Soviet destroyer Kharkov
 Unknown Leningrad-class destroyer in Leningrad, June 1944 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
.svg.png){kind=small} | |
| Name: | Kharkov |
| Namesake: | Kharkov |
| Ordered: | 1st Five-Year Plan |
| Builder: | Andre Marti (South) Yard, Nikolayev |
| Laid down: | 19 October 1932 |
| Launched: | 9 September 1934 |
| Commissioned: | 19 November 1938 |
| Fate: | Sunk by aircraft, 6 October 1943 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class and type: | Leningrad-class destroyer leader |
| Displacement: | |
| Length: | 127.5 m (418 ft 4 in) (o/a) |
| Beam: | 11.7 m (38 ft 5 in) |
| Draught: | 4.06 m (13 ft 4 in) |
| Installed power: |
|
| Propulsion: | 3 shafts; 3 geared steam turbines |
| Speed: | 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph) |
| Range: | 2,100 nmi (3,900 km; 2,400 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) |
| Complement: | 250 (311 wartime) |
| Sensors and processing systems: | Arktur hydrophones |
| Armament: |
|
Kharkov (Russian: Ха́рьков) was one of six Leningrad-class destroyer leaders built for the Soviet Navy during the 1930s, one of the three Project 1 variants. Completed in 1938, she participated in the Raid on Constanța a few days after the German invasion of the Soviet Union on 22 June and covered the evacuation of the Danube Flotilla to Odessa the following month. During the Siege of Odessa and the Siege of Sevastopol, the ship ferried reinforcements and supplies into those cities, evacuated wounded and refugees and bombarded Axis troop positions.
Design and description
Impressed by the French large destroyer (contre-torpilleur) designs such as the Vauquelin class of the early 1930s, the Soviets designed their own version. The Leningrads had an overall length of 127.5 meters (418 ft 4 in) and were 122 meters (400 ft 3 in) long at the waterline. The ships had a beam of 11.7 meters (38 ft 5 in), and a draft of 4.06 meters (13 ft 4 in) at deep load. Built in two batches, the first batch (Project 1) displaced 2,150 long tons (2,180 t) at standard load and 2,582 long tons (2,623 t) at deep load. Their crew numbered 250 officers and sailors in peacetime and 311 in wartime.[1] The ships had three geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller, designed to produce 66,000 shaft horsepower (49,000 kW) using steam from three water-tube boilers[2] which was intended to give them a maximum speed of 40 knots (74 km/h; 46 mph). The Leningrads carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 2,100 nautical miles (3,900 km; 2,400 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).[3]
As built, the Leningrad-class ships mounted five 130-millimeter (5.1 in) B-13 guns in two pairs of superfiring single mounts fore and aft of the superstructure and another mount between the bridge and the forward funnel. The guns were protected by gun shields. Anti-aircraft defense was provided by a pair of 76.2-millimeter (3.0 in) 34-K AA guns in single mounts on the aft superstructure and a pair of 45-millimeter (1.8 in) 21-K AA guns mounted on either side of the bridge[3] as well as a dozen 12.7-millimeter (0.50 in) M2 Browning machine guns in six twin-gun mounts.[4] They carried eight 533 mm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes in two rotating quadruple mounts; each tube was provided with a reload. The ships could also carry a maximum of either 68 or 115 mines and 52 depth charges. They were fitted with a set of Arktur hydrophones for anti-submarine detection.[3]
Construction and career
Kharkov, named after the temporary capital of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic,[4] was laid down on 19 October 1932 at the Andre Marti (South) Yard in Nikolayev and launched on 9 September 1934. Commissioned on 19 November 1938, she was assigned to the Black Sea Fleet.[5] When the Germans invaded on 22 June 1941, the fleet sortied to lay defensive minefields off its base in Sevastopol.[6] The following day, Kharkov and the destroyers Smyshlennyy and Besposhchadny sailed to the Danube estuary to support the river monitors of the Danube Flotilla against Romanian efforts to clear the estuary. The destroyers bombarded Romanian troops, supported several amphibious operations and laid and swept mines before returning to Sevastopol on 25 June.[7]
On the morning of 26 June, Kharkov and her sister ship Moskva bombarded the Romanian port of Constanţa, covered by the heavy cruiser Voroshilov and the destroyers Soobrazitelnyy and Smyshlennyy. The sisters fired 350 rounds between them at oil tanks and railway stations from a range of about 20 km (12 mi), blowing up an ammunition train and inflicting considerable damage. As they were preparing to depart at 04:16 after having fired for 10 minutes, they were engaged by German coastal artillery and the Romanian destroyers Mărășești and Mărăști at ranges between 11,000 to 16,000 m (12,000 to 17,000 yd). Shortly afterwards, Moskva struck a mine which broke the ship in half. [8] Later that morning, Kharkov briefly had her steering knocked out by a near miss from a German bomber.[9] At 06:43 the Soviet submarine Shch-206 attacked and missed Kharkov with one torpedo and then missed Soobrazitelnyy with two more at 07:00.[10]
