Submarine warfare in World War II. German Submarines of World War II: Hitler's Silent Weapons. In different countries

Submarines dictate the rules in naval warfare and force everyone to meekly follow the established order. Those stubborn people who dare to neglect the rules of the game will face a quick and painful death in cold water, in the midst of debris and oil slicks. Boats, regardless of the flag, remain the most dangerous fighting vehicles capable of crushing any enemy. I bring to your attention a short story about the seven most successful submarine projects of the war years.

Boats type T (Triton-class), UK

The number of submarines built is 53.
Surface displacement - 1290 tons; underwater - 1560 tons.
Crew - 59 ... 61 people.
Operating immersion depth - 90 m (riveted hull), 106 m (welded hull).
Full speed on the surface - 15.5 knots; in the underwater - 9 knots.
A fuel reserve of 131 tons ensured a surface cruising range of 8,000 miles.
Armament:
- 11 torpedo tubes of caliber 533 mm (on boats of sub-series II and III), ammunition load - 17 torpedoes;
- 1 x 102 mm universal gun, 1 x 20 mm anti-aircraft "Oerlikon".
A British submarine Terminator capable of knocking the crap out of the head of any enemy with a bow-mounted 8-torpedo salvo. The T-type boats had no equal in destructive power among all submarines of the WWII period - this explains their ferocious appearance with a bizarre bow superstructure, which housed additional torpedo tubes.
The notorious British conservatism is a thing of the past - the British were among the first to equip their boats with ASDIC sonar. Alas, despite their powerful weapons and modern means of detection, the T-type boats of the high seas did not become the most effective among the British submarines of the Second World War. Nevertheless, they went through an exciting battle path and achieved a number of remarkable victories. "Tritons" were actively used in the Atlantic, in the Mediterranean Sea, smashed Japanese communications in the Pacific Ocean, and were noted several times in the cold waters of the Arctic.
In August 1941, the Taigris and Trident submarines arrived in Murmansk. British submariners demonstrated a master class to their Soviet colleagues: 4 enemy ships were sunk in two campaigns, incl. "Baia Laura" and "Donau II" with thousands of soldiers of the 6th Mountain Division. Thus, the sailors prevented the third German offensive to Murmansk.
Other famous T-boat trophies include the German light cruiser Karlsruhe and the Japanese heavy cruiser Ashigara. The samurai were “lucky” to get acquainted with the full 8-torpedo salvo of the Trenchent submarine - having received 4 torpedoes on board (+ one more from the stern TA), the cruiser quickly capsized and sank.
After the war, the powerful and perfect Tritons were in service with the Royal Navy for another quarter of a century.
It is noteworthy that Israel acquired three boats of this type in the late 1960s - one of them, INS Dakar (formerly HMS Totem), died in 1968 in the Mediterranean Sea under unclear circumstances.

The number of submarines built is 11.
Surface displacement - 1500 tons; underwater - 2100 tons.
Crew - 62 ... 65 people.

Full speed on the surface - 22.5 knots; in the underwater - 10 knots.
Surface cruising range 16,500 miles (9 knots)
Submerged cruising range - 175 miles (3 knots)
Armament:

- 2 x 100 mm universal guns, 2 x 45 mm anti-aircraft semi-automatic;
- up to 20 minutes of barriers.
... On December 3, 1941, German hunters UJ-1708, UJ-1416 and UJ-1403 bombarded a Soviet boat that tried to attack a convoy near Bustad Sund.
- Hans, do you hear this creature?
- Nine. After a series of explosions, the Russians sank to the bottom - I detected three hits on the ground ...
- Can you tell where they are now?
- Donnerwetter! They are blown. Surely they decided to surface and surrender.
The German sailors were wrong. From the depths of the sea, a MONSTER rose to the surface - a cruising submarine K-3 of the XIV series, which unleashed a barrage of artillery fire on the enemy. From the fifth salvo, the Soviet sailors managed to sink U-1708. The second hunter, having received two direct hits, smoked and turned aside - his 20 mm anti-aircraft guns could not compete with the “hundreds” of a secular submarine cruiser. Having scattered the Germans like puppies, K-3 quickly disappeared over the horizon at 20 knots.
The Soviet Katyusha was a phenomenal boat for its time. Welded hull, powerful artillery and mine-torpedo weapons, powerful diesel engines (2 x 4200 hp!), high surface speed of 22-23 knots. Huge autonomy in terms of fuel reserves. Remote control of ballast tank valves. A radio station capable of transmitting signals from the Baltic to Far East. An exceptional level of comfort: shower cabins, refrigerated tanks, two seawater desalters, an electric galley ... Two boats (K-3 and K-22) were equipped with Lend-Lease ASDIC sonars.
But, oddly enough, neither the high performance nor the most powerful weapons made the Katyusha an effective weapon - in addition to the dark story with the K-21 attack on the Tirpitz, during the war years, boats of the XIV series accounted for only 5 successful torpedo attacks and 27 thousand br. reg. tons of sunk tonnage. Most of the victories were won with the help of exposed mines. Moreover, their own losses amounted to five cruiser boats.
The reasons for the failures lie in the tactics of using the Katyushas - the mighty submarine cruisers, created for the expanses of the Pacific Ocean, had to "stomp" in the shallow Baltic "puddle". When operating at depths of 30-40 meters, a huge 97-meter boat could hit the ground with its bow, while its stern was still sticking out on the surface. It was a little easier for sailors from the North Sea - as practice has shown, the effectiveness combat use"Katyusha" was complicated by the poor training of personnel and the lack of initiative of the command.
It's a pity. These boats were counting on more.

