Tashkent-class destroyer

The Tashkent class (officially known as Project 20) consisted of a single destroyer leader, built in Italy for the Soviet Navy just before World War II. Three others were ordered from shipyards in the Soviet Union, but they were cancelled before they were laid down as they were too difficult to build with the existing technology in Soviet shipyards. Completed in 1939, SOVIET DESTROYER Tashkent participated in the Sieges of Odessa and Sevastopol in 1941–1942, during which she ferried reinforcements and supplies into those cities, evacuated wounded and refugees, and provided naval gunfire support for Soviet troops. The ship was badly damaged twice by Axis bombers before she was sunk in the harbor in mid-1942. Her wreck refloated in 1944, but it was too badly damaged to be worth repairing and was scrapped after the war.

Design and description
Unsatisfied with the Leningrad-class destroyer destroyer leader, the Soviets decided that they needed foreign design assistance around 1934–1935. The French were not willing to share ship plans so the Soviets turned to Italy, based on their earlier experience with the Italians during the preliminary design work for the Kirov-class cruisers. They requested designs for a high-speed destroyer leader from three Italian shipbuilders and accepted the submission by Odero-Terni-Orlando (OTO) in September 1935. They would build the lead ship, named Tashkent, in their Livorno shipyard, and provide assistance for the Soviets to build others in their own shipyards. Three other ships were ordered, although the only ship to receive a name was Baku, before they were all cancelled due to difficulties with adapting the Italian design to Soviet shipbuilding practices. A total of eleven ships in the class were planned: three for the Baltic Fleet, two for the Black Sea Fleet, two for the Northern Fleet and four for the Pacific Fleet.

The Tashkent-class ships had an overall length of 139.7 m, a beam of 13.7 m, and a mean draft of 3.7 m. The ships displaced 2840 LT at standard load, 3200 LT at full load, and 4163 LT at deep load. Their crew numbered 250 officers and sailors.

The ships had a pair of geared steam turbines, each driving one three-bladed propeller using steam from a pair of Yarrow boilers that operated at a pressure of 28 kg/cm2 and a temperature of 340 °C. The turbines, designed to produce 100000 shp, were intended to give the Tashkents a maximum speed of 42.5 kn and Tashkent herself reached 43.5 kn from 130000 shp during her sea trials in 1938, although her armament had yet to be fitted. She reached 42.7 kn once her armament had been installed. The ships had a maximum capacity of 1200 t of fuel oil which gave them a range of 5030 nmi at a speed of 20 kn. They were equipped with a pair of 120 kW turbogenerators and three diesel generators, two of 75 kW and one of 18 kW.

Armament and fire-control
Tashkent's main armament was intended to consist of six 50-caliber 130 mm B-13 guns in three twin-gun B-2LM turrets, one superfiring pair forward of the superstructure and the other mount aft of it. However, the turrets were not ready in time so three single mounts were substituted. The manually operated mounts had an elevation range between -5° and +45° and had a rate of fire of 6–10 rounds per minute. The B-13 gun fired a 33.4 kg shell at a muzzle velocity of 870 m/s, which gave them a range of 25597 m.

Anti-aircraft defense aboard Tashkent was designed to be provided by four 46-caliber semi-automatic 45 mm 21-K AA guns in single mounts, but six weapons were actually installed, all of which were clustered around the aft funnel as well as six 12.7 mm DShK machine guns. The 21-K had a rate of fire of 25–30 rounds per minute with an elevation range between -10° and +85°. The gun fired a 1.41 kg shell at a muzzle velocity of 2500 ft/s. This gave them a range of 9200 m. The DShK had an effective rate of fire of 125 rounds per minute and an effective range against aircraft of 2500 m.

The Tashkents carried nine 533 mm torpedo tubes in three rotating triple mounts amidships. The ships could also carry 76 mines and 24 depth charges which were delivered by two throwers and one stern rack.

Tashkent was equipped with a gunnery director on top of the bridge, fitted with a duplex rangefinder installation, that provided data for an Italian-made "Galileo" mechanical analog fire-control computer, and a 3 m rangefinder. Two 1.5 m rangefinders were provided for the AA guns. It is uncertain what fire-control systems would have been used by the Soviet-built ships had they not been canceled.

Modifications
During a brief refit in February 1941, the three B-2LM turrets were installed. At the same time the 45 mm guns were replaced by an equal number of fully automatic 37 mm 70-K AA guns. The gun had a range of 4000 m from its 0.732 kg fragmentation shells that were fired at a muzzle velocity of 2900 ft/s. They had a maximum elevation of +90° and a rate of fire of 160–180 rounds per minute.

A twin-gun 39-K mount for 76.2 mm 34-K AA guns was fitted on her stern while Tashkent was under repair on 31 August; it had been originally intended for the destroyer Ognevoy-class destroyer SOVIET DESTROYER Ognevoy which was still under construction. The 34-K guns could elevate between -5° and +85° and had a rate of fire of 15–20 rounds per minute. Their muzzle velocity of 801 m/s gave their 11.9 kg high-explosive shells a maximum horizontal range of 14640 m and an effective ceiling of 6500 m.

Service
During the Siege of Odessa, Tashkent escorted a transport to Odessa and provided naval gunfire support before she was badly damaged by Axis bombers in August. After repairs were completed in November, the ship ferried reinforcements and supplies, evacuated wounded and refugees, and bombarded Axis positions during the Siege of Sevastopol in 1941–1942. Tashkent was crippled by Axis bombers on a return voyage to Novorossiysk in late June and was sunk a few days later during an air strike on the harbor there. Her wreck was refloated in 1944, but it was a total constructive total loss and was scrapped after the war.