German torpedo boats s 100. A.b. Shirokorad Black Sea Fleet in three wars and three revolutions. The day that changed everything

Torpedo boats are fast small-sized and fast ships, whose main weapons are self-propelled warheads - torpedoes.

The progenitors of boats with torpedoes on board were the Russian mine ships Chesma and Sinop. Combat experience in military conflicts from 1878 to 1905 revealed a number of shortcomings. The desire to correct the disadvantages of boats has led to two directions in the development of ships:

1. Dimensions and displacement have been increased. This was done in order to equip the boats with more powerful torpedoes, strengthen artillery, and increase seaworthiness.
2. The ships were small in size, their design was lighter, so maneuverability and speed became an advantage and the main characteristics.

The first direction gave birth to such types of ships as. The second direction led to the appearance of the first torpedo boats.

Mine boat “Chamsa”

The first torpedo boats

One of the first torpedo boats were created by the British. They were called boats "40-pound" and "55-pound". They very successfully and actively participated in the hostilities in 1917.

The first models had a number of characteristics:

• Small displacement of water - from 17 to 300 tons;
• A small number of torpedoes on board - from 2 to 4;
• High speed from 30 to 50 knots;
• Light auxiliary weapon - machine gun from 12 to 40 - mm;
• unprotected design.

Torpedo boats of World War II

At the beginning of the war, boats of this class were not very popular among the participating countries. But during the war years, their number increased by 7-10 times. Soviet Union he also developed the construction of light ships, and by the beginning of hostilities, the fleet had approximately 270 torpedo-type boats in service.

Small ships were used in conjunction with aviation and other equipment. In addition to the main task - attacking ships, the boats had the functions of scouts and sentinels, guarded convoys off the coast, laid mines, and attacked submarines in coastal zones. Also used as vehicle for the transport of ammunition, the release of troops and played the role of minesweepers of bottom mines.

Here are the main representatives of torpedo boats in the war:

1. Boats of England MTV, the speed of which was 37 knots. Such boats were equipped with two single-tube devices for torpedoes, two machine guns and four depth mines.
2. German boats, the displacement of which was 115 thousand kilograms, a length of almost 35 meters and a speed of 40 knots. The armament of the German boat consisted of two devices for torpedo shells and two automatic anti-aircraft guns.
3. The Italian MAS boats of the Balletto design organization developed a speed of up to 43-45 knots. They were equipped with two 450-mm torpedo launchers, one 13-caliber machine-gun mount and six bombs.
4. A twenty-meter torpedo boat of the G-5 type, created in the USSR, had a number of characteristics: The displacement of water was about 17 thousand kilograms; Developed a stroke of up to 50 knots; It was equipped with two torpedoes and two small-caliber machine guns.
5. The PT 103 torpedo-class boats, in the service of the US Navy, displaced about 50 tons of water, were 24 meters long and developed a speed of 45 knots. Their armament consisted of four torpedo mounts, one 12.7 mm machine gun and 40 mm anti-aircraft automatic mounts.
6. Japanese fifteen-meter torpedo boats of the Mitsubishi model had a small water displacement of up to fifteen tons. The boat type T-14 was equipped with a gasoline engine, which developed a speed of 33 knots. They were armed with one 25-caliber cannon or machine gun, two torpedo shells and bombers.

USSR 1935 - boat g 6

Mine boat MAS 1936

The torpedo-class ships had several advantages over other warships:

• Small dimensions;
• High speed abilities;
• High maneuverability;
• Small crew;
• Little need for supplies;
• The boats could quickly attack the enemy and also hide with lightning speed.

Schnellbots and their characteristics

Schnellbots are German torpedo boats from World War II. Its hull was a combination of wood and steel. This was dictated by the desire to increase speed, displacement and reduce financial and time resources for repairs. The cabin was made of light alloy, had a conical shape and was protected by armored steel.

The boat had seven compartments:

1. - there was a cabin for 6 people;
2. - radio post, commander's cabin and two fuel tanks;
3. – there are diesels;
4. – fuel tanks;
5. - dynamos;
6. - steering post, cockpit, ammunition depot;
7. - fuel tanks and steering gear.

The power plant by 1944 was upgraded to a diesel model MV-518. As a result, the speed increased to 43 knots.

The main weapons were torpedoes. As a rule, combined-cycle G7a were installed. The second effective weapon of the boats were mines. These were TMA, TMV, TMS, LMA, 1MV bottom shells or EMC, UMB, EMF, LMF anchor shells.

The boat was supplied with additional artillery weapons, including:

• One stern gun MGC/30;
• Two portable machine gun mounts MG 34;
• At the end of 1942, some boats were equipped with Bofors machine guns.

German boats were equipped with complex technical equipment to locate the enemy. The FuMO-71 radar was a low power antenna. The system made it possible to detect targets only at close distances: from 2 to 6 km. Radar FuMO-72 with a rotating antenna, which was placed on the wheelhouse.

The Metox station, which could detect enemy radar exposure. Since 1944, boats have been equipped with the Naxos system.

Mini Schnellbots

Mini boats of the LS type were designed to be placed on cruisers and large ships. The boat had following characteristics. The displacement is only 13 tons, and the length is 12.5 meters. The crew consisted of seven people. The boat was equipped with two Daimler Benz MB 507 diesel engines, which accelerated the boat to 25-30 knots. The boats were armed with two torpedo launchers and one 2 cm caliber gun.

The KM type boats were 3 meters larger than the LS. The boat displaced 18 tons of water. Two BMW petrol engines were installed on board. The floating apparatus had a speed of 30 knots. Of the weapons on the boat, there were two devices for firing and storing torpedo shells or four mines and one machine gun.

Ships of the post-war period

After the war, many countries abandoned the creation of torpedo boats. And they switched to the creation of more modern missile ships. Israel, Germany, China, the USSR and others continued to engage in construction. Boats in the post-war period changed their purpose and began to patrol coastal areas and fight enemy submarines.

The Soviet Union presented a project 206 torpedo boat with a displacement of 268 tons, a length of 38.6 meters. Its speed was 42 knots. The armament consisted of four 533-mm torpedo tubes and two twin AK-230 mounts.

Some countries have begun production of mixed-type boats, using both missiles and torpedoes:

1. Israel produced the boat "Dabur"
2. China has developed a combined boat "Hegu"
3. Norway built the Hauk
4. In Germany it was "Albatross"
5. Sweden was armed with "Nordköping"
6. Argentina had the boat "Intrepida".

Soviet torpedo-class boats are warships used during the Second World War. These light, maneuverable vehicles were indispensable in combat conditions, with their help they landed landing troops, transported weapons, carried out trawling and setting mines.

Torpedo boats model G-5, mass production of which was carried out from 1933 to 1944. A total of 321 ships were produced. The displacement ranged from 15 to 20 tons. The length of such a boat was 19 meters. Two GAM-34B engines of 850 each were installed on board Horse power, allowing speeds up to 58 knots. Crew - 6 people.

Of the weapons on board, a 7-62 mm DA machine gun and two 533-mm aft grooved torpedo tubes were installed.

