified version was the type "7U" (improved project number "7"). "7U" was upgraded within a month by engineer O. Jacob.

The first ship of the project number "7" - "Bodry" was launched in 1938. However, due to the fact that he did not reach the planned speed limit, the ship was returned to the shipyard. As a result, the first destroyer to be tested and put into operation was the Wrathful.

destroyer "Angry"

A total of 29 Project 7 destroyers and 18 Project 7U destroyers were built. The remaining 6 buildings, it was decided to divide into modules and use as spare parts. The destroyer "Resolute", commanded by the future Commander-in-Chief of the Navy of the Soviet Union S. Gorshkov, sank during launching in stormy weather and, therefore, was not taken into service by the navy.

The design of the destroyer “Fast”

The silhouette of the project number "7" was single-pipe, rather long and not quite wide. With a length to width ratio of 11:1 and a high speed, the ship's maneuverability was quite low.

The ship's hull itself was made of low-manganese steel, which affected the ship's survivability. The fact is that low manganese steel is characterized by high hardness on the one hand, but on the other hand it is very easy to crack. Even from the blows received during the mooring of the ship to the port, the destroyers sometimes received cracks. Above-deck structures were made of ordinary steel.

EM Ship

Project number "7" had a linear power plant. To be more precise, the boilers of the ships were in one long compartment in a unilinear order. The main reason for choosing a linear type of power plant was efficiency. However, in the modernized "7U" the power plant was changed. In the latter, the power plant was located in different compartments of the ship, which in turn increased the survivability of the ship.

Armament of the Ship

The destroyer was armed with: the main gun, anti-aircraft weapons, torpedo weapons and anti-submarine weapons.

Main Weapon

The main artillery pieces were 4 130 mm guns. The guns themselves were produced by the Bolshevik plant. The projectile speed reached 900 m / s, and the range of the projectiles was about 30 km. In general, 150 shells for various purposes with a weight of 33.7 kg were intended for each gun.

Anti-aircraft Armament

As anti-aircraft weapons, the destroyer had two guns of the 34-K class with 76 mm.

Torpedo armament

Two 39-Yu class 3-tube torpedo tubes were part of the destroyer's armament. had a range of 4 km and a speed of 12 m / s.

Anti-Submarine Armament

On board the destroyer of the project number "7" were from 60 to 65 (depending on the class of mines). Standard armament consisted of:

  1. 25 depth mines;
  2. 10 large mines;
  3. 15 units of small min.

Tactical and technical characteristics

The latest destroyer data was as follows:

  1. Displacement - from 1500 to 2180 tons;
  2. Hull draft - 3.8 m;
  3. Travel speed - 38 knots (maximum) and 19 knots (economic);
  4. Seaworthiness - 7 points;
  5. Autonomy - 10 days;
  6. Length - 112 m;
  7. Width - 10.2 m.

Project Evaluation

The destroyers "Gnevny" (project number "7") and "Storozhevoy" (project number "7U") are the largest serial combat ship in the history of the Soviet and Russian fleets. Of course, 47 built destroyers were supposed to play essential role at the end of the Great Patriotic War. However, due to the fact that all destroyers were divided into 4 fleets, the power of such serial shipbuilding was dispersed and could not prove itself.

Another important factor is the increase in Soviet spending on the maritime industry. If in 1935 the country's expenses amounted to 4.6 billion. rubles, then in 1941 this figure was 12.8 billion. rubles.

Despite the large-scale serial construction of destroyers and the increase in spending allocated to the fleet, the Soviet Union was unable to properly use its naval power (by dividing the fleet into parts). Subsequently, the USSR could not become a maritime power in the post-war period.

“Crushing” is one of the most disliked topics by our historians. If possible, they generally prefer not to remember it once again. If the latter fails, then they talk about "Crushing" in passing and patter. There are plenty of reasons for such persistent dislike. For a long time, nothing was ever written about "Crushing" at all. The disgraced destroyer was mentioned only in the memoirs of the commander of the Northern Fleet during the Great Patriotic War, Admiral Golovko.


The destroyer "Crushing" belonged to a series of destroyers of the "7" project. The destroyers of the project "7" (or, as they are usually called, "sevens") rightfully occupy a prominent place in our naval. And it is not surprising - after all, they were active participants in the Great Patriotic War, they were the most massive Soviet surface ships built in the 30s, it is from the "sevens" that several generations trace their pedigree domestic destroyers, large missile ships and even cruisers. One destroyer of the "7" type became guards, four - red banner. At the same time, a lot of contradictory things have been said and written about them. This is especially true for the combat operations of the "sevens" during the war years - here real, often tragic events were replaced by legends for a long time. Especially a lot of rumors always circulated around the tragic death of the destroyer "Crushing". The first six "sevens" managed to be laid at the end of 1935, and the next year - and all the rest. By the beginning of World War II, the Soviet Navy had 22 destroyers of the "Wrathful" type. These were our most massive pre-war ships.

The destroyer "Crushing" was built at the plant number 189 named after S. Ordzhonikidze. Serial number C-292. Laid down on 10/29/1936, launched on 08/23/1937, acceptance certificate was signed on 08/13/1939. Shortly after commissioning, he was transferred via the White Sea-Baltic Canal (September - November 1939) to the Northern Fleet. In November, the destroyer arrived at Polyarny. During the war with Finland, he carried out sentinel and escort service, then he was engaged in combat training. From July 18, 1940 to July 4, 1941, a warranty repair was carried out at the plant number 402 in Molotovsk. In total, before the start of World War II, he walked 10,380 miles.

After the completion of sea trials, the "Crushing" was included in the White Sea Flotilla, where it remained until September 29. During this time, he escorted transports several times, made 3 mine laying (delivered 90 mines of KB-1 and 45 mines of the 1908 model), underwent a short-term preventive maintenance.

