 Grom at anchor, 1917 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Russian Empire | |
| Name | Grom |
| Builder | Metal Works,Petrograd |
| Laid down | November 1913 |
| Launched | 15 June 1915 |
| Completed | 4 May 1916 |
| Fate | Sunk duringOperation Albion, 14 October 1917 |
| General characteristics (as built) | |
| Class & type | Orfey-classdestroyer |
| Displacement | 1,260 t (1,240long tons) |
| Length | 98 m (321 ft 6 in) |
| Beam | 9.3 m (30 ft 6 in) |
| Draught | 3 m (9 ft 10 in) |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion | 2 shafts, 2steam turbines |
| Speed | 31knots (57 km/h; 36 mph) |
| Range | 1,250 nmi (2,320 km; 1,440 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) |
| Complement | 167 |
| Armament |
|
Grom (Russian: Гром) was one of eightOrfey-classdestroyers built for theImperial Russian Navy during theFirst World War. The ship'smain battery consisted of four 102 mm (4 in) guns and she also armed with nine 450 mm (17.7 in)torpedo tubes. Completed in 1916, she served with theBaltic Fleet and made six raids into theBaltic Sea to attack German shipping or layminefields. The ship was sunk during theBattle of Kassar Wiek when the Germans invaded theWest Estonian Archipelago in October 1917 (Operation Albion).
TheOrfey-class ships were designed as an improved version of theDerzky class.[1]Gromnormally displaced 1,260long tons (1,280 t) and 1,563 long tons (1,588 t) atfull load. She measured 98 meters (321 ft 6 in)long overall with abeam of 9.3 meters (30 ft 6 in), and adraft of 2.98 meters (9 ft 9 in). They were propelled by twoAEG-Vulcansteam turbines, each driving onepropeller shaft that were designed to produce a total of 32,000shaft horsepower (24,000 kW) using steam from fourNormand boilers for an intended maximum speed of 35knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) usingforced draft.[2] OnGrom's sea trials, she only reached 31.5 knots (58.3 km/h; 36.2 mph). TheOrfeys carried enoughfuel oil to give them a range of 1,680nautical miles (3,110 km; 1,930 mi) at 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). Their crew numbered 150.[3]
TheOrfey-class ships were originally intended to have an armament of two single102-millimeter (four-inch) Pattern 1911 Obukhov guns, one gun each on theforecastle andstern, and a dozen 450-millimeter (17.7 in)torpedo tubes in six double mounts. The Naval General Staff changed this to four triple mounts once they became available in 1914. Based on a battle between the destroyerNovik and two German destroyers in August 1915, the Naval General Staff decided to exchange the rearmost torpedo mount for two more four-inch guns, although the modification was not made until the ship wasfitting out. Both of these guns were mounted on the stern, aft of the torpedo tubes.[1] The final configuration of theOrfeys' torpedo suite was one mount between the forwardfunnels and two mounts aft of the rear funnel.Grom carried three reload torpedoes and was also equipped with a pair of7.62-millimeter (0.3 in) Maximmachine guns on single mounts. The ships could carry 80 M1912naval mines or 50 larger ones. They were also fitted with a 2.7-meter (9 ft)Barr and Stroudrangefinder and two 60-centimeter (24 in) searchlights. A40-millimeter (1.6 in)anti-aircraft (AA) gun was ordered to be fitted on a platform between the rear torpedo mount and the stern guns on 8 March 1916.[4]
Grom waslaid down at theMetal Works inPetrograd in November 1913 andlaunched on 15 June 1915.[3] The ship was towed toHelsinki,Grand Duchy of Finland, for fitting out in November. Her sea trials began on 9 December 1915[5] and she wascommissioned on 4 May 1916.[3]Grom made sixsorties into the Baltic Sea that year in unsuccessful attempts to interdict the German supply of high-quality Swedish iron ore either by combat or the laying of minefields. These operations were carried out before theGulf of Finland was iced over late in the year.[5] During one of these missions on the night of 13/14 May withRear AdmiralAlexander Kolchak aboard, she led hersister shipPobeditel andNovik in search of German iron ore convoys sailing along the Swedish coast. They found a convoy of nineore carriers showing lights escorted by theauxiliary cruiserHermann and three smaller ships near Häfringe Island. Uncertain if the ships were Swedish or German, the destroyers fired warning shots that causedHermann to launch a signal rocket that sent the cargo ships heading for Swedish territorial waters while the escorts began laying asmoke screen. The Russians began shooting atHermann at 2338, but did not initially close the range because they had misidentified the ship as acruiser. By the timeGrom finished offHermann with torpedoes around 0015, the convoy had escaped and the Russians withdrew. Another of these was on the night of 29/30 June whenPobeditel ledGrom and their sisterOrfey in search of a German convoy off the Swedish coast nearBråviken in thick fog. They encountered a group of eight German destroyers and retreated back towards thearmored cruiserGromoboi and thelight cruiserDiana. The Germans pursued the destroyers until they spotted the cruisers and attacked with torpedoes. All of them missed and both sides disengaged without suffering any casualties.[6][7][8] While undergoing a refit in early 1917, her armament was augmented by the addition of a 63-millimeter (2.5 in) AA gun.[5]
