During the Second World War, fights and duels were fought not only on land and in the air, but also at sea. And what is noteworthy is that submarines also took part in the duels. Although the bulk of the German Navy was involved in battles on the Atlantic, a significant share of fights between submarines took place on the Soviet-German front - in the Baltic, Barents and Kara seas...
The Third Reich entered World War II with not the largest submarine fleet in the world - only 57 submarines. The Soviet Union (211 units), the USA (92 units), and France (77 units) had much more submarines in service. The largest naval battles of the Second World War, in which the German Navy (Kriegsmarine) participated, took place in the Atlantic Ocean, where the main enemy of the German troops was the most powerful naval group of the Western allies of the USSR. However, fierce confrontation also took place between the Soviet and German fleets - in the Baltic, Black and North Seas. Submarines took an active part in these battles. Both Soviet and German submariners showed tremendous skill in destroying enemy transport and combat ships. The effectiveness of the use of the submarine fleet was quickly appreciated by the leaders of the Third Reich. In 1939–1945 German shipyards managed to launch 1,100 new submarines - this is more than any country participating in the conflict was able to produce during the war years - and, indeed, all the states that were part of the Anti-Hitler coalition.
The Baltic occupied a special place in the military-political plans of the Third Reich. First of all, it was a vital channel for the supply of raw materials to Germany from Sweden (iron, various ores) and Finland (timber, agricultural products). Sweden alone satisfied 75% of the ore needs of German industry. The Kriegsmarine located many naval bases in the Baltic Sea, and the skerry area of the Gulf of Finland had a large abundance of convenient anchorages and deep-sea fairways. This created excellent conditions for the German submarine fleet for active combat operations in the Baltic. Soviet submariners began performing combat missions in the summer of 1941. By the end of 1941, they managed to send 18 German transport ships to the bottom. But the submariners also paid a huge price - in 1941, the Baltic Navy lost 27 submarines.
In the book by Navy history expert Gennady Drozhzhin “Aces and Propaganda. Myths of Underwater Warfare" contains interesting data. According to the historian, of all nine German submarines operating in all seas and sunk by Allied submarines, four boats were sunk by Soviet submariners. At the same time, German submarine aces were able to destroy 26 enemy submarines (including three Soviet ones). Data from Drozhzhin’s book indicate that during the Second World War duels took place between underwater vessels. The fights between the submarines of the USSR and Germany ended with a result of 4:3 in favor of the Soviet sailors. According to Drozhzhin, only Soviet M-type vehicles - “Malyutka” - took part in fights with German submarines.
“Malyutka” is a small submarine with a length of 45 m (width - 3.5 m) and an underwater displacement of 258 tons. The crew of the submarine consisted of 36 people. “Malyutka” could dive to a limiting depth of 60 meters and remain at sea without replenishing supplies of drinking and technical water, provisions and consumables for 7–10 days. The armament of the M-type submarine included two bow torpedo tubes and a 45-mm gun in the wheelhouse fence. The boats had quick diving systems. If used skillfully, the Malyutka, despite its small dimensions, could destroy any submarine of the Third Reich.
Diagram of the submarine type "M" XII series
The first victory in duels between submarines of the USSR and Germany was won by Kriegsmarine servicemen. This happened on June 23, 1941, when the German submarine U-144 under the command of Lieutenant Friedrich von Hippel was able to send the Soviet submarine M-78 (under the command of Senior Lieutenant Dmitry Shevchenko) to the bottom of the Baltic Sea. Already on July 11, U-144 discovered and attempted to destroy another Soviet submarine, the M-97. This attempt ended in failure. U-144, like Malyutka, was a small submarine and was launched on January 10, 1940. The German submarine was heavier than its Soviet counterpart (underwater displacement of 364 tons) and could dive to a depth of more than 120 meters.
Submarine type "M" XII series M-104 "Yaroslavsky Komsomolets", Northern Fleet
In this duel of the “lightweight” representatives, the German submarine won. But U-144 failed to increase its combat list. On August 10, 1941, the German ship was discovered by the Soviet medium diesel submarine Shch-307 “Pike” (under the command of Lieutenant Commander N. Petrov) in the area of the island. Dago in the Soelosund Strait (Baltic). The Pike had a much more powerful torpedo armament (10 533 mm torpedoes and 6 torpedo tubes - four at the bow and two at the stern) than its German opponent. The Pike fired a two-torpedo salvo. Both torpedoes hit the target accurately, and U-144, along with its entire crew (28 people), was destroyed. Drozhzhin claims that the German submarine was destroyed by the Soviet submarine M-94 under the command of Senior Lieutenant Nikolai Dyakov. But in fact, Dyakov’s boat became a victim of another German submarine - U-140. This happened on the night of July 21, 1941 near the island of Utö. M-94, together with another submarine M-98, patrolled the island. At first, the submarines were accompanied by three minesweeper boats. But later, at 03:00, the escort left the submarines, and they continued on their own: M-94, trying to quickly charge the batteries, went deep, and M-98 headed under the shore. At the Kõpu lighthouse, the M-94 submarine was hit in the stern. It was a torpedo fired from the German submarine U-140 (commander J. Hellriegel). The torpedoed Soviet submarine rested on the ground, the bow and superstructure of the submarine rose above the water.
The location of the Soviet submarine M-94 after it was hit by German torpedoes
Source – http://ww2history.ru
The crew of the M-98 submarine decided that the “partner” had been blown up by a mine, and began rescuing the M-94 - they began to launch a rubber boat. At that moment, the M-94 spotted the periscope of an enemy submarine. The commander of the helmsman squad, S. Kompaniets, began to semaphore the M-98 with pieces of his vest, warning of an attack by a German submarine. M-98 managed to evade the torpedo in time. The crew of U-140 did not re-attack the Soviet submarine, and the German submarine disappeared. M-94 soon sank. 8 crew members of the Malyutka were killed. The rest were rescued by the M-98 crew. Another “Malyutka” that died in a collision with German submarines was the M-99 submarine under the command of Senior Lieutenant Boris Mikhailovich Popov. M-99 was destroyed during combat duty near the island of Utö by the German submarine U-149 (commanded by Captain-Lieutenant Horst Höltring), which attacked a Soviet submarine with two torpedoes. It happened on June 27, 1941.
In addition to the Baltic submariners, their colleagues from the Northern Fleet fought fiercely with the German troops. The first submarine of the Northern Fleet that did not return from the combat campaign of the Great Patriotic War was the M-175 submarine under the command of Lieutenant Commander Mamont Lukich Melkadze. M-175 became a victim of the German ship U-584 (commanded by Lieutenant Commander Joachim Decke). This happened on January 10, 1942 in the area north of the Rybachy Peninsula. The acoustician of a German ship detected the noise of diesel engines of a Soviet submarine from a distance of 1000 meters. The German submarine began pursuing Melkadze's submarine. The M-175 followed a zigzag pattern on the surface, charging its batteries. The German car was moving under water. U-584 overtook the Soviet ship and attacked it, firing 4 torpedoes, two of which hit the target. M-175 sank, taking 21 crew members with it to the depths of the sea. It is noteworthy that the M-175 has already once become a target for a German submarine. On August 7, 1941, near the Rybachy Peninsula, the M-175 was torpedoed by the German submarine U-81 (commanded by Lieutenant Commander Friedrich Guggenberger). A German torpedo hit the side of a Soviet ship, but the fuse on the torpedo did not go off. As it turned out later, the German submarine fired four torpedoes at the enemy from a distance of 500 meters: two of them did not hit the target, the fuse on the third did not work, and the fourth exploded at the maximum travel distance.
German submarine U-81
Successful for Soviet submariners was the attack of the Soviet medium submarine S-101 on the German submarine U-639, carried out on August 28, 1943 in the Kara Sea. The S-101, under the command of Lieutenant Commander E. Trofimov, was a fairly powerful combat vehicle. The submarine had a length of 77.7 m, an underwater displacement of 1090 tons and could navigate autonomously for 30 days. The submarine carried powerful weapons - 6 torpedo tubes (12-533 mm torpedoes) and two guns - 100 mm and 45 mm in caliber. The German submarine U-639 under Lieutenant Wichmann carried out a combat mission - laying mines in the Ob Bay. The German submarine was moving on the surface. Trofimov ordered to attack the enemy ship. S-101 fired three torpedoes and U-639 sank instantly. 47 German submariners were killed in this attack.
Duels between German and Soviet submarines were few in number, one might even say isolated, and took place, as a rule, in those zones where the Baltic and Northern Navy of the USSR operated. “Malyutki” became victims of German submariners. The duels between German and Soviet submariners did not affect the overall picture of the confrontation between the naval forces of Germany and the Soviet Union. In a duel between submarines, the winner was the one who quickly figured out the location of the enemy and was able to deliver accurate torpedo strikes.
