Uragan class guard ship
Encyclopedia
The Uragan-class guard ships were built for the Soviet Navy
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have played an instrumental role in a Warsaw Pact war with NATO, where it would have attempted to prevent naval convoys from bringing reinforcements across the Atlantic Ocean...
as small patrol and escort ships. Eighteen were built in the 1930s
1930s
File:1930s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Thompson show the effects of the Great Depression; Due to the economic collapse, the farms become dry and the Dust Bowl spreads through America; The Battle of Wuhan during the Second Sino-Japanese...
and served during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in all four of the Soviet Fleets: Baltic
Baltic Fleet
The Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet - is the Russian Navy's presence in the Baltic Sea. In previous historical periods, it has been part of the navy of Imperial Russia and later the Soviet Union. The Fleet gained the 'Twice Red Banner' appellation during the Soviet period, indicating two awards of...
, Black Sea
Black Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....
, Northern and Pacific. Four were lost during the war and the rest remained in service until the late 1950s
1950s
The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...
in various secondary roles. The official Soviet designation was Project 2, Project 4 and Project 39 , but they were nicknamed the "Bad Weather Flotilla" by Soviet sailors by virtue of their meteorological names.
Design
By the mid-1920s1920s
File:1920s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Third Tipperary Brigade Flying Column No. 2 under Sean Hogan during the Irish Civil War; Prohibition agents destroying barrels of alcohol in accordance to the 18th amendment, which made alcoholic beverages illegal throughout the entire decade; In...
the Soviet Navy wanted to replace the few old Tsarist
Imperial Russian Navy
The Imperial Russian Navy refers to the Tsarist fleets prior to the February Revolution.-First Romanovs:Under Tsar Mikhail Feodorovich, construction of the first three-masted ship, actually built within Russia, was completed in 1636. It was built in Balakhna by Danish shipbuilders from Holstein...
torpedo boat
Torpedo boat
A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval vessel designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes. They were created to counter battleships and other large, slow and...
s that it had left acting as guard ship
Guard ship
A guard ship is a warship stationed at some port or harbour to act as a guard, and in former times in the Royal Navy to receive the men impressed for service...
s. The initial requirement was for a ship not to exceed 300 long tons (304.8 MT), armed with two old 4 inches (101.6 mm) guns, three 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes and could carry mines as necessary. It was to be powered by four Beardmore
William Beardmore and Company
William Beardmore and Company was a Scottish engineering and shipbuilding conglomerate based in Glasgow and the surrounding Clydeside area. It was active between about 1890 and 1930 and at its peak employed about 40,000 people...
6000 shp diesel engine
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
s imported from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, but this plan was thwarted by Soviet financial support for the miners during the 1926 United Kingdom general strike
1926 United Kingdom general strike
The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 May 1926 to 13 May 1926. It was called by the general council of the Trades Union Congress in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reduction and worsening...
. The preliminary designs had to be revised for steam propulsion, a task greatly complicated by the break in Soviet ship construction between 1917 and 1924 when no ships, naval or commercial, had been built and many experienced naval architects had either fled the country, found new jobs, or were politically suspect and not allowed to work. It proved impossible to work within the 300 ton limit with steam turbines and the tonnage limit was increased to 350 tons when the Navy approved the preliminary design on 26 November 1926. Detailed design of the ship and its power plant was assigned to the Zhandov Shipyard in Leningrad. They proposed two alternative steam pressure power plants; one low-pressure (20 atm (20.3 bar)) and one at 35–40 atm (35.5–40.5 bar). The Navy rejected the high-pressure design and ordered studies evaluating "a three-shaft combined power plant with 2-shaft geared turbines plus 1-shaft diesel engine for cruising, diesel-electric, and diesel." These were rejected and the original two-shaft turbine power plant was selected. At the same time it became clear that the new 350 ton limit was also inadequate and 400 tons would be needed. The twelfth design was approved on 23 June 1927 as the Project 2.
