The Project 253 was a very successful minesweeper. It and its derivatives saw operational success, relatively low loss rates, and served for nearly 60 years in a military capacity across 8 different navies. While obscure, it nonetheless played its role, even if a small one, in the course of naval military history. Even today, these vessels continue to live on in civilian service.
Origins of the Pr. 253 and Pr. 253L
The Project 253 was a Soviet minesweeper from World War II. Also known as the MT-class, the Pr. 253 began its life as a specification issued by Admiral Lev Galler for a 60 ton, 16 kt (29.6 km/h) minesweeper in April 1942. The specification bore the name Project 253 and was issued to design bureau TsKB-32. In November of 1942, TsKB-32 submitted their design proposal to the People’s Commissariat of Shipbuilding in 2 forms: a wooden-hulled variant and a steel-hulled variant. The design was rejected for multiple reasons. Chief among those reasons was the impossibility of producing a wooden-hulled vessel for the Baltic Fleet in the conditions of the time. So, the Commissariat passed the design to TsKB-51.
Nikolay Grigor’yevich Loshinskiy—TsKB-51's chief designer—made some changes to the vessel’s design. The wooden-hulled variant was discarded entirely and the steel-hulled variant was simplified, with the hull modified to be built out of flat, angled pieces to eliminate the use of bending in the production process. This was done to ease production in Leningrad because the city was under siege at the time. This modified design was designated the Project 253L. It was presented to the Navy Management Committee and then sent to the Baltic Fleet command led by Vladimir Filippovich Tributs and Yuri Fedorovich Rall. The Baltic Fleet command approved the design.
It should be noted that this part of the story is a little unclear. Some sources state that it was originally designed by TsKB-51 and an additional reason for rejection was the Commissariat’s distrust in TsKB-51 due to it building primarily riverine vessels and the Pr. 253 being a seagoing minesweeper. In this version of the story the Navy Management Committee rejected the Pr. 253 design, passed it to Shipyard No. 189 which is where the modifications that created the Pr. 253L happened, and Shipyard No. 189 then presented it to the Baltic Fleet command. Additionally, in this version of the story, the L in Pr. 253L stands for Leningrad. This is the version of the story primarily found in the book Warships of the Soviet Fleets 1939-1945 Volume II: Escorts and Smaller Fighting Ships by Przemysław Budzbon, Jan Radziemski, and Marek Twardowski (source 1).
In the second version of the story, it was originally designed by TsKB-32 and passed off to TsKB-51 for improvements which is where the Pr. 253L was created. In this version of the story, the Navy Management Committee disappears entirely, no modifications were made at Shipyard No. 189, and the L in Pr. 253L stands for Loshinskiy in honor of TsKB-51's chief designer.
The truth is likely some amalgamation of the two stories. The history detailed above is one such amalgamation of the two stories, but it is possible that details of it may be incorrect due to two separate versions of the story existing.
The final design was over double the mass of the original specification, weighing in at 126.7 tons, and its speed had decreased to 14 kts. This design was approved to begin production on April 12, 1943. The vessel type was designated Malyy Tral’shchik (Малый Тральщик) meaning “Small Minesweeper.” This is where the abbreviation “MT” comes from. 34 units of the Pr. 253L were produced (vessels T-351 to 364, T-370 to 382, and T-386 to 389) and it, along with some of its derivatives, were produced at shipyards No. 189, 190, 363, and 370, all of which were in Leningrad. Two of the shipyards (No. 189 and another of the four shipyards, but it is unknown which one) began production on June 12, 1943, while the other two were approved for production of the Pr. 253L on October 31, 1943. These vessels were also nicknamed the “hundred-tonners.”
The Pr. 253LP
While it was successful in its role, combat experience in 1943 and early 1944 showed that the Pr. 253L was lacking in certain areas. So, in 1944, an upgrade project was undertaken to attempt to remedy these issues. The draught was increased from 1.37 m to 1.44 m and the beam was lengthened from 5.7 to 5.72 meters, the contours of the bow were changed, the machinery room was divided into two, and a third generator was added. Meanwhile, the total horsepower of the engines decreased from 690 hp to 480 hp and the max speed decreased from 14 kts to 12.6 kts. This new type was designated the Project 253LP and began production in April of 1944. This vessel is sometimes erroneously called the Pr. 253LII.