October 1 "Crushing" arrived in Polyarny and became part of a separate division of destroyers.
The Northern Fleet during the Great Patriotic War was the youngest and smallest, but at the same time the most active operational formation of our Navy. By June 1941, it was the Sevens that were his largest ships. Five destroyers of this type ("Loud", "Terrible", "Thundering", "Swift" and "Crushing"), together with three "novices", made up the 1st separate division of destroyers. At the end of 1942, with the arrival of the Pacific "Reasonable", "Furious" and the leader "Baku", a brigade of destroyers was formed (commander - captain of the 1st rank, then rear admiral, P.I. Kolchin).

Until January 1, 1942, he went out 11 times to shell enemy positions, fired 1297 130-mm shells. In addition, together with Grozny and the English cruiser Kent, he participated in the search for German destroyers (though without results), and escorted transports. The most difficult campaign was the joint escort operation with Grozny on December 24–26. During a 9-point storm with a 7-point wave and heavy icing of the superstructures, the ship's roll reached 45 °, and due to the salinity of the refrigerator, for some time it was necessary to go on one TZA. By some miracle, the ships escaped major damage. This time, the Crusher was just lucky, and he got to the base.

On March 28, after the completion of scheduled preventive maintenance, the Crushing, together with the Thundering and the British destroyer Oribi, went out to meet the PQ-13 convoy, and in the morning of the next day they entered its guard. At 11:18, in poor visibility, shooting was heard, and after 2 minutes, splashes from five artillery shells rose near the port side of the Crushing. After 6-7 seconds, 3 more shells fell on the bow and stern. The destroyer increased its speed. A few seconds later, at a heading angle of 130 ° and a distance of 15 cables, the silhouette of a ship was discovered, identified as a German destroyer of the Raeder class. "Crushing" opened fire and with the second volley achieved coverage with a shell hitting the area of ​​​​the second pipe of the enemy ship. He sputtered and veered sharply to the left. Our destroyer followed up with 4 more volleys, but no more hits were observed. The falling snow charge hid the enemy from sight. In total, "Crushing" fired 20 130-mm shells.

Sailors of the Soviet destroyer of project 7 "Crushing" with a ship's pet, the area of ​​the bow torpedo tubes, a view of the bow. Northern Fleet

This fleeting battle occupies a prominent place in the history of Soviet naval art, since it is the only episode in the entire Great Patriotic War when our surface warship collided with an enemy of its own class and even emerged from it as if the winner. The German destroyer Z-26 is usually indicated as the enemy of the "Crushing". Recently, however, materials have appeared in the press in which other versions are put forward. So, the authors of a number of publications, rightly pointing out that by the moment described, the Z-26 was badly damaged and fired from the Trinidad cruiser from the only surviving gun, and the Z-24 and Z-25 circling around the convoy were far enough from the skirmish site, express the hypothesis that the "Crusher" fought with ... the English destroyer "Fury". This seems unlikely, since a hit on an allied destroyer (which, by the way, arrived in Murmansk the next day) would certainly have been reflected in documents and historical literature. It is more logical to assume that the Z-26 was still the target for the commandors of the “Crushing”, only someone else fired on the Soviet destroyer, since the first 5-gun volley could not be made by any of the destroyers located nearby (both English and German ships had 4 guns of the main caliber). By the way, in the report of the commander of the "Crushing" nothing is said about the conduct of fire by the Germans. So the two volleys that fell at the side could well have belonged to the same Trinidad cruiser, which mistook the Crushing and Thundering for Z-24 and Z-25. In any case, there is no unambiguous explanation for some of the inconsistencies in the Soviet, German and English descriptions of this battle.

In April, "Crushing", while guarding convoys, repeatedly repelled air attacks, again suffered a 9-10-point storm. On the evening of April 30, she entered the guard of the Edinburgh cruiser torpedoed by a German submarine, which had five tons of gold on board, intended to pay for the United States under lend-lease. However, the lack of fuel forced the "Crushing" after 8 hours to go to the base. Having replenished the supply of fuel oil, "Crushing" on the evening of May 1 returned to the location of the cruiser, but, alas, it was too late. Six hours before the approach of the destroyer, Edinburgh was sunk. Later, the British claimed that the Soviet destroyers left their damaged cruiser at the most difficult moment. These claims had nothing to do with the commander of the "Crushing" and his team and are fully related to the command of the Northern Fleet, which, when planning the operation, did not take into account the fuel reserves and their consumption on their ships.

On May 8, the “Crushing” twice went to the Ara Bay to shell coastal targets. According to reconnaissance, both attacks were successful and inflicted some damage on the enemy. The second campaign, however, almost ended in tragedy. During the shelling of coastal targets, "Crushing" was suddenly attacked by 28 German aircraft at once. The destroyer managed to urgently rivet the anchor chain (there was no time to choose the anchor) and, successfully maneuvering, avoided hits from the bombs raining down on it. At the same time, the anti-aircraft gunners of the ship managed to shoot down one bomber from a 37-mm machine gun.

Torpedo tube 39-Yu of one of the destroyers of the Northern Fleet ("Crushing")

From May 28 to May 30, “Crushing”, along with “Terrible” and “Kuibyshev”, was guarding the allied convoy PQ-16. All this time, the convoy transports were subjected to massive attacks by fascist bombers and torpedo bombers. On May 29, in just one attack, the Germans dropped 14 torpedoes on the convoy ships, but none of them hit the target, but the Focke-Wulf torpedo bomber was shot down by a 76-mm projectile from the Smashing from a distance of 35 cables. The next day, another aircraft, this time a Junkers-88, was destroyed by a direct hit from a 76-mm destroyer shell, and two others were damaged. And here the Crushing team was the best of the best. As for the destroyer's anti-aircraft gunners, they were rightfully considered the best in the entire Northern Fleet. On the evening of May 30, the convoy transports, securely covered by our destroyers, safely reached the Kola Bay.