General characteristics
The Uragan class ships displaced 457 tonne at standard load and 629 tonne at full load. They were 71.5 metre long overall, had a beamBeam (nautical)
The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point. Generally speaking, the wider the beam of a ship , the more initial stability it has, at expense of reserve stability in the event of a capsize, where more energy is required to right the vessel from its inverted position...
of 7.4 m (24.3 ft) and at full load a draft of 2.6 m (8.5 ft). The ships had 14 main watertight compartments and a double bottom
Double bottom
A double bottom is a ship hull design and construction method where the bottom of the ship has two complete layers of watertight hull surface: one outer layer forming the normal hull of the ship, and a second inner hull which is somewhat higher in the ship, perhaps a few feet, which forms a...
only underneath the machinery and boiler rooms. The riveted hull used the typical Russian framing method of longitudinal framing for the bulk of the hull and traverse framing for the ends.
The Uragans proved to be heavier than designed and had only a meter of freeboard aft, which made their main deck almost permanently wet in any kind of sea. Their stability was also less than optimum as they were top-heavy and they were almost 6 kn (7.3 mph; 11.8 km/h) slower than designed. In their intended role they "were complete failures — they were too slow for use as torpedo boats and of no value as ASW
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
vessels because of their lack of depth charge handling equipment and underwater detection devices".
Propulsion
The power plant was two three-drum watertube boilers and two geared turbines, each driving one shaft. It was arranged on a unit basis, with alternate boiler and engine rooms in pairs, so that a single hit could not disable both boilers or both turbines. Each boiler had a nominal capacity of 20-tons/hour of superheated steamSuperheated steam
Superheated steam is steam at a temperature higher than water's boiling point. If saturated steam is heated at constant pressure, its temperature will also remain constant as the steam quality increases towards 100% Dry Saturated Steam. Continued heat input will then generate superheated steam...
at a pressure of 21 atmospheres and a temperature of 210 °C (410 °F). Each turbine set consisted of one high-speed turbine and a low-speed turbine. The latter had an astern turbine housed in its casing, all driving the same shaft. The total power was designed to be 7500 shp, but this figure wasn't reached in practice. Each shaft drove a three-bladed bronze propeller for a designed speed of 29 kn (35.3 mph; 56.8 km/h), although this too wasn't reached in practice. The normal oil capacity was 48 long tons (48.8 MT) which gave an endurance of 700 nmi (1,296.4 km) at full speed or 1500 nmi (2,778 km) at 14 knots (27 km/h). The maximum amount of fuel that could be carried was 160 long tons (162.6 MT).
Two 30 kW turbo-generators supplied the 115 volt electrical systems of the Uragans. One 11 kW auxiliary generator was carried; it was powered by an Izhora-type 20 hp kerosene
Kerosene
Kerosene, sometimes spelled kerosine in scientific and industrial usage, also known as paraffin or paraffin oil in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Ireland and South Africa, is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid. The name is derived from Greek keros...
engine.
Armament
Two single 4 inches (10.2 cm) guns were carried in open pivot mounts as the ship's main armament. Each gun had a magazine with a capacity of two hundred rounds underneath it, although only the one on the forecastle had a hoist. The ammunition for the rear mount had to be hand-carried. Three single Vickers 2 pounderQF 2 pounder naval gun
The 2-pounder gun, officially designated the QF 2-pounder and universally known as the pom-pom, was a 1.575 inch British autocannon, used famously as an anti-aircraft gun by the Royal Navy. The name came from the sound that the original models make when firing...
pom-poms and three 12.7 mm (0.5 in) machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s were intended as the anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
armament, but deteriorating relations with the United Kingdom prevented the Soviets from buying any of these weapons. Most ships completed without any AA guns as the Soviets needed some time to develop their own equivalent AA guns.
A triple 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tube
Torpedo tube
A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes. There are two main types of torpedo tube: underwater tubes fitted to submarines and some surface ships, and deck-mounted units installed aboard surface vessels...
mount was fitted between the funnels. Up to fifty mines or depth charge
Depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare weapon intended to destroy or cripple a target submarine by the shock of exploding near it. Most use explosives and a fuze set to go off at a preselected depth in the ocean. Depth charges can be dropped by either surface ships, patrol aircraft, or from...
s could be carried using mine rails mounted on the main deck. No sonar
Sonar
Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
was fitted so dropping depth charges was largely an act of futility. Two K-1 minesweeping paravanes
Paravane (weapon)
The paravane is a form of towed underwater "glider". It was developed by Cdr Usborne and Lt Burney financed by Sir George White, founder of the Bristol Aeroplane Company....
were fitted on the main deck after the design was finalized. They were served by a trawl winch and a jib crane mounted on the stern.