Armament consisted of:

• Two twin machine guns
• Two tube torpedo devices
• Six M-1 bombs

Boats model D3 1 and 2 series were planing vessels. The dimensions and mass of displaced water practically did not differ. Length -21.6 m for each series, displacement - 31 and 32 tons, respectively.

The boat of the 1st series had three Gam-34VS gasoline engines and developed a speed of 32 knots. The crew included 9 people.

The Series 2 boat had a more powerful power plant. It consisted of three Packard gasoline engines with a capacity of 3600 horsepower. The crew consisted of 11 people.

The armament was practically the same:

• Two 12mm DShK machine guns;
• Two devices for launching torpedoes 533-mm caliber model BS-7;
• Eight BM-1 depth charges.

On the D3 2 series, the Oerlikon gun was additionally installed.

Boat "Komsomolets" - an improved torpedo boat in every respect. Its body was made of duralumin. The boat consisted of five compartments. The length was 18.7 meters. The boat was equipped with two Packard gasoline engines. The vessel developed a speed of up to 48 knots.

June 24 "U-20" artillery fire and ramming sank the landing boat "DB-26", which was going from Sochi to Sukhumi.

On August 20, 1944, during a large raid on Constanta, the submarine "U-9" was sunk by aircraft, and the boats "U-18" and "U-24" were damaged. The Germans took them out of Constanta and flooded them.

On September 1, at 04:20, the submarine U-23 approached the port of Constanta and managed to launch two torpedoes between the booms. One of the torpedoes hit the stern of the Oytuz transport (2400 tons), which was under repair. Transport sat stern on the ground. And the second torpedo exploded near the wall.

The next day, September 2, the submarine "U-19" 32 miles southeast of Constanta sank the base minesweeper "Vzryv" with a torpedo. 74 crew members and Marines were killed. Along with the "Explosion" were minesweepers "Iskatel" and "Shield" and two large hunters. Nevertheless, the boat managed to escape.

September 9, 1944 submarines "U-19", "U-20" and "U-23" surfaced in the sea. Their commanders held a two-hour meeting, after which they sent the boats to Turkish coast, landed the crews on land and blew up the boats.

In December 1941, the Kriegsmarine command decided to send the 1st torpedo boat flotilla to the Black Sea under the command of Corvette Captain Heimut Birnbacher. The flotilla consisted of 6 boats ("S-26", "S-27", "S-28", "S-40", "S-102"), built in 1940-1941, and "S-72 ”, which entered service on February 3, 1942.

German torpedo boat "S-100"

Armament and diesels were removed from the boats and taken in tow up the Elbe to Dresden. There, the boats were loaded onto heavy four-axle platforms. Each platform was towed by three powerful tractors. The resulting train weighed 210 tons and could move at a speed of no more than 5-8 km / h. The train had to cover the 450-kilometer journey to Ingolstadt in 5 days.

In Ingolstadt, boats were launched and towed along the Danube to Linz. There, at the local shipyard, with the help of Lursen specialists, part of the equipment was installed. And at the shipyard in Galati, motors were mounted on boats. Then the boats went on their own to Constanta, where weapons and instruments were installed on them.

The transfer of boats took place without incident, and by June 1, 1942, there were already two fully combat-ready boats in Konstanz - "S-26" and "S-28".

On the Black Sea, the Germans used exclusively torpedo boats of the S-26 type. These boats began to be built in 1938 by the Lyursen company. Standard displacement of boats is 93 tons, total displacement is 112-117 tons; length 35 m, width 5.28 m, draft 1.67 m. Three Daimler-Benz diesel engines with a total power of 6000 to 7500 hp. allowed to develop a speed of 39-40 knots. Cruising range 700 miles at 35 knots. Armament: torpedo - two tubular 53-cm torpedo tubes; artillery - two 2 cm anti-aircraft guns with an ammunition load of 6000 rounds, and from the S-100 boat they began to install one 4 cm Bofors cannon (4 cm Flak.28) with an ammunition load of 2000 rounds and one 2 cm machine gun (3000 shots). The crew of the boat is from 24 to 31 people.

torpedo boat"S-100" with armored wheelhouse

The boats had a high forecastle, which provided them with good seaworthiness. The hull design was mixed - metal and wood. Starting with the S-100 boat, the wheelhouse and steering station received armor 10-12 mm thick. radar German boats operating in the Black Sea did not have.

In late 1942 - early 1943, German torpedo boats "S-42", "S-45", "S-46", "S-47", "S-49", " S-51" and "S-52", which were completed in March - August 1941.

In the spring of 1942, the Germans purchased the Romania ship from the Romanians, which was commissioned on December 6, 1942 as a mother ship for German torpedo boats.

The first task of the German torpedo boats was the blockade of Sevastopol from the sea. For this purpose, a temporary base was equipped in Ak-Mecheti (now the Chernomorskoye urban-type settlement). The first combat campaign of the boats took place on the night of June 19, 1942. At 01:48, the boats "S-27", "S-102" and "S-72" noticed a Soviet convoy as part of the transport "Bialystok" (2468 brt) in guarding the base minesweeper "Anchor" and five patrol boats. The commander of the boats later reported that three destroyers and three patrol boats were guarding. The Germans fired 6 torpedoes, but only one, from the S-102 boat, hit the Bialystok. The transport sank. According to the "Chronicles ...", in addition to the crew, there were 350 wounded and 25 evacuees on board. 375 people died. According to other sources, there were more people on the ship, and about 600 people died.

After the fall of Sevastopol, German torpedo boats began to operate off the coast of the Caucasus, based on a new forward base in the village of Kiik-Atlama in Dvuyakornaya Bay near Feodosia. For some reason, the Germans called her Ivan-Baba.

On August 10, 1942, the S-102 torpedo boat sank the Sevastopol transport with a capacity of 1339 gross tons, which was sailing from Tuapse to Poti in the escort of the SKA-018 patrol boat. On the transport were the wounded and evacuees. 924 people died, 130 people were saved. At the same time, neither Sevastopol nor SKA-018 noticed a German torpedo boat and the attack was attributed to a submarine, which was recorded in top secret post-war publications.

On the night of October 23, 1942, four German torpedo boats launched a daring attack on the port of Tuapse. The Germans, apparently, knew in advance that the cruiser Krasny Kavkaz, the leader Kharkiv and the destroyer Merciless, on board of which the 9th Guards rifle brigade(3180 people). At 23:33, when our ships began mooring, the Germans fired 8 torpedoes. However, their commander was too cautious and fired from too great a distance. As a result, 5 torpedoes exploded in the area of ​​the breakwater at the entrance to the port, and three - on the shore near Cape Kodosh. Our ships were not damaged.

On February 18, 1943, at 4:15 a.m., the Lvov transport near Cape Idokopas was attacked by five German torpedo boats, which fired 10-10 cable torpedoes at it from a distance. But all the torpedoes passed by, and the Lvov arrived safely in Gelendzhik.

