Russia is famous for its submarine forces. It is our submarine - "Shark" - that is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest submarine in the world.
"Seal"
"Seal" - one of the most productive Russian boats during the First World War. The main task of Russian submarines in the Black Sea was to disrupt enemy communications and prevent the delivery of strategic cargo to Istanbul. Boats used artillery and explosive cartridges to destroy unguarded ships, and torpedo weapons to attack armed or escorted ships. In 1915-1917, the Seal destroyed or captured 8 steamships and 33 enemy schooners. In 1920, during the Crimean evacuation of the White Army, the boat was taken to Tunisia. In 1924, an agreement was reached on the return of the boat to the USSR, but for a number of reasons the ship was not returned.
"Crab"
"Crab" - the world's first underwater mine layer. The ship could quietly carry out minelaying on enemy communications, carrying a stock of 60 minutes and used as a conventional submarine (it had 1 torpedo tube). "Crab" entered service in 1915 and was actively used in the fighting on the Black Sea. Carried out a number of successful mine productions, including near the Bosphorus. It is reliably known about the death of a Turkish gunboat on the mines laid by the Crab. In 1918, the minelayer was captured by the interventionists, and then flooded in Sevastopol. In 1923 it was raised, but was no longer put into operation.
"Panther"
Submarine type "Bars". It entered service at the end of 1916, having made several campaigns against enemy communications. Actively used during civil war in Russia. On August 31, 1919, the Panther sank the British destroyer Victoria. It was the first victory for Soviet submariners and the largest warship sunk by domestic submarines. The commander of the boat, A. N. Bakhtin, was the first among submariners in 1922 to be awarded the Order of the Red Banner. In 1923, the Panther was renamed the Commissar, and in 1934, the B-2. Since 1940, it was used as a floating charging station and only in 1955 was scrapped.
K -21
One of the most famous boats of the Northern Fleet during the Great Patriotic War. Known primarily for an attempt in July 1942 to attack the largest German ship, the battleship Tirpitz. However, an attack carried out from a huge distance (23 cables) against a receding target could only have an occasional success. However, the boat had four confirmed victories. The mines laid by K-21 killed the Norwegian steamship Bessheim and the German big submarine hunter Uj 1110. In addition, two Norwegian motorboats were sunk by artillery fire and three more were damaged. October 23, 1942 K-21 was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. In 1954, the boat was withdrawn from the fleet, and since 1983 it has been used as a branch of the Naval Museum of the Northern Fleet in Severomorsk.
K-162
A unique submarine and the first in the world with a titanium hull. For the extremely high cost of construction (more than 2 billion rubles), she received the nickname "Goldfish". In 1969, the boat was commissioned and joined the Northern Fleet. In 1971, the K-162 set a world underwater speed record. At a depth of 100 meters, a speed of 83 km / h was achieved. At the beginning of the 70s, the "Goldfish" at maximum speed could get away from any torpedoes designed to destroy submarines. In 1989, the K-162 was excluded from the Navy, and in 2010 the hull of the boat was transferred for disposal.
K-3
K-3 is the first nuclear submarine of the Soviet fleet. Entered service in 1958. Known for the fact that in July 1962 she made a trip under the ice North Pole. In total, about 1,300 miles were covered under the ice in 178 hours and three ascents were made. K-3 became the first Soviet boat to pass the North Pole (near the pole). The head of the campaign, Rear Admiral A. I. Petelin, the commander of the boat, captain of the 2nd rank L. M. Zhiltsov and engineer-captain of the 2nd rank R. A. Timofeev. were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In October of the same year, the boat was given the honorary name "Leninsky Komsomol". In 1967, during a campaign near the Faroe Islands, a strong fire broke out on K-3, as a result of which 38 people died. crew. In 1987, K-3 was withdrawn from combat strength fleet and turned into a training ship. In 2011, it was supposed to use the boat as a museum, but due to lack of funds in 2013, recycling of the legendary ship is not excluded.
"Shark"
A series of six submarines that have become the most powerful submarines in the world. A total of 6 Shark-type boats were built. Project 941 submarines (submerged displacement 48,000 tons) were three times larger than US submarines. The main armament of the boat consisted of 20 R-39 ballistic missiles with multiple warheads. One boat could cover up to 200 targets at a distance of 9000 km. Project 941 boats were part of the Northern Fleet and formed the basis of the Soviet submarine fleet in the 80-90s. In accordance with the SALT-2 agreement, three of the six submarines were disposed of. The fate of the rest is currently in question.
H-7, S-7
Type "C" IX-bis series
photo:
Submarine S-7 type "C" IX-bis series in Kronstadt. 1942
Photo from the book by Morozov M.E. and Kulagina K.L. "Eski" in battle. Submarines Marinesko, Shchedrin, Lisin.
history reference:
December 14, 1936
Laid down in Gorky at the Krasnoye Sormovo plant (since 1937 - plant No. 112) under the letter designation "H-7";
1940
She made the transition along the Mariinsky water system from plant No. 112 (Gorky) to Leningrad in the dock;