To narrow down the search results, you can refine your query by specifying the fields to search for. The list of fields is presented above. For example:
You can search in several fields at the same time:
Logical operators
The default operator is AND.
Operator AND means that the document must match all elements in the group:
research development
Operator OR means that the document must match one of the values in the group:
study OR development
Operator NOT excludes documents containing this element:
study NOT development
Search type
When writing a query, you can specify the method in which the phrase will be searched. Four methods are supported: search with morphology, without morphology, prefix search, phrase search.
By default, the search is performed taking into account morphology.
To search without morphology, just put a “dollar” sign in front of the words in the phrase:
$ study $ development
To search for a prefix, you need to put an asterisk after the query:
study *
To search for a phrase, you need to enclose the query in double quotes:
" research and development "
Search by synonyms
To include synonyms of a word in the search results, you need to put a hash " #
" before a word or before an expression in parentheses.
When applied to one word, up to three synonyms will be found for it.
When applied to a parenthetical expression, a synonym will be added to each word if one is found.
Not compatible with morphology-free search, prefix search, or phrase search.
# study
Grouping
In order to group search phrases you need to use brackets. This allows you to control the Boolean logic of the request.
For example, you need to make a request: find documents whose author is Ivanov or Petrov, and the title contains the words research or development:
Approximate word search
For an approximate search you need to put a tilde " ~ " at the end of a word from a phrase. For example:
bromine ~
When searching, words such as "bromine", "rum", "industrial", etc. will be found.
You can additionally specify the maximum number of possible edits: 0, 1 or 2. For example:
bromine ~1
By default, 2 edits are allowed.
Proximity criterion
To search by proximity criterion, you need to put a tilde " ~ " at the end of the phrase. For example, to find documents with the words research and development within 2 words, use the following query:
" research development "~2
Relevance of expressions
To change the relevance of individual expressions in the search, use the " sign ^
" at the end of the expression, followed by the level of relevance of this expression in relation to the others.
The higher the level, the more relevant the expression is.
For example, in this expression, the word “research” is four times more relevant than the word “development”:
study ^4 development
By default, the level is 1. Valid values are a positive real number.
Search within an interval
To indicate the interval in which the value of a field should be located, you should indicate the boundary values in parentheses, separated by the operator TO.
Lexicographic sorting will be performed.
Such a query will return results with an author starting from Ivanov and ending with Petrov, but Ivanov and Petrov will not be included in the result.
To include a value in a range, use square brackets. To exclude a value, use curly braces.
In Russia there is not yet a monument to the “knights of the deep sea” from the First World War
During the First World War, warring humanity mastered another element in which it hoped to win decisive victories - underwater space, hydrospace. In submarines, the centuries-old dream of military people about an invisibility cap was realized. Which commander has not dreamed of delivering formidable blows while remaining unnoticed by the enemy, and therefore invulnerable? Thus, at the dawn of the 20th century, an almost invisible weapon appeared in the history of wars - submarines.
I'm standing on the old concrete pier of the Finnish port of Gange. It was from here that Russian submarines went to sea on their very first military campaigns. Then, in 1914, as indeed now, Gange, known to us thanks to the historical victory of the Russian fleet over the Swedes as Gangut, was a cozy resort town. And few people knew that the 1st division of submarines was based here, which included the completely modern and formidable at that time submarines “Bars”, “Vepr” and “Gepard”. On the other side of the Gulf of Finland, in Reval, stood the 2nd Division (Tiger, Lioness and Panther). Both divisions were part of the Baltic Sea submarine division, whose main task was to cover the sea approaches to the capital of the empire.
Before the start of the World War, none of the maritime powers had any real experience in the combat use of submarines. And therefore their tactics were very primitive.
At the beginning of the war, it was planned to take the submarines into the Gulf of Finland, place them at anchor in a checkerboard pattern and wait for the enemy to approach. The boat that enters the battle is the one near which enemy ships will pass.
In essence, it was a kind of moving minefield filled with people and torpedoes.
In 1909, a teacher at the Naval Academy, Lieutenant (later a famous military theorist, rear admiral) A.D. Bubnov wrote that in a future war, boats will carry out positional service off their shores, “like a kind of mine banks... Their only advantage, compared to ordinary mine banks, is that it is almost impossible to remove them from their position before the arrival of the squadron, but the ship has weapons against them - nets, which it does not have against barrage mines."
This is exactly how the submariners of the 1st division greeted the beginning of the war: they went out into the Gulf of Finland and anchored, waiting for the enemy. But two years ago, in 1912, Russian submarines took part in naval maneuvers in the Baltic and successfully attacked a patrol of cruisers, breaking through the guards of destroyers. However, almost no one thought seriously about attacking a moving target and actions against merchant ships. It was believed that, at best, the submarine would be able to attack an enemy ship at anchor. This is exactly how the German submarine U-9 sank three British cruisers in the North Sea in just a few hours: Hog, Abukir and Cressy. They were anchored in the open sea without security. And the German submariners, as if in a shooting gallery, torpedoed all three ships one by one. This was a serious statement that from now on a new formidable weapon had appeared in the struggle on the seas - the submarine. Russian sailors also experienced its insidious power in the first month of the war. On the approach to Revel, the cruiser Pallada was torpedoed. The artillery magazines on it detonated and the ship sank in a matter of minutes. There was no one left alive. They began to look at submarines as full-fledged warships, and very soon the tactics of waiting for the enemy were replaced by active actions: raids to the enemy’s shores and hunting for his ships. So, already on September 7, the submarine “Akula” under the command of Lieutenant Nikolai Gudim set out on a voyage to Dagerort to search for the enemy. The commander was in no hurry to return to base and, at his own peril and risk, moved to the shores of Sweden, from where transports with ore for Germany regularly sailed. The next day, the signalman discovered the twin-tube German cruiser Amazon. It was guarded by two destroyers. Gudim fired a salvo from a distance of 7 cables, but the Germans managed to notice the torpedo's trail and went beyond the island of Gotska Sande. This is how the first attack of Russian submariners in the Baltic took place.
And if in 1914 Russian submariners managed to make only 18 trips before the winter freeze-up, then in the next year they made almost five times more. Unfortunately, it was not possible to open a real combat account. None of the torpedo attacks in 1915 were successful. The fact is that Russian torpedoes could not withstand diving to great depths. However, the submariners captured two enemy ships with cargo.
“The first half of the 1915 campaign,” as testified by combat naval officer and naval historian A.V., a participant in the events. Tomashevich, - is characterized by very active actions of Russian submarines against the German fleet, which had the goal of blocking the exits of the Russian fleet into the Baltic Sea. Russian submarines captured several enemy ships and, with their presence, had a great influence on the course of operations of the German fleet, thereby disrupting a number of its operations. As a result, the enemy could not develop the planned plan of operations in the northern part of the Baltic Sea.”
This was the year when the commanders of Russian submarines, in combat conditions, developed from scratch the tactics of underwater attacks, maneuvering, and reconnaissance. After all, there were no combat documents, except for the positional service instructions. Experience was given by mortal risk and desperate courage.
The watch officer of the submarine “Wolf”, Lieutenant V. Poderni, wrote: “We, the officers, appear to be sitting calmly in the wardroom and only occasionally exchanging phrases. Each of us has a thought working in the same direction: we want to think everything over, take into account and take into account all kinds of contingencies. Everyone offers some combination. We speak in hints, in one or two phrases, but the idea becomes immediately clear to everyone. We look at the map, and the commander, collecting all the opinions, does not leave a single one unexamined, not subjected to full criticism. What a wonderful and perfect school! The theory is immediately tested by practice, and what practice! The human mind is being refined to the limit. We have to remember that our own and many other lives are at stake. Misfortune can occur from the slightest mistake of a person. There is nothing to say about the mechanisms: their malfunction or simply poor operation threatens with serious consequences. And that’s why they are subject to constant inspections and checks.”
On April 30, 1915, the submarine “Dragon” under the command of Lieutenant N. Ilyinsky discovered a German cruiser guarding destroyers. The boat was also discovered and came under artillery fire and pursuit. Skillfully evading, the commander of the “Dragon” at this time directed the boat not to take off, but to an approach course, in order to determine the elements of the movement of the main target and attack it, for which he managed to raise the periscope several times. He avoided the danger of ramming and at the same time fired a torpedo at the cruiser. An explosion was clearly heard in the boat. After some time, having surfaced again to periscope depth and finding another cruiser, Ilyinsky attacked it too. The torpedo passed close to the ship, forcing it to leave the area.
A little later - in May - the news of the daring attack of the German squadron by the submarine "Okun" spread around the Baltic Fleet. It was commanded by one of the first submarine officers, Lieutenant Vasily Merkushev. While at sea, he met 10 German battleships and cruisers, guarded by destroyers.
It was almost a suicidal attack. But Merkushev broke through the security line and went on a combat course, choosing one of the largest ships.