On February 27, at 23:20, German torpedo boats attacked ships of the Black Sea Fleet in the Myskhako area. The minesweeper "Gruz" unloaded ammunition and, having received a torpedo hit, sank. The gunboat "Red Georgia" was hit by a torpedo in the stern and sat on the ground. Subsequently, the gunboat was subjected to periodic attacks by enemy aircraft and artillery and received new damage, which finally disabled it. On the "Red Georgia" 4 people were killed and 12 wounded.

The next day, February 28, at 6:15 a.m., the Mius tugboat, sailing from Gelendzhik to Myskhako, was also sunk by German torpedo boats in the area of ​​the Sudzhuk Spit.

On March 13, at 00:50, near the village of Lazarevskoye, the tanker "Moskva" (6086 brt), sailing from Batumi to Tuapse, was illuminated by a luminous aerial bomb dropped from an aircraft, and then torpedo boats "S-26" and "S-47" fired 4 torpedoes at him. At 2:57 a.m., the tanker was hit by a torpedo in the bow of the port side. There was a huge fire on the ship. To help the tanker, tugs were sent, which led the "Moscow" to the outer roadstead of Tuapse. The tanker was put into operation only after the war.

The Che-2 aircraft was searching for enemy torpedo boats that attacked the Moscow. At 07:48, he discovered 4 German torpedo boats in the Elchankay area and opened fire on them. The pilot and navigator were wounded by return fire from the boats, but they landed the plane safely at their airfield.

On the night of May 19-20, 1943, the S-49 and S-72 boats made a lot of noise in the Sochi area, although without much effect. To begin with, at 23:25 at the entrance to the port of Sochi, they sank with two torpedoes the Pervansh sea tug, which was leading two barges guarded by one patrol boat. According to the SKA-018 report, one of the German torpedo boats was sunk, but this is only a “hunting story”. And less than an hour later, these boats broke into the Sochi roadstead and fired a torpedo salvo. Two torpedoes exploded on the shore near the sanatorium. Fabricius. Coastal battery No. 626 and a separate anti-aircraft artillery battalion opened frantic, but inconclusive fire at the boats.

A series of multi-purpose boats of the "Kriegsfischkutter" (KFK) type consisted of 610 units ("KFK-1" - "KFK-561", "KFK-612" - "KFK-641", "KFK-655" - "KFK-659" , "KFK-662" - "KFK-668", "KFK-672" - "KFK-674", "KFK-743", "KFK-746", "KFK-749", "KFK-751") and was adopted in 1942-1945. The boats were built in seven European countries based on a wooden-hulled fishing seiner and served as minesweepers, submarine hunters and patrol boats. During the war, 199 boats were lost, 147 were transferred as reparations to the USSR, 156 to the USA, 52 to Great Britain. Performance characteristics of the boat: full displacement - 110 tons; length - 20 m; width - 6.4 m; draft - 2.8 m; power point- diesel engine, power - 175 - 220 hp; maximum speed- 9 - 12 knots; fuel supply - 6 - 7 tons of solarium; cruising range - 1.2 thousand miles; crew - 15 - 18 people. Basic armament: 1x1 - 37 mm gun; 1-6x1 - 20mm anti-aircraft guns. The hunter's armament is 12 depth charges.

Torpedo boats "S-7", "S-8" and "S-9" were built at the shipyard "Lürssen" and put into operation in 1934-1935. In 1940-1941. boats were re-equipped. Performance characteristics of the boat: standard displacement - 76 tons, total displacement - 86 tons; length - 32.4 m; width - 5.1 m; draft - 1.4 m; power plant - 3 diesel engines, power - 3.9 thousand hp; maximum speed - 36.5 knots; fuel supply - 10.5 tons of solarium; cruising range - 760 miles; crew - 18 - 23 people. Armament: 1x1 - 20-mm anti-aircraft gun; 2x1 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 6 mines or depth charges.

Torpedo boats "S-10", "S-11", "S-12" and "S-13" were built at the shipyard "Lürssen" and put into operation in 1935. In 1941. boats were re-equipped. One boat for reparations was transferred to the USSR. Performance characteristics of the boat: standard displacement - 76 tons, total displacement - 92 tons; length - 32.4 m; width - 5.1 m; draft - 1.4 m; power plant - 3 diesel engines, power - 3.9 thousand hp; maximum speed - 35 knots; fuel supply - 10.5 tons of solarium; cruising range - 758 miles; crew - 18 - 23 people. Armament: 2x1 - 20-mm anti-aircraft guns; 2x1 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 6 mines or depth charges.

Torpedo boat "S-16"

Torpedo boats "S-14", "S-15", "S-16" and "S-17" were built at the shipyard "Lürssen" and put into operation in 1936-1937. In 1941 boats were re-equipped. During the war, 2 boats died and one boat was transferred to the USSR and the USA for reparations. Performance characteristics of the boat: standard displacement - 92.5 tons, total displacement - 105 tons; length - 34.6 m; width - 5.3 m; draft - 1.7 m; power plant - 3 diesel engines, power - 6.2 thousand hp; maximum speed - 37.7 knots; fuel reserve - 13.3 tons of solarium; cruising range - 500 miles; crew - 18 - 23 people. Armament: 2x1 or 1x2 - 20-mm anti-aircraft gun; 2x1 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 4 torpedoes.

A series of torpedo boats consisted of 8 units ("S-18" - "S-25") and was built at the shipyard "Lürssen" in 1938-1939. During the war, 2 boats died, 2 were transferred to Great Britain for reparations, 1 to the USSR. Performance characteristics of the boat: standard displacement - 92.5 tons, total displacement - 105 tons; length - 34.6 m; width - 5.3 m; draft - 1.7 m; power plant - 3 diesel engines, power - 6 thousand hp; maximum speed - 39.8 knots; fuel reserve - 13.3 tons of solarium; cruising range - 700 miles; crew - 20 - 23 people. Armament: 2x1 or 1x4 - 20-mm anti-aircraft gun; 2x1 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 4 torpedoes.

Torpedo boats "S-26", "S-27", "S-28" and "S-29" were built at the shipyard "Lürssen" in 1940. During the war, all boats were lost. Performance characteristics of the boat: standard displacement - 92.5 tons, total displacement - 112 tons; length - 34.9 m; width - 5.3 m; draft - 1.7 m; power plant - 3 diesel engines, power - 6 thousand hp; maximum speed - 39 knots; fuel supply - 13.5 tons of solarium; cruising range - 700 miles; crew - 24 - 31 people. Armament: 1x1 and 1x2 or 1x4 and 1x1 - 20-mm anti-aircraft gun; 2x1 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 4-6 torpedoes.

A series of torpedo boats consisted of 16 units ("S-30" - "S-37", "S-54" - "S-61") and was built at the shipyard "Lürssen" in 1939-1941. During the war, all boats were lost. Performance characteristics of the boat: standard displacement - 79 - 81 tons, full - 100 - 102 tons; length - 32.8 m; width - 5.1 m; draft - 1.5 m; power plant - 3 diesel engines, power - 3.9 thousand hp; maximum speed - 36 knots; fuel reserve - 13.3 tons of solarium; cruising range - 800 miles; crew - 24 - 30 people. Armament: 2x1 - 20 mm and 1x1 - 37 mm or 1x1 - 40 mm or 1x4 - 20 mm anti-aircraft gun; 2x1 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 4 torpedoes; 2 bombers; 4-6 min.