1940 June 30 (August 7?)
Entered service. According to other sources - 08/07/1940 (perhaps this is the date of approval of the acceptance certificate);
1940 July 23
Joined the Baltic Fleet. Enrolled in the 16th (?) DnPL of the 1st BrPL of the KBF;
February 11, 1941
It was reorganized into the 1st DnPL of the 1st BrPL (since 09/06/1941 - BrPL) of the KBF;
1941 June 19 - 24
From 19.6 she was on patrol on the western approaches to the Irben Strait (position No. 8). On 22.6 at 00.55 the commander received a signal about the transfer of the entire fleet to operational readiness No. 1, and at 15.45 received a radiogram "Switch to patrol in wartime." The boat commander learned about the beginning of the war with Germany at 19.59. At 20.00 I discovered the cabin of a submarine (possibly German "U 144"). Around 00.30 24.6 at a distance of 7-8 cab. 2 TKAs were found (German "S-35" and "S-60"), which gave our identification. Having approached at a distance of 2 cab., TKA fired 2 torpedoes at the submarine, which passed along the port side at a distance of 1-2 m, simultaneously firing at it with cannon-machine-gun fire. The submarine immediately sank. Boats dropped 4 hlb. A fire broke out in compartment VII, which was quickly extinguished. As a result of the shelling, the felling fence, the superstructure and the plating of the ballast tank No. 6 were slightly damaged. At about 5 o'clock the boat surfaced and at 0800 arrived in Vindava;
1941 June 25 - July 2
25.6 moved to Ust-Dvinsk. 27.6 - in Kuivaste, 1 or 2.7 - in Rohuküla;
1941 July 3 - 21
Combat campaign. At 20.00 on 03.7, it entered the area of Libava (position No. 20). Launched through the Soelavyain Strait TShch-297, 2 SKA and 2 KATSCH. She patrolled at positions from 6 to 20.7. In the evening of 13.7 and in the afternoon of 17.7 she found enemy ships in the outport of Vindava, but could not attack them because of the shallow depths. On the afternoon of July 18, the commander refused to attack 7 TSCs because of their shallow draft. On the evening of 19.7, I was unable to attack 2 PLBs in guarding 3 MM due to unfavorable KU. At 13.48 21.7 the submarine arrived in Trigi;
1941 July 21 - September
21-22.7 moved to Tallinn, 23-24.7 - to Kronstadt. 24.7-7.8 was docked and prepared for the transition along the LBC to the Northern Fleet. In early September, it was returned to combat readiness and on 11.9 moved from Leningrad to Kronstadt. In mid-September, she was preparing to break through the Øresund Strait (the operation was canceled);
1941 September 28 - October 21
At 22.15 28.9 passed to Fr. Lavensari for covert basing. At 05.00 21.10 she returned to Kronstadt;
1941 October 27 - November 16
Combat campaign. At 18.00 27.10 she entered Narva Bay (position No. 5/6). In the evening hours of October 28, she fired 44 100-mm and 92 45-mm shells according to art. Ieva and sat down. You know. Subsequently, in the evening hours, the submarine fired several more targets on the coast of the Narva Bay: 30.10 Art. Vaivara (54 100-mm), 2.11 factories in the village. Aseri (30 100-mm and 3 lighting), 6.11 Narva and st. Narva-Iyesu (71 100-mm, 90 45-mm and 3 lighting) and in the morning of 15.11 sat down. Toiva (22 100mm and 3 illuminators). She had no contact with enemy ships. At 03.31 16.11 she returned to Kronstadt;
December 16, 1941
While parked at the Palace Bridge, it was slightly damaged by fragments of an artillery shell that exploded 8-10 m from the left side of the VII compartment - the fuel line in the superstructure was broken;
1942 July 2 - August 11
Combat campaign. At 23.30 2.7 - 09.04 3.7 passed to Fr. Lavensari (the transition was provided by 1 SKA). At 23.15 4.7 she entered the Norrköping Bay (position No. 4). At 05.32 5.7, while crossing the barrier, the Seeigel touched the minrep of a mine (besides, it had another imaginary encounter) - no explosion followed. On the afternoon of 7.7, while crossing the submerged barrier, the Apolda touched the minrep of the mine defender. At 19.30 she completed the crossing of the Gulf of Finland and at 16.15 8.7 arrived at the position in the area of the Landsort Cape. In the evening, she was unable to attack the OTP, which had hidden in the skerries. At 03.05 09.7, while charging, the battery was attacked by a Swedish aircraft, which dropped 2 bombs on the submarine. On the morning of 9.7, the submarine commander discovered and began pursuing the KOH (8 TR, 1 EM, 2 TFR), during which at 16.17 he launched a torpedo attack on the OTR (TR? t, attack = airborne / vi / 2.12 cab., TR turned away to the side - the Swedish TR "Noreg" was unsuccessfully attacked). An attempt to attack the KOH, made at 16.51-17.33, failed due to the threat of ramming by the Swedish TFR. At 19.29, the submarine launched a torpedo attack from the OTP (TR 7000 tons, attack = sub / pr / 1, the tail stop was clamped in the TA - the torpedo did not come out). At 19.42, the submarine surfaced and, having caught up with the TR in positional position, at 19.58 attacked it again at the point 58 ° 26 "N / 17 ° 13" E. (attack = overhead / pr / 1, d = 4 cab., torpedo hit the bridge area, TR sank - Swedish TR "Margareta" ("Margareta"), 1272 brt, with a cargo of coal for Sweden, +14 was sunk). 