Many sources list the replacing of the two 12.7 mm DShK machine guns, each in a single mount, with four 12.7 mm Colt machine guns in two double mounts as a change unique to the Pr. 253LP, but this notion is somewhat suspect because countless images exist of Pr. 253Ls with double-mounted roof machine guns and some rare images (notably of T-239 and possibly T-366) exist that show Pr. 253LPs with single-mounted roof machine guns. This could suggest two things. First is that there was never a true standardization, but single-mounted machine guns may have been more common on Pr. 253Ls, perhaps in pictures that are not publicly available, while double-mounted machine guns may have been more common on Pr. 253LPs. The other proposition that would match this would be the Pr. 253Ls originally having been built with the two single-mounted DShKs and most were later retrofitted with the four twin-mounted Colts later on to match the Pr. 253LP. In this scenario, the Pr. 253LPs seen with single-mounted DShKs would be considered edge cases where single-mounted DShKs were fitted for other reasons (e.g. a possible lack of immediately available Colts). While both scenarios are plausible, the second is more likely to be what truly happened.
Additionally, the Pr. 253Ls, which previously had been referred to as the MT type ships, began being referred to as the MT-1, while the Pr. 253LP was referred to as the MT-2. It is not entirely clear if the MT-1 and MT-2 designations are official, but it appears unlikely. 58 vessels of this type were built (T-222 to 249, T-365 to 369, T-383 to 385, T-390, T-391, T-434, T-435, T-439 to 441, and T-459 to 479).
The Pr. 253L and Pr. 253LP in Soviet service
Both the Pr. 253L and Pr. 253LP were very successful minesweepers, despite their simplified design and relatively low complexity. Out of the 92 vessels produced, only six were lost, and only one of those losses was due to active combat. The loss record is:
- T-353: Sunk by a mine on September 8, 1944 in Narva Bay.
- T-355: Sunk by a mine on August 20, 1945 in the southern Baltic Sea.
- T-357: Sunk by a mine on June 12, 1945 in Gdańsk Bay.
- T-377: Sunk in an unspecified accident on December 5, 1944 in Riga Bay.
- T-379: Sank for unknown reasons on October 23, 1944 in the Port of Tallinn.
- T-387: Sunk by a torpedo from German submarine U 679 on November 28, 1944 near Paldiski.
This loss record amounts to 6.5% of all vessels lost and only 1% of vessels lost in active combat. That number is very low compared to the loss rates for many other minesweeper classes which can range from around 10% to almost 50%. British minesweepers suffered particularly badly in the Baltic Sea, but the Pr. 253Ls and LPs operating in the same general region came out with relatively low losses.
The Pr. 253LP in Polish service
The story of the Pr. 253 does not end in the USSR. Nine of them, all Pr. 253LPs, were transferred to the Polish Navy as part of war reparations where they served until 1958–1959—around the same time the USSR decommissioned them. The vessels sent to Poland were:
- T-225: Sent to Poland on April 5, 1946. Renamed ORP Albatros (AB, AL, T-21).
- T-228: Sent to Poland on April 5, 1946. Renamed ORP Czalpa (CL, CP, T-11).
- T-231: Sent to Poland on April 5, 1946. Renamed ORP Jaskółka (JK, T-14).
- T-241: Sent to Poland on April 5, 1946. Renamed ORP Jastrząb (JS, JT, T-23).
- T-243: Sent to Poland on April 5, 1946. Renamed ORP Kania (KN, T-25).
- T-244: Sent to Poland on April 5, 1946. Renamed ORP Kondor (KD, T-12).
- T-246: Sent to Poland on April 5, 1946. Renamed ORP Kormoran (KM, KR, T-24).
- T-465: Sent to Poland on April 5, 1946. Renamed ORP Krogulec (KG, T-13).
- T-467: Sent to Poland on April 5, 1946. Renamed ORP Orlik (OK, OL, T-22).