A series of torpedo boats consisted of 93 units ("S-38" - "S-53", "S-62" - "S-138") and was built at the shipyards "Lürssen", "Schlichting" in 1940-1944. During the war, 48 boats were lost, 6 boats were transferred to Spain in 1943, 13 boats were transferred to the USSR and the USA for reparations, 12 to Great Britain. Performance characteristics of the boat: standard displacement - 92 - 96 tons, full - 112 - 115 tons; length - 34.9 m; width - 5.3 m; draft - 1.7 m; power plant - 3 diesel engines, power - 6 - 7.5 thousand hp; maximum speed - 39 - 41 knots; fuel supply - 13.5 tons of solarium; cruising range - 700 miles; crew - 24 - 31 people. Armament: 2x1 - 20 mm and 1x1 - 40 mm or 1x4 - 20 mm anti-aircraft gun; 2x1 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 4 torpedoes; 2 bombers; 6 min.

A series of torpedo boats consisted of 72 units ("S-139" - "S-150", "S-167" - "S-227") and was built at the shipyards "Lürssen", "Schlichting" in 1943-1945. During the war, 46 boats died, 8 boats were transferred to the USA for reparations, 11 to Great Britain, 7 to the USSR. Performance characteristics of the boat: standard displacement - 92 - 96 tons, full - 113 - 122 tons; length - 34.9 m; width - 5.3 m; draft - 1.7 m; power plant - 3 diesel engines, power - 7.5 thousand hp; maximum speed - 41 knots; fuel supply - 13.5 tons of solarium; cruising range - 700 miles; crew - 24 - 31 people. Armament: 1x1 - 40 mm or 1x1 - 37 mm and 1x4 - 20 mm anti-aircraft gun; 2x1 - 533 mm torpedo tubes; 4 torpedoes; 2 bombers; 6 min.

A series of torpedo boats consisted of 7 units ("S-170", "S-228", "S-301" - "S-305") and was built at the Lürssen shipyards in 1944-1945. During the war, 1 boat was lost, 2 boats were transferred to the USA for reparations, 3 to Great Britain, 1 to the USSR. Performance characteristics of the boat: standard displacement - 99 tons, total displacement - 121 - 124 tons; length - 34.9 m; width - 5.3 m; draft - 1.7 m; power plant - 3 diesel engines, power - 9 thousand hp; maximum speed - 43.6 knots; fuel reserve - 15.7 tons of solarium; cruising range - 780 miles; crew - 24 - 31 people. Armament: 2x1 or 3x2 - 30-mm anti-aircraft guns; 2x1 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 4 torpedoes; 6 min.

A series of torpedo boats consisted of 9 units ("S-701" - "S-709") and was built at the shipyards "Danziger Waggonfabrik" in 1944-1945. During the war, 3 boats died, 4 were transferred to the USSR for reparations, one each to the UK and the USA. Performance characteristics of the boat: standard displacement - 99 tons, total displacement - 121 - 124 tons; length - 34.9 m; width - 5.3 m; draft - 1.7 m; power plant - 3 diesel engines, power - 9 thousand hp; maximum speed - 43.6 knots; fuel reserve - 15.7 tons of solarium; cruising range - 780 miles; crew - 24 - 31 people. Armament: 3x2 - 30-mm anti-aircraft guns; 4x1 - 533 mm torpedo tubes; 4 torpedoes; 2 bombers; 6 min.

Light torpedo boats of the "LS" type consisted of 10 units ("LS-2" - "LS-11"), built at the shipyards "Naglo Werft", "Dornier Werft" and commissioned in 1940-1944. They were intended for use on auxiliary cruisers (raiders). During the war, all boats were lost. Performance characteristics of the boat: standard displacement - 11.5 tons, total displacement - 12.7 tons; length - 12.5 m; width - 3.5 m; draft - 1 m; power plant - 2 diesel engines, power - 1.4 - 1.7 thousand hp; maximum speed - 37 - 41 knots; fuel supply - 1.3 tons of solarium; cruising range - 170 miles; crew - 7 people. Armament: 1x1 - 20-mm anti-aircraft gun; 2x1 - 450-mm torpedo tubes or 3 - 4 mines.

A series of 60-ton minesweepers of the "R" type consisted of 14 units ("R-2" - "R-7", "R-9" - "R-16"), built at the shipyards "Abeking & Rasmussen", "Schlichting-Werft" and put into operation in 1932-1934. During the war, 13 boats were lost. Performance characteristics of the boat: standard displacement - 44 - 53 tons, total displacement - 60 tons; length - 25-28 m; width - 4 m; draft - 1.5 m; power plant - 2 diesel engines, power - 700 - 770 hp; maximum speed - 17 - 20 knots; fuel supply - 4.4 tons of solarium; cruising range - 800 miles; crew - 18 people. Armament: 1-4x1 - 20-mm anti-aircraft guns; 10 min.

A series of 120-ton minesweepers of the "R" type consisted of 8 units ("R-17" - "R-24"), built at the shipyards "Abeking & Rasmussen", "Schlichting-Werft" and put into operation in 1935- 1938 In 1940-1944 3 boats died, one boat was transferred to the UK, the USSR and the USA for reparations, the rest were decommissioned in 1947-1949. Performance characteristics of the boat: full displacement - 120 tons; length - 37 m; width - 5.4 m; draft - 1.4 m; power plant - 2 diesel engines, power - 1.8 thousand hp; maximum speed - 21 knots; fuel supply - 11 tons of solarium; cruising range - 900 miles; crew -20 - 27 people. Armament: 2x1 and 2x2 - 20-mm anti-aircraft guns; 12 min.

A series of 126-ton minesweepers of the "R" type consisted of 16 units ("R-25" - "R-40"), built at the shipyards "Abeking & Rasmussen", "Schlichting-Werft" and put into operation in 1938- 1939 During the war, 10 boats died, 2 boats were transferred to the USSR and 1 to Great Britain for reparations, the rest were decommissioned in 1945-1946. Performance characteristics of the boat: standard displacement - 110 tons, total displacement - 126 tons; length - 35.4 m; width - 5.6 m; draft - 1.4 m; power plant - 2 diesel engines, power - 1.8 thousand hp; maximum speed - 23.5 knots; fuel supply - 10 tons of solarium; cruising range - 1.1 thousand miles; crew - 20 people. Armament: 2x1 and 2x2 - 20 mm and 1x1 - 37 mm anti-aircraft gun; 10 min.

A series of 135-ton minesweepers of the "R" type consisted of 89 units ("R-41" - "R-129"), built at the shipyards "Abeking & Rasmussen", "Schlichting-Werft" and put into operation in 1940- 1943 During the war, 48 boats were lost, 19 boats were transferred to the USA for reparations, 12 to the USSR and 6 to Great Britain. Performance characteristics of the boat: standard displacement - 125 tons, total displacement - 135 tons; length - 36.8 - 37.8 m; width - 5.8 m; draft - 1.4 m; power plant - 2 diesel engines, power - 1.8 thousand hp; maximum speed - 20 knots; fuel supply - 11 tons of solarium; cruising range - 900 miles; crew -30 - 38 people. Armament: 1-3x1 and 1-2x2 - 20-mm and 1x1 - 37-mm anti-aircraft gun; 10 min.