On July 8, the Crushing, together with the Thundering, were heading towards the infamous PQ-17 convoy. Along the way, the destroyers hit the floating 4-point ice. Forced to slow down to a small speed and deprived of the ability to maneuver, on the night of July 10 they were attacked by four Ju-88 bombers, which dropped 8 bombs on each ship. Fortunately, there were no direct hits, but the Crushing received light damage and deformation of the hull from close explosions. Later, the attack was repeated, but the destroyers were lucky again - they repulsed this attack without loss. However, our ships failed to meet the transport, and they were forced to return to Vaenga.

During the summer-autumn of 1942, the Crusher underwent a short-term scheduled preventive maintenance. At this time, the ship was also used to escort transports, and was engaged in combat training. In total, from the beginning of the war until September 1, 1942, the Crushing made 40 combat campaigns, covering a total of 22,385 miles in 1,516 running hours. Without a doubt, it was one of the most combat ships of the Soviet Navy at that time.

In total, over the years of the war, "Crushing" fired 1639 130-mm shells (including 84 - on aircraft), 855 - 76-mm and 2053 - 37-mm projectiles, while shooting down 6 enemy aircraft (2 of them together with other ships ). During the same time, two cases of spontaneous firing of torpedoes occurred on the ship (during one of them, the Red Navy Starchikov died). Two more sailors drowned as a result of accidents - this exhausts the loss of the ship's personnel up to its last campaign. Not a single person was injured from the combat impact of the enemy on the Crushing.

On November 17, 1942, another QP-15 convoy went to sea from Arkhangelsk. The 26 allied transports and 11 British escort ships that had unloaded in the port of Arkhangelsk were returning to Iceland for new party military supplies for the fighting Soviet Union.
At the first stage of the transition in the zone of responsibility of the Northern Fleet, the cover forces of the convoy were always reinforced by the ships of the Northern Fleet. This time, the leader of the "Baku" was assigned to escort the QP-15 under the pennant of the division commander, Captain 1st Rank P.I. Kolchin (commander of the leader - captain of the 2nd rank V.P. Belyaev) and the destroyer "Crushing" (commander - captain of the 3rd rank M.A. Kurilekh). In the conditions of a severe storm, which reached hurricane strength by the morning of November 20, with frequent snow charges and almost zero visibility, the convoy ships and escort ships lost sight of each other. The convoy dispersed and there was, in fact, no one to guard. For the convoy ships, the severity of the storm was offset by safety from possible attacks by German submarines and aircraft. It was impossible to attack in a stormy sea with such a huge force of wind and great excitement. Therefore, with the permission of the convoy commander, Soviet ships, not reaching the designated escort point, they began to independently return to the base.

76-mm guns 34-K on one of the destroyers of the Northern Fleet ("Grozny" or "Crushing"), 1942

When returning to Polyarny on the leader "Baku", the hull's tightness was broken from the impact of waves of nine-point force, all the bow rooms along the 29th frame were flooded, water penetrated into the 2nd and 3rd boiler rooms - only boiler No. 1 remained in operation. The condition of the ship was critical, the roll reached 40 ° on board. The personnel fought a desperate struggle for unsinkability. With serious damage, but "Baku" still reached the base, where it was forced to get up for repairs.

The destroyer "Crushing" had much worse. A strong wind with snow charges parted big wave. The Crusher's speed dropped to a minimum, the ship holding her bow against the wave. But that didn't help much. Soon the "Baku" was lost from sight, and in order to find it, the destroyer began to shoot illuminating shells and shine a searchlight, but to no avail ...

It is not known whether the division commander, Captain 1st Rank Kolchin, ordered the commander of the "Crushing" Kurilekh to go to the base on his own. The fact that missiles were fired from the "Crushing" in an attempt to find the "Baku" suggests that, most likely, no command was received from the divisional commander to the destroyer at all. So Kurilekh had to act at his own peril and risk.

Thus, we can talk about the failure of the divisional commander to fulfill his direct duties - after all, as a detachment commander, he was responsible not only for the leader on whom he held his pennant, but also for the destroyer subordinate to him. Kolchin, in essence, abandoned the "Crushing" to the mercy of fate. The only thing that justifies the commander in this case is the plight of the “Baku” itself, which barely made it to the base. Of course, in this state, the leader could not provide any significant assistance to the destroyer. Most likely, it was this argument that was taken into account during the investigation of what happened with the "Crushing", and no one accused Kolchin of anything. It's like they just forgot about him.

