The Hurricane-class patrol ships are unique in that they became the first warships that were designed and built in the USSR after the October Revolution by Soviet shipbuilders. A series of 18 ships was built in full from 1927 to 1935. Patrol ships of the "Uragan" type were used in the Soviet fleet to carry out reconnaissance and patrol services, escort and guard large surface ships and convoys from attacks by enemy submarines, and combat enemy aircraft. If necessary, it was planned to use them as high-speed minesweepers.
The lead ship - "Hurricane" forever entered the history of domestic shipbuilding, as a pioneer ship, which began the construction of the Soviet surface fleet. As part of the first series of 8 ships, the fleet received a TFR with sonorous names: "Hurricane", "Typhoon", "Smerch", "Cyclone", "Thunderstorm", "Whirlwind", "Storm" and "Shkval". The first six of them were consolidated into a separate division. Thanks to their names, the ships of this series were nicknamed the "Bad Weather Division" in the Baltic Fleet.
SKR type "Uragan" was built in four series for three, slightly different from each other projects (project 2, project 4 and project 39). At the same time, the continuity of the names of warships was traced in all series. The Hurricane-class watchdogs were original ships, even by Soviet standards. Based on the initial views of the naval leadership, they were assigned tasks that were more consistent with classic destroyers: escort squadrons, reconnaissance and patrol service, conducting torpedo attacks on enemy ships, fighting its submarines and laying mines. However, their displacement was three times less than that of the only (at the time of the creation of patrol boats) destroyers of the Soviet fleet of the "Novik" type. In terms of firepower, the "Hurricanes" were twice inferior to them, and the speed, even according to the project, was limited to 29 knots. Yes, and seaworthiness was difficult for them to write down as an asset - the almost straight stem and low side made the patrol boats suitable for operations only in closed naval theaters of military operations - in the Baltic and Black Seas, as well as the Gulf of Finland.
The Hurricane-class watchdogs were ships of the original concept, which were difficult to find analogues in other fleets. As part of the Soviet fleet, they were mainly used to support the coastal flanks of the troops, escort convoys and ensure the security of places where warships were stationed. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the "Hurricane"-class watchdogs, which had a shallow draft, satisfactory seaworthiness and were not as valuable as larger destroyers (this was also taken into account), at the beginning of World War II turned into a rather important component of the naval forces.
The history of the creation of "Hurricanes"
The patrol ships were the first warships to be built in Soviet Russia, but their concept did not take shape right away. They were originally classified as Marine Submarine Hunters. This vision was a consequence of the First World War, when submarines became one of the main forces in naval warfare. At the same time, the tasks of protecting large warships and ships of the merchant fleet were initially assigned to destroyers and torpedo boats, but in the course of hostilities it became clear that it was necessary to create lighter ships of smaller displacement and lower cost. The new class of ships was intended to protect formations and ships of convoys from attacks by torpedo boats and submarines, and to carry out patrol service.
In October 1922, during a meeting at the Naval Headquarters, the main requirements for hunters were determined: armament from 102-mm artillery weapons and depth charges, a speed of at least 30 knots, and a cruising range of 200 miles. An additional requirement was the installation of a 450 mm torpedo tube and an extension of the cruising range to 400 miles. A year later, the hunters began to be called patrol boats. Until April 1926, the USSR was working on projects for the construction of patrol boats, but then they were abandoned in favor of patrol ships with a total displacement of about 600 tons.
On August 15, 1927, an agreement was signed between the Technical Directorate of the Red Army Navy and "Sudostroi" for the construction of new patrol ships. According to the terms of the contract, the first three ships were to be built in 1929, and the rest in the spring of 1930. At the same time, the emergence of such a project was explained by the weak financing of the fleet: in 1923-1927 it was 13.2 percent of total defense spending, while shipbuilding was allocated 8 percent of the cost of land forces. Within the framework of this program, out of relatively large ships, it was planned to build only 18 patrol boats and 12 submarines. At the same time, the delivery of the entire series was delayed - the last ships of the "Hurricane" type entered the fleet only in 1938. The initial design of the patrol was assigned number two, a total of 8 buildings were laid: six in Leningrad and two in Nikolaev - for the Baltic and Black Sea Fleets, respectively.
