''Leytenant Shestakov'' (russian: Лейтенант Шестаков) was a

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

of the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from a ...

and the name ship of her class. The ship was built by the Naval Yard, Nikolayev from 1906 to 1909, being launched on 28 July 1908. The ship served in the Russian

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, passing to control of the Bolsheviks following the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...

but was scuttled on 18 June 1918 to avoid capture by German troops.

Design and construction

The was developed to meet a requirement for larger destroyers for the

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

based on experience of the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

. The basis of the design was the , a German design being built for the Baltic Fleet, but the new ships were larger and had longer range. ''Leytenant Zatsarenny'' was

long overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and ...

, with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of and a draft of .

Displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

was . Four coal-fired

Normand boiler Three-drum boilers are a class of water-tube boiler used to generate steam, typically to power ships. They are compact and of high evaporative power, factors that encourage this use. Other boiler designs may be more efficient, although bulkier, an ...

s were fitted, feeding two triple expansion steam engines rated at , which gave a design speed of . Two funnels were fitted. The ship was originally designed to have a gun armament of six 75 mm guns, but was completed with one of the guns replaced by a single 120 mm (4.7 in gun). Three 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes were fitted, while 40 mines could be carried. After 1909, another 75 mm gun was replaced by a 120 mm gun, while after 1914, the remaining 75 mm guns were replaced by two 47 mm anti-aircraft guns and the mine load increased to 50. The ship had a crew of 94. ''Leytenant Shestakov'' was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one o ...

at the Naval Yard, Nikolayev (now Mykolaiv),

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

on 16 September 1906 New Style (NS) (3 September 1906 Old Style (OS)), was launched on 28 July 1907, and entered service with the Black Sea Fleet on 1 October 1909 (NS) (18 September 1909 OS).

Service

''Leytenant Shestakov'' remained part of the Black Sea fleet during the

, although the low speed of the ''Leytenant Shestakov''s limited their usefulness. Operations included raids against Turkish communications and bombardment of the Turkish coast, and blockade operations off Turkey and Romania. Early on 8 January 1916, ''Leytenant Shestakov'' and the destroyer sank the collier , on passage to Zonguldak to load coal, off Kirpen island. Later that day, the Turkish battlecruiser ''Yavûz Sultân Selîm'', which had been tasked to cover ''Carmen'' as the collier arrived at Zonguldak, spotted the two destroyers and set off in pursuit. The Russian destroyers signalled the presence of ''Yavûz'' by radio, and the intercepted ''Yavûz'', resulting in the action of 8 January 1916, in which the two

capital ship The capital ships of a navy are its most important warships; they are generally the larger ships when compared to other warships in their respective fleet. A capital ship is generally a leading or a primary ship in a naval fleet. Strategic im ...

s briefly exchanged fire. From September 1916, ''Leytenant Shestakov'' was deployed in support of the left flank of the Russian-Romanian armies during the Romanian Campaign. In December 1918, following the

, ''Leytenant Shestakov'' came under control of the Bolshevik Black Sea Fleet. While an Armistice between Russia and the Central Powers was signed on 15 December 1917, hostilities restarted in February 1918, with the Germans advancing deep into

. The Black Sea Fleet, including ''Leytenant Shestakov'', evacuated from

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

on 14–15 May 1918, just before the Germans took the city, moving to

Novorossiysk Novorossiysk ( rus, Новоросси́йск, p=nəvərɐˈsʲijsk; ady, ЦIэмэз, translit=Chəməz, p=t͡sʼɜmɜz) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities hono ...

. On 18 May, with the Germans threatening to continue their attack if the Black Sea Fleet did not return to Sevastapol and be surrendered to German control, ''Leytenant Shestakov'', along with much of the Black Sea Fleet, was scuttled in accordance with orders from Moscow. The ship was raised on 10 December 1927 and was subsequently scrapped.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leytenant Shestakov Leytenant Shestakov-class destroyers Ships of the Imperial Russian Navy 1907 ships