10.7 moved to the northern entrance to the Kalmarsund Strait (position No. 3). On the morning of 11.7, she discovered KOH, whose attack failed due to the long distance. At 16.58 made a torpedo attack KON (16 TP, 2 TFR) (successively attacked TP 12000 and 8000 tons, attack = sub / pr / 2, d = 8 cab., Two explosions were heard - at the point 57 ° 45 "N.L. /17°00" E sunk Swedish TR "Lulea" ("Luleo"), 5611 GRT, with a cargo of ore for Germany, +8). The Swedish TFR "Snapphanen" and "Jagaren" dropped 26 hlb on the submarine, which did not cause damage to it. Day 13.7 at the northern tip of about. Eland discovered the KOH, but did not attack. At 12.23 14.7 attacked the OTR (TR? t under the Finnish flag, attack = air / pr / 1, d = 4 cab., TR evaded a torpedo - no foreign data). At 14.38, she made a torpedo attack KOH (17 TR, 2 EM, 2 TFR) (TR? t, attack = sub / pr / 1, d = 10 room, miss - no foreign data), when trying to re-attack, the moment of the volley was missed from - for the threat of ramming EM. On the afternoon of 15.7, she was unable to attack the detected KOH, due to the inconvenience of attacking from the stern TA (there were no torpedoes left in the bow TA). During the night and day, 16.7 spotted Swedish ships and PLO aircraft several times. On the morning of 17.7, the PL failed to attack the KOH due to an unfavorable KU. On the night of July 19, by order of the command, she began to move to the area of the Uzhava - Cape Ristna (position No. 7) and at 08.35 19.7 arrived at the position. 22.7 examined the outport of Vindava, but did not find enemy ships. On the morning of 24.7, it was unable to attack KOH due to the long distance and OTP due to shallow depths. At 08.45 27.7, the submarine launched a torpedo attack on the OTR south. Vindavy (TR? t, attack = subv / vi / 2, d = 10 cab., miss). After surfacing, the submarine caught up with the TR and at 09.43 from a distance of 40 cab. opened artillery fire from a 100-mm gun. After the second shot, the lock jammed at the gun (the liner burst and shifted). German TR "Ellen Larsen" ("Ellen Larsen") (1938 brt) ran aground (subsequently removed and repaired). On the night of 28.7, the submarine moved to the area of Cape Akmenrags. On the morning of 29.7, she discovered KOH, which she could not attack due to shallow depths. At 08.45 30.7, the submarine launched a torpedo attack KOH (4 TR) near Cape Akmenrags (TR 8000 t and? t, attack = overhead / pr / 1 + 1, d = 6 cab. The TR evaded - at the point 56 ° 53 "5 N / 21 ° 09" E the German TR "Kathe" ("Kate"), 1599 brt, was sunk, made the flight Stettin - Riga with piece cargo, +6, -four). On July 31, she moved to the area of the Vilsandi Cape (Sarema Island). On the day of 1.8, it discovered KOH, but did not go on the attack due to the low draft of the targets. On the night of August 2, she moved to the area of Cape Ristna, on the night of August 4 - to the area of Vindava. At 10.15 on 5.8 made a torpedo attack OTP (TR 1000 tons, attack = overhead / pr / 1, d = 6 cab., The torpedo went off course), which was then continued by artillery. At 10.21-11.57 (intermittently), the submarine fired at the TR from a 45-mm gun (a total of 380 shells were used) - at the point 5742 "N / 21 ° 20" E. the Finnish TR "Pohjanlahti" ("Pohjanlahti") was sunk (682 brt; went with a cargo of potatoes to Finland, +0, the captain and 1 sailor were taken prisoner). On the night of August 6, she moved to the Ristna cape, where she remained until the evening of August 8. On the afternoon of 9.8, the crossing of the Gulf of Finland began. At 12.05 in the area of about. Osmusaar touched the KA tube of the EMC mine - there was no explosion. On the afternoon of 10.8 west of Cape Yuminda, she had an imaginary meeting with the minrep. At 20.30 11.8 met north-west of about. Lavensari SKA "MO No. 107" and at 21.49 arrived in the bay of Norre-Kappellaht;
1942 August 11 - 12
22.25 11.8 - 04.00 12.8, accompanied by BTShch-215, -218 and 2 SKA moved to Kronstadt, where it underwent inter-travel repairs;
1942 October 17 - 21
Combat campaign. On 20.05 17.10 - 04.25 18.10, SKA transferred to about. Lavensari. At 01.00 19.10 she reached the diving point, at 03.10 she submerged and began moving to a position in the southern part of the Gulf of Bothnia (position No. 8). At 04.00 21.10 she reported about the end of the crossing of the Gulf of Finland. At 20.43 at the point 59 ° 50 "7 N / 19 ° 32" 2 E. torpedoed and sunk by the Finnish submarine "Vesihiisi" ("Vesihiisi"). 42 crew members died, 4 (commander S.P. Lisin, sailors V.S. Subbotin, A.K. Olenin, V.I. Kunitsa, who were on the bridge at the time of the explosion) were captured. The rescued were taken to the Åland Islands and were in Finnish captivity until Finland's withdrawal from the war in 1944. S.P. Lisin learned about the award of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to him, already being in captivity;
1998
Found in the territorial waters of Sweden in the area of the Sederarm lighthouse at a depth of 30-40 meters and partially examined at the bottom by Swedish scuba divers S. Hülkvist, A. Jallai, P. Hedlyung and J. Sande;
year 2012
It was not planned to rise at the beginning of the year.
commanders:
1. Lisin S.P. (02.10.1938-21.10.1942)
List of sources:
1. Shirokorad A.B. "Ships and boats of the USSR Navy 1939-1945", Harvest, Minsk, 2002.
2. Berezhnoy S.S. "Ships and Vessels of the Navy of the USSR 1928-1945", Military Publishing House, Moscow, 1988.
3. Platonov A.V. "Soviet warships 1941-1945", part 3, Citadel, St. Petersburg, 1998
4. Dmitriev V.I. "Soviet submarine shipbuilding", Military Publishing House, Moscow, 1990.
5. Platonov A.V., Lurie V.M. "Commanders of Soviet submarines 1941-1945", Citadel, St. Petersburg, 1999
6. Morozov M.E. "Submarines of the Navy of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945", part 1, Polygon 2001.
7. Balakin S.A., Morozov M.E. "C-type submarines", Marine Collection, No. 02, 2000
8. Newspaper "Guardian of the Baltic" 11.08.1998
9. Gavrilenko G.I. "History of the Baltic submarine", VTA "Typhoon" No. 3 (15), 1999.
10. Kovalev E.A. "Kings of the submarine in the sea of red jacks", Tsentrpoligraf, Moscow, St. Petersburg, 2006.
11. Chirva E.V. "Underwater war in the Baltic 1939-1945", Yauza, Eksmo, Moscow, 2009
12. Morozov M.E., Kulagin K.L. "Eski" in battle. Submarines Marinesko, Shchedrin, Lisin", Collection, Yauza, EKSMO, 2008.