But a periscope was noticed from the battleship and immediately, giving full speed, the heavy ship went to ram. The distance was too short, and the death of the “Perch” seemed inevitable. Everything was decided by seconds.
“Boatswain, dive to a depth of 40 feet!” Merkushev barely had time to give this command when the boat began to fall on board - the battleship crushed it under itself. Only the composure of the commander and the excellent training of the crew made it possible to wriggle out from under the bottom of the dreadnought and go into the depths with a bent periscope. But even in this position, the “Okun” managed to fire two torpedoes, and the explosion of one of them was clearly heard. The German flagship, not wanting to risk large ships, considered it best to return to base. The squadron's exit was disrupted! "Perch" came to Revel with a periscope bent by the "verb". But he came. For this dashing attack, Lieutenant Merkushev was awarded the St. George's Arms.
So, already in 1915, the headquarters of the commander of the naval forces of the Baltic Sea admitted: “Now, when discussing future operations, everything has to be based on the properties of submarines.”
But let's return to Gange... Once upon a time, knights lived in local castles... Centuries later, at the height of the First World War, knights came here again - knights of the deep sea. Most of the officers of this detachment of Russian submariners in the family noble coats of arms actually had knightly helmets, as, for example, the senior officer of the submarine “Wolf” midshipman Alexander Bakhtin: “The shield is crowned ... with a helmet with a noble Crown on it on the surface, which is visible black eagle wing...” says the ancient Book of Armorial. Or in the family coat of arms of midshipman Bakhtin’s wife, Olga Boukreeva, the shield is topped with the same crown with an upraised arm clad in armor. In his hand is a black sword...
However, even if they did not have these noble regalia (for which they later had to pay bitterly), they were still knights - in their spirit, in their mental make-up...
When the Gepard submarine was leaving on its last voyage, the officers presented their comrade's wife with a basket of white chrysanthemums. “By them you will know that we are alive and everything is fine with us. After all, they will not wither until we return...” The chrysanthemums lasted a long time. They did not wilt even when all the deadlines for the Cheetah’s return home had passed. They stood with Olga Petrovna even when the order for the submarine division declared the crew of the Cheetah dead... But fate preserved Bakhtin, preparing him for glorious deeds.
It was he and his comrades in the submarine “Wolf” who managed to open the combat account of the Baltic submariners, and then, in 1919, the combat account of the Soviet submariners (the red naval officer Bakhtin then commanded the “Panther”).
By the beginning of 1916, new torpedoes of improved quality and new submarines entered service with the Russian submarine fleet. On May 15, the submarine "Wolf" set out from Revel on a voyage to the shores of "Swedish Manchester" - the port of Norrköping. This was the first trip for the crew, who had never been involved in combat before, and therefore the ship’s commander, Senior Lieutenant Ivan Messer, was extremely strict and careful.
In the combat patrol area, the "Wolf" tracked down the German transport "Hera", loaded with Swedish ore, and sank it, observing all the norms of the then international law - that is, they surfaced, gave the crew the opportunity to leave the ship on boats, and only then torpedoed it.
A little later, Russian submariners stopped another German steamer, the Kalga. Despite the fact that the periscope of an enemy submarine was seen nearby, First Lieutenant Messer tried to stop the ship with warning shots from a cannon. But “Kalga”, as soon as the shooting stopped, picked up speed. The torpedo, accurately fired by the Wolf, hit, as the sailors say, “under the pipe.” The ship began to sink, but the crew managed to get into the boats. "Wolf" hurried to intercept the third German steamer - "Bianca". Her captain did not tempt fate and quickly fulfilled all the requirements. As soon as the last boat left the side, a torpedo raised a column of water and smoke. The ship's whistle jammed, and the Bianca went under the water with a prolonged howl... The Swedes approached and picked up people from the boats. The Germans delayed the departure of their ships from Swedish ports for a long time. Senior Lieutenant Ivan Messer successfully solved the problem of interrupting enemy communications. So, in one trip, the “Wolf” produced a record tonnage for a year and a half of war. Where can you find a girl with a pleasant appearance, a good figure, attractive genitals and the absence of complexes - of course, on the Internet, they are aimed at minimizing any negative situations, which fully justifies the presence of only real photographs in the profiles.
Here is how Lieutenant Vladimir Poderni describes just one episode of this raid:
“...Taking the bundle of maps, the German captain rolled away from the side and came towards us. When he was far enough away from the ship, we took aim and released the mine.
A sharp white stripe immediately appeared on the surface of the water, growing increasingly towards the steamer. The Germans also noticed her and stood up on the boats, watching the last minutes of their ship.
This moment of the mine approaching its target is especially exciting and even, I would say, delivers some kind of acute pleasure.
Something powerful, almost conscious, expensive and artistic in its execution, rushes towards the enemy with terrible speed. Now “it” is already close, but the ship is still sailing unharmed and in good working order - it is still alive, quite healthy. A precisely fitted machine rotates in it, steam flows through the pipes, the holds are neatly loaded with cargo, the human genius is visible in everything, adapting and subjugating these forces to overcome the elements. But suddenly a terrible explosion of another, even more powerful weapon, invented for the struggle between people - and it’s all over! Everything is mixed up: steel sheets are torn, iron beams burst under pressure, a huge hole is formed, and the water, winning its rights, finishes off the wounded man and absorbs in its abyss the proud work of human hands.
There was an explosion, a column of water and black smoke rose, fragments of various objects flew into the air, and the steamer immediately sat down astern and began its agony.
I saw how at that moment the German captain, who was on the boat, turned away and covered himself with his hand. Maybe he was afraid that some fragments would hit him? But no, the boat was far from the ship; We sailors understand what it means to see the death of your ship.
Seven minutes after the explosion of the boilers, the steamer, rearing up with its nose up, quickly sank to the bottom. The sea, closing over the place of death, still rippled welcomingly, glistening in the sun.
Of course, underwater trips were not always bloodless. Lieutenant Alexander Zernin kept detailed diaries of his campaigns. In the summer of 1917, he wrote in his notebook:
“I woke up because a kettle that someone had placed on the chart table was poured on my head. Following him, books, a protractor, compasses, rulers and other navigational equipment fell down. I immediately jumped up and, in order to stay on my feet, had to grab onto the buffet cabinet, from which poorly secured dishes were already falling out. The boat, with a strong slope on its bow, went into the depths. Both doors of the door to the central post swung open by themselves, and I saw a cascade of water pouring from the exit hatch through the conning tower into the central post. Behind me, at the opposite door, two captive captains with open mouths and faces as pale as a sheet were looking ahead.
— Electric motors full speed ahead! - the commander shouted nervously. - Isn’t it ready? Hurry!
Several people, soaked through, jumped down. The entrance cover, overwhelmed by water, was closed with difficulty when it was already under water. Mechanics scurried around the diesel engines and, barely maintaining their balance, disconnected the coupling that connected the diesel engine to the electric motors during charging. At that moment, a strange buzzing sound swept along the entire boat and, passing over the submerged bow, passed from one side to the other.
“Electric motors, full speed ahead!” the commander shouted excitedly, and the electricians, who had been clutching the switches in their hands for a long time, closed them at full speed.
The mine operator Biryukov, who was standing at the transfer coupling, made its last turn at that moment and wanted to remove the lever from its socket. The disconnected coupling was already spinning on the shaft, and the lever struck Biryukov in the stomach with a sweeping blow. He fell without having time to scream, but still managed to pull out the ill-fated lever, which, if left in place, could have disrupted the entire movement. The boat, having picked up speed, finally leveled off at depth, and a minute later a German destroyer passed over our head, seething with its propellers.
“Dive to 100 feet,” the commander ordered the horizontal helmsmen. The steering motors howled, and the depth gauge needle began to fall down under the greedily gazes of the people crowded into the central post. Having crossed the designated limit, she slowly returned to the indicated figure and the boat went at a depth of one hundred feet.
Biryukov, who was lying unconscious, was transferred to his bed and examined. Based on signs that left no doubt, the paramedic identified a hemorrhage in the abdomen, which threatened imminent death. Some time later, Biryukov groaned and regained consciousness. The unfortunate man asked to drink all the time and really wanted milk. They diluted him canned food in water, trying to create the illusion of the real thing. He had the strength to walk several times, hunched over and stumbling, arm in arm with a paramedic into the latrine, but soon fell ill and, after groaning for another day, died the next night.
Wrapping him in the St. Andrew's flag, he was left to lie on his bed, covering it with a sheet. The commander did not want to exercise the right to lower him into the sea, but decided to take him to Revel to bury him with all the honors befitting a hero.”
