since DP has produced exelent thread about soviet Minesweepers, I decided to use it to post my own contribution to the matter.
The Pr.73k class "escort minesweepers". The Pr.73k was a corrected and altered version of the pre-war Pr.59 class escort minesweepers, known also as Vladimir Poluchin class. Pr.59 were unique vessels in Soviet sense, since they were intended as minesweeping escorts (or escorting minesweepings
) for larger naval formations and units, and thus they required expectional (for a minesweeper) speed of 22kts+, this therefore dictating the use of turbines with combined togeteher with the start of the great patriotic war ment that only few hulls were completed. After the war, the remaining hulls were completed to an altered project, with diesels and intended for more general oceangoing minesweeping roles, thus the Pr.73k class
![[ img ]](http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc316/Novgorodsfleet/BT%20PR-73K_zps2srlbbib.png~original)
references and illustrations for the Pr.59/73K classes has been one of the most enigmatic and trouplesome to find, with only few images available of Pr.73k class (all naturally rather overlighted or blurry to conceal most of the details), and only two pictures exists of Pr.59! (both of them taken from the bow) Linedrawings have long been scarse, too vague or outrigth errorneous, and what I worked with was rather odd bastard version of both designs, labeled as for pr.73k, but looking lot more of Pr.59 in funnel-wise. To add to the drama, that I've been also suffering from mild rigth-arm injury, and unable to draw with it, so this drawing I've made completely with my left-arm and it took longest time that any drawing I've ever done so far. Naturally, I've decided to rest a bit and let my arm heal and only after Im back in condition, Ill continue the saga with the original Pr.59 class as well.
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![[ img ]](http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb219/darthpanda_NL/Shipbucket/MT%20Pr12531%20Almaz_zpsfow04mn7.png)
![[ img ]](http://orig02.deviantart.net/9269/f/2015/350/d/a/project_1252_zhenya_class_minesweeper_by_darthpandanl-d9kebcn.png)