Type VII submarines
Historical data
Power plant
Armament
U-Boot Type VII- a series of medium diesel-electric German submarines. They were in service with the Kriegsmarine. A total of 703 boats were built in seven modifications. They took an active part in World War II. In total, Type VII submarines sank 6 aircraft carriers (two were scrapped due to severe damage), 2 battleships, 5 cruisers, 52 destroyers and escort destroyers, as well as dozens of other warships and thousands of transport ships. A total of 546 boats were lost, not counting those sunk by their crews at the end of the war.
General information
History of creation
The strategy of fighting at sea was influenced by the use of submarines in the First World War. The damage inflicted on the merchant shipping of the Entente countries from German submarines was enormous. Due to German submarine attacks, the Entente countries lost 12 million tons of transport tonnage. Under the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was forbidden to have submarines, but in the mid-20s of the 20th century, the leadership of the Reichsmarine began the construction of medium and small submarines. The plans were to use the most successful submarine projects of the First World War - the UB III, UC II and UB II types.
In 1922, the firms "Vulcan", "Germany" and "Weser" created a design bureau under the leadership of G. Tehel and a staff of 30 engineers. The task of this bureau is to create new types of submarines. The possibility of creating minelayers, which, in addition to torpedoes, would also carry mines, was considered. Also, the construction of submarines with a displacement of 1500 tons, floating workshops and boats with a Walther engine was considered. This list included a single-hull submarine with an internal arrangement of fuel tanks, this series was given the name VII. On January 10, 1935, an order was approved for the development of a new submarine. Characteristics of type VII:
- Surface displacement - 550 tons.
- Immersion depth - 100 m.
- Engines - 2 diesels of 1050 hp each.
- Max. surface / underwater speed - 16-17 / 8-9 knots.
- Cruising range surface / underwater - 6000 miles at 8 knots / 75 miles at 4 knots.
Construction and testing
In the middle of 1935, two significant events happened at once, on July 18 an Anglo-German agreement was signed and in January 1936 Karl Dönitz was appointed to the post of commander-in-chief of the submarine fleet. The construction of the German submarine fleet became legal, but at the same time it was limited to no more than 45% of the tonnage of submarines in the British fleet.
Design Description
Modifications
Submarines Type VII existed in seven modifications:
| Type of submarine | Type VIIA | Type VIIB | Type VIC | Type VII/C 41 | Type VII/C 42 | Type VIID | Type VIF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Years of design | 1933-1934 | 1934-1935 | 1937-1938 | 1941 | 1942-1943 | 1939-1940 | n.a. |
| Years of construction | 1935-1937 | 1937-1941 | 1938-1944 | 1941-1945 | n.a. | 1940-1942 | 1941-1943 |
| Displacement t, surface / underwater | 626/915 | 753/1040 | 769/1070 | 759/1070 | 999/1369 | 965/1285 | 1084/1345 |
| Dimensions in m, length/width/draft | 64,5/ 5,9/ 4,4 | 66,5/ 6,2/ 4,7 | 67,1/ 6,2/ 4,7 | 67,23/ 6,2/ 4,7 | 68,7/ 6,9/ 5,1 | 76,9/ 6,4/ 5 | 77,6/ 7,3/ 4.9 |
| Robust housing, length/diameter in m. | 45,5/ 4,7 | 48,8/ 4,7 | 49,4/ 4,7 | 49,4/ 4,7 | 50,9/ 5 | 59,8/ 4,7 | 60,4/ 4,7 |
| Robust housing thickness in mm | 16 | 16 | 18,5 | 21,5 | 28 | 20,5 | 20,5 |
| Power in hp, diesels/electric motors | 2320/ 750 | 2800/ 750 | 2800/ 750 | 2800/ 750 | 4400/ 750 | 2800/ 750 | 2800/ 750 |
| Travel speed surface/submerged | 16/ 8 | 17/ 8 | 17/ 7,6 | 17/ 7,6 | 18,6/ 7,6 | 16/ 7,3 | 16,9/ 7,3 |
| Immersion depth in m, working / limit | 100/ 100 | 100/ 100 | 100/ 165 | 120/ 200 | 300/ 300 | 100/ 100 | 100/ 100 |
| Dive time in seconds, urgent/normal | 30/ 50 | 30/ 50 | 30/ 50 | 30/ 50 | 30/ 50 | 30/ 50 | 30/ 50 |
| Fuel capacity in tons, normal/full | 58,6/ 67 | 99,7/ 108,3 | 105,3/ 113,5 | 105,3/ 113,5 | 105/ 159 | 155,2/ 169,4 | 198,8/ - |
| Range at cruising speed in miles | 6200 | 8700 | 8500 | 8500 | 12 600 | 11 200 | 14 700 |
| Crew, pers. | 44 | 44 | 44 | 44 | 45 | 44 | 46 |
Armament
Artillery armament
At the beginning of the war, artillery armament consisted of an 88 mm SKC/35 cannon with a barrel length of 45 calibers and a Flak 30 single-barrel anti-aircraft gun on a C30/37 mount. Ammunition for the SKC / 35 consisted of 220 shells, from the artillery cellar the shells were fed onto the deck manually, in a chain. Ammunition for the Flak 30 consisted of 1,500 rounds.
In the first months of the war, when German submariners tried to act in accordance with the prize right, submarine artillery was actively used. But already on September 26, 1939, the British Admiralty announced plans to install artillery on all merchant ships. A month later, an instruction was introduced, according to which the crew of the boat should not have inspected the merchant ship, and after examining the papers delivered on the boat, in the presence of smuggling, sink the stopped ship with a torpedo.
