SOVIET DESTROYER PR.7 GREMYASHCHIY 1942

Gremyashchiy was one of 29 Gnevny-class destroyers built under Project 7 for the Soviet Navy in the late 1930’s and destined to fight in WWII. Gremyashchiy was completed in 1939 and was assigned to the Baltic Fleet before being transferred to the Northern Fleet in 1941.

The Gnevny-class destroyers had an overall length of 112.8 meters, a beam of 10.2 meters, and a draft of 4.8 meters. The ships displaced 1612 metric tons at standard load and 2039 metric tons at deep load. Their crew numbered 197 officers and sailors in peacetime and 236 in wartime. The ships were powered by two geared steam turbine sets, each driving a single three-bladed 3.18-meter propeller using steam provided by three water-tube boilers. The turbines, rated at 48,000 shp (36,000 kW), were intended to give the ships a maximum speed of 37 knots with a demonstrated range of 1/670 nmi.

The Gnevny-class ships mounted four 130mm B-13 guns in two pairs of single mounts fore and aft of the superstructure. Each gun was provided with 150 rounds. The manually operated mounts had an elevation range between -5° to +45° and had a rate of fire of 6-10 rounds per minute. They fired a 33.4-kilogram shell at a muzzle velocity of 870 mps, which gave them a range of 25,597 meters. Anti-aircraft defense was provided by a pair of 76.2mm 34-K AA guns and two 45mm 21-K AA guns, all in single mounts as well as a pair of 12.7mm DK or DShK machine guns. The ships were equipped with six 533mm torpedo tubes in two rotating triple mounts amidships; each tube was provided with a reload. The ships could also carry a maximum of either 60 or 95 mines and 25 depth charges.

Built in Leningrad's Shipyard No. 190 (Zhdanov) as yard number 514, Gremyashchiy was laid down on 23 July 1936 and launched on 12 August 1937. The ship was completed on 28 August 1938 and was commissioned into the Baltic Fleet two days later.

During the Winter War between the Soviet Union and Finland, Gremyashchiy did not participate in any battles while being assigned to perform patrol duties and escorting transport ships.

Following the entry of the Soviet Union into World War II, she was moved to Vaenga by order of the commander of the fleet, and began her first patrols on 24 June 1941, escorting the transport ships Mossovet and Tsiolkovskiy from Murmansk to Titovka. After serving successfully throughout WWII, she was ultimately used as a target for nuclear testing in 1957, near Novaya Zemlya.