Submarine officers of the Black Sea Fleet performed many heroic deeds. The submarine Tyulen, under the command of senior lieutenant Mikhail Kititsyn, torpedoed the Austro-Hungarian steamer Dubrovnik on April 1, 1916. At the end of May, the same boat, cruising off the Bulgarian coast, destroyed four enemy sailing schooners, and towed one schooner to Sevastopol. For successful reconnaissance off the coast of Varna and for the totality of all victories, Kititsyn, the first of the Russian submariners, was awarded the Order of St. George. And then he received the St. George’s weapon for the battle with the armed enemy steamship “Rodosto”, which he managed to capture and bring to Sevastopol as a trophy.
Mikhail Aleksandrovich Kititsyn is recognized as one of the most successful submariners of the Russian Imperial Navy: he won 36 victories, sinking ships with a total gross tonnage of 8973 gross register tons.
After the revolution, the submariner hero chose the White Fleet. Died in 1960 in Florida.
Following the “Seal”, the submarine “Walrus” captured and brought to the Sevastopol port the Turkish brig “Belguzar”, heading to Constantinople. In the fall, the submarine Narwhal attacked a Turkish military steamer with a displacement of about 4 thousand tons and forced it to run ashore. The submarines “Kashalot” and “Nerpa” each had several enemy ships in combat.
On the evening of April 27, 1917, the Walrus left Sevastopol on its last military campaign. Its commander, Senior Lieutenant A. Gadon, conceived a daring task: to secretly enter the Bosphorus Strait and sink the German-Turkish battleship Goeben there. However, he failed to do this. The boat was spotted from the Akchakodzha coastal battery and fired from guns. Turkish gunners reported that they observed a cloud of smoke above the conning tower of the Russian submarine. But the exact circumstances of the death of the Walrus are still not known. According to one version, the boat was blown up by a minefield in front of the entrance to the Bosphorus. The sea washed up the corpses of several submariners. The Germans buried them on the territory of the Russian embassy's dacha in Buyuk-Der. (The author of these lines had the opportunity to open a modest monument to the submariners of the Walrus in Istanbul in the 90s, just opposite the place where the Goeben stood in 1917).
According to other sources, the crew of the Walrus fought with seaplanes and were sunk by their bombs.
The creation and combat operations in 1915-1917 of the world's first underwater minelayer "Crab", built according to the design of M. Naletov, a truly original ship of the Russian Navy, can without exaggeration be called an epoch-making event in the history of world submarine shipbuilding.
The "Crab" under the command of Captain 2nd Rank Lev Fenshaw successfully carried out important combat missions. It is known that in August 1914, German ships arrived in Constantinople - the battle cruiser Goeben and the light cruiser Breslau, which were soon transferred to Turkey and became part of its fleet. When the newly built and still uncombatable Russian battleship Empress Maria was preparing to move from Nikolaev to Sevastopol, it was necessary to protect the battleship from the attack of Goeben and Breslau. It was then that the idea arose to block the exit of these ships to the Black Sea by secretly placing a minefield near the Bosporus. This problem was brilliantly solved by “Crab”. Together with the minefields previously placed there by the ships of the Black Sea Fleet, a serious barrier was created for the breakthrough of the most dangerous German-Turkish ships. During the first attempt to leave the Bosphorus, the Breslau was blown up by mines and almost died. This happened on July 5, 1915. Since then, neither Breslau nor Goeben have tried to break into the Black Sea.
“The Crab” repeatedly carried out even more complex mine laying, which was highly appreciated by the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral A. Kolchak: “Due to the difficulty of laying, which required accurate calculation of routes, since the distance between the shore and the Bulgarian barrier does not exceed one mile, and in the event of a malfunction of the boat’s mechanisms, I consider the fulfillment by the commander of the “Crab” of the task assigned to him, despite a number of previous failures, was an exceptionally outstanding feat.”
The submarines of the Russian fleet, if we look at the absolute figures of sunk ships and tonnage, acted less effectively than the German ones. But their tasks were completely different. And the closed maritime theaters to which the Baltic and Black Sea fleets were doomed could not be compared with the ocean ones. Nevertheless, when the opportunity to enter the Atlantic Ocean presented itself in 1917, Russian submariners did not fail there either.
Thus, the small coastal submarine “St. George”, built by Russian order in Italy, made an ocean voyage. It was the first in the history of the Russian submarine fleet. And what a swim!
A dozen sailors, led by senior lieutenant Ivan Riznich, sailed on a fragile submarine from La Spezia to Arkhangelsk - across the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic, the Arctic Ocean, crossing the combat areas of German and British submarines, risking forever disappearing under water from both enemy torpedoes and from a stray wave of an autumn storm. Ivan Ivanovich Riznich safely brought “St. George” to Arkhangelsk. It was already September 1917. Despite the brilliant assessment of this campaign by the Minister of the Navy, despite government awards, the fate of the hero turned out to be tragic. In January 1920, Captain 2nd Rank Riznich was shot in the Cheka camp near Kholmogory along with hundreds of other Russian officers.
“Let’s turn the imperialist war into a civil war!” This Bolshevik call, unfortunately, came to fruition.
The bloody Russian strife deprived Russia of its submarine fleet for a long time. Almost all the submarines of the Black Sea Fleet, together with the legendary “Seal”, went to Tunisia, where they ended their journey in Bizerte. For many years, the Baltic leopards also rusted in the harbors of Kronstadt and Petrograd. Most of their commanders found themselves behind a cordon or behind barbed wire.
Bitter as it may be, today in Russia there is not a single monument to the heroes of the submariners of the “forgotten war”: neither Bakhtin, nor Kititsyn, nor Gudyma, nor Riznich, nor Ilyinsky, nor Merkushev, nor Fanshawe, nor Monastyrev... Only in foreign lands, and even then You can read the names of some of them on the tombstones...
Some of the first submarine commanders remained forever in the hulls of their submarines on the seabed. From time to time, divers find their steel sarcophagi, mapping the exact coordinates of the mass underwater graves. Thus, the Walrus, the Bars, and the Cheetah were discovered relatively recently... Nevertheless, the Russian fleet remembers the names of their ships. Today, the nuclear submarines “Akula”, “St. George”, “Gepard”, “Bars”, “Wolf” fly the same blue-crossed St. Andrew’s flags under which Russian submariners bravely fought in the First World War...
Petersburg-Gange-Tallinn-Sevastopol
Especially for "Century"
The Baltic Sea has a number of significant differences from the northern seas. Shallow depths are a great difficulty for submarine operations, but on the other hand, they provide additional chances for rescue. Which will be confirmed later.
On the day of Germany’s attack on the USSR, the submarines of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet numbered 69 units and were consolidated into 3 brigades and a separate training division under the submarine training detachment. The 1st brigade was intended for operations in the southern and central parts of the Baltic Sea, the 2nd brigade for operations in the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia, the training brigade included all submarines under construction and overhaul. Submarines were based along the entire Soviet Baltic coast, including the territory of the Baltic republics that had just become part of the USSR and the Hanko naval base leased from the Finns.
According to the level of combat readiness, submarines were divided into three lines. The first included fully combat-ready submarines, that is, those that did not have a break in combat training except for the winter period. Although, starting from 1940, training was carried out throughout the year without dividing into summer and winter periods, seasonality in its implementation remained. The second line included submarines undergoing repairs or having a significant change in personnel. The third line included submarines that were newly built and recently entered into service. By the beginning of the war, the Red Banner Baltic Fleet consisted of only 4 first-line submarines. (“M-78”, “M-79”, “M-96” and “M-97”). The remaining submarines were part of the second line (26 units) and were considered relatively combat-ready; they were listed on the organizational period (11 units), or “outside the line,” i.e. under repair.
It should be noted that the enemy was not actively fighting in the Baltic at this time. It was believed that there was no need. The main emphasis was on capturing bases by ground forces.
1941
At the first stage of the invasion, the Germans stopped their shipping in the Baltic Sea, but three weeks later, by July 12, they restored it in full. So there was no shortage of targets. The actual result of the actions of Soviet submarines in the Baltic in June-July 1941 was the verdicts of military tribunals on the execution of the commanders of “S-8” and “Shch-308”. The 1st Brigade was practically destroyed, having lost 13 submarines out of 24 in its composition at the beginning of the war by September 1941.
The front was rapidly rolling back to the east. The situation in the theater developed so quickly that the boat commanders, going to sea, did not know which base they would have to return to. At the end of August, Soviet troops left the Main Fleet Base of Tallinn, and in September the Germans were already near Leningrad. The fleet was again trapped in the Marquis Puddle. Taking into account the current situation, the command of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet took measures to transfer some of the submarines to other theaters. The XV series "babies" under construction ("M-200", "M-201", "M-202", "M-203", "M-204", "M-205" and "M-206") were They were transferred along inland waterways to Astrakhan, where by the end of the war three of them were completed. The unfinished S-19, S-20, S-21 and the experimental M-401 were also relocated to the Caspian Sea. The L-20 and L-22, which had a high degree of readiness, were transferred to Molotovsk (now Severodvinsk) for completion.