Due to the problems that arose, the pace of construction of the ships was low. Soviet enterprises lacked qualified personnel: certified technicians and engineers, most of the designers were recruited from among the draftsmen. In addition, shipbuilders experienced a shortage of steel and non-ferrous castings; the enterprises had difficulty in mastering the technology of galvanizing and welding of hull structures. It should be noted that welding was used in the country for the first time in the construction of Hurricane-class patrol ships; this technology at that time had not yet earned due trust. Gear cutting machines and gear sets were ordered in Germany, castings and forgings for turbo gear units - in Czechoslovakia. These deliveries were made intermittently. All this together led to the fact that the lead patrol ship of the series was ready for testing only on October 26, 1930.
During the tests, it turned out that the speed characteristics of the ship did not correspond to the design ones; only 26 knots were squeezed out of the Hurricane. At the same time, a decision was almost made to completely close this series, but the creation of the Northern and Pacific fleets, which required warships, began. Of course, the "Hurricanes" did not reach the level of classic destroyers, but even such "halved" warships were necessary for the young Soviet fleet. When accepting the Hurricane-class patrol boats of the first series, evaluating the maneuverability and seaworthiness of the ships, it was noted that the shallow draft of the ships, combined with the large sail of superstructures and a high forecastle, made them very roll in strong winds, and maneuvering in narrow places was very difficult. The seaworthiness of the ships was limited by sea roughness of 6 points, with worsening weather conditions at sea, intensive flooding of the forecastle was observed on the ships, interruptions of propellers and a decrease in controllability. The rocking observed at the same time made it impossible to use weapons and made it difficult to maintain the existing mechanisms. In general, the stability of the ships was found to be satisfactory, especially when used in the Baltic and the Black Sea.
Patrol ship "Cyclone" at the celebration of the Navy Day in Leningrad
The relative simplicity of the design and the low cost of these patrols determined their fate: the Hurricane-class patrol ships continued to be built according to two slightly improved projects - 4 and 39, which differed from the original project in the power plant and more advanced artillery, as well as in increased size. Ultimately, the program for the construction of 18 patrol boats was completed in full, albeit with a significant delay, the last ship was transferred to the fleet only in 1938.
At the same time, seaworthiness of 6 points was insufficient for the Northern and Pacific fleets. Therefore, the project of patrol ships of the third series of construction (project 39) was significantly redesigned. The draft of the ships increased from 2, 1 to 3, 2 meters, the length increased by 3 meters, and the width - by 1 meter. The total displacement of the ships increased to 800 tons. Until 1938, 6 patrol ships were built according to this project.
Technical features of the Hurricane patrol ships
The hulls of patrol ships of projects 2, 4 and 39 did not differ structurally from each other. Most of all, in their design, they resembled destroyers, had a forecastle, a single-tier superstructure and two chimneys. The silhouette of the first Soviet-built warships most of all resembled the shortened Tsarist destroyers of the Novik class. All patrol boats were galvanized to protect against corrosion by galvanizing the outer sheathing sheets, upper deck in open areas, deck planking, and other structural elements that were most frequently exposed to rust. Galvanizing, in addition to protecting against corrosion, also gave savings in metal, the mass of the hull of the Hurricane-class patrol ships was only 30 percent of the displacement. The hull was divided into 15 compartments with watertight bulkheads. In case of flooding of any two adjacent compartments, the ship did not lose stability and continued to remain afloat.
The main power plant (GEM) of the patrol boats was located in four watertight compartments according to the echelon principle (boiler - turbine - boiler - turbine). The ship's designers believed that such an arrangement would increase the survivability of the power plant. For the first time in the domestic shipbuilding, instead of low-speed turbines connected to a propeller, high-speed turbines were used on ships of the Uragan type, transmitting rotation to the propeller shaft through a gear reducer. The ship's turbines ran on superheated steam, the design capacity of each of the two Turbine Gear Units (TZA) was 3750 hp. at a propeller shaft rotation speed of 630 rpm. The bow TZA rotated the starboard propeller shaft, and the stern TZA rotated the left side.
