Weapons of World War II. Torpedo boats

The most massive torpedo boat of the USSR Navy

G-5 12th series. Drawing

Creation and testing of G-5

The first production boat Sh-4 (G-4) did not suit the sailors.
There were complaints about its poor seaworthiness (maximum seas 2 points), hulls that were not resistant to corrosion (salt and duralumin are incompatible) and the use of imported engines. The new experimental planing boat GANT-5, created at TsAGI by Tupolev’s team, entered testing in the spring of 1933. General view of the boat GANT-5

The contours of the boat were similar to the Sh-4, but the hull was almost half a meter longer due to new engines and larger caliber torpedoes. The experimental Gant-5 was equipped with 2 Isotta-Fraschini engines of 1000 hp each. During the tests, which lasted until mid-summer 1933, the boat with a full load developed 58 knots (107.4 km/h), and empty - 65.3 knots (120.9 km/h). At that time it was the fastest military boat in the world. If we add to this that its seaworthiness was significantly better than its predecessor, then there is no need to guess about its adoption.

Performance characteristics of the experimental boat GANT-5

Serial production of G-5

On August 1, 1933, the boat was accepted, and much later, almost two years later, serial production of the boat began, which received the designation “type G-5” project 116. The long delay in starting production was caused by the modification of the domestic Mikulin AM-34 engine and its subsequent conversion into GAM-34 for boats. But here it is worth noting their lower power, only 675 hp. compared to 1000 hp "Italian".

Scheme of serial G-5

In 1935, the first 15 boats of the VI series entered service. With GAM-34 engines, it developed a speed of 45 knots (83.3 km/h) with a cruising range of 160 miles. But during the exercises of the Baltic Fleet in the fall of 1935, massive damage to the plating began. During the investigation, conclusions were made about poor build quality.

Torpedo boat G-5 VI series

The construction of boats continued. At the Andre Marty plant, the G-5 VII and VIII series were laid down. They took into account the errors of the VI series and increased the power of the power plant due to two new GAM-34 BS engines with a power of 850 hp. every. This gave an increase in speed to 51 knots (94.5 km/h). The armament remained the same. In 1936, the fleet received the last of 135 boats of the VII and VIII series.

Torpedo boat type G-6 6th series

23 boats of the IX series left the factory in 1937, and four of them, under the designation DAR-1-4, were sold to the Spanish Navy. Two Spanish boats were destroyed by aircraft, and there is no information about the fate of the remaining ones. Another 75 G-fifths of the X series entered service during 1938-40. They had a reinforced hull and changes in small arms; a 12.7-mm DShK machine gun was installed in the wheelhouse. Everything else remains the same.

G-5 10th series. A DShK machine gun is visible on the wheelhouse.

G-5 at the beginning of the war

At a new plant near Kerch, before the start of the war, 18 boats of the XI series, similar to the X, were produced. The difference was in the engines. GAM-34F had a power of 1000 hp, which allowed the heavier G-5 to reach speeds of up to 52 knots. One of the boats in this series received M-50 diesel engines as an experiment and the tests were encouraging. True, with the beginning of the war they no longer went into production.

G-5 11th series. In the background is a G-5 13th series with a rocket launcher.

G-5 trial by war

During the war, serial production of the G-5 continued in Tyumen. Factories from Rybinsk and Moscow, Crimea and Leningrad were evacuated here. In the period from 1941 to 1944. 57 boats of the XII series and 6 of the XIII series arrived at the front. Completely replicating the XI series boats, they already had two 12.7 mm machine guns. On boats of the XIII series, torpedoes were replaced by an M-8M rocket launcher (24 guides with 82-mm shells) mounted on the wheelhouse. In total, during serial construction, 330 G-5 type boats of different series were produced.

G-5 series 12 are leaving on a mission.

