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Destroyer “Kalinin” (“Pryamislav”)

Technical Data

Full displacement: 2,200 t
Length: 107 m
Beam: 9.5 m
Maximum draft: 4.9 m
Engines: 2 steam turbine units in 2 engine rooms, 5 Normand water-tube boilers (4,050 sq.m., 17 kg/sq.cm.) in 5 boiler rooms, total power 32,700 hp
Maximum speed: 27 knots, economical: 16 knots
Range: 1,880 miles at 21 knots
Crew: 168 men
Main armament: five 102/60mm guns (some sources state 4)
4 x 12.7mm machine guns
4 x 45mm guns
2 x triple above-water 450mm torpedo tubes
2 bomb racks, up to 60 mines
Lost on August 28, 1941
Discovered jointly with Finnish team SubZone on August 11, 2018

Photos and Diagram of Sister Ship Karl Marx

Historical Information

Kalinin (until February 5, 1925 known as Pryamislav) was an Izyaslav-class destroyer, belonging to the third series of Novik-type destroyers.
Izyaslav-class destroyers were ordered under the “enhanced” shipbuilding program for 1913–1917 as part of 36 destroyers with 35-knot speed for the Baltic Fleet. These ships were the most heavily armed and largest destroyers of the Russian fleet at the time, effectively serving as flotilla leaders.
Unlike other Novik-type turbine destroyers, the Izyaslav class featured vertical hull sides, an extended forecastle, and Frahm anti-roll tanks. The design was developed by the French firm A. Normand. The French increased displacement by 25 tons and length by 2.3 meters, and installed more modern Brown-Boveri-Parsons turbines and high-output Normand boilers. All auxiliary machinery was duplicated to improve survivability.
The destroyer Pryamislav was laid down on November 9, 1913 in Reval (Tallinn), launched on July 10, 1915. She was renamed Kalinin on February 5, 1925 and joined the Baltic Fleet on July 20, 1927. She underwent a major overhaul from June 14, 1937 to June 1941.
With the start of the Great Patriotic War, the destroyer participated in minelaying operations in the Gulf of Finland. On July 4, the minelayer Ural and destroyer Kalinin laid minefield 14-A between Vaindloo and Rodsher islands. In late August 1941, Kalinin took part in the Tallinn Breakthrough — the Baltic Fleet’s breakout from Tallinn to Kronstadt.
Three Novik-type destroyers — Kalinin, Artyom, and Volodarsky — along with patrol ships Sneg, Burya, and Cyclone formed the rearguard tasked with laying mines and covering Convoys III and IV. Rear Admiral Yuri Rall commanded from aboard Kalinin.
Due to delays, the three destroyers only reached the designated channel at 9:00 PM. The established formation was disrupted — the patrol ships ended up behind rather than ahead of the destroyers. At about 10:20 PM, Kalinin spotted the silhouettes of trailing transports and veered 3–4 cables north, increasing speed to 12–14 knots.
At about 10:45 PM, minesweeper No. 44 signaled to Kalinin: “You are heading into a minefield — follow us, we are sweeping.” Moments later, Kalinin struck a mine on the northern part of mineline I-8. The shell-shocked Admiral Rall and wounded crew were evacuated to Gogland Island by patrol boat MO-211.
Command passed to Captain 2nd Rank Sidorov aboard Artyom. After 20–30 minutes, Kalinin signaled “Need immediate assistance.” Meanwhile, destroyer Volodarsky struck a mine and sank rapidly. Artyom, attempting rescue, struck a mine in turn and sank within 40–50 seconds. Patrol boats managed to save only 71 men from both destroyers.
Minesweeper No. 47 reached Kalinin and rescued 160 crew members between 10:52 and 10:59 PM. Kalinin, the last of the Baltic Noviks, stayed afloat for about an hour before sinking near Mohni Island in the Gulf of Finland, closing the storied history of this class of ships.

Discovery and Survey of Kalinin

During a joint expedition in August 2018, while searching for submarines Shch-301, Kalev, and M-98 in the Juminda mine barrage area, Finnish sonar operator Immi Valen (SubZone) detected an object resembling the submarine Kalev. On August 11, 2018, a joint dive identified the object as a Novik-class destroyer. Its construction features and damage pattern confirmed it could only be Kalinin.
The destroyer lies at 86 meters depth on her port side, with roughly three-quarters of the hull buried in silt. Only 2–3 meters of deck and hull, the propeller, and parts of superstructure are visible above the seabed. The bow is fractured from the mine explosion; the stern is mangled from depth charge detonation as the destroyer sank.