One 2 metres (6.6 ft) rangefinder
Rangefinder
A rangefinder is a device that measures distance from the observer to a target, for the purposes of surveying, determining focus in photography, or accurately aiming a weapon. Some devices use active methods to measure ; others measure distance using trigonometry...
was mounted above the open bridge and a 1 metres (3.3 ft) searchlight
Searchlight
A searchlight is an apparatus that combines a bright light source with some form of curved reflector or other optics to project a powerful beam of light of approximately parallel rays in a particular direction, usually constructed so that it can be swiveled about.-Military use:The Royal Navy used...
was fitted on a small platform abaft the rear funnel.
Construction
A total of eighteen Uragan-class guard ships were planned, but Soviet shipbuilding capacity was inadequate to begin them all at once. Series I was intended as a group of six to be built at the Zhandov Shipyard in LeningradSaint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
and Series II was to consist of two ships constructed at the Marti Shipyard in Nikolayev
Mykolaiv
Mykolaiv , also known as Nikolayev , is a city in southern Ukraine, administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv is the main ship building center of the Black Sea, and, arguably, the whole Eastern Europe.-Name of city:...
to that shipyard's variant of the basic design which received the designation of Project 4. The construction of this class was to prove to be a series of problems including design flaws, lack of shipbuilding capacity and a poorly-designed and built power plant that was delivered two years after the first ships were launched.
Prefabrication of the hulls began even before the final design was approved and proved to be a major mistake as the strength analysis of the longitudinal joints in the hull proved to be severely flawed and construction was suspended until the end of November 1927 when new blueprints were issued. No slipway
Slipway
A slipway, boat slip or just a slip, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats. They are also used for launching and retrieving small boats on trailers and flying boats on their undercarriage. The...
s were available at the Zhandov Yard until three were finished in May 1928, having only begun construction at the end of 1927, and the assembly of the hulls of the first three Series I ships began shortly afterwards. The other three slipways were completed by July and the other three ships began assembly as the slipways were finished. The hull of the Uragan was completed within ten weeks after the keel was laid, although the other ships were built a more normal pace. "Possibly she was built to gain as much experience as possible."
Although Uragan was launched on 4 September 1928 she didn't receive her power plant for another almost another two years. The ability of Soviet industry to deliver precision machinery like turbine gears was greatly overestimated by the Navy and the gears for the first eight ships had to be imported from Germany to have any chance of completion in a timely manner. The first boiler design proved unsatisfactory during preliminary testing in late 1928 and early 1929 and a second design was tested later in 1929 and into 1930. Even this new design wasn't entirely satisfactory as it proved to be impossible to force its output above the specified limits, but it was approved for use in the Uragans when an improved model would have taken at least another year put into production.
The Uragan was accepted on 16 December 1930 for sea trials. She proved to be heavier than estimated and had only a 1 metres (3.3 ft) of freeboard aft, which made her main deck very wet in almost any kind of moderate sea. She was also top-heavy which reduced her stability and sea-keeping abilities. She was proved capable of 26.5 kn (32.3 mph; 51.9 km/h) during her trials, but 23 kn (28 mph; 45.1 km/h) was her normal top speed. This was primarily because her boilers had been designed only deliver enough steam for her turbines, nothing was in reserve to power her steam-driven auxiliary machinery. And since her turbines drew 5-6% more steam than specified and her auxiliary machinery had to be powered there simply wasn't enough steam to power her turbines at their designed output. For trials they produced 7200 shp, but a more realistic output was 6400 shp in normal use. Uragan was finally commissioned on 12 September 1931, two years after her intended delivery date, the first Soviet-built
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
surface warship.
After Uragan was commissioned four more ships were laid down for service in the Far East, two each at Leningrad
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
and Nikolayev
Mykolaiv
Mykolaiv , also known as Nikolayev , is a city in southern Ukraine, administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv is the main ship building center of the Black Sea, and, arguably, the whole Eastern Europe.-Name of city:...