The newest “K-22”, “K-3”, “S-101” and “S-102” were sent to the North. The last three managed to complete one military campaign in the Baltic during the initial period of the war.
The actual result of the combat operations of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet submarines in 1941 was the death of one transport with a displacement of 3,784 GRT and the U-144 submarine in 26 torpedo attacks. The results of the three attacks are unknown. The mines laid by Soviet submarines in 1941 may have killed 1 minesweeper and 3 transports (1,816 GRT). 1 ship was damaged by artillery.
1942
The main islands of the Gogland Reach were in enemy hands. This allowed the Germans and Finns to block access to Soviet submarines in the Baltic Sea. In preparation for the summer campaign of 1942, the enemy established observation posts, direction-finding and hydroacoustic stations on the islands. On May 9, the Germans began laying mines in the Gulf of Finland. Old barriers were renewed and strengthened, and new ones were installed. The most extensive and numerous of them were “Nashorn” (between Porkkala-Udd and the island of Naisaar, a total of 1,915 mines) and “Zeegel” (east of Gogland, a total of 5,779 mines, 1,450 mine defenders, 200 demolition bombs). In total, in the spring and summer of 1942, the Germans placed 12,873 mines in the Gulf of Finland. Together with the mines that were exhibited last year, their number in the Gulf of Finland exceeded 21 thousand. More than a hundred different ships and boats were deployed directly near the barriers. Thus, an anti-submarine line more than 150 miles deep was formed.
Despite this, the results of the actions of our submariners were more significant.
According to data confirmed after the war, 15 ships (32,415 GRT) were sunk by torpedoes, 2 (2,061 GRT) by artillery, 5 transports (10,907 GRT) were lost to mines. A total of 22 vessels (45,383 GRT). The losses of the Germans and their allies in the Baltic in 1942 amounted to less than 1% of cargo turnover. The result seemed insignificant, but it surpasses the result of 41 years. Plus forced the Germans and Finns to attract significant resources to escort ships and fight our submarines.
1943
The active actions of Soviet submarines in the Baltic in 1942 forced the enemy to take measures to prevent the Red Banner Baltic Fleet submarines from breaking through to communications for the supply of strategic materials and raw materials. To achieve this, it was decided to reliably close the exit from the Gulf of Finland with net barriers, although the preparation of nets was costly. In addition, the Germans and Finns significantly strengthened the anti-aircraft defense forces, expanded and updated the minefields.
On March 28, as soon as the ice melted in the western part of the Gulf of Finland, the installation of nets began. During April - May, one and a half hundred German and Finnish ships and boats were engaged in equipping an anti-submarine barrier. At the same time, mine laying was carried out. To protect the network from damage during storms, its height did not reach the bottom, but to ensure that submarines could not pass between the ground and the network, provision was made for the installation of bottom mines. By May 9, the equipment of the anti-submarine line was completed. In addition to the networks, the enemy installed, in addition to the existing ones, 9834 mines and 11244 mine defenders. The submarines began to die one after another. The complete inaction of the command of the Baltic Fleet, which made absolutely no effort to disrupt the laying of mines and net barriers, is indicative.
Due to the death of five trained crews, the Red Banner Baltic Fleet command finally decided to refrain from further sending submarines to sea. The only exceptions were the “little ones”, who made several trips with the task of conducting reconnaissance and landing reconnaissance groups on the islands of Gogland and Bolshoi Tyuters. Two “babies” were transferred to Lake Ladoga, where they were also mainly engaged in reconnaissance and landing reconnaissance groups on enemy territory. During the entire 1943 campaign, Red Banner Baltic Fleet submarines carried out only two torpedo attacks, which were ineffective.
1944 and 1945
Throughout the first half of 1944, Red Banner Baltic Fleet submarines conducted combat training and repairs. The Gulf of Finland was blocked by nets, therefore, given the experience of the previous year, an attempt to force the anti-submarine line was out of the question. The exception was the five submarines that operated on Lake Ladoga. At the end of June they made several campaigns in the interests of the troops of the Karelian Front.
The situation changed dramatically in early September, when Finland left the war. Although the M-96, sent to reconnaissance of the state of the enemy PLO in the Narva Bay, went missing, probably having been blown up by a Seeigel mine, very soon, with the formal consent of the Finnish authorities, the Red Banner Baltic Fleet submarines were able to go out into the open part of the Baltic. The crossings were carried out along Finnish skerry fairways with the participation of Finnish pilots. A naval base was established in Porkkkala Udd. Soviet submarines began to be based in Hanko, Helsinki and Turku. On September 22, 1944, the Red Army liberated the capital of Estonia. The German anti-submarine line was losing its importance. On September 26, Sweden stopped supplying Germany with iron ore, depriving the Reich of necessary strategic raw materials.
Modern calculations of sunk enemy ships look like this: in 1944, Baltic submariners sunk 16 transports (35,580 GRT), 1 ship and 1 auxiliary vessel, in 1945 - 10 transport ships (59,410 GRT) and 4 ships.
Result: during the hostilities, Baltic submariners sank 52 transports and 8 ships (142,189 GRT).
Our losses amounted to 46 boats. The statistics are as follows:
Killed by mines - 18
Destroyed by enemy ships – 5
Torpedoed by enemy boats – 5
Blown up by their own crews – 6
Destroyed by aircraft – 1
Destroyed by shelling from land – 1
10 missing (most likely due to mines).
06/23/1941. "M-78" (commander senior lieutenant D.L. Shevchenko). During the transition from Libau to Ust-Dvinsk in tandem with the M-77 near Vindava, it was torpedoed in the area at the coordinates 57°28"N; 21°17"E. German submarine “U-144” (commander-lieutenant commander Gerdt von Mittelstadt). 16 people (the entire crew) were killed, including the commander of the 4th Submarine Division, Lieutenant Commander S.I. Matveev. In 1999, it was found by a joint Latvian-Swedish expedition at a depth of 60 m.
She did not make any military campaigns.
06/23/1941. "M-71" (commander-lieutenant L.N. Kostylev). It was under repair at the Tosmare plant in Libau. Blown up by the crew due to the danger of being captured by the enemy.
Almost the entire personnel of the submarine went missing in the battles for Libau.
She did not make any military campaigns.
06/23/1941. "M-80" (commander-lieutenant F.A. Mochalov). She was undergoing repairs at the Tosmare plant in Libau. Blown up by the crew due to the danger of being captured by the enemy.
She did not make any military campaigns.
06/23/1941. “S-1” (commander-lieutenant commander I.T. Morskoy). It was under repair at the Tosmare plant in Libau. Blown up by the crew due to the danger of being captured by the enemy. The crew, led by the commander, left the city on the S-3 submarine.
She did not make any military campaigns.
06/23/1941. "Ronis" (commander-lieutenant commander A.I.Madisson). It was under repair at the Tosmare plant in Libau. Blown up by the crew due to the danger of being captured by the enemy.
She did not make any military campaigns.
06/23/1941. "Spidola" (commander senior lieutenant V.I. Boytsov). She was undergoing repairs at the Tosmare plant in Libau. Blown up by the crew due to the threat of capture by the enemy.
She did not make any military campaigns.
06/24/1941. “S-3” (commander-lieutenant commander N.A. Kostromichev). At about 11 p.m. on June 23, without completing repairs and unable to dive, she left Libau. The crew of the S-1 submarine (40 people), led by the commander, and workers of the Tosmare plant (about 20 people) were taken on board the boat. At about 6 o'clock in the morning the next day, it was intercepted by topedo boats "S-35" and "S-60" and sunk after an hour and a half artillery battle. According to the enemy, three prisoners were taken (some sources say 9 people were captured). The body of the boat commander, Lieutenant Commander Kostromichev, washed up on the island of Saarema, where he was buried.
42 crew members of the S-3, 40 crew members of the S-1, and an unknown number of workers, representatives of Leningrad enterprises sent to the Tosmare shipyard, were killed.
She did not make any military campaigns.
06/25/1941. "M-83" (commander senior lieutenant P.M. Shalaev). Since June 22, the boat has been on base patrol near Libau. On June 25, as a result of an air attack, the periscope was damaged and was forced to return to base when street fighting was already underway in Libau. Having received damage for the second time and unable to escape, it took an artillery battle, and when the ammunition ran out, it was blown up by the crew. In the battles for Libau, virtually the entire crew (with the exception of 4 people) of the submarine, led by the commander, died, went missing or was captured.
1 combat campaign.
22.06.1941. – 25.06.1941.
Didn't go on the attack.
06/27/1941. "M-99" (commander senior lieutenant B.M. Popov). Torpedoed near Utö Island at 59°20"N/21°12"E. German submarine "U-149" (commander-lieutenant Horst Höltring). 20 people died (the entire crew).
