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Derzky-class (Bespokoiny-class)

Destroyer Warship

Nine ships made up the Derzky-class of surface combatants for the Imperial Russian Navy prior to - and during - its part in World War 1.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 2/27/2020 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com

The Derzky-class, also known as the Bespokoiny-class, was an Imperial Russian Navy (IRN) destroyer class of the World War 1-era (1914-1918). The class was in commission from 1913 until 1941, the early part of World War 2 (1939-1945), and numbered nine ships in all. The series enjoyed a certain level of success against the Turks in the Black Sea during operations concerning World War 1 where there was nothing in the region that could match them on the enemy's side. The class was used to succeed the slightly larger destroyer "Novik" and was itself succeeded by the newer Fidonisy-class of 1916.

The vessels had traditional silhouettes with their midships dominated by three inline smoke funnels. The bridge was held well-forward of midships at the forecastle with a single gun emplacement fitted ahead. The bow hull line was raised while the rest of the vessel featured a low line running unbroken to the stern. A second hull superstructure was fitted aft of the inline smoke funnels. There were to masts, one forward and one aft.

Power stemmed from five boiler units feeding 2 x Brown Boverei turbines developing 25,500 horsepower to twin shafts. Maximum speed in ideal conditions reached 34 knots which gave the vessels good legs in open sea.

Armament centered on 3 x 102mm (4") main guns with 2 x 47mm (1.9") Anti-Aircraft (AA) guns and 3 x 7.62mm machine guns. 10 x 457mm (18") torpedo tubes were carried in five twin-tubed launcher sets. Up to eighty naval mines could also be carried and used to deny water routes to the enemy.

Dimensions included a running length of 321.5 feet with a beam of 30.5 feet and a draught of 10.5 feet. Displacement reached 1,100 tons under standard load and 1,350 tons under full load. Aboard was a crew of some 125 sailors.

The nine ships of the class were Bespokoiny, Derzky, Gnevny, Pronziteiny, Bystry (later renamed Frunze), Gromki, Pospeshny, Pylki and Schastivy. Construction of the group was split between several shiyards - Nikolayev Navy Yard, Metal Works (Kherson) and Putilov Yard. The first ships, Bespokoiny and Gnevny, were both launched on October 31st, 1913 with Gromki following on December 19th of that year. The remaining vessels were all in service for 1914.

Their operational tenure was heavily disrupted by the Russian Civil War (1917-1923) that all but ended Imperial Russian involvement in World War 1 and Imperial Russia as a whole. Many of the ships in the class were scuttled by their crews to avoid capture by the revolutionaries and were the last remnants of the Black Sea Fleet loyal to the Empire.

Of the nine Derzky-class destroyers completed, three were lost in service. Bespokoiny was interned at Bizerte and scrapped in 1924 as was Dersky, Gnevny, Pospeshny and Pylki. Pronzitelny was scuttled on June 18th, 1918 near Novorosiysk as was Gromki. Schastiivy was run aground on October 24th, 1919 while under tow to its internment site. Bystry was scuttled by her crew in 1919 to avoid capture but eventually raised and reconstituted back into service with the newly-born Soviet Navy. It sailed into the 1940s where it was dive-bombed into history by German Stukas on September 21st, 1941.

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