Left to itself, "Crushing", successively changing course from 210 to 160 ° and gradually slowing down to 5 knots, with difficulty "raked out" against the wave, having main boilers No. 1 and 3 in operation (No. 2 was in "hot reserve" ), 2 turbogenerators, 2 turbofire pumps, the fuel supply was about 45% of the total (only in the area of ​​​​engine and boiler rooms), the rest of the reserves were within normal limits. November 20 at 14:30 a strong crack was heard in the aft cockpit (audible on the bridge too) - this was the bursting of the upper deck flooring sheets between the aft superstructure and the 130-mm gun No. 4, just where the stringers ended and the hull area with a transverse framing system began (173rd frame ). At the same time, a corrugation formed on the outer skin of the port side, followed by a break in both shaft lines. Within 3 minutes, the stern part broke off and sank, taking with it six sailors who did not have time to leave the tiller and other aft compartments. Soon followed powerful explosion- it worked, reaching a predetermined depth, depth charge fuses ... The situation became critical in an instant.
The remaining aft compartments were quickly filled with water up to the aft bulkhead of the 2nd engine room (159th frame). The ship, which had lost its course, turned with a lag to the wave, the side roll reached 45–50 °, the keel - 6 °. There was a trim to the stern, the stability decreased somewhat, which was noticeable by the increased pitching period; the ship "stale" in a heeled position. The wave constantly covered the deck and superstructures, movement along the upper deck was extremely difficult, while hard work was in full swing below; reinforced and compacted the aft bulkhead of the engine room, drained the compartments of the 159-173rd frame, using not only a regular ejector, but also an oil pumping electric pump. All mechanisms operated flawlessly, the operation of drainage facilities and lighting was fully ensured, water filtration almost stopped, aft bulkheads absorbed wave shocks, ship stability improved and trim decreased. Even the reserve boiler No. 2 was put into operation (the commander of the electromechanical warhead took the initiative) in order to "load the personnel with work." All that was left was to wait for help. However, this hope in the conditions of the most severe storm was rather doubtful ...

Having learned about the accident, Golovko ordered the leader of “Baku” to immediately go to the aid of “Crushing”. At the same time, orders were given to the destroyers "Uritsky" and "Kuibyshev", located in Iokanka, and the destroyer "Razumny", located in the Kola Bay, to also go to the aid of the "Crushing" and, having found it, lead to the Kola Bay; the rescue ships “Shkval” and “Memory of Ruslan”, tugboat No. 2 be ready to go to sea.

The destroyers left on purpose. And an hour later, another radiogram was received from Kurilekh: “The stern was torn off by a wave to the engine room. Korma sank. I stay on the surface. Wind - south, ten points ... "

Aft of the "Crushing" with an additional 37-mm machine gun, 1942

The place of the “Crusher” is latitude 75 degrees 1 minute, longitude 41 degrees 25 minutes. It's four hundred and twenty miles north of Iokanki.
At about 18 hours 15 minutes, “Kuibyshev” (commander of the ship Gonchar) and “Uritsky” (commander of the ship Kruchinin) approached under the general command of Simonov (commander of the division). Later, "Reasonable" (commander of the ship Sokolov) approached.

The state of the sea in the area where the "Crushing" was found was no better than the day before. Attempts by "Reasonable" to approach the ship that had crashed and take it in tow ended in failure. The tugboat was started twice, and twice the tugboat burst. Meanwhile, the weather worsened even more. Having reported this, Sokolov asked permission to remove people and refuse to tow. Apparently, filming people is the only way to save them. Sokolov's decision is correct in the first part, but it is premature to refuse towing. First you need to remove people, then it will be seen.

It is clear from the following message that Sokolov failed in both. It was impossible to approach the side of the Crusher. The ships were thrown so hard that when they came close they had to break from hitting each other. Attempts to keep the "Reasonable" cars in place when approaching the maximum possible distance were not successful. Many times the Sentient approached the Crusher in order to allow the people of the damaged ship to get to the Sapient's deck. Only one person managed to safely jump from the side of the “Crushing” onto the deck of the “Reasonable”. That was the end of Sokolov's attempts to remove people.

Soon Kuibyshev and Uritsky, both types of Novik, approached. Ships of this type kept better on the wave.
Since a notification was sent from the headquarters of the fleet about enemy submarines in the area, Sokolov on the Rational took on the task of providing the ships with anti-submarine defense, and the Kuibyshev and Uritsky took up the removal of personnel from the Crushing.
Of course, nothing came of Simonov's intention to bring the Kuibyshev on board to the Crushing. I had to organize the crossing of people with the help of a gazebo. At the same time, fuel oil was produced from the emergency ship, which somewhat reduced the sea roughness near the side. And yet the steel ends snapped almost immediately. Then a hemp cable from the Kuibyshev was brought in and a gazebo was attached to the cable. It seemed impossible to transport people in such a way, in such a wave, and even in snow charges. And yet it was done. Simonov ordered at the stern, from where he started the cable and where they began to transport the people of the “Crushing”, and the commander of the “Kuibyshev” Gonchar controlled the machines with the help of a machine telegraph, trying to maneuver the moves in such a way as not to break the hemp cable. Both, Simonov and Gonchar, acted not only skillfully, but also with great skill, both fully possess maritime skills, instinct and will.

Ninety-seven people of the “Crushing” had already been transferred to the “Kuibyshev” when the hemp cable also burst.
The weather continued to worsen. I had to resort to another method: to shoot people with the help of life buoys, tied every two meters into a new hemp cable. Such cables, each 300 meters long, were fed to the “Crushing” from one side by the “Kuibyshev”, from the opposite side - by the “Uritsky”. It is hard to imagine how it all looked in the snow charges that now and then covered the ships, with a sea of ​​seven or eight points, in the dark ... Nevertheless, there is already a message that in this way, pulling up lifebuoys with people in them, they managed to take on seventy-nine more people on board the Kuibyshev. "Uritsky" took eleven.

15 people remained on board the “Crushing”, among them a miner senior lieutenant Lekarev and deputy commander for political affairs of the BCH-5 senior lieutenant Vladimirov. Where are the rest of the officers? It is clear with Kurilekh: he hurried to save his person, but where is the deputy, first mate, navigator, artilleryman and others? Did they follow the example of Kurilekh?..

Requested by the fleet headquarters, Vladimirov reported that the command had abandoned the ship. Immediately, he very sensibly reported on the measures he had taken: raised the steam, launched the mechanisms. The final words of Vladimirov's report: - the destroyer is holding up well.

