Here's everyones' favourite art-deco little warship; the Tashkent. Designed and built in Italy for the Soviet Navy. The plan was for the rest of the class, that being three more ships were to be built in Soviet yards, but the Italian hull framing was incompatible with Soviet building practices, so no more ships were built. She was nicknamed the "blue cutie", and/or "blue cruiser" due to the Italian blue color she was delivered in.
Tashkent during her trials:
![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/MSkG0Za.png)
Tashkent as delivered to the Soviet navy with her temporary armament of 6x45mm AA guns and 3x130mm main guns:
![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/CAbmAh9.png)
Tashkent as refitted in 1941 with her intended armament of 6x130mm guns and 6x37mm AA guns:
![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/QZ3AbiM.png)
Tashkent as refitted after repairs from being bombed in august 1941. In this refit a 76mm twin A mount meant for the destroyer Ognevoy was mounted on the stern.
![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/vIGb1Ru.png)
The Baku is colored in the standard Soviet blue-grey, whereas the Tashkent is in flint grey since she was a Black Sea ship. Since the ships were meant to be dispersed throughout the four fleets of the USSR, the other ships would have been blue, and not grey.
I'm posting the only other named ship of the four here; the Baku so I don't have to make a thread just for her in the never-built section:
![[ img ]](https://i.imgur.com/yWyNle1.png)