A series of 155-ton minesweepers of the "R" type consisted of 21 units ("R-130" - "R-150"), built at the shipyards "Abeking & Rasmussen", "Schlichting-Werft" and put into operation in 1943- 1945 During the war, 4 boats died, 14 boats were transferred to the USA for reparations, 1 to the USSR and 2 to Great Britain. Performance characteristics of the boat: standard displacement - 150 tons, total displacement - 155 tons; length - 36.8 - 41 m; width - 5.8 m; draft - 1.6 m; power plant - 2 diesel engines, power - 1.8 thousand hp; maximum speed - 19 knots; fuel supply - 11 tons of solarium; cruising range - 900 miles; crew - 41 people. Armament: 2x1 and 2x2 - 20 mm and 1x1 - 37 mm anti-aircraft gun; 1x1 - 86-mm rocket mortar.

A series of 126-ton minesweepers of the "R" type consisted of 67 units ("R-151" - "R-217"), built at the shipyards "Abeking & Rasmussen", "Schlichting-Werft" and put into operation in 1940- 1943 49 boats died, the rest were transferred to Denmark as reparations. Performance characteristics of the boat: standard displacement - 110 tons, total displacement - 126 - 128 tons; length - 34.4 - 36.2 m; width - 5.6 m; draft - 1.5 m; power plant - 2 diesel engines, power - 1.8 thousand hp; maximum speed - 23.5 knots; fuel supply - 10 tons of solarium; cruising range - 1.1 thousand miles; crew - 29 - 31 people. Armament: 2x1 - 20 mm and 1x1 - 37 mm anti-aircraft gun; 10 min.

A series of 148-ton minesweepers of the "R" type consisted of 73 units ("R-218" - "R-290"), built at the Burmester shipyard and commissioned in 1943-1945. 20 boats died, 12 were transferred to the USSR as reparations, 9 to Denmark, 8 to the Netherlands, 6 to the USA. Performance characteristics of the boat: standard displacement - 140 tons, total displacement - 148 tons; length - 39.2 m; width - 5.7 m; draft - 1.5 m; power plant - 2 diesel engines, power - 2.5 thousand hp; maximum speed - 21 knots; fuel supply - 15 tons of solarium; cruising range - 1 thousand miles; crew - 29 - 40 people. Armament: 3x2 - 20 mm and 1x1 - 37 mm anti-aircraft gun; 12 min.

A series of 184-ton minesweepers of the "R" type consisted of 12 units ("R-301" - "R-312"), built at the shipyard "Abeking & Rasmussen" and commissioned in 1943-1944. During the war, 4 boats died, 8 boats were transferred to the USSR for reparations. Performance characteristics of the boat: standard displacement - 175 tons, total displacement - 184 tons; length - 41 m; width - 6 m; draft - 1.8 m; power plant - 3 diesel engines, power - 3.8 thousand hp; maximum speed - 25 knots; fuel reserve - 15.8 tons of solarium; cruising range - 716 miles; crew - 38 - 42 people. Armament: 3x2 - 20 mm and 1x1 - 37 mm anti-aircraft gun; 1x1 - 86-mm rocket launcher; 2x1 - 533-mm torpedo tubes; 16 min.

A series of 150-ton minesweepers of the "R" type consisted of 24 units ("R-401" - "R-424"), built at the Abeking & Rasmussen shipyard and commissioned in 1944-1945. During the war, 1 boat was lost, 7 boats were transferred to the USA for reparations, 15 to the USSR, 1 to the Netherlands. Performance characteristics of the boat: standard displacement - 140 tons, total displacement - 150 tons; length - 39.4 m; width - 5.7 m; draft - 1.5 m; power plant - 2 diesel engines, power - 2.8 thousand hp; maximum speed - 25 knots; fuel supply - 15 tons of solarium; cruising range - 1 thousand miles; crew - 33 - 37 people. Armament: 3x2 - 20 mm and 1x1 - 37 mm anti-aircraft gun; 2x1 - 86-mm rocket launchers; 12 min.

Few people know that the Soviet torpedo boats of World War II were giant seaplane floats.

On August 18, 1919, at 03:45, unidentified aircraft appeared over Kronstadt. The air raid alert was sounded on the ships. Actually, there was nothing new for our sailors - British and Finnish aircraft were based 20–40 km from Kronstadt on the Karelian Isthmus and almost all summer of 1919 raided ships and the city, although without much success.

But at 04:20, two speedboats were spotted from the destroyer Gavriil, and almost immediately there was an explosion at the harbor wall. This is a torpedo from a British boat, which passed by the Gabriel, exploded, hitting the pier.

In response, the sailors from the destroyer smashed the nearest boat to smithereens with the first shot from a 100-mm gun. In the meantime, two more boats, having entered the Middle Harbor, headed: one - to the training ship "Memory of Azov", the other - to the Rogatka Ust-Kanal (entrance to the dock of Peter I). With torpedoes fired, the first boat blew up the "Memory of Azov", the second one blew up the battleship "Andrew the First-Called". At the same time, the boats were machine-gunned at the ships near the harbor wall. When leaving the harbor, both boats were sunk by fire from the destroyer Gabriel at 04:25. Thus ended the raid of British torpedo boats, which entered into civil war called the Kronstadt wake-up call.

floating torpedo tube

Note that this was not the first use of British torpedo boats in the Gulf of Finland. On June 17, 1919, the cruiser Oleg was anchored at the Tolbukhin lighthouse guarded by two destroyers and two patrol vessels. The boat approached almost point-blank to the cruiser and fired a torpedo. The cruiser sank. It is easy to understand how the service was carried out by the Red Naval Marines, if neither on the cruiser, nor on the ships guarding it, no one noticed a suitable boat during the day and with excellent visibility. After the explosion, indiscriminate fire was opened on the "English submarine", which the military men dreamed of.

Where did the British get the boats, moving at an incredible speed for that time of 37 knots (68.5 km / h)? English engineers managed to combine two inventions in the boat: a special ledge in the bottom - a redan and a powerful gasoline engine of 250 hp. Thanks to the redan, the area of ​​\u200b\u200bcontact of the bottom with water, and hence the resistance to the course of the ship, decreased. The extended boat no longer sailed - it seemed to crawl out of the water and glided along it at great speed, leaning on the water surface only with an extended ledge and a flat aft end.

Thus, in 1915, the British designed a small high-speed torpedo boat, which was sometimes called a "floating torpedo tube".

Shooting back

From the very beginning, the British command considered torpedo boats exclusively as sabotage boats. British admirals intended to use light cruisers as carriers of torpedo boats. The torpedo boats themselves were supposed to be used to attack enemy ships in their bases. Accordingly, the boats were very small: 12.2 m long and 4.25 tons displacement.