In connection with the departure of the destroyers from the Crushing, Golovko ordered the Loud to go there immediately. He left at 5 pm. Information about his movement is not comforting. At 18 hours 10 minutes, when leaving the Kola Bay, lay down on a course of 60 degrees, went at a speed of 20 knots with a light wind and calm sea. However, as the ship moved northward, by 9 p.m., the wind and wave gradually increased to six points. Because of strong blows waves into the hull, the course of the “Loud” is reduced to 15 knots. After 45 minutes, the wind and wave are already seven points. Having reduced the speed to ten knots, “Loud”, in order to weaken the blows of the waves, turned into the wind.

Golovko later recalled in his memoirs:
“I regret that I didn’t send minesweepers yesterday to the Crushing. Rumyantsev offered to send them, but I did not accept his offer then. That's my fault. I was sure that after the destroyers discovered the Crusher, they would be able to take it in tow. A day has been lost, because it is still necessary to send minesweepers.

Calling P.V. Panfilov (commander of the minesweeper division) and set him the task of reaching the “Crushing” with two minesweepers - TShch-36 and TShch-39; remove all who remained on the broken ship; then take it in tow and take it to the Kola Bay, weather permitting; if the weather does not allow either to remove people or tow the ship, then stay at the “Crushing” and guard it until the weather improves; if the destroyer, due to its condition, cannot be towed even in good weather, remove all personnel from it, after which the ship will be blown up and destroyed. At 23 o'clock both minesweepers went to their destination.

“Reasonable” at 15:15, and “Kuibyshev” and “Uritsky” at 15:30 left “Crushing”, since it is impossible to continue rescuing personnel with the help of ends and lifebuoys, and the fuel supply does not allow waiting for the weather to improve : it on all three ships was left short on the way back. Before leaving, Simonov sent a signal to the Crushing that everyone who remained on board the wrecked ship would be removed by the submarine as soon as the weather improved.

It was impossible to continue the withdrawal of the personnel of the "Crushing" on the destroyers in the situation that had developed. The waves began to roll over the ships, and a threat was created to the life of all people on all ships. The removal of personnel was accompanied by casualties: eight people died from the impact of waves on the hull and under the propellers, ten people were taken aboard the Kuibyshev and Uritsky in an unconscious state, it was not possible to save their lives.

In total, 179 people were accepted for Kuibyshev, 11 for Uritsky, and one for Razumny.
Finally, they asked how many people were left on board. From the destroyer they answered: "Fifty fuel oil." The question was repeated, adding that the minesweepers were already on their way. Then a rocket shot up over the “seven”, then another, a third ... At first they decided on the bridge that a table of conditional signals was used, but the fourth rocket went, the fifth, and it became clear that each rocket is a farewell volley over a grave that has not yet been dug, and such missiles counted fifteen.

Both minesweepers (TShch-36 and TShch-39) arrived at dead reckoning at 9:10 am on November 25 in the area of ​​the “Crushing” accident and began to search in formation of the front, shifting the tacks to the east. The ships kept within sight of each other. Visibility at the start of the search is from 10 to 12 cables. The search is carried out in conditions of snow charges at northwest wind up to five points. The excitement of the sea is four points. Nothing like what happened for several days. "Crushing" was not found ...

November 26 People's Commissar of the Navy N.G. Kuznetsov signed a directive on the investigation of the sinking of the destroyer "Crushing" No. 613 / Sh, and on November 30 - a directive on the preparation of an order on the fact of the death of the destroyer "Smashing" No. 617 / Sh.

In mid-December 1942, the commander of the Northern Fleet, Vice Admiral Golovko, with a pain in his heart, as he writes in his memoirs, signed the order: to stop the search for the "Crushing" ship, to consider the ship dead.

Kurilekh, Rudakov, Kalmykov, Isaenko were put on trial. The navigator, signalman and lekpom were sent to a penal platoon. The commander of the ship Kurilekh was shot.

The history of the tragedy of the destroyer "Crushing" showed not only examples of cowardice, but also great self-sacrifice in the name of saving comrades. Therefore, those who are trying to hide the truth about this tragic page in our naval history are wrong. "Crushing" was, and we must remember those who died at his combat posts, having fulfilled their military and human duty to the end.
1. Lekarev Gennady Evdokimovich, born in 1916, senior lieutenant, commander of the warhead-3.
2. Vladimirov Ilya Alexandrovich, (1910), political instructor BCh-5.
3. Belov Vasily Stepanovich, (1915), chief foreman, foreman of the bilge machinist team.
4. Sidelnikov Semen Semenovich, (1912), midshipman; chief bosun.
5. Boyko Trofim Markovich, (1917), foreman of the 2nd article, commander of the department of turbine drivers.
6. Nagorny Fedor Vasilievich, (1919), Red Navy sailor, signalman
7. Lyubimov Fedor Nikolaevich, (1914), senior sailor, senior boiler engineer.
8. Gavrilov Nikolai Kuzmich, (1917), senior Red Navy sailor, senior turbine driver.
9. Purygin Vasily Ivanovich, (1917), senior sailor, senior boiler engineer.
10. Zimovets Vladimir Pavlovich, (1919), sailor, electrician.
11. Savinov Mikhail Petrovich, (1919), Red Navy sailor, bilge engineer.
12. Ternovoy Vasily Ivanovich, (1916), foreman of the 2nd article, commander of the minders department.
13. Artemiev Prokhor Stepanovich, (1919), Red Navy sailor, boiler engineer.
14. Dremlyuga Grigory Semenovich, (1919), Red Navy sailor, boiler engineer.
15. Chebiryako Grigory Fedorovich, (1917), senior sailor, senior rangefinder.
16. Shilatyrkin Pavel Alekseevich, (1919), Red Navy sailor, boiler engineer.
17. Bolshov Sergey Tikhonovich, (1916), senior sailor, senior electrician.
The approximate place of the death of the destroyer "Crushing": latitude 73 degrees 30 minutes north, longitude 43 degrees 00 minutes east. Now this area of ​​the Barents Sea has been declared a memorial place, passing through which the ships of the Northern Fleet lower the St. Andrew's flags at half-mast.