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Following the capture ofRiga,Governorate of Livonia, in September, the Germans began planningamphibious landings on the islands of the West Estonian Archipelago, codenamed Operation Albion. Their objective was to denyMoon Sound to theImperial Russian Navy and to capture the islands ofMuhu andSaaremaa so that it no longer had bases from which to threaten the supply lines through theGulf of Riga. The main thrust of the operation was to consist of landings on the northwestern coast of Saaremaa, with follow-on objectives to capture thecoast-defense artillery positions that blocked German access into the Gulf of Riga and to seize Muhu before the Russians could reinforce the troops there. Kassar Wiek is the shallow western portion of Moon Sound, between the islands of Saarema, Muhu, andHiiumaa, that lies north of the Gulf of Riga.Soela Strait separates Saaremaa and Hiiuma. The Germans initiated their attack with landings on the northwestern coast of Saaremaa during the morning of 12 October.[9]
By October,Grom had been assigned to the 1st DestroyerDivision of the Naval Forces of the Gulf of Riga.[10] The Germans made their first attempt to force a passage through Soela Strait into Kassar Wiek on the afternoon of 12 October, but were repulsed by the existing forces beforeGrom and three other destroyers arrived as reinforcements. The initial attempt to engage the Germantorpedo boats defending the western exit of Soela Strait at 0750 on 13 October byGrom,Novik and the destroyerRazyashchy was aborted when the light cruiserEmden moved forward and engaged them at a range of 14,000 m (15,000 yd) which forced them to retreat out of range.Grom had her radio antenna damaged byEmden. A second attempt by two other destroyers and agunboat that afternoon was also forced to withdraw. An attempt that night to lay a minefield across the strait failed when the crew of the minelayer mutinied and refused to carry out the mission.[11]
After the inconclusive engagements on 12 and 13 October, the German commander,Commodore Paul Heinrich, decided to bait the Russian destroyers into venturing towards the west entrance to the strait and positioned thedreadnought battleshipKaiser out of sight of any Russian forces, but where it could command the length of the strait. Rear AdmiralMikhail Bakhirev, commander of the Russian naval force anticipated another attempt to force the entrance on 14 October and positioned four destroyers,Grom and her sistersZabiyaka andPobeditel, half-sisterKonstantin and the gunboatKhrabry at the east end of the strait where they could quickly react to the Germans. They sat there at anchor throughout the morning waiting for the Germans to move, but Heinrich waited until midday when all of his ships were ready. He orderedKaiser to fire at the anchored ships around 1145. The firstsalvo caught the Russians by surprise and one shell from the second or third salvo hitGrom about 1155[12][13] and detonated beneath her. The explosion severed the main and auxiliary steam lines between the boilers and turbines, immobilizing the destroyer, and started a fire. Seven men were killed and six were wounded and she started to slowly sink.[5]Khabry moved to assist the damaged destroyer and tow her to safety, while the other destroyers moved out of range ofKaiser's guns, laying several smoke screens that did little to protectGrom andKhabry in the strong winds. The gunboat could only reach a speed of three to four knots (5.6 to 7.4 km/h; 3.5 to 4.6 mph) while towing the destroyer.[14][15]
Once the German destroyers and torpedo boats were through the strait, they split into two forces in an attempt to envelop the Russian ships as they formed a line east ofKhabry andGrom. They opened fire at ranges of 11,000–12,000 yards (10,000–11,000 m) around 1321, outside the range of the German guns, with little effect. The Russian destroyers then turned northeast, presenting their sterns to the oncoming Germans and a running battle began at a range of 10,400 yards (9,500 m). All of the Russian ships, includingGrom andKhabry engaged the southern group of German ships, slightly damaging the destroyerSMS G103. The return fire was heavy andZabiyaka was hit once in the stern. The Russian destroyers then turned east for a short time before turning around soKonstantin could lay another smoke screen. This caused the Germans to cease fire, althoughPobeditel was slightly damaged in the stern andZabiyaka was near-missed as they moved back towardsGrom andKhabry. Thetowline broke about 1340 as the destroyers passed by andPobeditel was blamed as she was thought to have come too close toKhabry and herwake overstressed the towline.Khabry was unable to re-establish the tow andGrom's crew began abandoning the ship without orders. She was hit in the stern by a 10.5 cm (4.1 in) shell from the destroyerV100 at 1345 that started another fire.Khabry was ordered to abandonGrom and sink the destroyer. The gunboat hit her several times along thewaterline as she followed the other destroyers as they retreated to the east.Grom was on fire and had a heavylist toport when the crew of the destroyerB98 boarded her. They found her minecharts andlogbook aboard;B98 began towing the burning ship, butGromcapsized and sank about 1510.[16][17]