And yet the war proved that the G-5 had no real significance as a combat vehicle. The main disadvantage was limited seaworthiness and range. Outdated tray torpedo tubes negated the speed qualities of the boat. I don’t even want to talk about small arms - most of the G-5s have 7.62 machine guns. What could they do against similar enemy boats? And the strength coupled with the quality of construction left much to be desired.

G-5 13th series (top) and G-5 12th series (bottom). Drawing

They could not solve the problem of corrosion of duralumin. Because of it, the boat could remain afloat for 5-7 days in the summer, and 10-15 in the winter. Afterwards it must be lifted ashore, where the hulls were subjected to special treatment. The naval wits who had to serve on the G-5 and maintain them even before the war said: “G” is “g”.

Source: Taras A. E. “History of torpedo boats”

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Type G-5

Torpedo boats

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103	(postscript unknown)
USSR Navy
TKA No. 173	USSR Navy
1930s
	29.06.1934		TK-93	14.04.1944	USSR Navy	Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet of the USSR Navy / Red Banner Baltic Fleet of the USSR Navy / Naval Forces of the Baltic Sea / Red Baltic Fleet
			TKA No. 93	07.09.1941
			TKA No. 75	24.06.1941
			TKA No. 112	21.07.1936		Red Banner Northern Fleet of the USSR Navy / Northern Fleet of the USSR Navy / Naval Forces of the North Sea / White Sea Flotilla / Red Flotilla of the Arctic Ocean
				15.12.1934		Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet of the USSR Navy / Red Banner Baltic Fleet of the USSR Navy / Naval Forces of the Baltic Sea / Red Baltic Fleet
			TKA No. 81
	1935	22.07.1943	TKA No. 61	06.08.1942	USSR Navy	Red Banner Black Sea Fleet of the USSR Navy / Black Sea Fleet of the USSR Navy / Naval Forces of the Black Sea / Naval Forces of the Black and Azov Seas / Sea and River Forces of the Southwestern Front / Red Black Sea Fleet
			TKA No. 81
	20.09.1935		TK-38	29.02.1944	USSR Navy	Red Banner Pacific Fleet of the USSR Navy / Pacific Fleet of the USSR Navy / Naval Forces of the Far East / Naval Forces of the Far Eastern Republic / Red Siberian Flotilla
			TKA No. 38	07.03.1940
			TKA No. 32
394	1936		TK-52	03.2014	Sevastopol	Monuments	Monument on the territory of the 41st Brigade of missile boats of the Black Sea Fleet.
				1992
				????
			TK-324	23.02.1944		Red Banner Black Sea Fleet of the USSR Navy / Black Sea Fleet of the USSR Navy / Naval Forces of the Black Sea / Naval Forces of the Black and Azov Seas / Sea and River Forces of the Southwestern Front / Red Black Sea Fleet
			TKA No. 52	13.11.1940
			TKA No. 172
	27.09.1939		TK-111	1992	Baltiysk	Monuments
				1958
			TK-44	14.04.1944	USSR Navy	Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet of the USSR Navy / Red Banner Baltic Fleet of the USSR Navy / Naval Forces of the Baltic Sea / Red Baltic Fleet
			TKA No. 44	07.09.1941
			TKA No. 111	25.05.1940
			TKA No. 174
	31.08.1940		TK-382	23.02.1944	USSR Navy	Red Banner Black Sea Fleet of the USSR Navy / Black Sea Fleet of the USSR Navy / Naval Forces of the Black Sea / Naval Forces of the Black and Azov Seas / Sea and River Forces of the Southwestern Front / Red Black Sea Fleet
			TKA No. 25
204	05.05.1943		TK-412 Moscow artisan of Labor reserves	16.04.1945	USSR Navy	Red Banner Danube Military Flotilla of the Black Sea Fleet of the USSR Navy / Red Banner Danube Military Flotilla of the USSR Navy / Danube Military Flotilla of the USSR Navy
				23.02.1944		Red Banner Black Sea Fleet of the USSR Navy / Black Sea Fleet of the USSR Navy / Naval Forces of the Black Sea / Naval Forces of the Black and Azov Seas / Sea and River Forces of the Southwestern Front / Red Black Sea Fleet
			TKA No. 106 Moscow artisan of Labor reserves
238	14.03.1944		TK-313	23.02.1944	USSR Navy	Red Banner Black Sea Fleet of the USSR Navy / Black Sea Fleet of the USSR Navy / Naval Forces of the Black Sea / Naval Forces of the Black and Azov Seas / Sea and River Forces of the Southwestern Front / Red Black Sea Fleet
			TKA No. 91
16.04.1944	TK-333	USSR Navy	Red Banner Black Sea Fleet of the USSR Navy / Black Sea Fleet of the USSR Navy / Naval Forces of the Black Sea / Naval Forces of the Black and Azov Seas / Sea and River Forces of the Southwestern Front / Red Black Sea Fleet
25.04.1944	01.08.1944	TK-334	USSR Navy	Red Banner Black Sea Fleet of the USSR Navy / Black Sea Fleet of the USSR Navy / Naval Forces of the Black Sea / Naval Forces of the Black and Azov Seas / Sea and River Forces of the Southwestern Front / Red Black Sea Fleet
237	30.04.1944		TK-383	1992	Ochakov	Monuments
				08.1948
				23.02.1944	USSR Navy	Red Banner Black Sea Fleet of the USSR Navy / Black Sea Fleet of the USSR Navy / Naval Forces of the Black Sea / Naval Forces of the Black and Azov Seas / Sea and River Forces of the Southwestern Front / Red Black Sea Fleet
			TKA No. 35

