Soviet destroyer Rekordny (1939)

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Rekordny was renamed Anshan in Chinese service and now preserved at the Naval Museum of China in Qingdao
History
Naval Ensign of the Soviet Union (1950-1991).svg Soviet Union
NameRekordny
Ordered 2nd Five-Year Plan
Builder
Laid down
  • 25 September 1936
  • July 1937
Launched6 April 1939
Completed9 January 1941
FateTransferred to the People's Liberation Army Navy, 6 July 1955
Naval ensign of China.svg People's Republic of China
NameAnshan (Chinese :鞍山舰; pinyin :Ānshān Jiàn)
Namesake Anshan City, Liaoning Province
Acquired6 July 1955
ReclassifiedAs a missile destroyer, 1974
Stricken1986
FateBecame museum ship, 24 April 1992
General characteristics (Gnevny as completed, 1938)
Class and type Gnevny-class destroyer
Displacement1,612  t (1,587 long tons) (standard)
Length112.8 m (370 ft 1 in) (o/a)
Beam10.2 m (33 ft 6 in)
Draft4.8 m (15 ft 9 in)
Installed power
Propulsion2 shafts; 2 geared steam turbines
Speed38 knots (70 km/h; 44 mph)
Range2,720  nmi (5,040 km; 3,130 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Complement197 (236 wartime)
Sensors and
processing systems
Mars hydrophone
Armament

Rekordny was one of 29 Gnevny-class destroyers (officially known as Project 7) built for the Soviet Navy during the late 1930s. Completed in 1941, she was assigned to the Pacific Fleet.

Contents

Design and description

Having decided to build the large and expensive 40- knot (74 km/h; 46 mph) Leningrad-class destroyer leaders, the Soviet Navy sought Italian assistance in designing smaller and cheaper destroyers. They licensed the plans for the Folgore class and, in modifying it for their purposes, overloaded a design that was already somewhat marginally stable. [1]

The Gnevnys had an overall length of 112.8 meters (370 ft 1 in), a beam of 10.2 meters (33 ft 6 in), and a draft of 4.8 meters (15 ft 9 in) at deep load. The ships were significantly overweight, almost 200 metric tons (197 long tons ) heavier than designed, displacing 1,612 metric tons (1,587 long tons) at standard load and 2,039 metric tons (2,007 long tons) at deep load. Their crew numbered 197 officers and sailors in peacetime and 236 in wartime. [2] The ships had a pair of geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller, rated to produce 48,000 shaft horsepower (36,000  kW ) using steam from three water-tube boilers which was intended to give them a maximum speed of 37 knots (69 km/h; 43 mph). [3] The designers had been conservative in rating the turbines and many, but not all, of the ships handily exceeded their designed speed during their sea trials. Others fell considerably short of it, although specific figures for most individual ships have not survived. Variations in fuel oil capacity meant that the range of the Gnevnys varied between 1,670 to 3,145 nautical miles (3,093 to 5,825 km; 1,922 to 3,619 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). [4]

As built, the Gnevny-class ships mounted four 130-millimeter (5.1 in) B-13 guns in two pairs of superfiring single mounts fore and aft of the superstructure. Anti-aircraft defense was provided by a pair of 76.2-millimeter (3 in) 34-K AA guns in single mounts and a pair of 45-millimeter (1.8 in) 21-K AA guns [5] as well as two 12.7-millimeter (0.50 in) DK or DShK machine guns. They carried six 533 mm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes in two rotating triple mounts; each tube was provided with a reload. The ships could also carry a maximum of either 60 or 95 mines and 25 depth charges. They were fitted with a set of Mars hydrophones for anti-submarine work, although they were useless at speeds over 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph). [6] The ships were equipped with two K-1 paravanes intended to destroy mines and a pair of depth-charge throwers. [7]

Construction and service

Major components for the ship that became Rekordny were laid down at Shipyard No. 198 (Andre Marti South) in Nikolayev on 25 September 1936 as yard number 327 and were then railed to Vladivostok for completion at Shipyard No. 202 (Dalzavod) where the ship was laid down again in July 1937. She was launched on 6 April 1939 and commissioned on 9 January 1941. [8]

In Chinese service

In 1955 Rekordny, was bought by the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and renamed Anshan (Chinese :鞍山舰; pinyin :Ānshān Jiàn). The ship was transferred to the People's Liberation Army Navy from the USSR in October 1954 along with three other former Gnevny-class destroyers of the Soviet Navy as part of a larger transfer deal which also saw the transfer of submarines, minesweepers and torpedo boats. [9] [10]

The ship was commissioned into the Chinese navy in 1955 and was named after the industrial city of Anshan in the modern province of Liaoning. She was assigned the pennant number 101. During the 38 years she served the PLAN, she was visited by nine foreign dignitaries as well as two Chinese leaders: Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping

She was decommissioned in April 1992 and anchored at the Naval Museum at Qingdao.