Kharkov was repaired by 18 July and, together with the light cruiser Komintern and the destroyers Smyshlennyy, Bodry and Shaumyan and numerous smaller craft, covered the retreat of the Danube Flotilla to Odessa during the next several days.[7] Kharkov bombarded Axis positions multiple times during the Siege of Odessa and helped to escort the evacuation convoys from Odessa to Sevastopol in October.[11] During the Siege of Sevastopol she provided gunfire support and evacuated cut-off troops from elsewhere in the Crimea into Sevastopol and brought in reinforcements from Caucasian ports.[12] The ship helped to transport the 388th Rifle Division from Novorossisk and Tuapse to Sevastopol between 7–13 December, the 79th Naval Rifle Brigade on 19–20 December and the 354th Rifle Division between 21–22 December, bombarding German positions in the interim. Between February and July 1942, Kharkov bombarded German troops on multiple times and brought in reinforcements and supplies for Sevastopol, evacuating wounded and refugees as she returned to port. On 18 June, the ship's steering was knocked out by near misses by German bombers and she had to be towed by the flotilla leader Tashkent.[13]
After repairs Kharkov bombarded Axis positions near Feodosiya on 2–3 August and provided fire support for the defenders of Novorossiysk on 1–4 September. Between 8–11 September she ferried the 137th and 145th Rifle Regiments along with the 3rd Naval Rifle Brigade from Poti to Tuapse and Gelendzhik and a month later she transported 12,600 men of the 8th, 9th and 10th Guards Infantry Brigades from Poti to Tuapse to reinforce the defenses there between 20 and 23 October.[14] On 29 November 1942 she escorted Voroshilov on a mission to bombard Axis positions on Feodonisi and bombarded Yalta during the night of 19/20 December. On the night of 4 February 1943, the Soviets made a series of amphibious landings to the west of Novorossiysk, behind German lines. Kharkov, the light cruisers Krasnyi Kavkaz and Krasnyi Krym, and Besposhchadny and Soobrazitelnyy provided fire support for the main landing, but the Soviet troops there were wiped out by 6 February, although one secondary landing was successful. Kharkov bombarded German positions near Novorossiysk again on the night of 21–22 February. Anapa was bombarded on the night of 13/14 May and Feodosiya on 22/23 May.[15] During the night of 5/6 October 1943 Kharkov and the destroyers Besposhchadny and Sposobny bombarded Yalta, Alushta and Feodosiya and were attacked by Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers of III./StG 3 on their return voyage. Kharkov was damaged by their first attack and had to be towed by Sposobny. The second attack damaged all three ships and Sposobny took Besposhchadny under tow as well. The next attack sank both Kharkov and Besposhchadny. Sposobny was sunk by the fourth wave while trying to rescue survivors. This incident prompted Stalin to issue an order forbidding the use of ships destroyer-sized and larger without his express permission.
References
- ↑ Breyer, pp. 218, 220
- ↑ Budzbon, p. 329
- 1 2 3 Breyer, p. 220
- 1 2 Hill, p. 26
- ↑ Breyer, p. 216
- ↑ Rohwer, p. 82
- 1 2 Hervieux, p. 72
- ↑ Hervieux, pp. 70–71
- ↑ Rohwer, p. 83
- ↑ Hervieux, p. 71
- ↑ Rohwer, pp. 94, 98
- ↑ Rohwer, pp. 112, 122, 140–141
- ↑ Rohwer, pp. 154, 156, 161, 164, 166, 169–170, 172
- ↑ Rohwer, pp. 184, 193–194, 204
- ↑ Rohwer, pp. 215, 219, 229, 231, 251
Bibliography
- Breyer, Siegfried (1992). Soviet Warship Development: Volume 1: 1917-1937. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-604-3.
- Budzbon, Przemysaw (1980). "Soviet Union". In Chesneau, Roger. Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. Greenwich, UK: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 318–346. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
- Hervieux, Pierre (2001). "The Romanian Navy at War, 1941–1945". In Preston, Antony. Warship 2001–2002. London: Conway Maritime Press. pp. 70–88. ISBN 0-85177-901-8.
- Hill, Alexander (2018). Soviet Destroyers of World War II. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-2256-7.
- Kachur, Pavel (2008). "Гончие псы" Красного флота. "Ташкент", "Баку", "Ленинград" [Hounds of the Red Fleet: Tashkent, Baku, Leningrad] (in Russian). Moscow: Yauza/Eksmo. ISBN 978-5-699-31614-4.
- Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea 1939-1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.