In the requirements for the project, the maximum speed of the ships was supposed to be 29 knots, the speed of the economical course - 14 knots. But none of the built ships of the series could reach the design speed. "Hurricane" on sea trials accelerated to 26 knots, the rest of the ships of the series could not reach these indicators. At the same time, during the service, the speed of the ships decreased significantly due to the wear of the mechanisms. So on sea trials "Typhoon" showed a speed of 25, 1 knot, but in 1940, before a major overhaul, it could only accelerate to 16 knots.
Initially, according to the states of peacetime, the patrol crew consisted of 74 people, including 6 officers, 24 junior command personnel and 44 privates. Over time, especially after the installation of additional weapons, detection and communication equipment, the number of the crew grew. In 1940, the crew consisted of 101 people: 7 officers, 25 foremen and 69 privates. By 1945, the size of the crew, for example, on the Vyuga patrol boat had grown to 120 people: 8 officers, 34 foremen and 78 privates.
Patrol ship "Storm" on parade, 1933
The main armament of the ships was artillery. Initially, it consisted of two 102-mm main-caliber guns, created specifically for arming destroyers and torpedo boats at the Obukhov plant, the production of these guns was started back in 1909. These were semi-automatic horizontal sliding bolt guns. The technical rate of fire of the guns was 12-15 rounds per minute, but in practice the rate of fire did not exceed 10 rounds per minute. The ammunition of these guns included high-explosive, high-explosive, shrapnel, diving, and lighting shells. The initial flight speed of the high-explosive projectile was 823 m / s, and the maximum firing range was 16.3 km. The ammunition of each gun was 200 shells: 160 high-explosive, 25 shrapnel and 15 diving (approximate composition, could vary depending on the tasks assigned).
Beginning in 1942, new 100-mm guns with a barrel length of 56 calibers began to be installed on some Hurricane-class patrol boats. The horizontal and vertical aiming of the guns was carried out manually, the vertical aiming angles were from -5 to +45 degrees, which made it possible to use them to combat low-flying air targets. At the same time, the gun mount was equipped with 7-mm bulletproof armor, since 1939 - with a streamlined 8-mm shield. 100-mm artillery B-24BM guns were installed on the ships "Uragan", "Typhoon", "Whirlwind" instead of 102-mm artillery systems, and patrol boats "Sneg" and "Tucha" immediately entered service with 100-mm guns.
The ships also had 45-mm 21-K semi-automatic guns, usually on board there were from three to four such guns installed in the center plane. The guns had significant drawbacks, which included a low rate of fire of 25-30 rounds per minute, a low aiming speed and an inconvenient sight. Ammunition for each 45-mm gun consisted of 1000 shells. In 1943, instead of 21-K guns, modernized 21-KM guns were installed on some patrol ships, which had improved automation and improved ballistic characteristics, while their rate of fire remained at the same level. Starting in 1930, new 37-mm 70-K naval anti-aircraft guns began to enter service with the fleet. The supply of ammunition to these guns was carried out continuously using separate clips of 5 rounds. During the Great Patriotic War, these anti-aircraft guns changed 45-mm semi-automatic guns.
In addition to artillery, the patrol ships also had machine-gun armament. The project provided for the installation of three large-caliber machine guns. But instead of them, 7, 62-mm Maxim machine guns were originally used, which were installed on the sides of the bow superstructure. In 1938, they began to be replaced with new large-caliber 12, 7-mm DShK machine guns. But the pace of replacement of machine guns was low, for example, the patrol ship "Purga" was not rearmed until 1942.
They had patrol boats and torpedo armament, which was represented by one 450-mm three-tube torpedo tube. At the same time, in order to achieve at least one hit on a maneuvering target with one salvo, the patrol ship had to approach it at a very close distance, which was quite difficult to do: the ship did not have enough speed, and the combat stability under enemy fire was weak … Therefore, the placement of torpedo weapons on board the patrol boat did not seem to be a completely logical decision.
Patrol ships of the "Hurricane" type during the war
During the Great Patriotic War, the Hurricanes suffered a lot of trials, all of them were actively used in hostilities. Three ships in the Northern Fleet: "Thunderstorm", "Smerch" and "Uragan" mainly solved the tasks of fire support of troops and landing operations. Very often they turned out to be the largest ships among all the landing support ships. The scale of the use of their artillery can be judged by the example of the Smerch patrol boat. In July 1941, the ship was used to support the formations of the 14th Army of the Northern Front in the area of the Zapadnaya Litsa Bay. On July 9, "Smerch" fired 130 shells of the main caliber at the enemy troops, on July 11 - 117, and on July 12 - 280 shells. Recall that the ammunition was 200 rounds of the main caliber per gun. Not every Soviet destroyer, let alone a cruiser, could boast of such a consumption of ammunition.