By the early 1930s, as part of Naval Forces(Navy) of the Red Army there were only seventeen destroyers - "noviks":

12 units in the Baltic Sea;

5 units in the Black Sea.

Such destroyers, built before the First World War, could not solve the expanded combat missions of ships of their class with high efficiency. Therefore, in July 1931, the Council of Labor and Defense of the USSR decided to provide for the accelerated creation of new destroyers in the next program of naval construction. For these purposes, the Central Design Bureau of Special Shipbuilding (TsKBS-1) was created.

Project 7 destroyers, also known as the "Angry" type, are a type of destroyers of the so-called " Stalinist series”, built for the Soviet Navy in the second half of the 1930s, one of the most massive types of destroyers in the history of Russian and Soviet fleets. The most massive Soviet destroyers of the 1920s-1930s.

A total of 53 units were laid down. Of these, 28 were completed according to the original project. 18 were completed under the 7U project. 6 were dismantled on the slipway. One ("Resolute") sank while being towed after launching and was not completed.

Project 7

In TsKBS-1, the design of a "serial EM" began, which was given the designation "project 7". In 1932, under the leadership of the chief engineer of TsKBS-1 Nikitin V.A., the Soyuzverf commission was sent to Italy, which chose the largest shipbuilding company Ansaldo, which had many years of experience in designing high-speed EM and KRL. The commission got acquainted with the latest Italian destroyers and the documentation of the Mistrale-type destroyer under construction, which became the closest prototype in the development of the "7" project.

On December 21, 1934, the general project of the "serial destroyer" was approved by a resolution of the Council of Labor and Defense. Total The ships to be built according to the approved project changed more than once (increased), as a result, it was planned to hand over 21 ships to the fleet in 1937, and 32 more in 1938. Of these 53 destroyers, 21 were destined for the Baltic and Northern Fleets, 10 for the Black Sea Fleet, and 22 for the Pacific Fleet.

The construction of the ships was envisaged at factories No. 189 of the Shipyard named after. Ordzhonikidze and No. 190 Shipyard named after. Zhdanov in Leningrad, and factories No. 198 of the Shipyard named after. Marty and No. 200 Shipyard im. 61 Communards in Nikolaev.

Comparison with foreign destroyers confirms that significant progress was made in designing a new series of destroyers and the ship was not inferior to the best foreign models of that time in terms of its combat qualities, and significantly surpassed them in terms of firing range of the main caliber guns and speed.

Powerful artillery armament, perfect fire control devices, good torpedoes and decent speed. The power plant, with all its disadvantages, has proven to be more reliable than that of the German destroyers. But the main merit of our designers and shipbuilders is that such a large series of ships was nevertheless built, and built on time. It was the "sevens" that updated the surface fleet and brought the Soviet Navy to a qualitatively new level.

Project 7-U

On May 13, 1937, the British destroyer Hunter, which was patrolling near the port of Almeria and acting as an observer of the hostilities of the warring parties (there was a civil war in Spain), was blown up by a drifting mine.

In August 1937, at a meeting of the Defense Committee in Moscow, the incident that happened with the Hunter was mentioned. The situation was analyzed when a ship with a linear arrangement of a boiler-turbine installation could lose its course as a result of a single hit by a projectile, mine or torpedo. As a result, project 7, which had the same scheme of the power plant, was called "wrecking". 14 Project 7 ships already launched were ordered to be redone, and the rest to be dismantled on stocks.

The project of the improved project 7-U was developed jointly by the design bureaus TsKB-17 (until October 1936 - TsKBS-1) and the Northern Shipyard named after. A. Zhdanova (chief designer - Lebedev N.A.). The final draft was approved by the People's Commissariat of the Navy on August 29, 1938.

Initially, it was planned to relaunch absolutely all the ships of Project 7. However, fortunately, the Deputy People's Commissar of the Defense Industry Tevosyan I.F. managed to convince the committee to complete the construction of 29 destroyers under Project 7 and only the next 18 were relaid under Project 7U. The last 6 units under construction, which were in a low degree of readiness, were decided to be dismantled.

Thus, during 1938-1939, 18 hulls of project 7 destroyers, located on the stocks of the Leningrad plants named after Zhdanov and Ordzhonikidze, and the Nikolaev named after 61 Communards, were relaid under the 7-U project. For this, the almost finished buildings of Project 7 had to be partially dismantled. A number of structures in the area of ​​engine and boiler rooms were removed. As a result, the ships of the 7-U project became part of only two fleets - the Baltic and the Black Sea.

The Far Eastern destroyers, due to the busy work schedule and weak production base in Vladivostok and Komsomolsk-on-Amur, were completed according to project 7.

The lead destroyer of Project 7-U was the Sentry. During the factory tests, which took place in the fall of 1939, a significant overload of the ship was revealed and, as a result, its reduced stability. Correction work (stability was increased by laying solid ballast), as well as the elimination of many defects found, delayed the completion of the tests for more than a year. As a result, by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, shipbuilders managed to hand over to the customer only half of all of the 18 declared ships of Project 7-U: 8 in the Baltic and 1 in the Black Sea. The remaining 9 were urgently completed and tested already in combat conditions.

Tactical and technical characteristics

Frame

The main difference between the destroyer of the 7-U project was the layout of the engine and boiler rooms. The fourth boiler that appeared and their increased dimensions, as a result of which the boilers did not fit inside the hull, led to the fact that the boilers towered about 2 meters above the main deck, eating up the volume of the central superstructures.

