They licensed the plans for the Folgore class and, in modifying it for their purposes, overloaded a design that was already somewhat marginally stable.

Variations in fuel oil capacity meant that the range of the Gnevnys varied between 1,670 to 3,145 nautical miles (3,093 to 5,825 km; 1,922 to 3,619 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph).

198 (Andre Marti (South)) as yard number 320, Bystry was laid down on 17 April 1936 and launched on 5 November 1936.

[9] When Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, began on 22 June 1941, Bystry was assigned to the 2nd Destroyer Division and was awaiting a scheduled refit in Sevastopol.

On 1 July, she departed for Nikolayev for further work, but struck a mine while leaving Sevastopol, killing 24 and wounding 81 crewmen.

The explosion flooded the forward half of the ship as well as the boiler rooms and her bow grounded in shallow water.