Krasny Kavkaz was a cruiser of the Soviet Navy that began construction during World War I, but was still incomplete during the Russian Revolution. Her design was heavily modified by the Soviets and she was completed in 1932. During World War II she supported Soviet troops during the siege of Odessa, siege of Sevastopol, and the Kerch–Feodosiya operation in the winter of 1941–42. She was awarded the Guards title on 3 April 1942. She was reclassified as a training ship in May 1947 before being expended as a target in 1952.
The Svetlana-class cruiser was the first class of light cruisers built for the Imperial Russian Navy (IRN) during the 1910s. Construction was interrupted by World War I, the Russian Revolution and the Russian Civil War. Only Svetlana of the quartet was completed by the Soviet Union as a cruiser, two were converted to oil tankers, and the remaining ship was scrapped without being completed.
The Chapayev class were a group of cruisers built for the Soviet Navy during and after World War II. Seventeen ships were planned but only seven were actually started before the German invasion. Two incomplete ships were destroyed when their building yard in Nikolaev was captured by Nazi Germany and the remaining five cruisers were completed only in 1950.
The Tashkent class consisted of a single destroyer leader, built in Italy for the Soviet Navy just before World War II. Three others were ordered from shipyards in the Soviet Union, but they were cancelled before they were laid down as they were too difficult to build with the existing technology in Soviet shipyards. Completed in 1939, Tashkent participated in the Sieges of Odessa and Sevastopol in 1941–1942, during which she ferried reinforcements and supplies into those cities, evacuated wounded and refugees, and provided naval gunfire support for Soviet troops. The ship was badly damaged twice by Axis bombers before she was sunk in harbor in mid-1942. Her wreck refloated in 1944, but it was too badly damaged to be worth repairing and was scrapped after the war.
Opytny was the only member of her class of destroyers built for the Soviet Navy during the 1930s. The Soviet designation for her class was Project 45. She was originally named Sergo Ordzhonikidze and was the first Soviet destroyer to be indigenously designed. Renamed Opytny in 1940, the ship was intended as a prototype for future Soviet destroyers.
The Kola class was the NATO reporting name for a group of frigates built for the Soviet Navy in the 1950s. The Soviet designation was Storozhevoi Korabl Project 42. These ships were analogous to World War II era destroyer escorts or German Elbing-class torpedo boats. The programme consisted of only 8 ships as these vessels were considered to be too expensive for series production and the smaller and cheaper Riga-class frigate was built instead. Radars and sonars were fitted.
The Derzky or Bespokoiny-class destroyers was a class of destroyers built for the Imperial Russian Navy just before World War I. Nine ships were built for the Black Sea Fleet. These ships were a derivative of the Russian destroyer Novik, but were slightly smaller. These ships were popular with the Russians and effective particularly in the Black Sea, where the Ottoman Navy had no similar ships.
The Orfey-class destroyers were built for the Baltic Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy. They were modified versions of the earlier destroyer Novik and the Derzky-class destroyers. These ships were larger, had triple torpedo tubes and an extra 102 mm (4 in) gun. One ship, Engels, was fitted with a 305 mm (12 in) recoilless rifle for testing in 1934. Fourteen ships were completed in 1914–1917 and fought in World War I and during the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. The survivors fought in World War II.
The Izyaslav class were a class of destroyers built for the Baltic Fleet of the Imperial Russian Navy. They were modified versions of the Orfey class built in Russia with the assistance of the French company Augustin Normand. These ships fought in World War I, the Russian Civil War, the Estonian War of Independence, and World War II.
Kaganovich was a Project 26bis2 Kirov-class cruiser of the Soviet Navy that was built during World War II. She was built in Siberia from components shipped from European Russia. She saw no action during the war and served into the Cold War. She was renamed Lazar Kaganovich in 1945 to distinguish her from Lazar's disgraced brother Mikhail Kaganovich. Her post-war career was generally uneventful, although her superstructure was badly damaged by a Force 12 typhoon in 1957. She was renamed Petropavlovsk in 1957. Sources disagree on her fate; some say that she was converted into a floating barracks in 1960 and later sold for scrap while another says that she was simply sold for scrap in 1960.