The case was made of low-manganese steel with a thickness of 5-10 millimeters. Most of the connections were riveted, although the stringers, part of the upper deck and a number of other elements were of welded construction. During the war, a serious drawback of low-manganese steel was revealed: brittleness. Sheets made from it, when hit by fragments of bombs and shells, split and themselves gave a large number of fragments that hit personnel, instruments and mechanisms. The usual "Steel 3", which was used in the construction of decks and superstructures, did not crack and did not give such fragments.

Power plant

In 1936, the People's Commissariat of Foreign Trade ordered 12 sets of main turbo-gear units (GTZA) and auxiliary mechanisms for Project 7 ships from the British firms Metro-Vickers and Parsons. Such GTZA had a capacity of up to 24,000 liters. s., but they could be launched in a cold state, without preheating, which theoretically reduced the time it took to prepare the ship for going to sea.

In March 1938, the turbines received from England were distributed among the factories. Of the eight sets of power plants from Metro-Vickers, 7 went to Leningrad No. 189 and No. 190, and one more was sent to the KBF base as a backup. Four sets of the Parsons company went to the Black Sea: 3 - to the Nikolaev plant No. 200 and one - to the Black Sea Fleet base in Sevastopol. All imported GTZA hit the ships relaid under the 7-U project.

Steam for the turbines was produced by 4 tented vertical water-tube boilers with a side screen and one-way gas flow, equipped with loop superheaters. The heating surface of each boiler is 655 m², the productivity is 80 tons of steam per hour. The steam parameters are approximately the same as those of the Project 7 ships: pressure 27.5 kg/s², temperature 340 °C. Each boiler was placed in an isolated compartment.

One of the disadvantages of such a system can be called increased fuel consumption: four boilers compared to three for project 7. Moreover, it was not possible to increase the fuel reserves of project 7-U: after installing a more bulky power plant in a cramped building, there is already room for additional tanks did not remain. And after laying the solid ballast, the supply of fuel oil even had to be slightly reduced.

Armament

Main caliber

The artillery of the main caliber (GK) of the Project 7U destroyers remained the same as that of their predecessors: four 130-mm B-13-2 guns with a barrel length of 50 calibers, manufactured by the Bolshevik plant. The ammunition included 150 shots per barrel, in overload (according to the capacity of the cellars) the ship could take up to 185 shots per barrel - that is, up to 740 shells and charges in total. The supply of ammunition was carried out manually, delivery - pneumatic rammer.

Anti-aircraft weapons

Anti-aircraft armament consisted of a pair of 76-mm universal mounts 34-K, moved to the stern. A third 45mm 21-K semi-auto was added. Thus, all three small-caliber anti-aircraft guns were located on the site behind the first chimney, for which heavy 90 cm searchlights had to be sacrificed (instead of them, one 60 cm was now installed on the foremast).

The number of 12.7-mm DShK machine guns doubled - two more were added to the two on the upper bridge behind the forecastle cut. However, despite some improvement over its predecessors, anti-aircraft weapons Project 7-U continued to be extremely weak and poorly placed: the ship was practically defenseless from the forward heading nodes, and the crowding of all anti-aircraft weapons on two sites made them extremely vulnerable.

The experience of the first months of the war showed how dangerous it is to ignore the threat of air attacks. Therefore, already in July 1941, destroyers began to additionally mount 37-mm 70-K assault rifles on the superstructure in the area of ​​​​the second pipe, and then replace them with 45-mm 21-K.

In May 1942, two 20-mm Oerlikons and one four-barreled 12.7-mm Vickers machine gun were installed on the "Strong".

By the end of the war, the Baltic destroyers ("Strong", "Resistant", "Glorious", "Watchdog", "Strict", "Slender") received the third 76-mm gun mount 34-K (on poop).

By 1943, the most powerful in terms of air defense systems, the Black Sea “Sposobny” and “Savvy” were armed with two 76-mm 34-K cannons, seven 37-mm 70-K submachine guns, four 12.7-mm DShK machine guns and two twin 12.7-mm Colt-Browning machine guns with water-cooled barrels.

Torpedo armament

Torpedo armament included two 533-mm triple-tube 1-N torpedo tubes. Unlike the 39-Yu gunpowder apparatus installed on Project 7 ships, the 1-N had a combined firing system - gunpowder and pneumatic. The torpedo departure speed was 15 - 16 m / s (against 12 m / s for 39-Yu), which made it possible to significantly expand the sectors of fire: project 7 destroyers could not fire torpedoes at sharp heading angles due to the risk that they would hit the deck . In addition, a number of improvements were made to the design of the TA, which doubled the accuracy of its guidance to the target. Project 7-U ships have never had a chance to use their completely modern torpedo weapons in battle.

Anti-submarine weapons

The mine and anti-submarine armament of the Sentry-class destroyers was practically no different from that used on their predecessors. On the rails located on the upper deck, the ship could take 58 minutes of KB-3, or 62 mines of the 1926 model, or 96 minutes of the 1912 model (in overload). The standard set of depth charges is 10 large B-1s and 20 small M-1s. Large bombs were stored directly in the stern bombers; of the small ones, 12 in the cellar and 8 in the aft rack on the poop.

Already during the war, the destroyers received two BMB-1 bombers, capable of firing B-1 bombs at a distance of up to 110 m.

Destroyer "Grozny" (project 7)

Displacement 1525 - 1670t

Travel speed 39 knots

Length 112.5 m

Width 10.2 m

Armament:

130 mm guns 4

76 mm guns 2

45 mm guns 2

37 mm guns 3

Anti-aircraft machine guns 2

Mines, depth charges - 60 KB-3, or 65 minutes of the 1926 model, or 95 minutes of the 1912 sample.