At the same time, the intensity of the Smerch's involvement to support the infantry units did not decrease, and other patrolmen of the Northern Fleet did not lag behind it. After the front line in the North stabilized, ships began to be more involved in escorting Allied transport ships on the inland sea routes. Despite the intense military service, not a single guard of the Northern Fleet was lost during the war.
Patrol ship "Groza" 1942-1943
A different situation developed in the Baltic, where out of 7 Hurricane-class patrol ships only three were able to survive the war. The Tempest, Sneg and Cyclone patrolmen were killed by mines, and the Purga patrol boat was sunk by German aircraft. At the same time, the patrol boat "Purga" in 1941 became the flagship of the Ladoga flotilla, ensuring the safety of the Road of Life, which was of enormous importance for the besieged Leningrad. Throughout the war, patrol ships of the Baltic Fleet were involved in fire support of Soviet troops on the coastal territory, as well as in the fight against enemy submarines in the area of naval bases.
The guard ships "Storm" and "Shkval" of the Black Sea Fleet also survived the war. True, one of them was under repair: on May 11, 1944, a torpedo hit from a German submarine U-9 seriously damaged the ship, its stern was torn off. But the ship remained afloat, it was successfully towed to the port, where it also met the end of the war. Throughout the war, the Black Sea "Hurricanes" were involved in solving a very wide range of tasks, which sometimes did not fully correspond to their purpose. In addition to escorting transport and civilian ships, they were involved in delivering artillery strikes against the enemy, providing fire support for landing forces, delivering troops and all kinds of cargo to isolated bridgeheads, landing reconnaissance groups behind enemy lines, and taking part in the evacuation of troops.
Project evaluation
It was customary to compare the "Hurricane" type watchmen with the tsarist destroyers of the "Ukraine" type, built a quarter of a century earlier. Moreover, such a comparison was not in favor of the former. Indeed, having approximately the same size, torpedo armament and operational speed, the Hurricanes had weaker artillery armament (two 102-mm guns against three), worse seaworthiness and a shorter cruising range. In addition, the hull structures of the destroyers were more robust and reliable. It is not surprising that the last three representatives of these successful Tsarist-built destroyers served in the Caspian until the early 1950s, being used as gunboats.
The main drawback of all 18 Hurricane-class ships of all series was not underestimated characteristics, weak air defense (at the time of the war, and not at the time of design and commissioning) or imperfect equipment for detecting underwater and air targets. The biggest problem was that they were designed "end-to-end" in almost all parameters, which almost completely ruled out the possibility of serious modernization and equipping them with more modern systems of fire and life support.
All of the above does not mean that the construction of the Hurricane-class patrol boats was pointless. On the contrary, these ships proved to be excellent in the war. But even more important was the fact that the revival of the domestic shipbuilding industry, the revival of the industry had to start somewhere, and in this respect, "Hurricanes" were far from the worst option. The experience gained during their design and construction was very important both for the leadership of the Soviet fleet and for the designers and shipbuilders.
The performance characteristics of the "Hurricane" type TFR:
Displacement is normal - 534-638 tons (depending on the series and the period of operation).
Length - 71.5 m.
Width - 7.4 m.
Draft - 2, 1-3, 2 m (depending on the series and the period of operation).
Power plant - 2 steam turbines (boiler-turbine power plant).
Maximum power - 7500 hp (Hurricane).
Travel speed - 23-24 knots (actual), up to 26 knots (design), 14 knots (economical).
The cruising range is 1200-1500 miles at an economical course.
Armament:
Artillery - 2x102-mm cannons, 4x45-mm semi-automatic cannons, later 3x37-mm automatic cannons and 3x12, 7-mm DShK machine guns (composition changed).
Mine-torpedo - 3x450-mm torpedo tubes, 2 bomb throwers, up to 48 minutes and 30 depth charges, paramedic trawl.
Crew - from 74 to 120 people (depending on the period of operation).
