Fugas-class minesweeper

Project 53-U vessel T-206 Verp
Class overview
Name: Fugas class (Project 3)
Operators:
Succeeded by: T43 class minesweeper
Built: 1933-1946
In commission: 1936-1961
Completed: 44
Lost: 19
Retired: 25
General characteristics
Displacement: 490-535 tons
Length: 62 meters
Beam: 7.41 meters
Draft: 2.5 meters
Installed power: 2x1,400 hp (1,000 kW)
Propulsion: diesel engines driving dual screws
Speed: 17.5 knots (32 km/h)
Range: 7,200 nmi (13,300 km) at 12 kn (22 km/h)
Complement: 52 - 61
Armament:

The Fugas class (named for Fougasse) were a group of minesweepers built for the Soviet Navy in the 1930s and 1940s. The Soviet designations were Project 3, Project 53, Project 53-U and Project 58.

Design

The design specification was issued in 1930 and the design was approved in 1931. The project numbers (3, 53, 53-U or 58) were retroactively applied in 1939.

The ships were built with steel hulls using a mixed welding and riveted construction. Crew section was additionally coated by wood laminate for the thermal isolation. The vessel interior was split into nine water-proof compartments. Vessels were intended to be very habitable in long voyages, with central heating, sauna and even cinema apparatus.

Mine-sweeping equipment consisted of three towed trails. Various attempts to fit the leading trails were not successful. Also, the magnetic trails were fitted starting from 1944, followed soon by acoustic trails. Survivability against magnetic-sensing mines was provided by 3-section degaussing coils.

Wartime operation have resulted in several field modifications, of which typical the increase of anti-aircraft armaments, usually at the expense of the amount of carried mines and artillery shells - due to the limited stability of the vessel. The turnover maximal recovering force angle was just 38 degrees with standard load.

The crew was also provided with small arms (one Degtyaryov machine gun and 15 rifles) for the onshore fire support. Finally, the minesweepers were capable to carry up to ten 45mm anti-tank guns and up to 600 infantry with light armament.[1]

The design was considered generally satisfactory, the design flaws resulting in reduced seaworthiness, survivability and insufficient stability being gradually rectified in later sub-types. The intrinsic problems of relatively poor maneuverability and draft too deep for minesweeper (resulting in frequent vessel destruction in minefields) were impossible to fix though.

Several versions were produced:

Ships

A total of 44 ships were built, although 2 latest ships were never completed to minesweeper specifications. The vessels with a single-digit designations (T-1 to T-8) were assigned to Pacific Fleet, T-201 to T-221 - to the Baltic fleet, and T-401 to T-415 - to the Black Sea fleet.[2]