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Characteristics of Sh-4 type torpedo boats

A country:USSRType:torpedo boatDate of issue:1927Displacement:10 tonsLength:18.1 mWidth:3.33 mDraft:0.9 mReservations:NoCrew:6 peoplePower point:2 Wright-Typhoon carburetors, 525 hp each.Travel range:300 milesMaximum speed:46 knotsWeapons:2x 7.62 mm DA machine gun (1200 rounds), 2x 450 mm torpedo tubes (2 torpedoes)Air group:No

The characteristics are given for the prototype of the series: boats TK-1

Links[edit]

• Breuer, Siegfried (1992). Development of Soviet Warships: Volume 1: 1917–1937
  . London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-604-3.
• Roger Chenault, ed. (1980). Conway's Fighting Ships of the World 1922–1946
  . Greenwich: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
• Rover, Jurgen (2005). Chronology of War at Sea 1939–1945: A Naval History of the Second World War
  (Third Revised Edition). Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
• Rover, Jurgen; Monakov, Mikhail S. (2001). Stalin's ocean fleet
  . London: Frank Cass. ISBN 0-7146-4895-7.

Notes[edit]

1. Breuer, page 196
2. Breuer, pp. 196-97
3. Breuer, page 197
4. ^ B Bryer, pp. 279-80
5. Breuer, pp. 197-201
6. ^ Conway's abc, page 342
7. ^ ab Breuer, page 200
8. "Archival copy". Archived from the original on 2014-12-21. Retrieved 21 June 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
9. https://www.navypedia.org/ships/germany/ger_mine_35_39mob.htm
10. Nicolae Koslinski, Raymond Stanescu, Marina română in al doilea război mondial: 1942-1944
    (in Romanian)
11. Jipa Rotaru, Ioan Damaschin, Glorie şi DRAMA: Marina Regala Română, 1940-1945
    (in Romanian)
12. https://www.navypedia.org/ships/romania/ro_cm_amc2.htm
13. "Archival copy". Archived from the original on 2018-08-04. Retrieved 21 June 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
14. Rover, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of War at Sea 1939–1945: A Naval History of the Second World War
    (Third Revised Edition). Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. p. 213. ISBN 1-59114-119-2.