These vessels were assigned to two squadrons: 2nd Squadron (2. Dywizjon) and 3rd Squadron (3. Dywizjon). Kania, Kondor, Kormoran, and Krogulec were assigned to 2nd Squadron and Albatros, Czalpa, Jaskółka, Jastrząb, and Orlik were assigned to 3rd Squadron.
In 1952, all of the Polish Pr. 253LPs were modernized. Pumps and frames were replaced, the deck got new fittings and foundations, and the old, lend-lease Superior engines were replaced by Soviet 3D6 engines. Additionally, the roof armament was changed. The four Colt machine guns were replaced with DShKs (known as the DSzK in Poland) like on the original Pr. 253L. However, instead of being given two single-mounted DShKs like on the Pr. 253L, this Polish refit gave them four DShKs in two twin mounts, much like how the Colt machine guns were mounted.
Today, ORP Jaskółka still survives in the city of Gdynia in northern Poland along the Baltic coast.
The Pr. 255, Pr. 255K, and Pr. 255B
The Project 253's variations don’t end with the Pr. 253LP. A development of the Pr. 253LP—the Project 255—was also created. By 1952, 88 of these vessels had been completed at Shipyard No. 341 in Rybinsk, and by the end of their production run in 1955, 154 of these had been built. The first 11 of those were Pr. 255s and 132 of them were Pr. 255Ks. The final 11 were planned to be Pr. 255Ks but were converted to Pr. 255B civil tugs partway through construction. This results in a total of 143 vessels built for the Soviet navy and 11 civil tugs.
One of these Soviet vessels bearing the number 729 survives today in Odessa. Though the Odessa vessel is sometimes stated to be ORP Jaskółka, this is not true since Jaskółka resides in Gdynia.
The primary difference between the Pr. 255 and Pr. 255K is that the Pr. 255K had new ZD-12 diesel engines replacing the lend-lease Superior diesel engines of the Pr. 253LP and Pr. 255. The Pr. 255s are easily distinguishable from the Pr. 253s by their stern where the deck vertically and cleanly curves into the hull, instead of the hard edge present at the stern of the Pr. 253s.
The 143 military vessels were all decommissioned from the Soviet navy in the late 1950s, but their service life continued long after that.
Romania was the largest foreign operater for the Pr. 255. Romania is commonly listed as having received 27 Pr. 255Ks (DR1-9, DR11-19, and DR21-29). However, this is false. The confusion comes from Romania’s nonconsecutive numbering of vessels. In reality, Romania recieved only 12 vessels. Nonetheless, it was still the largest foreign operator by a factor of 2. The 12 vessels Romania received were numbered DR4-9, DR17-19, and DR26-28. It is unclear when the first 6 were scrapped, but the final 6 were scrapped in 2003.
The next largest user was Albania which received six Pr. 255Ks: two in 1957, two in 1959, and two in 1960. The history of the Albanian ones is murky for two reasons. The first is that the pennant numbers of these Albanian vessels changed a lot. Some of the Albanian Pr. 255Ks bore seven different pennant numbers within the span of just a few years. The second reason is that the country’s isolation during this time period, which had been imposed by Enver Hoxha who ruled the country from 1944 until his death in 1985, makes researching Albanian military history from this time period extremely difficult. The Albanian vessels were:
- Vlora (153, 333, 361, 221, 843, AS-343, M-425, 223). Delivered in 1957. Decommissioned in 1998.
- Humara (154, 335, 362, 228, 155, 156). Delivered in 1957.
- Saranda (224). Delivered in 1959.
- Lehza (226). Delivered in 1959.
- Unknown name (157, 344, 461, 842, M-322, M-225, M-113). Delivered in 1960.
- Unknown name (158, 345, 462, 844, M-227, M-114). Delivered in 1960.
The listed delivery dates of Saranda and Lehza are inferences and some of the listed pennant numbers may be slightly incorrect due to the lack of information on Albanian naval vessels from the time, especially for vessels as obscure as the Pr. 255K. This was the available information.