Putting a normal (tubular) torpedo tube on such a boat was unrealistic. Therefore, planing boats fired torpedoes ... backwards. Moreover, the torpedo was thrown out of the stern chute not with its nose, but with its tail. At the moment of ejection, the torpedo engine was turned on, and it began to catch up with the boat. The boat, which at the time of the salvo had to go at a speed of about 20 knots (37 km / h), but not less than 17 knots (31.5 km / h), turned sharply to the side, and the torpedo retained its original direction, while simultaneously taking on a given depth and increasing the stroke to full. Needless to say, the accuracy of firing a torpedo from such an apparatus is significantly lower than from a tubular one.

Revolutionary boats

On September 17, 1919, the Revolutionary Military Council of the Baltic Fleet, on the basis of an inspection certificate of an English torpedo boat raised from the bottom in Kronstadt, turned to the Revolutionary Military Council with a request to order the urgent construction of English-type speedboats at our factories.

The issue was considered very quickly, and already on September 25, 1919, the GUK informed the Revolutionary Military Council that "due to the lack of special-type mechanisms that have not yet been manufactured in Russia, the construction of a series of such boats is certainly not feasible at present." That was the end of the matter.

But in 1922 Bekauri's Ostekhbyuro also became interested in planing boats. At his insistence, on February 7, 1923, the Main Naval Technical and Economic Directorate of the People's Commissariat for Maritime Affairs sent a letter to TsAGI "in connection with the emerging need for the fleet in gliders, the tactical tasks of which are: coverage area 150 km, speed 100 km / h, armament one machine gun and two 45 cm Whitehead mines, length 5553 mm, weight 802 kg.

By the way, V.I. Bekauri, not really relying on TsAGI and Tupolev, secured himself and in 1924 ordered a planing torpedo boat from the French company Pikker. However, for a number of reasons, the construction of torpedo boats abroad did not take place.

Planing float

But Tupolev zealously set to work. The small radius of the new torpedo boat and its poor seaworthiness did not bother anyone at that time. It was assumed that the new gliders will be placed on the cruisers. On the "Profintern" and "Chervona Ukraine" it was supposed to make additional dumping davits for this.

The planing boat ANT-3 was based on a seaplane float. The top of this float, which actively affects the strength of the structure, was transferred to Tupolev's boats. Instead of an upper deck, they had a steeply curved convex surface, which is difficult for a person to hold on to even when the boat is stationary. When the boat was on the move, it was deadly dangerous to leave its conning tower - the wet, slippery surface threw off absolutely everything that fell on it (unfortunately, with the exception of ice, in winter conditions the boats froze over in the surface part). When, during the war, troops had to be transported on torpedo boats of the G-5 type, people were put in single file in the chutes of torpedo tubes, they had nowhere else to be. With relatively large reserves of buoyancy, these boats could carry practically nothing, since there was no room for cargo in them.

The design of the torpedo tube borrowed from English torpedo boats was also unsuccessful. The minimum boat speed at which he could launch his torpedoes was 17 knots. At a slower speed and at a stop, the boat could not fire a torpedo salvo, as this would mean suicide for it - an imminent torpedo hit.

On March 6, 1927, the ANT-3 boat, later called the Firstborn, was sent to railway from Moscow to Sevastopol, where he was safely launched. From April 30 to July 16 of the same year, ANT-3 was tested.

On the basis of the ANT-3, the ANT-4 boat was created, which developed a speed of 47.3 knots (87.6 km / h) in tests. According to the ANT-4 type, serial production of torpedo boats, called Sh-4, was launched. They were built in Leningrad at the plant. Marty (former Admiralty Shipyard). The cost of the boat was 200 thousand rubles. The Sh-4 boats were equipped with two Wright-Typhoon gasoline engines supplied from the USA. The armament of the boat consisted of two groove-type torpedo tubes for 450-mm torpedoes of the 1912 model, one 7.62-mm machine gun and smoke-generating equipment. Total at the plant. Marty in Leningrad, 84 Sh-4 boats were built.

The fastest in the world

In the meantime, on June 13, 1929, Tupolev at TsAGI began the construction of a new planing duralumin boat ANT-5, armed with two 533-mm torpedoes. From April to November 1933, the boat passed factory tests in Sevastopol, and from November 22 to December - state tests. The tests of the ANT-5 literally delighted the authorities - the boat with torpedoes developed a speed of 58 knots (107.3 km / h), and without torpedoes - 65.3 knots (120.3 km / h). Boats of other countries could not even dream of such speeds.

Plant them. Marty, starting from the V series (the first four series are the Sh-4 boats), switched to the production of the G-5 (that was the name of the ANT-5 serial boats). Later, the G-5 began to be built at plant No. 532 in Kerch, and with the outbreak of war, plant No. 532 was evacuated to Tyumen, and there, at plant No. 639, they also began building boats of the G-5 type. A total of 321 serial boats G-5 of nine series were built (from VI to XII, including XI-bis).

Torpedo armament for all series was the same: two 533-mm torpedoes in groove tubes. But the machine gun armament was constantly changing. So, the boats of the VI-IX series had two 7.62-mm DA machine guns each. The following series had two 7.62 mm aviation machine guns ShKAS, characterized by a higher rate of fire. Since 1941, boats have been equipped with one or two 12.7 mm DShK machine guns.

Torpedo leader

Tupolev and Nekrasov (immediate leader of the experimental design team for gliders) # did not calm down on the G-5 and in 1933 proposed the project of the “leader of the G-6 torpedo boats”. According to the project, the displacement of the boat was to be 70 tons. Eight GAM-34 engines of 830 hp each. were supposed to provide a speed of up to 42 knots (77.7 km / h). The boat could fire a salvo of six 533-mm torpedoes, three of which were launched from aft groove-type torpedo tubes, and three more from a rotary three-tube torpedo tube located on the deck of the boat. Artillery armament consisted of a 45-mm semi-automatic gun 21K, a 20-mm gun " aviation type"and several 7.62 mm machine guns. It should be noted that by the beginning of the construction of the boat (1934), both rotary torpedo tubes and 20-mm guns of the "aviation type" existed only in the imagination of the designers.

suicide bombers

Tupolev boats could operate with torpedoes in waves up to 2 points, and stay at sea - up to 3 points. Poor seaworthiness manifested itself primarily in the flooding of the bridge of the boat even with the slightest wave and, in particular, in the strong splashing of a very low pilothouse open from above, which made it difficult for the boat crew to work. The autonomy of the Tupolev boats was also a derivative of seaworthiness - their design range could never be guaranteed, since it depended not so much even on the fuel supply as on the weather. Stormy conditions in the sea are relatively rare, but a fresh wind, accompanied by waves of 3-4 points, is a normal phenomenon. Therefore, every exit of the Tupolev torpedo boats to the sea bordered on a mortal risk, without any connection with the combat activity of the boats.