Sonar Images, Maps and Diagrams

Destroyer “Novik” (“Yakov Sverdlov”)

Technical Data

Full displacement: 1,951 t
Dimensions: 102.4 x 9.6 x 3.6 m
Propulsion: boiler-turbine, triple-shaft, 42,000 hp
Speed: 32 knots max / 16 knots economical
Range: 1,800 miles
Main armament: 4 x 102mm guns
Anti-aircraft: 2 x 37mm guns, 4 x 12.7mm machine guns
3 x triple 450mm torpedo tubes
50 mines
Crew: 168 men

Historical Information

The destroyer Novik was commissioned in 1913 and was the most modern warship of the Russian fleet, setting a world speed record of 37.3 knots. She took an active part in World War I, fighting in the Baltic. After the Revolution, she was renamed Yakov Sverdlov and placed in reserve after the Civil War. Later she was modernized at the Severnaya Verf shipyard in Leningrad and returned to the Baltic Fleet. From the start of the Great Patriotic War, she served in the 3rd Destroyer Division of the Baltic Fleet.

During the Tallinn Breakthrough on August 28, 1941, the destroyer was part of the Main Force. Yakov Sverdlov served as escort for the fleet flagship, the cruiser Kirov. At 8:47 PM, the destroyer struck a German EMC mine on mineline D.27 of the German-Finnish Juminda minefield. The ship broke in two and went under. 114 men perished. The ship was commanded at the time of her loss by Captain 2nd Rank A.M. Spiridonov.

Discovery of Novik

On May 25, 2018, during joint operations between the expedition “Tribute to the Ships of the Great Victory” and the Finnish search team SubZone, a side-scan sonar survey in Estonian economic waters north of Mohni Island detected the wreck of a warship. In size and profile, the wreck resembled a Novik-type destroyer broken in half.

The search area was determined by Russian historian Mikhail Ivanov based on Soviet and German archival materials. The archives made it highly probable that this was the destroyer Yakov Sverdlov, formerly the legendary Novik, but definitive identification required a diving survey.

Survey of the Discovered Destroyer

On June 16, 2018, joint Russian and Finnish dives were conducted from the research vessel Yoldia, with photo and video documentation for identification purposes.

The team decided to dive on the stern section and attempt to find the brass name letters on the transom, as well as to thoroughly document the aft deck and superstructure.

Dive conditions: bottom depth 76 meters, clay and silt seabed, water temperature +2 to +3 degrees C, visibility 1-3 meters.

The dive revealed the ship’s name — “Yakov Sverdlov” — spelled out in brass letters on the transom. Above the name, a Soviet coat of arms was found.

Survey of the aft deck showed that the stern gun was trained toward the stern, while the next two guns were trained at various angles to port — toward the enemy. Depth charges stood on the deck. The aft superstructure — characteristically large for the Novik — was examined, revealing an auxiliary command post with a helm, compass, and engine telegraphs, as well as a 37mm anti-aircraft gun. Further inspection toward the bow revealed severe deck damage from the explosion. The shockwave apparently dislodged the torpedo tubes from their mounts.

The destroyer was torn in half by the mine explosion, approximately at the location of the second smokestack. Both halves lie on the seabed oriented north-south. The stern section rests on an even keel. The bow section is upside down with the stem slightly raised — the bow is likely resting on the seabed on its conning tower.

Historical Photos and Ship Diagrams

Sonar Images and Photos from the First Dive

Sch-405

Submarine history

Unfortunately we’re still not completed the article translation. Please check the Russian version via Google Translate or please find some related material below.

Side-scanninc sonar picture

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Submarine wreck on the bottom

A shortt video, revealing sub’s history and current state

Sch-405 3D-model

Destroyer “Kalinin” (formerly “Pryamislav”)

Раздел в стадии наполнения

“Kalinin” was sunk during Soviet fleet evacuation from Tallinn on August 28, 1941, soon after she hit a German mine on Juminda minefield in Gulf of Finland. Found and identified by our team in August 2018.

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Submarine history

Unfortunately, this page is avaliable only in Russian. While we’re working on the translation you may use Google Translate or check some related materials below