2 military campaigns.
22.06.1941 – 23.06.1941
24.06.1941 – +
06/29/1941. “S-10” (commander captain 3rd rank B.K. Bakunin). Missing. On June 23, she reached a position near Pillau. On June 25, in the Danzig Bay, the boat was attacked by enemy anti-aircraft forces. On June 28, she reported that she could not dive and, pursued by boats, was heading towards Libau. The next morning, a message was received from S-10: “I’m in distress. I need immediate help." Didn't get in touch again. She probably died as a result of damage inflicted by enemy anti-aircraft forces, or a mine explosion, since the battle on June 29 was not recorded according to German data. 41 people died.
07/01/1941. "M-81" (commander-lieutenant F.A. Zubkov). While sailing with a detachment of ships in the wake of the Irtysh mother ship from Kuivaste to Paldiski, it hit a mine in the area of the Laine Bank in the Muhuväin Strait. 12 crew members were killed, 3 people were saved. Raised in 1965. The crew is buried in Riga.
Made one military campaign. Didn't go on the attack.
07/21/1941. "M-94" (commander senior lieutenant N.V. Dyakov). Torpedoed by the German submarine “U-140” (commanded by Lieutenant Commander Hans Jürgen Heirigel) in the Soela Väin Strait south of the Ristna lighthouse. The torpedo hit the stern of the boat, and since the depth at the place of death did not exceed 20 meters, the M-94 sank stern with a trim of 60° so that the bow of the boat remained 3-4 meters on the surface and remained in this position for about two hours . The M-98, which was traveling in pair, removed three people from the bow, including the commander, and eight more managed to leave the boat through the conning hatch. 8 people died. Some sources attribute the M-94 attack to U-149.
2 military campaigns.
25.06.1941 – 29.06.1941.
21.07.1941 - +
She did not launch torpedo attacks.
08/02/1941. “S-11” (commander-lieutenant A.M. Sereda). When returning from a trip, she was blown up by a magnetic bottom mine in the Soela Väin Strait. 46 crew members were killed. Three people managed to get out of the boat through the torpedo tube. Raised in 1957. The remains of part of the crew are buried in Riga.
She died on her first military campaign.
End 08.1941. “S-6” (commander-lieutenant commander N.N. Kulygin). Missing. Perhaps she died in a mine in the Gulf of Finland or was sunk by aircraft on August 30, 1941 in Tagalaht Bay (off the western coast of the island of Saarema). 48 people died. In July 1999, it was discovered on the ground.
2 military campaigns
23.06.1941 – 14.07.1941.
02.08.1941 – +
Didn't go on the attack.
08/28/1941. "Shch-301" ("Pike") (commander-lieutenant commander I.V. Grachev). It was blown up by a mine during the breakthrough from Tallinn to Kronstadt in the area of Cape Yuminda. Sank after part of the crew was removed. The mines were laid by the submarine "Vesihisi" or the minelayers "Riilahti" and "Ruotsinsalmi", according to the Soviet side, it was blown up by a floating mine. Total crew losses were 34 people.
1 combat campaign.
10.08.1941 - 28.08.1941
3 ineffective torpedo attacks.
08/28/1941. “S-5” (commander captain 3rd rank A.A. Bashchenko). She was blown up by a mine during the breakthrough from Tallinn to Kronstadt in the area of Vaindlo Island while traveling as part of the Detachment of the Main Forces. 9 (according to other sources 5 or 10) people were rescued, including the commander of the 1st Brigade of the Red Ban Baltic Fleet submarine N. G. Egipko. 33 crew members and part of the headquarters of the 1st Red Banner Baltic Fleet submarine brigade were killed on the submarine.
2 military campaigns
24.06.1941 – 10.07.1941
06.08.1941 – 24.08.1941
1 unsuccessful torpedo attack.
25-28.08.1941. "M-103" (commander senior lieutenant G.A. Zhavoronkov). She died in a mine 8 miles north of the island of Vormsi with her entire crew (20 people). In 1999 it was discovered at the bottom.
2 military campaigns
08.07.1941 – 20.07.1941
13.08.1941 – +
She did not launch torpedo attacks.
09-10.09.1941. “P-1” (“Pravda”), (commander lieutenant commander I.A. Loginov). Killed by a mine 6.2 miles south of Kalbodagrund lighthouse. 55 people died.
She died on her first military campaign.
End 09.1941. "Shch-319" (commander-lieutenant commander N.S. Agashin). Missing. On September 19, she went on a military campaign to a position near Libau, but did not report a breakthrough to the Baltic. 38 people died.
She died on her first military campaign.
09/23/1941. "M-74" (at the time of death it was under conservation). Sunk during a German air raid at the exit from the middle harbor of Kronstadt. In 1942 it was raised and put into storage, but on December 2, 1944 it was sent for dismantling.
She did not make military campaigns.
10.1941. “S-8” (commander-lieutenant commander I.Ya. Brown). She died on a Wartburg barrage mine 10 miles southeast of the Nesby lighthouse (southern tip of the island of Öland). 49 people died. Found in July 1999 in a place with coordinates: 56°10.7"N; 16°39.8"N.
2 military campaigns.
15.07.1941 – 06.08.1941
11.10.1941 – +
She did not launch torpedo attacks.
10/12/1941. "Shch-322" (commander-lieutenant commander V.A. Ermilov). Killed by a mine west of Gogland Island in the Gulf of Finland. 37 people died.
2 military campaigns.
13.07.1941 – 03.08.1941
11.10.1941 – +
There are no victories.
10/30/1941-11/01/1941. "Kalev" (commander-lieutenant B.A.Nyrov). Missing. On October 29, she went on a combat mission with the task of landing a reconnaissance group in the Tallinn area and laying a minefield. Didn't get in touch again. 56 people died.
2 military campaigns
08.08.1941 – 21.08.1941
29.10.1941 – +
1 unsuccessful mine laying (10 min).
09.11.1941. “L-1” (“Leninets”), (commander captain 3rd rank S.S. Mogilevsky). Was under repair. Stood on the Neva in Leningrad. Damaged during shelling and sank due to damage to her pressure hull. In 1944 it was raised and scrapped.
She did not make military campaigns.
06-10.11.1941. "Shch-324" (commander captain-lieutenant G.I. Tarkhnishvili). Missing. Probably died in a mine in the western part of the Gulf of Finland. 39 people died.
2 combat campaigns:
24.07.1941 – 12.08.1941.
02.11.1941 – +
11/14/1941. “L-2” (“Stalinets”) (commander-lieutenant A.P. Chebanov). She was on her way to lay mines as part of the fourth convoy to Hanko. It was blown up by a mine near Keri Island in the Gulf of Finland. 50 died, 3 people were saved.
She died on her first military campaign.
11/14/1941. "M-98" (commander captain-lieutenant I.I. Bezzubikov). She died in a mine near Keri Island in the Gulf of Finland while guarding the fourth convoy to Hanko. 18 people died.
4 military campaigns.
She did not launch torpedo attacks.
06/13/1942. "Shch-405" (commander captain 3rd rank I.V. Grachev). She was blown up by a mine near the island of Seskar while moving on the surface from Kronstadt to Lavensaari, or died as a result of the accident. 36 people died.
2 military campaigns.
21.07.1941 – 15.08.1941
11.06.1942 – +
She did not launch torpedo attacks.
06/15/1942. "M-95" (commander-lieutenant L.P. Fedorov). She was blown up by a mine and died near the island of Suursari. 20 people died.
4 military campaigns.
1 erroneous torpedo attack (2 torpedoes fired).
07/12/1942. "Shch-317" (commander-lieutenant commander N.K. Mokhov). Sunk by depth charges of the Swedish destroyer Stockholm north of the island of Öland. Found on the ground at a point with coordinates 57°52"N/16°55"E. in 1999. 42 people died.
2 military campaigns
27.09.1941 – 16.10.1941
09.06.1942 – +
3 transports were sunk (5.878 GRT), 1 transport (2.405 GRT) was damaged. 1 ship may have been lost as a result of an accidental collision with a submarine. Some sources place the total tonnage of the four transports at 6,080 GRT. According to official data from the Soviet side, Shch-317 has five destroyed ships with a total displacement of 10,931 or 10,997 gross tons.
06.16.1942 TR "Argo" (2.513 GRT).
06/22/1942 TR "Ada Gorton" (2.399 GRT).
07/08/1942 TR "Otto Cords" (966 GRT).
02-11.09.1942. "M-97" (commander-lieutenant N.V. Dyakov). It was blown up by a Nashorn barrier mine southwest of Porkkalan-Kallboda. The entire crew (20 people) died. In 1997, it was discovered on the ground at a point with coordinates 59°50"N/24°30"E.
5 military campaigns
Made 2 unsuccessful torpedo attacks with the release of 2 torpedoes.