. They were built in sections and transported by the end of 1933 to the Dalzavod Shipyard in Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
for assembly. The four Series III ships were laid down in 1934, three at the Zhandov Yard and one at the Marti Yard. One ship from each shipyard were sent to the Far East. Sources differ if these ships were simply repeats of the Series I ships or if they had been improved in detail and known as Project 39. These changes were fairly minor, other than some improvements to the turbines that it was hoped would increase speed by a knot or so. The two ships of Series IV definitely had the improvements and were built at Leningrad for service with the Baltic Fleet
Baltic Fleet
The Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet - is the Russian Navy's presence in the Baltic Sea. In previous historical periods, it has been part of the navy of Imperial Russia and later the Soviet Union. The Fleet gained the 'Twice Red Banner' appellation during the Soviet period, indicating two awards of...
.
Modifications
The minesweeping paravanes were fitted on each ship shortly after completion and further contributed to their overweight problem. By the mid-1930s two semi-automatic 45 mm anti-aircraft gun (21-K)45 mm anti-aircraft gun (21-K)
The 45 mm anti-aircraft gun was a Soviet design adapted from the 45 mm anti-tank gun M1937 . This was a copy of a German weapon designed by Rheinmetall that was sold to the Soviets before Hitler came to power in 1933 that had been enlarged to in increase its penetrating power...
and three or four 12.7 mm DShK
DShK
The DShK 1938 is a Soviet heavy machine gun firing the 12.7x108mm cartridge. The weapon was also used as a heavy infantry machine gun, in which case it was frequently deployed with a two-wheeled mounting and a single-sheet armour-plate shield...
AA machine guns were being fitted. Normally the 45 mm guns were mounted fore and aft of the rear 4 inch gun with two machine guns flanking the latter, although some ships mounted one 45 mm gun in front of the forward 4-inch gun with one machine gun on each side of the bridge. As each ship was refitted for the first time its bridge was enclosed. The rear mast was removed during the war.
Their anti-aircraft armament was further increased as a result of lessons learned during the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
. Most ships in European waters received two single mounts for the fully automatic 37 mm AA gun before Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, one on each side of the bridge. Sometimes these replaced the 45 mm guns. During the war gun shield
Gun shield
thumb|A [[United States Marine Corps|U.S. Marine]] manning an [[M240 machine gun]] equipped with a gun shieldA gun shield is a flat piece or section of armor designed to be mounted on a crew-served weapon such as a machine gun or artillery piece, or, more rarely, to be used with an assault rifle...
s were added to the 4-inch guns from 1942 and most ships exchanged one 45 mm for a 37 mm gun and an extra machine gun or two. Smerch landed both of her 4-inch guns and received one new 100 mm (3.9 in) B-52 gun on the forecastle with one 76.2 mm (3 in) anti-aircraft gun mounted in front of it and three 76.2 mm AA guns replaced the rear 4-inch gun. All of these additions did nothing to improve their stability and top-weight problems.
Ships
| Series I (Project 2) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ship | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Fate |
| Uragan (Ураган - Hurricane) | Zhdanov Severnaya Verf Severnaya Verf is a shipyard in Saint Petersburg and major shipyard producing both naval and civilian ships. Originally was founded exclusively for military shipbuilding.... , Leningrad Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea... |
13 August 1927 | 4 September 1928 | 12 September 1931 | Broken-up 1959 |
| Taifun (Тайфун - Typhoon) | Zhdanov, Leningrad | 13 August 1927 | 1 June 1929 | 14 September 1931 | Stricken 1959 |
| Smerch (Смерч - Whirlwind) | Zhdanov, Leningrad | 13 August 1927 | 22 July 1929 | 13 September 1932 | Sunk 8 December 1942, but later raised |
| Tsiklon (Циклон-Cyclone) | Zhdanov, Leningrad | 13 August 1927 | 28 November 1929 | 3 July 1932 | Sunk 28 August 1941 |
| Vikhr (Вихрь- Vortex) | Zhdanov, Leningrad | 13 August 1927 | 12 October 1930 | 12 September 1932 | Sunk 21 September 1941, but later raised |
| Groza (Гроза - Thunderstorm) | Zhdanov, Leningrad | 13 August 1927 | 22 September 1930 | 22 July 1932 | Scrapped 1959 |