In addition, the reduction of merchant ships into convoys deprived the gunners of showing their shooting skills. Subsequently, the use of artillery was one-time. The last such incident occurred on September 19, 1942. At Cape Hatteras, the boat U-701, in a fierce surface battle, sank the American armed trawler YP-389. November 14, 1942 received an order to dismantle 88 mm guns.
This order was not carried out immediately and not in all fleets. First of all, the modernization of anti-aircraft weapons with the removal of the deck gun, were subjected to boats stationed in the West of France. Many boats that were on trials and operated in Norway retained their guns until the end of 19944. There is such a case when, in August 1944, U-745 arrived from Kiel for operations in the Gulf of Finland and she had to return to Gotenhafen to dismantle the deck gun.
Anti-aircraft weapons
The anti-aircraft armament of Type VII submarines was constantly increased. On the first modifications, the anti-aircraft gun was located on the deck behind the wheelhouse, but already in the first months of the war it was raised behind the wheelhouse fence. In the initial period of the war, Allied aviation did not pose a threat to German submarines; until the end of 1941, it was able to sink only 4 boats.
In connection with the beginning of air patrols of the Bay of Biscay by the British, in the summer of 1942, the first steps were taken to build up anti-aircraft weapons on submarines. Behind the standard felling fence, a low additional platform was mounted (it was nicknamed by German submariners winter garden) to accommodate the twin Flak 30. The single-barreled gun on the top was replaced by a two-barreled 20 mm anti-aircraft gun MG 151/22, it was distinguished by smaller dimensions, initial speed and firing range.
But since December 1942, the Command of the submarine fleet, convinced of the inefficiency of the MG 151/20, gave the order to install faster-firing 20 mm guns Flak 38. This design was called "cabin 2", ("cabin 1" - this was the name of the scheme with single anti-aircraft guns Flak 30) at the same time, four conventional machine guns were mounted on the rails of the bridge MG 34 caliber 7.92 mm.
Already the first fights of submarines with aircraft showed that the abundance of small-caliber barrels does not guarantee victory over a four-engine flying boat or bomber. New hopes were associated with the entry into service of 37 mm automatic guns, twin and quadruple guns Flak 38. In 1943, the composition of anti-aircraft weapons called “cabin 4” was approved, it provided for the installation of two twin Flak 38s on the upper platform and Flakvierling 38 on the bottom.
On June 8, 1943, the boat U-758 with "cabinhouse 4" won the battle against eight aircraft from the American aircraft carrier, although the submarine was seriously damaged and 11 crew members were killed and wounded, the Americans failed to either drive the boat under water or sink it. On June 30, the Command of the Submarine Fleet issued an order according to which only those submarines that received "cabinhouse 4" were released into the campaign.
While ordinary submarines were waiting for conversion, it was decided to create special "anti-aircraft" aircraft decoy boats. The first such trap boat was U-441. She received two Flakvierling 38s, in front and behind the wheelhouse, and a 37 mm SKC/30 semi-automatic "winter garden". On May 24, on the second vessels of the campaign, she fought with a British flying boat, and having lost one of the quadruple installations, she was able to shoot it down. After that, the boat went for a 2-month repair. And already on July 12, U-441 entered the Bay of Biscay, in a battle with British aircraft, the boat lost all the personnel of the upper watch. At the end of 1943, the Command of the submarine fleet ordered the conversion of trap boats into ordinary ones.
In the battles of the spring-summer of 1943, it turned out that 20 mm machine guns could cause fatal damage to a patrol aircraft, but not before its attack, which, if the pilot persisted, could become fatal for a submarine. In order to stop the attacking aircraft, more long-range weapons were required. And this weapon was an automatic 37 mm anti-aircraft gun Flak 42, she entered service in mid-1943.
By December 1, 1943, 18 submarines replaced Flakvierling with Flak 42. The ammunition load for the 37 mm gun was 1195 rounds, for the 20 mm gun - 4260 rounds. Further improvement of weapons ceased after the adoption of the snorkel. This ended the confrontation between submarines and aircraft. The greatest successes in the fight against aircraft were achieved by U-333, U-648, which shot down 3 aircraft each, and U-256, which won victories over 4 aircraft.
Torpedo armament
The main weapons of Type VII submarines were torpedoes. To launch them, there were four bow and one stern torpedo tubes with a diameter of 533 mm each. Boats of modification A had 6 torpedoes in stock, on the following modifications the stock of torpedoes increased due to the placement of one spare torpedo in the electric motor compartment and two more torpedoes in the superstructure, but they were abandoned at the beginning of 1943 due to their frequent damage as a result of attacks by Allied escort ships.
The torpedo tubes themselves had a number of interesting features. The ejection of the torpedo from them was carried out using a special pneumatic piston, and not compressed air, this greatly simplified the bubbleless firing system. Also, changing the depth of walking and turning the gyroscope of torpedoes could be carried out directly in the torpedo tubes through the PSA in the command cabin. Another feature of these torpedo tubes is the ability to lay non-contact mines from them.
The design of the apparatus ensured the release of torpedoes at depths of up to 22 meters. Reloading the devices took relatively little time, only 10 to 20 minutes for torpedoes that were stored inside a pressure hull.
