The Yastreb-class guard ships were designed to replace the unsatisfactory that preceded them. The Uragans had proven to be too small for the weight of their armament, too slow and had poor seakeeping capabilities due to their excessive top-weight. Despite being almost twice the displacement of the older ships, the Yastreb were equipped with only one additional main gun. This was done to minimize the stability problems experienced by their predecessors.
The Project 29 ships were longer than their predecessors at 85.7m (281.2feet) overall. They had a beam of 8.4m (27.6feet) and, at full load, a draft of 2.6m (08.5feet). They were significantly heavier than the Uragan class; the Yastreb-class ships displaced 842MT at a standard load, and 995MT at full load, nearly twice the 457MT at standard load of the earlier ships.[1] The Project 29K ships had a deeper draft of 3.3m (10.8feet) at full load and they were slightly heavier than their half-sister; they displaced 905MT at a standard load, and 1059MT at full load. Their crew increased to 127 men, an increase of 15 men over Yastreb.
The intended main armament was three single 100mm B-34 guns, protected by gun shields. Some ships reportedly substituted the B-34 guns for three of the naval version 85mm 52-K anti-aircraft guns.[2] Four 12.7mm AA machine guns were also carried. The underwater armament consisted of one triple 456mm torpedo tube mount, fitted between the funnels and up to 40 mines.[1]
Yastreb had 2 shaft geared steam turbines producing 23000shp that propelled her to 34kn. Her endurance was 2700-1NaN-1 at 15kn.[1] The Project 29K ships used the same machinery, but were half a knot slower and had only a range of 2200-1NaN-1 at 15kn.
The construction of all the Project 29 ships was interrupted by Operation Barbarossa in 1941. Those ships furthest along were suspended for the duration of the war, although Yastreb, as the lead ship of the class, was just over half-complete on 22 June 1941. It was finished at the end of 1944 after the Siege of Leningrad was broken in early 1944. Most of the others were scrapped or cancelled.[3] Eleven more ships were intended to be laid down in 1942 and another eight in 1943, but the war ended that plan.[4]
Five other ships had made significant progress before the Germans invaded and were completed to a revised design, Project 29K, after the war. These were slightly larger, added four single 37mm 61-K AA guns, and a pair of depth charge throwers in lieu of the mines.[5]
The six ships that were to start construction at the Ordzhonikidze Shipyard in Sevastopol actually had their material prepared at Marti South in Nikolayev and shipped to Sevastopol for building. Similarly the three ships launched, but not completed by the end of the war at the Zhandov Shipyard in Leningrad, were towed to the former Schichau-Werke shipyard in Kaliningrad for completion.[3]
| Project 29 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ship | Builder | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned | Fate | |
| Yastreb | Zhdanov, Leningrad | 23 May 1939 | 10 June 1940 | 30 December 1944 | scrapped 12 September 1959 | |
| Bditel'nyi | Zhdanov, Leningrad | 23 May 1940 | Never completed and scrapped | |||
| Tigr | Ordzhonikidze, Sevastopol | 1940 | scrapped on the stocks by the Germans | |||
| Leopard | Ordzhonikidze, Sevastopol | 1940 | scrapped on the stocks by the Germans | |||
| Rys | Ordzhonikidze, Sevastopol | 1941 | scrapped on the stocks by the Germans | |||
| Yaguar | Ordzhonikidze, Sevastopol | 1941 | scrapped on the stocks by the Germans | |||
| Kuguar | Ordzhonikidze, Sevastopol | 1941 | scrapped on the stocks by the Germans | |||
| Pantera | Ordzhonikidze, Sevastopol | 1941 | not laid down, cancelled | |||
| Berkut | Zhdanov, Leningrad | August 1940 | scrapped on the stocks | |||
| Sokol | Zhdanov, Leningrad | October 1940 | scrapped on the stocks | |||
| Grif | Zhdanov, Leningrad | May 1941 | scrapped on the stocks | |||
| Voron | Zhdanov, Leningrad | Canceled 19 July 1941 | ||||
| Kondor | Zhdanov, Leningrad | Canceled 19 July 1941 | ||||
| Fregate | Shipyard 199, Komsomolsk-on-Amur | Canceled | ||||
| Orlan | Shipyard 199, Komsomolsk-on-Amur | Canceled | ||||
| Project 29K | ||||||
| Orel | Zhdanov, Leningrad | 28 May 1939 | 12 February 1941 | 21 December 1950 | scrapped 18 September 1969 | |
| Korshun | Zhdanov, Leningrad | 25 October 1939 | 28 May 1941 | 21 January 1951 | scrapped 31 January 1961 | |
| Zorkii | Zhdanov, Leningrad | 23 May 1940 | 31 October 1940 | 30 January 1950 | scrapped 4 November 1975 | |
| Burevestnik | Shipyard 199, Komsomolsk-on-Amur | 4 December 1939 | 17 July 1943 | 15 July 1947 | scrapped 28 January 1958 | |
| Al'batros | Shipyard 199, Komsomolsk-on-Amur | 4 December 1939 | 2 June 1944 | 29 September 1945 | scrapped 28 February 1961 | |
Little is known about their careers. Yastreb reportedly became a training ship on 17 February 1956. It became a target ship on 31 August 1956 and was then sold for scrap on 12 September 1959. Orel became a floating barracks on 31 January 1964 before being sold for scrap on 18 September 1969. Korshun may have been transferred to the Border Guards for several years before it was returned to the Navy in 1952. She was sold for scrap 31 January 1964. Zorkii also appears to have been transferred to the Border Guards upon completion before it was returned to the Navy in 1952. She became a training ship on 18 October 1956 and was sold for scrap on 4 November 1975. Burevestnik became a training ship on 17 February 1956 and was sold for scrap on 28 January 1958. Al'batros also became a training ship at the same time and was sold for scrap on 28 February 1961.[6]