Beyond Romania and Albania, the Pr. 255K also made its way into other foreign navies. The Bulgarian Navy received two of them — RTSCh-23 and 24 — in 1951 and another two — RTSCh-25 and 26 — in 1954. Egypt also received two of them in 1962 and Indonesia received one the same year. Iraq also received four Pr. 255Ks, possibly in 1967, but the dates are unclear.
Life after the military
Even after these vessels were withdrawn from service, their stories did not end, especially in the USSR and subsequently Russia. The Pr. 255Bs were not the only vessels of this family to serve in civilian roles. Many of these vessels were converted into diving support ships, civilian trawlers, and small ferries and transports. Some even made their way beyond the nations they served in the militaries of. Even today, some of these vessels still operate in this capacity. The most commonly seen pictures of a civilian conversion of one of these vessels are of T-622, but T-622 was far from the only one to get this treatment. Many of the ones that survive today cannot be identified because their pennant numbers have been scrubbed.
From history to War Thunder
The modification history of the Pr. 253, combined with differences between each ship produced in a class, raises the question of which Pr. 253L is present in War Thunder. After all, 34 Pr. 253Ls were produced, so there are 34 options. The short answer is that it is unknown, but the long answer is a bit more complicated.
While it is not known which Pr. 253L was modeled in War Thunder, there are a couple of identification points that can be used to exclude many of the vessels. There are 3 key points of identification that can be used to narrow down which Pr. 253L might be present in the game, all of which can be seen in the following image.
The first and most important point of identification is the presence of two DShK machine guns in single mounts. The second is the small cone present on the back of the smokestack. Its shape being a cone and its mounting on the top of a band that runs around the smokestack is what matters. The third identification point is the slanted shape of the top of the smokestack. Based on these identification points, the following vessels can be ruled out based on analysis of images, all of which can be found in the sources:
- T-353: No smokestack cone; double-mounted machine guns.
- T-355: Not horizontal bar present on the mast.
- T-372: No smokestack cone.
The images of the Pr. 253L that can be found in the sources section also rule countless other vessels out, but none of those vessels have pennant numbers written on their hulls or their images are taken at angles where the pennant number is not visible. Thus, these are the only numbers that can be confidently excluded.
The ruled-out T-355 is worth noting because the one publicly available image of T-355 is not at an angle where the standard identification points can be seen. However, there is one other identification point that can be used to rule out T-355.
The ingame model has a small, horizontal bar with a light in the center around halfway up the mast.
Sources
- Budzbon, P., Radziemski, J., & Twardowski, M. (2022). Warships of the Soviet Fleets 1939-1945 Volume II: Escorts and Smaller Fighting Ships. Seaforth Publishing.
- Inshore minesweeper — Project 255. (n.d.). Russianships.info. https://russianships.info/eng/warships/project_255.htm
- Project 253L Minesweeper. (n.d.). Worldnavalships.com; World Naval Ships Forums. https://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/thread.php?threadid=16457
- Рейдовые тральщики пр.253Л типа “МТ-1”, пр.253 ПЛ типа “МТ-2” (1943г.). (2024). War-Russia.info. http://war-russia.info/index.php/nomenklatura-vooruzhenij/363-vmf/nadvodnye-korabli/minno-tralnye-korabli/1883-tralshchiki-korabli-pr-253l-tipa-mt-1-pr-253-pl-tipa-mt-2-1943g
- Смирнова, Е. Л. (n.d.). Рейдовый Тральщик Типа “МТ.” In Речная Справочная Книжка Корабельного Инженера Е.Л. Смирнова. https://russrivership.ru/public/files/doc1417.pdf
- Стотонники [Форумы Balancer.Ru]. (2019). Airbase.ru. https://forums.airbase.ru/2006/12/t52121--stotonniki.html
- T-301 minesweepers (projects 255, 255K) (1946—1953). (n.d.). Navypedia.org. https://www.navypedia.org/ships/russia/ru_ms_t229.htm
- Тральщики проекта 253. (n.d.). War-Book.ru. https://war-book.ru/tralshhiki-proekta-253/
- Trałowce projektu 253Ł. (2024). Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tra%C5%82owce_projektu_253%C5%81