Related Research Articles

<i>Gnevny</i>-class destroyer Class of warship of the Soviet Union

The Gnevny class were a group of 29 destroyers built for the Soviet Navy in the late 1930s. They are sometimes known as the Gremyashchiy class and the official Soviet designation was Project 7. These ships fought in World War II.

Soviet destroyer <i>Gnevny</i> (1936) Soviet Navys Gnevny-class destroyer

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Soviet destroyer <i>Gordy</i> (1937) Soviet Navys Gnevny-class destroyer

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Soviet destroyer <i>Steregushchy</i> (1938) Destroyer of the Soviet Navy

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Soviet destroyer <i>Stremitelny</i> (1937) Destroyer of the Soviet Navy

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Soviet destroyer <i>Smetlivy</i> (1937) Destroyer of the Soviet Navy

Smetlivy was one of 29 Gnevny-class destroyers built for the Soviet Navy during the late 1930s. Completed in 1938, she was assigned to the Baltic Fleet and played a minor role in the 1939–1940 Winter War against Finland. After the start of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, the ship participated in the Gulf of Riga Campaign before withdrawing to Tallinn, Estonia. Smetlivy supported Soviet forces during the defense of Tallinn in August and covered the subsequent evacuation to Leningrad. The ship provided naval gunfire support to the defenders of Leningrad over the next several months before she was assigned to evacuate Soviet troops from their enclave in Hanko, Finland, in November. Smetlivy struck several mines returning from Hanko and sank with heavy loss of life.

Soviet destroyer <i>Bystry</i> (1936) Destroyer of the Soviet Navy

Bystry was one of 29 Gnevny-class destroyers built for the Soviet Navy during the late 1930s. Completed in 1939, she was assigned to the Black Sea Fleet. When the German invasion of the Soviet Union began in June 1941, the ship was under repair. Bystry struck a mine and sank in July. Her wreck was raised, but was too badly damaged for immediate repairs. She was later sunk by German bombs and her wreck had the bow salvaged to repair one of her sisters.

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Soviet destroyer <i>Bezuprechny</i> (1937) Destroyer of the Soviet Navy

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Soviet destroyer <i>Bditelny</i> (1937) Destroyer of the Soviet Navy

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Soviet destroyer <i>Rezvy</i> (1937) Destroyer of the Soviet Navy

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Soviet destroyer <i>Rastoropny</i> (1938) Destroyer of the Soviet Navy

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Soviet destroyer <i>Ryany</i> (1937) Destroyer of the Soviet Navy

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Soviet destroyer <i>Rezky</i> (1940) Destroyer of the Soviet Navy

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Soviet destroyer <i>Retivy</i> (1939) Destroyer of the Soviet Navy

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Soviet destroyer <i>Reshitelny</i> (1940) Destroyer of the Soviet Navy

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Soviet destroyer <i>Revnostny</i> (1941) Destroyer of the Soviet Navy

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Soviet destroyer <i>Redky</i> (1941) Destroyer of the Soviet Navy

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Sovershenny (Совершенный) was one of 18 Storozhevoy-class destroyer built for the Soviet Navy during the late 1930s. Although she began construction as a Project 7 Gnevny-class destroyer, Sovershenny was completed in 1941 to the modified Project 7U design. The ship struck a mine while running her acceptance trials in September. While under repair in November, she was hit by two bombs that virtually wrecked her; the Soviets subsequently disarmed her. Repairs resumed in early 1942 until Sovershenny was sunk by an artillery shell in June. Her wreck was scrapped in late 1945.

References

  1. Yakubov & Worth, pp. 99, 102–103
  2. Yakubov & Worth, p. 101
  3. Budzbon, p. 330
  4. Yakubov & Worth, pp. 101, 106–107
  5. Hill, p. 40
  6. Yakubov & Worth, pp. 101, 105–106
  7. Berezhnoy, p. 335
  8. Rohwer & Monakov, p. 233
  9. "Moscow Defense Brief".
  10. Tsingtao Naval Museum information board

Bibliography

Further reading

36°03′15″N120°19′17″E / 36.0540375°N 120.3213550°E / 36.0540375; 120.3213550