Having decided to build the large and expensive 40kn destroyer leaders, the Soviet Navy sought Italian assistance in designing smaller and cheaper destroyers. They licensed the plans for the and, in modifying it for their purposes, overloaded a design that was already somewhat marginally stable.[1]
The Gnevnys had an overall length of 112.8m (370.1feet), a beam of 10.2m (33.5feet), and a draft of 4.8m (15.7feet) at deep load. The ships were significantly overweight, almost 2000NaN0 heavier than designed, displacing 1612MT at standard load and 2039MT at deep load. Their crew numbered 197 officers and sailors in peacetime and 236 in wartime.[2] The ships had a pair of geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller, rated to produce 48000shp using steam from three water-tube boilers which was intended to give them a maximum speed of .[3] The designers had been conservative in rating the turbines and many, but not all, of the ships handily exceeded their designed speed during their sea trials. Others fell considerably short of it, although specific figures for most individual ships have not survived. Variations in fuel oil capacity meant that the range of the Gnevnys varied between 1670nmi3145nmi at .[4]
As built, the Gnevny-class ships mounted four 130adj=onNaNadj=on B-13 guns in two pairs of superfiring single mounts fore and aft of the superstructure. Anti-aircraft defense was provided by a pair of 76.2sp=usNaNsp=us 34-K AA guns in single mounts and a pair of 45mm 21-K AA guns[5] as well as two 12.7mm DK or DShK machine guns. They carried six torpedo tubes in two rotating triple mounts; each tube was provided with a reload. The ships could also carry a maximum of either 60 or 95 mines and 25 depth charges. They were fitted with a set of Mars hydrophones for anti-submarine work, although these were useless at speeds over .[6] The ships were equipped with two K-1 paravanes intended to destroy mines and a pair of depth-charge throwers.[7]
Built in Leningrad's Shipyard No. 189 (Ordzhonike) as yard number 294, Smetlivy was laid down on 17 September 1936, launched on 16 July 1937, and was completed on 6 November 1938.[8] Assigned to the Baltic Fleet, she served on patrol and escort duty during the Winter War, aside from bombarding the coastal artillery positions on the Finnish island of Russarö on 1 December 1939 with her sister ship and the light cruiser .[9]
When Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began on 22 June 1941, the destroyer was based in Ust-Dvinsk, Latvia, as part of the 1st Destroyer Division of the fleet's Light Forces Detachment. She participated in the defense of the Gulf of Riga, laying minefields in the Irben Straits during the nights of 24/25 and 26/27 June; she was damaged by two near misses by bombs on 25 June. The ship sailed to Kuivastu, Estonia, on the 27th and then helped to escort Kirov through the Moonsund archipelago to Tallinn, Estonia, three days later as the Soviets evacuated their forces from the Gulf of Riga. Smetlivy steamed to Leningrad for repairs on 15 July which were completed on the 27th.[10]
The ship bombarded German positions during the defense of Tallinn between 24 and 28 August, firing 456 shells from her main guns.[11] She covered the evacuation of Tallinn on 28–29 August as part of the detachment of main forces led by Kirov.[12] Together with the minelayer, Smetlivy laid a minefield off Gogland Island on 10 September. She bombarded German positions on 3–5 October in support amphibious landings in the Peterhof area. On 14 October the destroyer was attached to the group of ships in the River Neva and moved to the Ust-Izhora area to provide gunfire support. Smetlivy supported a local counter-attack near Sinyavino between 20 and 25 October. During 1941 the ship fired a total of 700 shells from her 130 mm guns.[11]
On 4 November she was assigned to the second convoy helping to evacuate the garrison of Hanko to Kronstadt, together with the destroyer . While loading 560 evacuees,[13] Smetlivy was struck by a Finnish artillery shell.[14] On the return voyage, a mine exploded in her paravanes at 23:10 and knocked out her engines. Twenty minutes later, another mine explosion detonated her forward magazine and blew off her bow all the way back to her bridge. At 23:50 she struck yet another mine that broke her in half, killing over half of her crew and passenger. The ship's stern section sank at 00:30 in the area of Naissaar at . 80 crewmen and 274 evacuees were rescued by the minesweeper and several patrol boats.[15] Smetlivy was officially struck from the Navy List on 19 November.[16]