There were fourteen different classes of destroyers that were used by the Soviet Navy in World War II:
The Kiev class was designed in 1939 for the Soviet Navy as a smaller class of destroyer leaders after the cancellation of the Tashkent-class ships that had been intended to be built in the Soviet Union. Only three ships were begun; one was cancelled and scrapped before the Axis invasion in mid-1941 and construction of the other two was suspended during the war. The navy considered completing them under a new Project 48-K configuration afterwards, but decided against that as they would have been competing against a more modern design that lacked the stability problems that the 48-K design would have had. The Soviets either scrapped them or used them as targets.
Tashkent was the lead ship of her class of destroyer leaders, built in Italy for the Soviet Navy just before World War II. The problems of the previous Leningrad-class destroyer leaders demonstrated that Russian design experience had atrophied in the years since the Russian Revolution of 1917, and the Soviets contracted for design assistance from Fascist Italy in the mid-1930s. Delivered without any armament in 1939, Tashkent was given a temporary gunnery outfit when she entered service with the Black Sea Fleet later that year. She had her permanent armament installed shortly before the Axis Powers invaded the Soviet Union in mid-1941.
Zheleznyakov was one of eight Fidonisy-class destroyers built for the Imperial Russian Navy during World War I. She was originally named Korfu (Корфу) before she was renamed Petrovsky (Петровский) in 1925 and Zheleznyakov (Железняков) in 1939.
Karl Marx was the lead ship of her class of five destroyers built for the Russian Imperial Navy during the 1910s. Completed during 1916, she served with the Baltic Fleet during the remainder of the First World War, and after the October Revolution joined the Bolshevik Red Fleet. She was active during the Russian Civil War, taking part in several engagements against British ships during the British campaign in the Baltic. The destroyer was renamed Karl Marx in 1922. She played a small role in the Winter War with the Soviet Baltic Fleet when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, and was sunk by German aircraft on 8 August 1941.
Kalinin was one of five Izyaslav-class destroyers ordered for the Russian Imperial Navy during the 1910s. Not completed during the First World War, she was finally finished by the Soviets in 1927. She played a small role in the Winter War with the Baltic Fleet when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, and was sunk by naval mines on 28 August 1941.
Samson was one of eight Orfey-class destroyers built for the Russian Imperial Navy during World War I. Completed in 1916, she served with the Baltic Fleet and joined the Bolshevik Red Fleet after the October Revolution of 1918. She was active during the Russian Civil War, taking part in several engagements against British ships during the British campaign in the Baltic. The destroyer was renamed Stalin in 1922. She was assigned to the Pacific Fleet when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941 and saw little to no combat. The ship was scrapped in 1953.
Desna was one of eight Orfey-class destroyers built for the Russian Imperial Navy during World War I. Completed in 1916, she served with the Baltic Fleet and joined the Bolshevik Red Fleet after the October Revolution of 1918. She was active during the Russian Civil War, taking part in several engagements against British ships during the British campaign in the Baltic. The destroyer was renamed Engels in 1922. She remained in service with the Soviet Baltic Fleet when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, and was sunk on 24 August.
Pobeditel was one of eight Orfey-class destroyers built for the Russian Imperial Navy during World War I. Completed in 1915, she served with the Baltic Fleet and joined the Bolshevik Red Fleet after the October Revolution of 1918. She was active during the Russian Civil War, taking part in several engagements against British ships during the British campaign in the Baltic. The destroyer was renamed Volodarski in 1922. She remained in service with the Soviet Baltic Fleet when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, and was sunk on 28 August.
Zabiyaka was one of eight Orfey-class destroyers built for the Russian Imperial Navy during World War I. Completed in 1916, she served with the Baltic Fleet and joined the Bolshevik Red Fleet after the October Revolution of 1918. She was active during the Russian Civil War, taking part in several engagements against British ships during the British campaign in the Baltic. The destroyer was renamed Uritski in 1922. She was assigned to the Baltic Fleet when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, and survived the war to be scrapped in 1953.