Series VI and VI bis - 50 built.
Series XII - 46 built.
Series XV - 57 built (4 took part in the fighting).
TTX boat type M series XII:
Surface displacement - 206 tons; underwater - 258 tons.
Autonomy - 10 days.
Working depth of immersion - 50 m, limit - 60 m.
Full speed on the surface - 14 knots; in the underwater - 8 knots.
Cruising range on the surface - 3380 miles (8.6 knots).
Submerged cruising range - 108 miles (3 knots).
Armament:
- 2 torpedo tubes of caliber 533 mm, ammunition - 2 torpedoes;
- 1 x 45 mm anti-aircraft semi-automatic.
The project of mini-submarines for the rapid strengthening of the Pacific Fleet - the main feature of the M-type boats was the ability to be transported by rail in a fully assembled form.
In pursuit of compactness, many had to be sacrificed - service on the "Baby" turned into a grueling and dangerous event. Difficult living conditions, strong "chatter" - the waves ruthlessly threw a 200-ton "float", risking breaking it into pieces. Shallow diving depth and weak weapons. But the main concern of the sailors was the reliability of the submarine - one shaft, one diesel engine, one electric motor - the tiny "Baby" left no chance for the careless crew, the slightest malfunction on board threatened the submarine with death.
The kids quickly evolved - the performance characteristics of each new series differed several times from the previous project: contours were improved, electrical equipment and detection tools were updated, diving time was reduced, autonomy was growing. The "babies" of the XV series no longer resembled their predecessors of the VI and XII series: one and a half hull design - the ballast tanks were moved outside the pressure hull; The power plant received a standard twin-shaft layout with two diesel engines and electric motors for underwater travel. The number of torpedo tubes increased to four. Alas, the XV series appeared too late - the brunt of the war was borne by the "Babies" of the VI and XII series.
Despite their modest size and only 2 torpedoes on board, the tiny fish were distinguished by simply terrifying "gluttony": in just the years of World War II, Soviet M-type submarines sank 61 enemy ships with a total tonnage of 135.5 thousand gross tons, destroyed 10 warships, and also damaged 8 transports.
The little ones, originally intended only for operations in the coastal zone, have learned to fight effectively in open sea areas. They, along with larger boats, cut enemy communications, patrolled at the exits of enemy bases and fjords, deftly overcame anti-submarine barriers and undermined transports right at the piers inside protected enemy harbors. It's just amazing how the Red Navy could fight on these flimsy boats! But they fought. And they won!

The number of submarines built is 41.
Surface displacement - 840 tons; underwater - 1070 tons.
Crew - 36 ... 46 people.
Working depth of immersion - 80 m, limit - 100 m.
Full speed on the surface - 19.5 knots; submerged - 8.8 knots.
Surface cruising range 8,000 miles (10 knots).
Submerged cruising range 148 miles (3 knots).
“Six torpedo tubes and the same number of spare torpedoes on racks convenient for reloading. Two cannons with a large ammunition load, machine guns, explosive equipment ... In a word, there is something to fight. And 20-knot surface speed! It allows you to overtake almost any convoy and attack it again. Technique is good…”
- opinion of the S-56 commander, Hero Soviet Union G.I. Shchedrin
The Eskis were distinguished by their rational layout and balanced design, powerful armament, and excellent running and seaworthiness. Originally a German design by Deshimag, modified to meet Soviet requirements. But do not rush to clap your hands and remember the Mistral. After the start of serial construction of the IX series at Soviet shipyards, the German project was revised with the aim of a complete transition to Soviet equipment: 1D diesel engines, weapons, radio stations, a noise direction finder, a gyrocompass ... - there was not a single boat that received the designation "IX-bis series". bolts of foreign production!
The problems of the combat use of boats of the "Middle" type, in general, were similar to the cruising boats of the K type - locked in mine-infested shallow water, they could not realize their high combat qualities. Things were much better in the Northern Fleet - during the war years, the S-56 boat under the command of G.I. Shchedrina made the transition across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, moving from Vladivostok to the Polar, subsequently becoming the most productive boat of the Soviet Navy.
An equally fantastic story is connected with the S-101 “bomb catcher” - over the years of the war, over 1000 depth charges were dropped on the boat by the Germans and the Allies, but each time the S-101 returned safely to Polyarny.
Finally, it was on the S-13 that Alexander Marinesko achieved his famous victories.