Major modifications of Type VII submarine torpedoes
| Name | Date of entry into service | Fuse | Homing or maneuvering device | Other changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| G7a T1 | Early 20s | KHB Pi1 (could be equipped with KHB Pi3 from October 1943 to October 1944) | Could be equipped with PM FAT I (from November 1942) or LUT (from summer 1944) | Not |
| G7e T2 | 1929 | KHB Pi1 | Not | Not |
| G7e T3 | December 1942 | KHB Pi2 | Could be equipped with PM FAT II (from May 1943) | Not |
| G7e T3a | Mid 1943 | KHB Pi2 | Could be equipped with PM with FAT II (from May 1943) or LUT (from May 1944) | Range 7.5 km at 29 knots |
| G7e T4 Falke | February 1943 | KHB Pi2 | PS | Weight 1937 kg. Range 7.5 km at 20 knots. |
| G7e T5 Zaunkönig | October 1943 | KHB Pi4 | Substation Amsel | Weight 1497 kg, weight BB 274 kg. Range 5.7 km at 24-25 knots. |
| G7e Т5b | Early 1944 | KHB Pi4 | Substation Amsel | Range 8 km at 22 knots |
| G7e T11 Zaunkönig II | April 1944 | KHB Pi4 | Improved PS "Amsel" | Not |
Shortwave was considered the most important because it provided communication with the headquarters. It included the E-437-S receiver and two transmitters, a 200 watt S-400-S and a spare 40 watt 40-K-39a, and a retractable antenna in the left wing of the bridge fence, if the antenna was absent, then the role of the antennas was performed by galvanized network outlets , isolated from the body and stretched with lanyards. The E-437-S receiver was also used to receive VLF signals.
Medium-wave equipment was intended for communication between submarines. It consisted of an E-381-S receiver, a Spez-2113-S 150 watt transmitter, and a small retractable round vibrator antenna in the right wing of the bridge. The same antenna was a direction finder for the MW range. For encoding and decoding, the Enigma cipher machine was used.
Hydroacoustic equipment
The most important component of the sonar equipment of Type VII boats was the equipment GHG, which consisted of 11, and later 24 hydrophones, they were placed in the bow of the light hull in a semicircle around the stock of the bow horizontal rudders and connected to the receiver in the second compartment of the submarine.
To improve the accuracy of direction finding at the beginning of the war, the KDB system was used, it was a rotating T-shaped antenna with 6 hydrophones, the antenna was located on the upper deck, but since it was not very tenacious by the middle of the war, it was abandoned. On some boats built in the last months of the war, the hydrophone layout was improved. 24 hydrophones were placed on a round platform extendable from below in the bow. This scheme had greater noise source direction finding accuracy (it was even mechanically attached to the SBR) apart from a narrow 60 degree area straight aft. But this scheme was not extended to Type VII, since it was developed for Type XXI boats.
Radar stations
Radars supplied to the fleet, in very limited quantities, were primarily equipped with Type IX boats, so a few Type VII boats received them. The first radar tested in Germany in early 1939 was the FuMO29 Gema.
The wavelength of the FuMO station is 29-80 cm, in front of the cabin there was a special mast with a mattress-type antenna of 2x3 m, but they refused to install such a bulky radar on serial boats. This idea was returned to in 1941, the antenna dipoles were already mounted on the cabin itself in two rows of six dipoles, the upper row was the receiving one, and the lower one was transmitting. The detection range of a ship by the FuMO29 station is 6-8 km, an aircraft at an altitude of 500 m is up to 15 km.
In 1942, the production of the FuMO-30, an improved version of the FuMO-29, began, it differed from the latter by a mattress-type antenna of 1x1.5 m, the antenna was located in the left wing of the wheelhouse in place of the retractable HF antenna. In 1944, the FuMO-61 entered service, which was a naval version of the FuMG-200 Hohentwil night fighter radar. Having a slightly shorter wavelength of 54-58 cm and an antenna almost identical to the antenna of the FuMO-30 station, the station had a detection range of ships of 8-10 km, and aircraft of 15-20 km.
Radio intelligence stations
In the spring of 1942, an English patrol plane crashed on the territory of French Tunisia, the Germans completely lost their doubts that the British could use radar to search for boats. In the wreckage of this aircraft, a slightly damaged set of ASV I station was found. Increasing night attacks on boats by aircraft of the Coastal Command forced the Kriegsmarine Command to look for a way out.
By July 1942, the Germans received the first sample of the FuMB1 electronic intelligence station, in honor of the French company that designed this station, it was called "Metoks". On August 26, the Kriegsmarine Command ordered all boats to be equipped with these stations.
Metox itself was the simplest receiver, it recorded a signal with a wavelength of 1.3-2.6 meters. It was connected to the intra-submarine communication system and the entire crew heard the alarm signal, a little later a screen appeared showing the direction to the radiation source. The horizontal rotation of the antenna was carried out manually, in addition, the installation of this station was not provided initially, so the antenna was stored inside a strong case and, upon ascent, was taken out to the bridge and connected to the receiver with a cable. The use of "Metox" made it possible to deprive the British anti-submarine line of effectiveness for six months.
On August 13, 1943, the Kriegsmarine command banned the use of the Metox, because the new British ASV III radar fixed the Metox radiation. At the same time, the FuMB9 Vanz station was put into production, the antenna of this station was a cylinder with a diameter of 20 cm and a height of 10 cm, it recorded radiation in all directions. In November 1943, the second non-radiating modification FuMB9 appeared, and the FuMB10 Borkum station. The operating range of the ASV III radar was closed by the FuMB7 Naxos station.