03-06.10.1942. "Shch-320" (commander captain 3rd rank I.M. Vishnevsky). Missing. 40 people died.
4 combat campaigns
4 torpedo attacks (7 torpedoes fired). 1 TN (677 GRT) sunk
07/05/1942. TN “Anna Katrin Fritzen” (677 GRT).
According to official data from the Soviet side, the Shch-320 sunk 3 enemy ships with a total displacement of 22,000 tons.
11-13.10.1942. "Shch-302" ("Perch"), (commander-lieutenant commander V.D. Nechkin). It was blown up by a Zeeegel barrier mine north of the island of Suur Tutrsaari. 37 people died.
1 combat campaign.
10.10.1942 - +
There are no victories.
12-14.10.1942. “Shch-311” (“Kumzha”), (commander captain 3rd rank A.S. Pudyakov). Barrage mine "Nashorn-11". 40 people died.
4 military campaigns.
Four consecutive torpedo attacks (5 torpedoes fired). One artillery attack (20 45 mm shells fired). 1 vehicle is believed to have been damaged.
21.10.1942. “S-7” (commander captain 3rd rank S.P. Lisin) was torpedoed by the submarine “Vesihiisi” (commander lieutenant commander O. Aitola) 10-15 miles north of the Soderarm lighthouse in the Åland Sea. 42 were killed, 4 people were saved, including the commander. In 1993 it was found at a point with coordinates 59°50.7"N/19°32.2"E. and examined at a depth of 30-40 m by Swedish divers.
5 military campaigns.
4 ships sunk (9,164 GRT), 1 transport damaged (1,938 GRT)
07/09/1942 TR “Margareta” (1.272 GRT)
07/14/1942 TR “Lulea” (5.611 GRT)
07/30/1942 TR “Kathe” (1.559 GRT)
08/05/1942 TR "Pohjanlahti" (682 GRT)
07/27/1942 TR "Ellen Larsen" (1.938 GRT), damaged.
10.1942. “Shch-308” (“Salmon”), (commander captain 3rd rank L.N. Kostylev). Missing. The entire crew of the boat (40 people) died.
2 military campaigns
21.07.1941 – 09.08.1941
18.09.1942 – +
3-4 unsuccessful torpedo attacks.
After 10/29/1942. “Shch-304” (“Komsomolets”), (commander captain 3rd rank Ya.P. Afanasyev). She died on a Nashorn barrage mine along with her entire crew (40 people).
2 military campaigns.
09.06.1942 - 30.06.1942
27.10.1942 - +
At least 2 unsuccessful torpedo attacks (3 torpedoes fired)
05.11.1942. "Shch-305" ("Lin"), (commander captain 3rd rank D.M. Sazonov). Rammed by the Finnish submarine "Vetehinen" (commander-lieutenant commander O. Leiko) northeast of Simpnas in the Åland Sea. 39 people died.
25.06.1941. – 07.07.1941.
17.10.1942. – +
Didn't attack.
12-16.11.1942. "Shch-306" ("Haddock"), (commander-lieutenant commander N.I. Smolyar). Missing. 39 people died (the entire crew).
2 military campaigns
25.06.1941 – 07.07.1941
20.10.1941 - +
From 2 to 5 torpedo attacks.
There are no reliable data on the results.
05/01/1943. "Shch-323" (commander captain 2nd rank A.G. Andronov). It was blown up by a bottom mine in the Leningrad Sea Canal. 39 people died, 5 people were saved. In 1944 it was raised and scrapped.
2 military campaigns
13.07.1941 – 04.08.1941
10.10.1941 – 10.11.1941
7 torpedo attacks with the release of 8 torpedoes.
10/16/1941. PB "Baltenland" (3.724 GRT).
Perhaps 1-3 more targets were hit by Shch-323 torpedoes (attacks on October 30, November 3 and 5, 1941).
05/23/1943. "Shch-408" (commander-lieutenant P.S. Kuzmin). After a long pursuit, she was sunk by a group of Finnish ships, including the minelayers Riilahti and Ruotsinsalmi, and by aircraft in the area of the Vaindlo lighthouse. According to the official Soviet version, she was forced to surface and engage in artillery battle with five German patrol boats. (40 people died).
She died on her first military campaign.
06/01/1943. "Shch-406" (commander captain 3rd rank E.A. Osipov). Missing. 40 people died.
4 military campaigns.
Conducted 12 torpedo attacks with the release of 18 torpedoes.
According to confirmed data, 2 ships (3.855 GRT) were sunk, 1 ship (545 GRT) was damaged. The results of 3 attacks need confirmation.
07/07/1942 result unknown.
07/08/1942 PMS "Fides" (545 GRT) - damaged.
07/25/1942 result unknown.
10/26/1942 result unknown.
10.29.1942 TR "Bengt Sture" (872 GRT)
01.11.1942 TR "Agness" (2.983 GRT)
After 08/01/1943. “S-12” (commander captain 3rd rank A.A. Bashchenko). Missing. 46 people died.
2 military campaigns
19.09.1942 – 18.11.1942
21.07.1943 – +
2 vehicles damaged (12,859 GRT)
10.21.1942 TR "Sabine Howald" (5.956 GRT) - damaged.
10.27.1942 TR "Malgash" (6.903 GRT) - damaged.
After 08/12/1943. “S-9” (commander captain 3rd rank A.I. Mylnikov). Missing. 46 people died.
5 military campaigns
Result: 2 vessels damaged (7.837 GRT)
09/18/1942 TN "Mittelmeer" (6.370 GRT) - damaged.
09.28.1942 TR "Hörnum" (1.467 GRT) - damaged
07-09.09.1944. "M-96" (commander-lieutenant commander N.I. Kartashev). Missing. 22 people died.
7 military campaigns
1 unsuccessful torpedo attack with the release of 1 torpedo.
01/04/1945. “S-4” (commander captain 3rd rank A.A. Klyushkin). Most likely, she died with her entire crew (49 people) as a result of an accidental collision with the destroyer "T-3" at 51°56"N/19°39"E. or rammed by the German destroyer T-33 at the Brewsterort lighthouse in the Bay of Danzig on January 6.
6 hikes.
Carried out at least 9 torpedo attacks (19 torpedoes were fired), as a result of which the following were sunk:
08/10/1941 TN "Kaya" (3.223 GRT) - presumably
10/12/1944 RT “Taunus” (218 GRT) or TSC “M-3619”
10/13/1944 TN “Terra” (1.533 GRT)
10.20.1944 RT “Solling” (260 GRT) – presumably.
Eternal memory to Soviet submariners!
And I will return to command of the fleet. Because if naval commanders had been at the head of the fleet, the losses could have been immeasurably smaller and the effectiveness higher. And the Germans would not have carried ore from Sweden until 1945, providing themselves with metal. But that's a little later.
Ctrl Enter
Noticed osh Y bku Select text and click Ctrl+Enter
Leonid Baum
Captain 2nd rank
BALTIC SUBMARINES ATTACK.
During the Great Patriotic War, the Baltic Fleet reliably defended Leningrad and provided support to the coastal flanks of the land army. Having captured the coast and islands of the Gulf of Finland, the Nazis did everything to blockade the fleet. Not a single naval theater of the Second World War had such a powerful anti-submarine defense as the Germans created on the near and distant approaches to Kronstadt. Only the tenacity and heroism of the Baltic submariners, the skill and courage of the boat commanders, made it possible to overcome numerous anti-submarine barriers and natural navigation obstacles in the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea.
Already on the third day of the war, the submarine “S-4” (commanded by captain 3rd rank D.S. Abrosimov) attacked and sank a guarded transport in shallow water. Breaking away from the pursuit of the patrolmen, the boat hit an underwater obstacle and lay on the ground at a depth of 18 meters. The enemy ships dropped depth charges and, confident that the boat had been sunk, left. At night we managed to surface and return safely to base with heavy injuries.
In the Baltic, the combat operations of the submarine "Shch - 406", commanded by captain-lieutenant E.Ya. Osipov, became widely known. She made her first combat campaign in August 1941. The commander's combat skill, good training of the crew, courage and courage were demonstrated in one of the campaigns in June 1942. The boat attacked five enemy ships. Enemy ships repeatedly pursued and bombed the submariners, but they emerged victorious. In October 1942, the boat was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, the personnel were awarded orders and medals, and the commander was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Among the Baltic submariners, the submarine personnel especially distinguished themselves. "L - 3". From the first days of the war, this boat took part in hostilities, first under the command of Captain 2nd Rank P.D. Grishchenko, and then - Hero of the Soviet Union Captain 2nd Rank V.K. Konovalova. The boat made eight military campaigns and sank over 10 enemy ships and vessels. Some of them were blown up by mines laid by L-3. On March 1, 1943, the boat was converted into a Guards boat. 423 orders and medals were awarded to submariners, including 15 Orders of Lenin.