| Metel (Метель - Snowstorm) | (Zhdanov, Leningrad) | 18 December 1931 | 15 June 1934 | 18 November 1934 | Training ship 1945 |
| V'yuga | (Zhdanov, Leningrad) | 26 December 1931 | 5 July 1934 | 18 November 1934 | Training ship 1945 |
| Series II (Project 4) | |||||
| Shkval (Шквал -Squall) | Marti, Nikolayev | 24 September 1927 | 1 July 1929 | 13 October 1932 | Stricken 1959 |
| Shtorm (Шторм - Storm) | Marti, Nikolayev | 24 September 1927 | 1 September 1929 | 5 March 1932 | Stricken 1959 |
| Buran (Буран - Blizzard) | (Marti, Nikolayev) | 22 April 1932 | 27 September 1934 | 7 October 1935 | Stricken 1959 |
| Grom (Гром-Thunder) | (Marti, Nikolayev) | 17 June 1932 | 22 September 1934 | 22 July 1935 | Stricken 1959 |
| Series III (Project 2) | |||||
| Burya (Буря-Snowstorm) | Zhdanov, Leningrad | June 1934 | November 1935 | 27 October 1936 | sunk 24 August 1942 |
| Molniya (Молния -Lightning) | (Zhdanov, Leningrad) | 23 March 1934 | 24 November 1934 | 20 September 1936 | Stricken 1959 |
| Purga (Snowstorm) | Zhdanov, Leningrad | June 1934 | November 1935 | 4 September 1936 | Sunk 1 September 1942, but later raised |
| Zarnitsa (Зарница - Lightning) | (Marti, Nikolayev) | 21 March 1934 | 6 November 1934 | 6 November 1936 | Stricken 1959 |
| Series IV (Project 39) | |||||
| Sneg (Снег - Snow) | Zhdanov, Leningrad | 27 April 1935 | 14 July 1936 | 25 September 1938 | sunk 28 August 1941 |
| Tucha (Туча - Thundercloud) | Zhdanov, Leningrad | 27 April 1935 | 20 October 1936 | 25 September 1938 | Stricken 1959 |
Ships with their shipyard in parentheses were built in sections and shipped to the Dalzavod Shipyard in Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
for assembly.
History
Uragan, Smerch and Groza were sent to the Northern Flotilla via the newly opened White Sea-Baltic CanalWhite Sea-Baltic Canal
The White Sea – Baltic Sea Canal , often abbreviated to White Sea Canal is a ship canal in Russia opened on 2 August 1933. It connects the White Sea with Lake Onega, which is further connected to the Baltic Sea. Until 1961, its original name was the Stalin White Sea – Baltic Sea Canal...
in 1933. To lighten the ships for passage through shallows their armament was removed, along with much of the moveable deck equipment, and carried in barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
s that followed the ships. During the Lake Khasan Border Incident
Battle of Lake Khasan
The Battle of Lake Khasan and also known as the Changkufeng Incident in China and Japan, was an attempted military incursion of Manchukuo into the territory claimed by the Soviet Union...
with the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese in the summer of 1938 Metal carried wounded to Vladivostok and escorted three convoys carrying troops and supplied to Posyet Bay
Posyet Bay
The Possiet Gulf or Posyet Bay is a bay in the south-western part of the Peter the Great Gulf, between the promontories of Suslov and Gamov. It stretches for 31 kilometres from northeast to southwest and for 33 kilometers from northwest to southeast...
, fortunately without interference by the Imperial Japanese Navy
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
.
As part of the effort to pressure the Baltic States
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
into accepting Soviet troops they staged an incident in Narva Bay
Narva Bay
The Narva Bay is a bay in the southern part of the Gulf of Finland divided between Estonia and Russia. The Kurgalsky Peninsula separates it from the Luga Bay to the east. The bay is about long and wide at its mouth. The eastern shore is low and sandy, while the south coast is rather steep...
by sinking the tanker Metallist on 26 September 1939. The sinking was then blamed on the Polish submarine Orzeł
ORP Orzeł
Three boats of the Polish Navy have been named ORP Orzeł :* ORP Orzeł was an commissioned in 1939 and lost in 1940.* ORP Orzeł was a commissioned in 1962 and decommissioned in 1983....
which, however, was en route to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
at the time. "According to Finnish information (based on statements made by a Soviet Prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
) the Metallist was sunk by the Tucha (with loss of life) after being missed by the submarine Shch 303
Shchuka class submarine
The Shchuka class submarines , also referred to as Shch or SC class submarines were a medium-sized class of Soviet submarines, built in large numbers and used during World War II...
to give the Soviets an excuse to claim rights to defend Estonian waters." The Estonians capitulated to Soviet demands a few days later.