Name Sub-class Laid up Commissioned Fate Comments
T-1 StrelaProject 5310/5/193513/8/1938retired
T-2 TrosProject 5322/5/193525/9/1938retired
T-3 PodsekatelProject 5316/9/193514/11/1938retired
T-4 ProvodnikProject 5330/6/19354/12/1938retired
T-5 ParavanProject 5815/3/193730/12/1938retired
T-6 KapsyulProject 5821/3/193730/1/1939retired
T-7 VehaProject 5330/12/19368/9/1938sunksunk in storm in 1949
T-8 ChekaProject 5327/12/19362/11/1938retiredtransferred to North Korea in December 1953
T-201 ZaryadProject 312/10/193326/12/1936sunkVT-509 transport was damaged by same mine which sank Zaryad[3]
T-202 BujProject 312/12/193311/8/1938sunksunk by German E-boat[4]
T-203 PatronProject 328/12/19334/7/1938sunk
T-204 FugasProject 35/1/193410/12/1936sunkthe mine laid by Fugas sunk the German submarine chaser Uj-113 Nordmark[5][6]
T-205 GafelProject 53-U11/10/193721/7/1939retiredseverely damaged during Gauntlet in the Gulf of Finland
T-206 VerpProject 53-U12/10/193717/6/1939sunk
T-207 ShpilProject 53-U17/11/193723/9/1939retired
T-208 ShkivProject 53-U18/11/193712/10/1939sunksunk by German E-boats S-35 and S-60.
T-209 KnehtProject 53-U16/6/19383/6/1940sunk
T-210 GakProject 53-U8/8/193814/11/1939retiredsunk and raised in 1944
T-211 RymProject 53-U21/9/193825/6/1940retired
T-212 ShtagProject 53-U6/6/193826/7/1940sunk
T-213 KrambolProject 53-U26/8/193830/11/1939sunk
T-214 BugelProject 53-U26/8/193829/6/1940sunksunk 28 August 1941 by mine together with 34 other vessels in Gauntlet in the Gulf of Finland
T-215Project 53-U23/4/193930/9/1940retiredrefitted as floating barracks PKZ-33 in 1961
T-216Project 53-U17/9/193924/12/1940sunksunk 28 August 1941 by mine together with 34 other vessels in Gauntlet in the Gulf of Finland
T-217 Kontr-admiral YurkovsyuProject 53-U21/9/19395/8/1941retiredscrapped in 1961
T-218Project 53-U20/3/193923/12/1940retiredrefitted as experimental vessel OS-9 in 1957
T-219 Kontr-admiral HoroshhinProject 53-U27/4/194125/9/1944retiredrefitted as experimental vessel in 1956
T-220 TralProject 53-U10/4/194116/10/1946retired
T-221Project 53-U10/4/19416/6/1946retiredrenamed "Dmitry Lysov" upon completion
T-401 TralProject 35/11/193323/12/1936sunksunk as target in 1955
T-402 MinrepProject 35/11/193328/1/1937sunk
T-403 GruzProject 320/3/193425/7/1937sunk
T-404 SshitProject 317/1/193425/7/1937retiredmines of Sshit and Yakor have sunk 1 German minelayer and 2 Romanian minesweepers
T-405 VzryvatelProject 5311/8/193627/4/1938sunkheavily damaged by artillery and sank in storm
T-406 IskatelProject 5319/9/193629/4/1938retiredrefitted as experimental vessel in 1954 and survived until 1990
T-407 MinaProject 5322/12/193619/8/1938retiredrefitted as training vessel in 1956, scrapped in 1992
T-408 YakorProject 5828/3/193715/2/1939retiredmines of Sshit and Yakor have sunk 1 German minelayer and 2 Romanian minesweepers
T-409 GarpoonProject 5827/4/193720/2/1939retiredscrapped in 1960
T-410 VzryvProject 5829/4/19379/3/1939sunksinking of Vzryv by German U-19 was a pretext for the Soviets seizing the Romanian fleet in September 1944
T-411 ZasshitnikProject 5310/8/193631/7/1938sunk
T-412 Arseniy RaskinProject 5813/4/19393/3/1941retiredscrapped in 1957
T-413Project 5829/4/193921/4/1941sunkraised and scrapped in 1947
T-414unique3/1/194117/9/1945retiredwas assigned to fleet rebuild/repair query but was never complete
T-415unique20/3/19415/11/1947retiredbuilt as training vessel UTS-255 after attempted demolition in 1942[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Платонов А. В. Энциклопедия советских надводных кораблей, 1941—1945 / А. В. Платонов. — СПб.: ООО «Издательство Полигон», 2002. — 640 с. — 5 000 экз. — ISBN 5-89173-178-9.
  2. ↑ Mikhail Monakov, Jurgen Rohwer, "Stalin's Ocean-going Fleet: Soviet Naval Strategy and Shipbuilding Programs 1935-1953", p.137
  3. ↑ D.A. Bertke, D. Kindell, G. Smith, "WORLD WAR II SEA WAR VOLUME 4 GERMANY SENDS RUSSIA TO THE ALLIES. Day-to-Day Naval Actions from June 1941 through November 1941", p. 175
  4. ↑ D.A. Bertke, D. Kindell, G. Smith, "WORLD WAR II SEA WAR VOLUME 4 GERMANY SENDS RUSSIA TO THE ALLIES. Day-to-Day Naval Actions from June 1941 through November 1941", p. 176
  5. ↑ Diving club Divesport, Корабль Nr2 (UJ - 113, Nordmark)
  6. ↑ D.A. Bertke, D. Kindell, G. Smith, "WORLD WAR II SEA WAR VOLUME 4 GERMANY SENDS RUSSIA TO THE ALLIES. Day-to-Day Naval Actions from June 1941 through November 1941", p. 114
  7. ↑ Тип "Фугас". Т-415
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