At the end of June 1941, the submarine Lembit set out on its first voyage from Tallinn (the name of the Estonian national fighter against the German feudal lords was retained by the English-built boat when it was included in the USSR Navy from the Estonian fleet in 1940). She had to go through the entire Baltic Sea to its southern part and lay mines. These mines blew up two enemy ships. During one of the campaigns in 1942, an explosion occurred in the boat due to enemy depth charges, and a fire started in the battery pit. The seams of the durable hull came apart and the boat fell to the ground. The crew managed to eliminate the damage, the boat - poorly controlled, without communication - managed to cross the Gulf of Finland and return to base. Initially, the boat was commanded by captain - lieutenant V.A. Poleshchuk, and then until the end of the war - captain 3rd rank A.M. Matiyasevich.
In May 1942, the Germans began laying mines in the Gulf of Finland to prevent Soviet submariners from entering the Baltic Sea. At the Gogland and Porkkala-Ud anti-submarine lines, anchor antenna and magnetic bottom mines were installed. The barriers were heavily guarded by anti-submarine ships, and there were artillery batteries on the Finnish islands. The surveillance system included radar and noise direction-finding stations, and reconnaissance aircraft.
Having created anti-submarine positions, the Nazis were so confident in the invulnerability of their communications that they allowed transports to sail freely in the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland without security. The appearance of our submarines in 1942 was a complete surprise for them.
In the winter of 1941 - 1942, in the difficult conditions of the siege of Leningrad, Baltic submariners carefully prepared for the coming summer hostilities.
After leaving the fenced part of the Sea Canal and before Kronstadt, the boats were subjected to artillery attacks from Strelna and Peterhof. From Kronstadt to Lavensari Island, boats were attacked by enemy planes and boats. They were covered and escorted by our minesweepers and escort ships. At night they made final preparations at the island, received the latest intelligence, and charged the batteries. During the day they lay on the ground.
From Lavensari began the last and most difficult stage of reaching positions in the Baltic Sea - overcoming a powerful system of anti-submarine lines. If the return was successful, this task was repeated in reverse order. Throughout the summer of 1942, submariners in three echelons went out into the Baltic Sea and crushed the enemy. There were heavy casualties in this fierce struggle.
In the summer, the submarine Shch-317, commanded by Lieutenant Commander N.K. Mokhov, went out to the open sea. It cruised for a long time, striking at fascist transports. Pursued by the enemy, she managed to report the sinking of 5 transports with a displacement of about 46,000 tons with troops and military equipment. All attacks and the destruction of 5 transports were subsequently confirmed by enemy documents. The boat did not return. The crew died the death of the brave. The commander of the boat division, Captain 2nd Rank V.A. Egorov, who was deservedly considered one of the best submariners in the Baltic, remained at sea forever and provided the combat mission.
Submarine "S - 7" under the command of captain 3rd rank S.P. Lisina sank a guarded enemy transport on July 9, 1942, and had difficulty breaking away from pursuit. Soon a lonely transport was discovered; due to the shallow water, it was not possible to torpedo it. The commander surfaced, caught up and sank it with artillery fire. The boat returned to base with five victories. On the next voyage, during the night charging of batteries, the “S-7” was torpedoed by a Finnish boat, the crew was killed, the commander, Hero of the Soviet Union, Lisin and two sailors who were on the bridge during charging remained alive, and were captured by the Finns. The crews of I.M.’s submarines also acted valiantly. Vishnevsky, I.S. Kabo, P.L. Malanchenko, N.A. Momot, R.V. Lndenberg, V.A. Turaev and others.
In recent years, numerous attempts have been made to belittle the merits of Soviet soldiers, including Baltic submariners, in the war, and to cast doubt on the results of military campaigns. It is appropriate to cite one of the many testimonies of that time. On October 20, 1942, the pro-Hitler Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter wrote: “The Kronstadt-Leningrad naval base, no matter how strongly it was blocked by the Germans and Finns, still continues to be a stronghold of the Baltic Naval Forces and Soviet submarines controlled brave commanders are undoubtedly breaking through the narrow, mined and extremely heavily guarded waters of the Gulf of Finland in order to disrupt navigation in the Baltic Sea.”
A group of submariners - commanders and commissars of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet - participants in the heroic campaigns of 1941-1942.
In order to prevent Soviet submarines from entering the Baltic Sea, in 1943 the fascist command significantly strengthened the anti-submarine defense at the exit from the Gulf of Finland. An additional number of ships were concentrated and additional mines were laid. Between the Porkkala-Udd peninsula and the islands of Naissar and Aegna, the bay was blocked by anti-submarine networks. The 25 mile long nets were placed in two rows at a distance of 150 - 300 meters from each other. The Germans placed non-contact mines in the Neva Bay, in the Kronstadt roadsteads and near the island of Lavensari, from where the boats set out on their own in 1942.
The first, in mid-May 1943, tried to cross the bay with the submarine "Shch - 303" under the command of captain 3rd rank I.V. Travkin. After repeated attempts to pass the anti-aircraft defense line, she returned to Kronstadt, spending about a month in the bay under the continuous influence of enemy aircraft and ships.
The submarine "Shch - 408" (commanded by captain-lieutenant P.L. Kuzmin) died off the island of Vaindlo on May 24 after a three-day pursuit, during which it sank two enemy boats with artillery fire. The submarine "Shch - 406" was sunk by enemy ships at the Porkkala-Udd line.
After such losses, attempts to cross the bay were abandoned in 1943. The use of submarines on sea routes became possible after Finland left the war, when the boats were freed from the need to overcome mines and net barriers, and the basing was brought closer to the combat area.
On September 25, 1944, the submarines began moving to the Finnish ports of Hanko and Turku along the skerry fairway. By October 10, ten boats were deployed to positions in the Baltic Sea. Subsequently, another 9 submarines and mother ships were transferred to Finnish ports. The commanders in the combat positions acted boldly and decisively.
The crew of the submarine "Lembit" in the first compartment. On the right ~ commander A.M. Matiyasevich and commissar P.P. Ivanov (1942)
In the first half of October, six submarines entered the approaches to the Syrvesar Peninsula, the ports of Liepaja and Ventspils. “Shch-310” (commander captain 3rd rank S.N. Bogorad) operated most successfully. On the morning of October 6, she discovered a transport with a displacement of 8,000 tons, moving under the protection of two patrol ships. Having approached to 3.5 cables, the boat on the surface attacked the transport with two torpedoes and sank it. The submarine "Shch - 307" under the command of Captain 3rd Rank M.S. Kalinin near Ventspils on October 16 discovered five transports and one tanker anchored in the outer roadstead. From a distance of 18 cables, the commander fired a four-torpedo salvo. The torpedoes hit the tanker and it soon sank. On the night of October 8, a transport and a tugboat were sunk in the same area. On October 5, the steamer Leda was sunk near Liepaja, and another transport was sunk near the Nidden lighthouse. In total, from October to the end of 1944, submariners sunk 14 transports with a displacement of over 30,000 tons.
The greatest success in the coming 1945 was achieved by the submarine “S-13” under the command of Captain 3rd Rank A.I. Marinesko. On January 30, the liner Wilhelm Gustlow was sunk in Danzig Bay, killing more than 4,000 soldiers and officers, including about 1,000 submariners. On February 10, the boat torpedoed the Steinben transport with a displacement of 14,600 tons, on which another 3,000 Nazis died. On April 17, the submarine L-3 achieved another success, sinking the motor ship Goya. There were 7,000 people on board. In total, from January to the end of the war, submariners destroyed 13 enemy ships.
On these ships, the Nazis tried to bring thousands of soldiers and officers of selected SS units, military equipment and equipment from military factories to the West.
This was the deserved retribution to the Nazis for the atrocities they committed. This was sacred revenge for the death of our military friends and comrades, whose memory is sacredly preserved by the gray Baltic.
For their exploits and heroism, the Baltic submariners were awarded high military awards. The Submarine Brigade was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, and among its members the high rank of “Guards” was awarded to: “L - 3”, “Shch - 303”, “Shch - 309”. “Red Banner” became: “K-52”, “S-13”, “Lembit”, “Shch-307”, “Shch-310”, “Shch~ 320”, “Shch-323” and “Shch-406” "
Years passed after the end of the war, submarines of modern designs replenished the submarine forces of the Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet. The veteran boats, having served their time, left an eternal memory of themselves. As relics of the past war, the conning towers of the submarines Shch-303 and L-3 were installed in the military port of Liepaja. Now they are in Moscow on Poklonnaya Hill in the Museum of the Great Patriotic War. In Tallinn, the capital of Soviet Estonia, the Red Banner submarine Lembit was installed on the shore as a museum. The museum has been preserved in independent Estonia; visitors to the city today can visit the boat and remember the war.
Loading...