During the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
Burya, Vikhr, Sneg and Purga provided fire support as the Soviets conducted landings on the small Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
-held islands in the Gulf of Finland
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland and Estonia all the way to Saint Petersburg in Russia, where the river Neva drains into it. Other major cities around the gulf include Helsinki and Tallinn...
. Groza helped to transport the 104th Rifle Division to occupy Liinakhamari
Liinakhamari
Liinakhamari is an ice-free harbour and a rural locality in Pechengsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. The harbour belonged to Finland from 1920 until 1944 when it was handed over to the Soviet Union....
and provided fire support when Petsamo
Pechengsky District
Pechengsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the five in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It is located to the northwest of the Kola Peninsula on the coast of the Barents Sea and borders with Finland in the south and southwest and with Norway in the west, northwest, and north...
was occupied between 30 November and 2 December 1939.
Northern Fleet
When the Germans invaded Uragan was laid up pending replacement parts for her turbines from Leningrad. They didn't arrive before the city was cut off and she therefore remained laid up until late 1944 after Leningrad had been liberated. Her sisters were quite active early in the campaign providing fire support for Soviet troops defending the Zapadnaya Litsa RiverZapadnaya Litsa River
Zapadnaya Litsa River is a river in the north of the Kola Peninsula in Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It is 107 km in length. The area of its basin is 1,190 km². The Zapadnaya Litsa River originates on the Kuchintundra and flows into the Barents Sea...
and the Rybachy Peninsula. But things were much quieter for most of the rest of the war although Smerch was sunk while on trials after a refit on 8 December 1942. However, she was later raised and repaired although it took until Autumn 1944 before she was recommissioned. Groza was laid up pending repairs from 1943 until 1945.
Baltic Fleet
Sneg and Tucha accompanied a force of seven destroyers in an failed attempt to intercept a German convoy off the Daugava River estuary on 13 July 1941. Burya, Sneg and Tsiklon were assigned to the rear guard during the Soviet evacuation of Tallinn and laid minesNaval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
in the harbor approaches before departing. Sneg and Tsiklon hit mines themselves in the Axis-laid minefield off Cape Juminda and sink during the night of 28—29 August. Vikhr was sunk by German bombers on 21 September and Taifun badly damaged two days later. Purga was sunk in Lake Ladoga by German bombers on 1 September 1942, but she was raised in 1943 and cannibalized to repair Vikhr, but she herself was eventually repaired and returned to service in 1944. Burya ran into an Axis minefield when attempting to bombard Finnish positions on Suursaari Island and was sunk on 24 August 1942.
Black Sea Fleet
Shtorm had been laid up for repairs to her engines at Sevastopol since March 1939 and the repairs were not fully complete by 30 November 1941 when the Germans began their initial attacks on the city. Shtorm and Shkval escorted the tugs evacuating all of the ships either damaged or under repair to ports in the Caucasus and returned a number of times escorting convoys carrying men and material for the defense of Sevastopol. Shtorm provided gunfire support during the Kerch-Feodosiya Operation on 29 December 1941. Both ships ferried troops and supplies to Novorossisk and TuapseTuapse
Tuapse is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, situated on the northeast shore of the Black Sea, south of Gelendzhik and north of Sochi. It serves as the administrative center of Tuapsinsky District, although administratively it is separate from it...
during 1942 as well evacuating the wounded. Shtorms refit was finally completed in June 1942. Both ships supported Soviet landings near Novorossisk during 1943 with gunfire and supplies, but they were both worn-out by the end of the year.
Pacific Fleet
During the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August 1945 V'yuga and Metel supported amphibious operations by the 25th Army along the eastern coast of KoreaKorea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
while Zarnitsa supported operations on Sakhalin Island.
Postwar
Little is known about the detailed history of the Uragans after the end of the war although it appears that most became training ships shortly afterwards. Smerch was turned over to DOSAAFDOSAAF
DOSAAF was a paramilitary society in the Soviet Union, Voluntary Society for Cooperation with the Army, Aviation, and Fleet . The society was preserved in a number of post-Soviet Republics, e.g., in Russia and Belarus...
in 1950 as a training ship and transferred to the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
in 1951. It appears that most were disposed of during the mid to late 1950s although sources differ and lack details.