"Storozhevoy" class destroyer (Project 7U)

Displacement 2000 t

Travel speed 39 knots

Length 115 m

Width 11.8 m

Armament:

130 mm guns 4

76 mm guns 2

37 mm guns 3

Anti-aircraft machine guns 4

Triple torpedo tubes 2

Mines, depth charges

Combat losses.

18 project 7 EM units took part in the hostilities.

11 units died

Causes of death

Navigation accidents - 2 cases

Air bombs - 5 cases

Mines - 4 cases

Of the 11 dead EMs

died without breaking the hull - 1 (Guardian)

died with a broken body - 1 (Proud)

died with a complete break of the hull - 9 (including EM Bystry), incl. with a broken body in two places - 2 (Resolute I and Sharp-witted)

with a break and a break in the hull - 1 (Merciless)

There were 29 cases of heavy damage to the EM project 7.

Typical places of cracks, breaks and breaks in the hull of destroyers of project 7 were the transition areas from the longitudinal framing system in the middle of the hull to the transverse framing system at the extremities - places of high stress concentration.

18 project 7U EM units took part in the hostilities

Of these, 9 units died

Causes of death

Air bombs - 4 cases

Mines - 5 cases

Artillery - 1 case

Out of 10 cases of death of EM

died without breaking the hull - 4

died with a broken body - 2

died with a broken hull - 4

There were 19 cases of severe damage to the EM project 7U.

The destroyers of the Pacific Fleet did not take part in the hostilities - 11 units.

Despite the measures taken to strengthen the hulls of the EM project 7U in comparison with the EM project 7, this did not bring the desired result. The weakness of the hull design became one of the significant shortcomings of the EM of both projects, which, of course, affected their military fate.

According to the latest data, of the destroyers of the "Stalinist" series, only one ship, the Reasonable, can claim a real combat victory. It was he who, together with the destroyer Zhivuchy transferred by the British, on December 8, 1944, pursued the German submarine U-387, which after that did not get in touch and did not return to the base.

In the history of the destroyers of both projects, the Guards EM project 7U "Savvy" stands apart. Its commander, Vorkov, recalled the battle path of his ship as follows: “56 times the destroyer fired at enemy battle formations, suppressed more than ten batteries, destroyed up to 30 tanks and vehicles, and a lot of manpower. He used up more than 2,700 shells of the main caliber while participating in the artillery support of our ground forces. He escorted 59 transports without loss to Odessa, Sevastopol, Feodosia and the ports of the Caucasus ... He transported on board about 13 thousand people wounded and evacuated from Odessa and Sevastopol. He transported more than a thousand tons of ammunition to Odessa and Sevastopol. Repelled more than 100 enemy air attacks ... Shot down five enemy aircraft. 200 times the destroyer went to fighting, having traveled more than 60 thousand miles without repair. During the war, he spent almost 200 days at sea and did not lose a single fighter. There were no wounded on the ship."

The article uses the materials of A. Tsarenko and S. Balakin.

Article from the almanac "Marine Archive", No. 1, 2011
Chairman of the Editorial Board Markov A.G.
Editor-in-chief Maslov N.K.

In the Chinese cities of Qingdao and Rushan, old Soviet projects 7 - known to naval historians as the legendary Soviet "sevens", which are now used as museum ships.

destroyers of this type immortalized themselves through participation in the Great Patriotic War. In 1955, four such ships from the USSR Pacific Fleet were transferred to friendly China. One was later scrapped, and the last - the fourth - the ship was transferred to the city of Dalian as a training ship for the Naval Institute.

On January 14, 1955, the Chinese Naval Forces received the first two Soviet destroyers of Project 7. They were renamed in honor of the Manchurian cities. Destroyers « Zealous" And " Decisive"Received new names:" Jilin" And " Changchun". The next two ships - " Record" and "Sharp" were transferred to China on July 6, 1955 and renamed " Anshan" And " Fushun" respectively. All destroyers of this type were carefully preserved by Chinese sailors and survived safely until the end of the 80s. But soon destroyer « Fushun”was scrapped and was dismantled at a shipyard in Zeng Su province.

All the "Far Eastern" destroyers of project 7 in August 1945 were part of the 1st destroyer division of the light forces detachment and took part in the hostilities against Japan on pacific ocean. In the early 50s, they underwent a major overhaul and modernization with the installation of new radar stations and a three-legged foremast. The destroyers underwent another modernization in China in the period from 1971 to 1974. During the re-equipment, torpedo tubes were dismantled on the ships, and in their place were placed two twin launchers for anti-ship missiles "Hayin-22", which are analogous to Soviet anti-ship missiles of the P-15 type. The obsolete anti-aircraft guns were replaced by four twin 37 mm B-11 artillery mounts.

Of the three Project 7 destroyers that remained, the best preserved destroyer « Zealous", which was withdrawn from the fleet in 1986 and from September 19, 1991 under the name" taiyuan” (tail number 104) is installed in the city of Dalian as a museum ship on the territory of the local naval institute.

Destroyer « Record”after being excluded from the fleet in 1986, it was relocated to Qingdao and since April 24, 1992 has been an exposition of the local naval museum.

Destroyer « Decisive”was bought by the city of Rushan, Shandong province in August 1990 to use it as a ship, but, unfortunately, no work has been carried out on the Changchun ship so far, so the legendary destroyer is gradually aging, turning into a pile of iron.

photos of project 7 destroyers

project 7 destroyers on the march

destroyer "Anshan" in combat campaign



destroyer "Taiyuan" as a museum ship


130 mm gun destroyer "Taiyuan"