Later, Naxos and Borkum (or Vanz) were installed on boats. In April 1944 they were replaced by the FuMB 24 "Flyage". Due to the emergence of American flying boats with APS-3 and APS-4 radars, the FuMB25 Myuke station was created. In May 1944, the FuMB24 and FuMB25 stations were merged into the FuMB26 Tunis complex. But with the introduction of snorkels, the need for electronic intelligence stations disappeared.
commanders
Aces submariners who fought on Type VII and sank more than 100,000 tons of transport tonnage:
| First Name Last Name | Dates of combat activity | Submarine | Number of military campaigns | Number of ships sunk / tonnage | Ships damaged / tonnage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otto Kretschmer | U-99 | 16 | 40/ 208 954 | 5/ 37 965 | |
| Erich Topp | June 1940 - August 1942 | U-552 | 12 | 35/ 197 | 4/ 32 217 |
| Heinrich Lemmann-Wilenbrock | November 1939 - April 1942, September - November 1944 | U-96, U-256 | 10 | 24/ 170 237 | 2/ 15 864 |
| Herbert Schulze | September 1939 - June 1942 | U-48 | 8 | 26/ 169 709 | 1/ 9456 |
| Günther Prien | September 1939 - March 1941 | U-47 | 10 | 30/ 162 769 | 8/ 62 751 |
| Joachim Schepke | September 1939 - March 1941 | U-100 | 14 | 36/ 153 677 | 4/ 17 229 |
| Heinrich Bleichrodt | September 1940 - January 1943 | U-48 | 8 | 24/ 151 260 | 2/ 11 684 |
| Robert Gisaye | November 1940 - November 1943 | U-98 | 8 | 24/ 136 266 | 1/ 2588 |
| Hans Jenisch | February 1940 - November 1940 | U-32 | 6 | 17/ 110 139 | 2/ 14 749 |
Notable boats
The most productive submarines Type VII:
| Submarine | Dates of combat activity | Number of trips | Days at sea | Total ships sunk / tonnage | Ships damaged / tonnage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U-48 | September 1939 - June 1944 | 12 | 314 | 51/ 306 875 | 3/ 20 480 |
| U-99 | June 1940 - March 1941 | 8 | 119 | 35/ 198 218 | 5/ 37 965 |
| U-96 | December 1940 - March 1943 | 11 | 414 | 27/ 181 206 | 4/ 33 043 |
| U-552 | February 1940 - April 1944 | 15 | 600 | 30/ 163 756 | 3/ 26 910 |
| U-47 | September 1939 - March 1941 | 10 | 228 | 30/ 162 769 | 8/ 62 751 |
| U-94 | November 1940 - August 1942 | 10 | 358 | 26/ 141 852 | 1/ 8022 |
| U-100 | August 1940 - March 1941 | 6 | 106 | 25/ 135 614 | 4/ 17 229 |
| U-32 | September 1939- November 1940 | 9 | 172 | 20/116 836 U-96 submarine IX-bis seriesLaid down on December 14, 1936 at plant No. 112 (Krasnoye Sormovo) in Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod) under slipway number 236 and letter designation "H-7". On April 5, 1937, the submarine was launched. October 20, 1937 the ship received the letter designation "S-7". On June 30, 1940, the submarine entered service and on July 23, 1940 became part of the 1st division of the 1st brigade of the submarine of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet. Back on June 19, 1941, "S-7" under the command of a lieutenant commander Sergei Prokofievich Lisin went to sea to patrol in the western part of the Irben Strait. At 00.55 on June 22, the submarine commander received a signal about the transfer of the fleet to operational readiness No. 1, and at 15.45 an order was received "to patrol in wartime." The S-7 crew learned about the beginning of the war only at 19.59 on June 22. Around 2300 on June 23, S-7 spotted two torpedo boats that gave Soviet identification signals, probably captured at one of the SNiS (Surveillance and Communications Services) posts. These were the German S-60 and S-35 snellboats from the 3rd boat flotilla. The submarine did not sink, as the commander wanted to transfer the sick sailor to the boats. Having approached the S-7, the snellbots almost point-blank - they attacked her with torpedoes from 2 cables. Only the timely and correct actions of the upper watch saved the ship from destruction, the torpedoes passed a meter from the port side of the submarine. The submarine has sunk. The boats, meanwhile, fired from anti-aircraft guns, and then dropped 4 depth charges. (After 4.5 hours, after an hour-long battle, these snelboats sank the S-3 submarine, which was leaving Libau.) Despite the fact that the submarine was damaged, and a fire broke out in the VII compartment, which was quickly extinguished, it was safely reached Vindava. On July 3, S-7 entered the area between Vindava and Libava (position No. 20). After an unsuccessful search (although, on the evening of July 19, a German convoy was found near Vindava, but did not attack because of the shallow water), the submarine returned to Trigi Bay on July 22. At the end of the month, S-7 moved to Leningrad, where, as part of the 2nd echelon EON-15 (Expedition special purpose) began preparations for relocation to the North, but on August 31 the Germans reached the Neva, which made the transition impossible. A suicidal breakthrough through the Baltic Straits (it was supposed to move through Øresund, where for several hours the submarine should go in an area with depths of up to 8 m on the surface), in September 1941, was also quickly set aside. Commander "S-7" S.P. Lisin. From September 30 to October 21, 1941, when the Soviet command expected the appearance of large German ships near Kronstadt, the S-7 was unsuccessfully in the "waiting position" between Lavensari and Gogland. On October 27, the submarine entered the Narva Bay (position No. 5/6) with the task of shelling coastal targets in the Narva area. For this purpose, "S-7" adopted a reinforced artillery ammunition, stuffing compartments I and VII with ammo boxes. (Two days before this, the P-2 was supposed to launch an artillery attack on Narva, but due to the wrong actions of the crew and the resulting damage, the submarine was forced to interrupt the task). On the evening of the next day, S-7 shelled a number of coastal facilities at the Ieve station and in the village of Velaste. (44 100-mm and 92 45-mm shells fired). Subsequently, the submarine repeatedly (October 30, November 2, 6 and 15) shelled coastal facilities in the area of the Vaivara railway station, the Aseri shale plant, Narva, Narva-Yysuu and Toyla. (In total, 272-100-mm and 184-45-mm projectiles were used). The results of the shelling remained unknown, only on November 6, when Narva was shelled from a submarine, a strong explosion was observed. The boat had no contact with enemy ships