At the beginning of the 20th century, every naval power had both battleships and destroyers in its fleet.
Huge battleships were intended to demonstrate the country’s might and strength,
while destroyers — modest in size and equipment —
had to bear all the hardships of routine maritime operations.
They were used for reconnaissance, patrolling, escort duty, antisubmarine defense,
and the crucial task of minelaying.
Here, success depended on the concerted effort of the whole crew.
After all, it was well understood that a minelayer only gets to make one mistake.
The destroyer General Kondratenko was one such workhorse.
On January 3rd, 1905, contracts were signed in Russia to build a series of four torpedo cruisers
these ships would be reclassified as destroyers after 1907.
Three were named after combat units that had excelled in the Russo-Japanese War.
Sibirskiy Strelok was named after Siberian rifle regiments that had proven their valor in battle.
The second ship was named Ohotnik to honor special “hunter units.”
The third torpedo cruiser—Pogranichnik
was named after the Independent Corps of the Border Guard
who were renowned for their fighting during the siege of Port Arthur.
The lead ship of the series was named General Kondratenko
— after the Russian hero of the Russo-Japanese war.
Sailors named these ships “volunteers,”
because their construction had been financed by voluntary contributions from citizens.
Together with the other ships of the series,
General Kondratenko is considered to be among the best Russian destroyers
running on reciprocating steam engines.
The ships were over 75m in length
and the over 8 m in width.
When compared to the torpedo cruisers of the Russo-Japanese War,
the new destroyers had an increased displacement of 750 tons and a deeper draft,
almost at 3 m.
These improvements contributed to greater stability, a broader operational range, and better seagoing qualities.
Initially, the “volunteers” were equipped with the following armament:
Two 75-mm Canet guns manufactured at Obukhov State Plant as main armaments.
Six 57 mm Hotchkiss guns used to fight light enemy ships equipped with torpedoes.
Four Maxim machine guns for close range battle and to support landing operations
Three torpedo tube mounts for 457-mm torpedoes, the so-called Whitehead torpedoes
The destroyers were re-armed on two occasions.
The crew consisted of 5 officers and 90 sailors.
General Kondratenko and the other three destroyers were commissioned with the Baltic fleet in June 1906.
In 1910 they were organized into a Special Demi-division.
At that time, the Demi-division — as well as the whole fleet
— was commanded by Rear Admiral Nikolai Essen.
He tightened discipline, maintained morale, and strengthened the professional training
of destroyer crews.
In the years leading up to World War I, the ships continued to carry out their duties
even in late autumn and winter through bad weather and storms
– something that had been considered impossible until that time.
On October 31, 1914, the destroyer General Kondratenko set sail on a minelaying operation
off the German enemy coast as part of her demi-division.
That day, the Baltic Sea was very stormy:
gusts blew off her waterproof covers and tarpaulins, and water washed over the deck.
The safety devices on the mines could be damaged in these conditions.
Even simply moving the mines was risky.
Nevertheless, all 105 were laid. Shortly afterwards,
the German armored cruiser Friedrich Carl struck one of these mines and sank.
In total, from October 1914 through to February 1916,
the General Kondratenko together with other destroyers of the demi-division laid 490 mines.
In addition to the German armored cruiser, the mines sank two supply ships
and two trawlers of the Imperial German Navy.
Several other German ships received severe damage.
Using guns and torpedoes, General Kondratenko, as well as other destroyers,
kept the German fleet at bay and supported Russian landing operations,
while the mines laid by these ships kept large German ships from approaching close
to the Russian bases in the Baltic.
The situation changed in the autumn of 1917: after the Russian Revolution,
Russia practically withdrew from the war.
In March 1918, a peace treaty was signed with Germany.
The last event in the history of the destroyer General Kondratenko was the arduous Ice Cruise of 1918.
The entire Russian Baltic Fleet was ordered to transfer from Tallinn and Helsinki to Kronstadt.
The ship was saved from falling into the hands of the Germans
but, when she arrived home she was decommissioned,
as further modernization of the ship was considered impractical.
So ended the sea service of one of the Russian “volunteer” destroyers —
among the best destroyers of the early 20th century.