Russian destroyer Samson

Samson (Russian: Самсон) was one of eight Orfey-class destroyers built for the Russian Imperial Navy during World War I. Completed in 1916, she served with the Baltic Fleet and joined the Bolshevik Red Fleet after the October Revolution of 1918. She was active during the Russian Civil War, taking part in several engagements against British ships during the British campaign in the Baltic. The destroyer was renamed Stalin (Russian: Сталин) in 1922. She was assigned to the Pacific Fleet when Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941 (Operation Barbarossa) and saw no combat. The ship was scrapped in 1953.

History
Russian Empire
Name	Samson
Builder	Metal Works, Saint Petersburg
Fate	Joined the Bolsheviks, November 1917
Soviet Union
Acquired	November 1917
Fate	Scrapped, 1953
General characteristics (as built)
Class & type	Orfey-class destroyer
Displacement	1,260 long tons (1,280 t)
Length	98 m (321 ft 6 in)
Beam	9.3 m (30 ft 6 in)
Draught	3 m (9 ft 10 in)
Installed power	30,000 shp (22,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts, steam turbines 4 water-tube boilers
Speed	35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph)
Range	1,250 nmi (2,320 km; 1,440 mi) at 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Complement	167
Armament	4 × single 102 mm (4 in) guns 1 × single 37 mm (1.5 in) AA gun 3 × triple 450 mm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes 50 mines

Design and description

The Orfey-class ships were designed as an improved version of the Derzky class.^[1] Samson normally displaced 1,260 long tons (1,280 t) and 1,568 long tons (1,593 t) at full load. She measured 98 meters (321 ft 6 in) long overall with a beam of 9.34 meters (30 ft 8 in), and a draft of 3 meters (9 ft 10 in). The Orfeys were propelled by two Curtiss-AEG-Vulcan steam turbines, each driving one propeller using steam from four Normand-Vulcan boilers. The turbines were designed to produce a total of 30,000 shaft horsepower (22,000 kW) for an intended maximum speed of 35 knots (65 km/h; 40 mph) using forced draft.^[2] On Samson's sea trials, she only reached 30.8 knots (57.0 km/h; 35.4 mph). The ships carried enough fuel oil to give them a range of 1,680 nautical miles (3,110 km; 1,930 mi) at 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). Their crew numbered 150.^[3]

The Orfey-class ships were originally intended to have an armament of two single four-inch (102 mm) Pattern 1911 Obukhov guns and a dozen 450-millimeter (17.7 in) torpedo tubes in six double mounts. The Naval General Staff changed this to four triple mounts once they became available and then decided to exchange a torpedo mount for two more four-inch guns in August 1915 while the ships were still under construction. One of these guns was mounted on the forecastle and three on the stern, aft of the torpedo tubes.^[1] The Orfeys were completed with one triple torpedo mount between the forward funnels and two mounts aft of the rear funnel. The ships could carry 80 M1912 naval mines. They were also fitted with a Barr and Stroud rangefinder and two 60-centimeter (24 in) searchlights.^[2]