and on November 16 returned to Kronstadt. S-7 spent the entire first military winter in Leningrad, where on December 16, while parked at the Palace Bridge, it received minor damage from a close explosion of three shells. The command staff of "S-7" after the award. Mechanic of the 5th division of the submarine, engineer-captain of the 3rd rank V.E. Krozh, who took part in the July 1942 campaign "S-7" as the commander of the BCH-5. He wrote a book of memoirs "Margin of safety" . Electromotive compartment "S-7". The foreman of the group of electricians midshipman P.I. Lyashenko (on the right) and hold senior sailor V.I. Marten (left). The S-7 campaign of 1942 began on July 2nd. Arriving in Kronstadt, after degaussing and loading up with supplies, the submarine left Lavensari on July 5th. Having successfully crossed the Yuminda minefield at night on the surface, on July 7 she headed to the area west of the island of Gotland in the Norrköping Bay (position No. 4) with the task of "destroying all transports and enemy warships, with the exception of the warships of the Swedish fleet." On the morning of July 9, the submarine was attacked by a Swedish patrol aircraft when the submarine was in international waters. In the evening of the same day, S-7 unsuccessfully attacked the steamer Noreg, belonging to Sweden, with two torpedoes. After 4 hours, the submarine sank the Swedish transport Margareta with a cargo of coal from Germany. When fired, the tail stop of the first torpedo was clamped in the torpedo tube. The submarine had to surface and catch up with the ship. The second attack was successful and the transport sank at 58°26"N/17°13"E. 14 of his crew were killed. On July 11, the Swedish ore carrier “Lulea” (“Lulea”, 5.611 brt), went to the bottom, guarding the patrol boats “Snapphanen” and “Jagaren”, which unsuccessfully dropped 26 depth charges on the boat. July 14 "S-7" went on the attack twice, but fired torpedoes missed the target. One of the victims of the S-7 submarine was the Swedish ore carrier Lulea. Due to the fact that, according to the Swedish Foreign Ministry, both transports were sunk within the 6-mile zone of Swedish territorial waters, the S-7 was withdrawn from its position so as not to aggravate international relations, and sent to the Vindava area. (Both ships sunk outside the 6-mile zone). On the morning of July 27, the boat attacked the German transport "Ellen Larsen" ("Ellen Larsen", 1.938 brt). The torpedoes passed by, and the surfaced submarine tried to destroy it with artillery, but on the second salvo a 100-mm gun failed (the lock was jammed by a burst and displaced liner). In the meantime, the transport threw itself onto the shallows, and the patrol boats that arrived in time did not allow it to be finished off. (Subsequently, the ship was restored). On July 30, in conditions of shallow depths near Pavilosta "S-7", two torpedoes from a positional position in front of coastal observers boldly sunk the transport "Kate" ("Kate", 1.559 brt). The last remaining torpedo was used to attack a single ship off Cape Steinort on the morning of 5 August. It turned out to be the Finnish steamship “Pohjanlahti” (“Pohjanlahti”, 1898, 682 brt), sailing with a cargo of potatoes from Riga to Mäntiluotto (because of the threat of submarines, the ship was ordered to urgently turn to Libava). The torpedo passed by, and the submarine commander decided to destroy the ship with artillery. It should be noted that the crew of the submarine took a big risk, since the 100-mm gun was out of order, and the fire from the 45-mm gun did not have the proper destructive effect. (Most of the ammunition consisted of anti-aircraft fragmentation tracer shells). Pohyanlahti had to spend 380 shells and more than half an hour of time. Finally, the transport turned into a sieve caught fire and slowly began to sink. Two boats rolled away from the sinking ship, in one of them was the captain of the ship with a set of ship documents and maps. Having taken on board the "languages", on August 11, "S-7" safely returned to the base, thereby completing perhaps the most successful campaign of the Soviet submarine in the Great Patriotic War- 4 ships sunk (9.164 GRT), one transport (1.938 GRT) damaged. The entire crew of the submarine was awarded state awards, the commander was presented with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, and the S-7 was soon to become a guards ship. On October 17, 1942, the submarine left for its last campaign. He prepared thoroughly: BCH-1 and the movement group were duplicated by officers. The crew additionally included a navigator from the P-3, Senior Lieutenant Smirnov B.N. and the commander of the warhead-5 with the "S-13" captain-lieutenant Bryansky O.G. On October 21, S-7 successfully crossed anti-submarine barriers, and in the evening of the same day gave a brief radiogram about entering the Baltic Sea. According to the Table of Conditional Signals, the message consisted of only five words, the boat's transmitter was on the air for less than a minute. But even this was enough for the enemy radio interception service. Finnish submarines went hunting from Marienhamn. At night, 5 miles west (according to other sources, 10-15 miles north) of the Soderarm lighthouse in the Aland Sea, C-7 was discovered and attacked by the Finnish submarine Vesihiisi (Vesihiisi, commander Lieutenant Commander Olavi Aitolla). At 20.41 a Finnish submarine fired a torpedo. The Finnish commander already considered that he had missed (as he had incorrectly estimated the distance) and ordered to open artillery fire, as three minutes later the torpedo hit the area of \u200b\u200bS-7 compartment VII, and the Soviet submarine sank instantly. 42 people died. Four people, including the commander, the Finns managed to save. (These were S.P. Lisin, Red Navy men V.S. Subbotin, A.K. Olenin and V.I. Kunitsa) Already in captivity, the commander of the S-7 S.P. Lisin learned about the award of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to him. Finnish submarine commanders, winners of Soviet submarines. From left to right: O.Aittola ("Vesihiisi") and A.Leino ("Vetehinen"). In 1993, "S-7" was found at the place of her death at a depth of 30-40 m and examined by Swedish divers S. Hülkvist, A. Yallai, P. Hedlyung and J. Sande. |