A rhetorical question: why then were hundreds of gliding torpedo boats built in the USSR? It's all about Soviet admirals, for whom the British Grand Fleet was a constant headache. They seriously thought that the British Admiralty would operate in the 1920s and 1930s in the same way as in Sevastopol in 1854 or in Alexandria in 1882. That is, British battleships in calm and clear weather will approach Kronstadt or Sevastopol, and Japanese battleships will approach Vladivostok, anchor and start a battle according to the “Gost regulations”.

And then dozens of the world's fastest torpedo boats of the Sh-4 and G-5 types will fly into the enemy armada. At the same time, some of them will be radio-controlled. The equipment for such boats was created at Ostekhbyuro under the leadership of Bekauri.

In October 1937, a large exercise was conducted using radio-controlled boats. When a formation representing an enemy squadron appeared in the western part of the Gulf of Finland, more than 50 radio-controlled boats, breaking through smoke screens, rushed from three sides to enemy ships and attacked them with torpedoes. After the exercise, the division of radio-controlled boats was highly appreciated by the command.

We'll go our own way

Meanwhile, the USSR was the only leading maritime power that built redan-type torpedo boats. England, Germany, the USA and other countries moved on to the construction of seaworthy keel torpedo boats. Such boats were inferior to redans in speed in calm weather, but significantly surpassed them in seas of 3–4 points. Keel boats carried more powerful artillery and torpedo weapons.

The superiority of keel boats over redans became obvious during the war of 1921-1933 at east coast USA, which was led by the Yankee government with ... Mr. Bacchus. Bacchus, of course, won, and the government was forced to shamefully repeal the Prohibition. A significant role in the outcome of the war was played by high-speed boats of the Elko company, which delivered whiskey from Cuba and Bahamas. Another question is that the same company built boats for the Coast Guard.

The capabilities of keel boats can be judged at least by the fact that a Scott-Payne boat, 70 feet (21.3 m) long, armed with four 53-cm torpedo tubes and four 12.7-mm machine guns, passed from England in the United States under its own power and on September 5, 1939, was solemnly welcomed in New York. In his image, the Elko company began the mass construction of torpedo boats.

By the way, 60 boats of the Elko type were delivered under Lend-Lease to the USSR, where they received the A-3 index. On the basis of A-3 in the 1950s, we created the most common torpedo boat of the Soviet Navy - Project 183.

Germans with a keel

It is worth noting that in Germany, literally bound hand and foot Treaty of Versailles and gripped by an economic crisis, they managed to test redan and keel boats in the 1920s. According to the test results, an unambiguous conclusion was made - to make only keel boats. The Lyursen firm became a monopoly in the production of torpedo boats.

During the war years German boats freely operated in fresh weather throughout the North Sea. Based in Sevastopol and in Dvuyakornaya Bay (near Feodosia), German torpedo boats operated throughout the Black Sea. At first, our admirals did not even believe the reports that German torpedo boats were operating in the Poti region. Meetings between our and German torpedo boats invariably ended in favor of the latter. During the fighting of the Black Sea Fleet in 1942-1944, not a single German torpedo boat was sunk at sea.

Flying over the water

Let's dot the "i". Tupolev is a talented aircraft designer, but why did you have to take on other than your own business ?! In some ways, it can be understood - huge funds were allocated for torpedo boats, and in the 1930s there was a tough competition among aircraft designers. Let's pay attention to one more fact. The construction of boats was not classified in our country. The gliders flying over the water were used with might and main by Soviet propaganda. The population constantly saw Tupolev's torpedo boats in illustrated magazines, on numerous posters, in newsreels. Pioneers were voluntarily-compulsorily taught to make models of red torpedo boats.

As a result, our admirals became victims of their own propaganda. It was officially believed that Soviet boats were the best in the world and there was no point in paying attention to foreign experience. In the meantime, agents of the German company Lursen, starting in the 1920s, “sticking out their tongues” were looking for clients. Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Spain and even China became customers of their keel boats.

In the 1920s and 1930s, the Germans easily shared secrets in the field of tank building, aviation, artillery, poisonous substances, etc. with their Soviet colleagues. But they did not lift a finger from us to buy at least one Lursen.

A torpedo boat is a small warship designed to destroy enemy warships and transport ships with torpedoes. Widely used during World War II. By the beginning of the war, torpedo boats were poorly represented in the main fleets of the Western maritime powers, but with the outbreak of war, the construction of boats increased dramatically. To the beginning of the Great Patriotic War The USSR had 269 torpedo boats. Over 30 torpedo boats were built during the war, and 166 received from the Allies.

The project of the first gliding Soviet torpedo boat was developed in 1927 by the team of the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) under the leadership of A.N. Tupolev, later an outstanding aircraft designer. The first experimental boat "ANT-3" ("Firstborn"), built in Moscow, was tested in Sevastopol. The boat had a displacement of 8.91 tons, the power of two gasoline engines was 1200 liters. s., speed 54 knots. Overall length: 17.33 m, width 3.33 m, draft 0.9 m, Armament: 450 mm torpedo, 2 machine guns, 2 mines.

Comparing the "Pervenets" with one of the captured SMVs, we found out that the English boat was inferior to ours both in speed and in maneuverability. On July 16, 1927, an experienced boat was enrolled in naval forces on the Black Sea. “Taking into account that this glider is an experimental design,” it was indicated in the acceptance certificate, “the commission believes that TsAGI has completed the task assigned to it in full and the glider, regardless of some shortcomings of a naval nature, is subject to admission to the Naval Forces The Red Army ... "Work on the improvement of torpedo boats at TsAGI continued, and in September 1928 the serial boat ANT-4" ("Tupolev") was launched. Until 1932, our fleet received dozens of such boats, called "Sh- 4". In the Baltic, Black Sea and Far East soon the first formations of torpedo boats appeared.

But "Sh-4" was still far from ideal. And in 1928, the fleet ordered another torpedo boat from TsAGI, named "G-5" at the institute. It was a new ship for those times - in its stern there were troughs for powerful 533-mm torpedoes, and during sea trials it developed an unprecedented speed - 58 knots with full ammunition and 65.3 knots without load. Navy sailors considered it the best of the existing torpedo boats, both in terms of armament and technical properties.

Torpedo boat type "G-5"

The lead boat of the new type "GANT-5" or "G5" (planing No. 5) was tested in December 1933. This boat with a metal hull was the best in the world, both in terms of armament and technical properties. He was recommended for serial production and by the beginning of World War II became the main type of torpedo boats Soviet Navy. The serial "G-5", manufactured in 1935, had a displacement of 14.5 tons, the power of two gasoline engines was 1700 liters. s., speed 50 knots. Overall length 19.1 m, width 3.4 m, draft 1.2 m. Armament: two 533 mm torpedoes, 2 machine guns, 4 mines. Produced for 10 years until 1944 in various modifications. In total, more than 200 units were built.

"G-5" was baptized by fire in Spain and in the Great Patriotic War. On all the seas, they not only launched dashing torpedo attacks, but also set minefields, hunted for enemy submarines, landed troops, guarded ships and convoys, trawled fairways, bombarding German bottom non-contact mines with depth charges. Particularly difficult, and sometimes unusual tasks were performed during the years of the Great Patriotic War by the Black Sea boatmen. They had to escort... trains running along the Caucasian coast. They fired torpedoes at ... the coastal fortifications of Novorossiysk. And, finally, they fired rockets at fascist ships and ... airfields.