Boats like Gato, USA

The number of submarines built is 77.
Surface displacement - 1525 tons; underwater - 2420 tons.
Crew - 60 people.
Working depth of immersion - 90 m.
Full speed on the surface - 21 knots; in a submerged position - 9 knots.
Surface cruising range 11,000 miles (10 knots).
Submerged cruising range 96 miles (2 knots).
Armament:
- 10 torpedo tubes of caliber 533 mm, ammunition - 24 torpedoes;
- 1 x 76 mm universal gun, 1 x 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun, 1 x 20 mm Oerlikon;
- one of the boats - USS Barb was equipped with a multiple launch rocket system for shelling the coast.
The ocean-going submarines of the Getow type appeared at the height of the Pacific War and became one of the most effective tools of the US Navy. They tightly blocked all strategic straits and approaches to the atolls, cut off all supply lines, leaving the Japanese garrisons without reinforcements, and Japanese industry without raw materials and oil. In skirmishes with the Gatow, the Imperial Navy lost two heavy aircraft carriers, lost four cruisers and a damn dozen destroyers.
High speed, lethal torpedo weapons, the most modern electronic means of detecting the enemy - radar, direction finder, sonar. The cruising range that provides combat patrols off the coast of Japan when operating from a base in Hawaii. Increased comfort on board. But the main thing is the excellent training of the crews and the weakness of Japanese anti-submarine weapons. As a result, the Gatow ruthlessly destroyed everything - it was they who brought victory in the Pacific Ocean from the blue depths of the sea.
... One of the main achievements of the Getow boats, which changed the whole world, is the event of September 2, 1944. On that day, the Finback submarine detected a distress signal from a falling plane and, after many hours of searching, found a frightened pilot in the ocean, and there was already a desperate pilot . The one who was saved was George Herbert Bush.

Type XXI electric robots, Germany

By April 1945, the Germans managed to launch 118 submarines of the XXI series. However, only two of them were able to achieve operational readiness and go to sea in the last days of the war.
Surface displacement - 1620 tons; underwater - 1820 tons.
Crew - 57 people.
Working depth of immersion - 135 m, maximum - 200+ meters.
Full speed on the surface - 15.6 knots, in the submerged position - 17 knots.
Surface cruising range 15,500 miles (10 knots).
Submerged cruising range 340 miles (5 knots).
Armament:
- 6 torpedo tubes of caliber 533 mm, ammunition - 17 torpedoes;
- 2 anti-aircraft guns "Flak" caliber 20 mm.
Our allies were very lucky that all the forces of Germany were thrown into Eastern front- the Fritz did not have enough resources to release a flock of fantastic "Electroboats" into the sea. If they appeared a year earlier - and that's it, kaput! Another turning point in the battle for the Atlantic.
The Germans were the first to guess: everything that shipbuilders of other countries are proud of - a large ammunition load, powerful artillery, high surface speed of 20+ knots - is of little importance. The key parameters that determine the combat effectiveness of a submarine are its speed and power reserve in a submerged position.
Unlike its peers, "Eletrobot" was focused on being constantly under water: the most streamlined hull without heavy artillery, fences and platforms - all for the sake of minimizing underwater resistance. Snorkel, six groups of batteries (3 times more than on conventional boats!), powerful el. full speed engines, quiet and economical el. creep engines.
The Germans calculated everything - the entire campaign "Electrobot" moved at periscope depth under the RDP, remaining difficult to detect for enemy anti-submarine weapons. At great depths, its advantage became even more shocking: 2-3 times the range, at twice the speed, than any of the submarines of the war years! High stealth and impressive underwater skills, homing torpedoes, a set of the most advanced detection tools ... "Electrobots" opened a new milestone in the history of the submarine fleet, determining the vector of development of submarines in the post-war years.
The Allies were not ready to face such a threat - as post-war tests showed, the Electrobots were several times superior in terms of mutual sonar detection range to the American and British destroyers guarding the convoys.

