World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseSokrushitelnyi was a Project 7 destroyer designed to mimick contemporary Italian destroyers; unfortunately, she and her sister ships also inherited structural flaws commonly found in Italian ships. In 1941, she was assigned to the Soviet Northern Fleet. On 17 Nov 1942, she was assigned to convoy duty, probably with QP 15. On 20 Nov, she was caught in a storm. At 1430 hours on that day, she was hit by a large wave, tearing off her stern, which sank within ten minutes, killing six men. Other destroyers soon approached to take on her crew; 191 were saved, while an additional 30 were lost during the rescue effort. At 1530, the other destroyers in the convoy began to leave due to lack of fuel, leaving a crew of 13 to man Sokrushitelnyi. She was not seen again, probably sinking some time on 22 Nov. For the loss of the ship, her commanding officer was executed by firing squad and her executive officer was sent to a penal battalion. Poor quality repair from previous battle damage near the stern might be to blame for the stern breaking off so easily.

Sokrushitelnyi Operational Timeline