However, the low seaworthiness of boats, especially of the Sh-4 type, was no secret to anyone. At the slightest disturbance, they were flooded with water, which was easily splashed into a very low, open wheelhouse from above. The release of torpedoes was guaranteed with a wave of no more than 1 point, but boats could simply be in the sea with a wave of no more than 3 points. Due to the low seaworthiness of the Sh-4 and G-5, only in very rare cases did they provide the design range, which depended not so much on the fuel supply as on the weather.

This and a number of other shortcomings were largely due to the "aviation" origin of the boats. The designer based the project on a seaplane float. Instead of an upper deck, Sh-4 and G-5 had a steeply curved convex surface. Providing the strength of the hull, it at the same time created a lot of inconvenience in maintenance. It was difficult to stay on it even when the boat was motionless. If it went at full speed, absolutely everything that fell on it was dumped.

This turned out to be a very big disadvantage during the hostilities: the paratroopers had to be put into the chutes of torpedo tubes - there was nowhere else to place them. Due to the lack of a flat deck, the Sh-4 and G-5, despite their relatively large buoyancy reserves, were practically unable to carry a serious load. On the eve of the Great Patriotic War, torpedo boats "D-3" and "SM-3" were developed - long-range torpedo boats. "D-3" had a wooden hull; according to his project, the SM-3 torpedo boat with a steel hull was produced.

Torpedo boat "D-3"

Boats of the "D-3" type were produced in the USSR at two factories: in Leningrad and Sosnovka Kirov region. By the beginning of the war, the Northern Fleet had only two boats of this type. In August 1941, five more boats were received from the factory in Leningrad. All of them were consolidated into a separate detachment, which operated until 1943, until other D-3s began to enter the fleet, as well as allied boats under Lend-Lease. The D-3 boats favorably differed from their predecessors, the G-5 torpedo boats, although they successfully complemented each other in terms of combat capabilities.

"D-3" had improved seaworthiness and could operate at a greater distance from the base than the boats of the "G-5" project. Torpedo boats of this type had a total displacement of 32.1 tons, a maximum length of 21.6 m (length between perpendiculars - 21.0 m), a maximum width along the deck of 3.9 and along the cheekbone - 3.7 m. The structural draft was 0, 8 m. The body "D-3" was made of wood. The speed of the course depended on the power of the engines used. GAM-34, 750 l. from. allowed the boats to develop a course of up to 32 knots, GAM-34VS of 850 hp each. from. or GAM-34F, 1050 liters each. from. - up to 37 knots, "Packards" with a capacity of 1200 liters. from. - 48 knots. The cruising range at full speed reached 320-350 miles, eight-knot speed - 550 miles.

For the first time, on-board tow torpedo tubes were installed on experimental boats and serial "D-3". Their advantage was that they made it possible to fire a volley from a "stop", while boats of the "G-5" type had to develop a speed of at least 18 knots - otherwise they did not have time to turn away from the fired torpedo.

The torpedoes were fired from the bridge of the boat by igniting a galvanic ignition cartridge. The volley was duplicated by a torpedo operator using two igniters installed in the torpedo tube. "D-3" were armed with two 533-mm torpedoes of the 1939 model; the mass of each was 1800 kg (TNT charge - 320 kg), cruising range at a speed of 51 knots - 21 cables (about 4 thousand m). small arms"D-3" consisted of two DShK machine guns caliber 12.7 mm. True, during the war years, the boats were equipped with a 20-mm Oerlikon automatic cannon, a coaxial 12.7-mm Colt Browning machine gun, and some other types of machine guns. The hull of the boat had a thickness of 40 mm. At the same time, the bottom was three-layer, and the board and deck were two-layer. On the outer layer there was larch, and on the inside - pine. The skin was fastened copper nails in the calculation of five pieces per square decimeter.

Hull "D-3" was divided into five watertight compartments by four bulkheads. In the first compartment 10-3 sp. there was a forepeak, in the second (3-7 sp.) - a four-seat cockpit. The galley and the baffle for the boiler are between the 7th and 9th frames, the radio cabin is between the 9th and 11th. On boats of the "D-3" type, improved navigation equipment was installed compared to what was on the "G-5". The deck "D-3" made it possible to take a landing group on board, moreover, it was possible to move along it during the campaign, which was impossible on the "G-5". The habitability conditions of the crew, consisting of 8-10 people, made it possible for the boat to operate for a long time away from the main base. Heating of the vital compartments of the "D-3" was also provided.

Torpedo boat "Komsomolets"

"D-3" and "SM-3" were not the only torpedo boats developed in our country on the eve of the war. In the same years, a group of designers designed a small torpedo boat of the "Komsomolets" type, which, almost no different from the "G-5" in terms of displacement, had more advanced tube torpedo tubes and carried more powerful anti-aircraft and anti-submarine weapons. These boats were built on voluntary contributions. Soviet people, and therefore some of them, in addition to numbers, received the names: "Tyumen worker", "Tyumen Komsomolets", "Tyumen pioneer".

A torpedo boat of the "Komsomolets" type, manufactured in 1944, had a duralumin hull. The hull is divided by watertight bulkheads into five compartments (spacing 20-25 cm). A hollow keel beam is laid along the entire length of the hull, performing the function of a keel. To reduce pitching, side keels are installed on the underwater part of the hull. Two aircraft engines are installed in the hull one after the other, while the length of the left propeller shaft was 12.2 m, and the right one was 10 m. Torpedo tubes, unlike previous types of boats, are tubular, not trough. The maximum seaworthiness of the torpedo bomber was 4 points. The total displacement is 23 tons, the total power of two gasoline engines is 2400 liters. s., speed 48 knots. Maximum length 18.7 m, width 3.4 m, average recess 1 m. Reservation: 7 mm bulletproof armor on the wheelhouse. Armament: two tube torpedo tubes, four 12.7 mm machine guns, six large depth charges, smoke equipment. Unlike other boats of domestic construction, the Komsomolets had an armored cabin (from a sheet 7 mm thick). The crew consisted of 7 people.

These torpedo bombers showed their high combat qualities to the greatest extent in the spring of 1945, when units of the Red Army were already completing the defeat of the Nazi troops, advancing towards Berlin with heavy fighting. Soviet from the sea ground troops covered the ships of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, and the entire burden of hostilities in the waters of the southern Baltic fell on the shoulders of the crews of submarines, naval aviation and torpedo boats. Trying to somehow delay their inevitable end and keep ports for the evacuation of retreating troops for as long as possible, the Nazis made feverish attempts to sharply increase the number of search-strike and patrol groups of boats. These urgent measures to some extent aggravated the situation in the Baltic, and then four Komsomol members, which became part of the 3rd division of torpedo boats, were deployed to help the active forces of the KBF.

These were last days Great Patriotic War, the last victorious attacks of torpedo boats. The war will end, and as a symbol of courage - for descendants as an example, for edification to enemies - the "Komsomol members" fanned with military glory will forever freeze on pedestals.