Type VII boats, Germany

The number of submarines built is 703.
Surface displacement - 769 tons; underwater - 871 tons.
Crew - 45 people.
Working depth of immersion - 100 m, limit - 220 meters
Full speed on the surface - 17.7 knots; in a submerged position - 7.6 knots.
Surface cruising range 8,500 miles (10 knots).
Submerged cruising range 80 miles (4 knots).
Armament:
- 5 torpedo tubes of caliber 533 mm, ammunition - 14 torpedoes;
- 1 x 88 mm universal gun (until 1942), eight options for add-ons with 20 and 37 mm anti-aircraft guns.
Most Effective warships of all that have ever plied the oceans.
A relatively simple, cheap, massive, but at the same time well-armed and deadly means for total underwater terror.
703 submarines. 10 MILLION tons of sunk tonnage! Battleships, cruisers, aircraft carriers, destroyers, enemy corvettes and submarines, oil tankers, transports with aircraft, tanks, cars, rubber, ore, machine tools, ammunition, uniforms and food ... The damage from the actions of German submariners exceeded all reasonable limits - if not the inexhaustible industrial potential of the United States, capable of compensating for any losses of the allies, the German U-bots had every chance to “strangle” Great Britain and change the course of world history.
Often the successes of the "sevens" are associated with the "prosperous time" of 1939-41. - allegedly when the Allies had the escort system and Asdik sonars, the successes of the German submariners ended. A completely populist claim based on a misinterpretation of "prosperous times".
The alignment was simple: at the beginning of the war, when there was one Allied anti-submarine ship for each German boat, the “sevens” felt like invulnerable masters of the Atlantic. It was then that the legendary aces appeared, sinking 40 enemy ships each. The Germans were already holding victory in their hands when the Allies suddenly put up 10 anti-submarine ships and 10 aircraft per Kriegsmarine boat in operation!
Beginning in the spring of 1943, the Yankees and the British began methodically bombarding the Kriegsmarine with anti-submarine warfare and soon achieved an excellent loss ratio of 1:1. So they fought until the end of the war. The Germans ran out of ships faster than their opponents.
The whole history of the German "sevens" is a formidable warning from the past: what kind of threat does the submarine pose and how high are the costs of creating an effective system to counter the underwater threat.

The rusty skeletons of submarines of the Third Reich are still found in the sea. The German submarines of World War II are no longer on which the fate of Europe once depended. However, these huge piles of metal are still shrouded in secrets and haunt historians, divers and adventure lovers.

Forbidden building

The fleet of Nazi Germany was called the Kriegsmarine. A significant part of the Nazi arsenal were submarines. By the beginning of the war, the army was equipped with 57 submarines. Then another 1113 submarines were gradually involved, 10 of which were captured. During the war, 753 submarines were destroyed, but they managed to sink enough ships and have an impressive impact on the whole world.

After the First World War, Germany could not build submarines under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. But when Hitler came to power, he removed all prohibitions, declaring that he considered himself free from the shackles of Versailles. He signed the Anglo-German Naval Agreement, which gave Germany the right to a submarine force equal to that of the British. Later, Hitler announced the denunciation of the agreement, which completely untied his hands.

Germany developed 21 types of submarines, but basically they came down to three types:

1. The small Type II boat was designed for training and patrolling in the Baltic and North Seas.
2. The Type IX submarine was used for long voyages in the Atlantic.
3. Medium submarine type VII was intended for long-distance crossings. These models had optimal seaworthiness, and the funds for its production were minimal. Therefore, such submarines were built most of all.

The German submarine fleet had the following parameters:

• displacement: from 275 to 2710 tons;
• surface speed: from 9.7 to 19.2 knots;
• underwater speed: from 6.9 to 17.2 knots;
• diving depth: from 150 to 280 meters.

Such characteristics indicate that Hitler's submarines were the most powerful among all the enemy countries of Germany.

"Wolf Packs"

Karl Doenitz was appointed commander of the submarines. He developed a spearfishing strategy for the German fleet, which was called "wolf packs". According to this tactic, the submarines attacked the ships in large groups, depriving them of any chance of survival. German submarines hunted mainly transport ships that supplied enemy troops. The point of this was to sink more boats than the enemy could build.

This tactic quickly paid off. "Wolf packs" were operating on vast territory by sinking hundreds of enemy ships. U-48 alone was able to destroy 52 ships. Moreover, Hitler was not going to be limited to the results achieved. He planned to develop the Kringsmarine and build hundreds more cruisers, battleships and submarines.

Submarines of the Third Reich almost brought Great Britain to its knees, driving it into a blockade ring. This forced the allies to urgently develop countermeasures against the German "wolves", including massively building their own submarines.

The fight against the German "wolves"

In addition to the allied submarines, radar-equipped aircraft began to hunt for the "wolf packs". Also, in the fight against German underwater vehicles, sonar buoys, radio interception equipment, homing torpedoes and much more were used.

The turning point came in 1943. Then each sunken Allied ship cost the German fleet one submarine. In June 1944 they went on the offensive. Their goal was to protect their own ships and attack German submarines. By the end of 1944, Germany had finally lost the battle for the Atlantic. In 1945, a crushing defeat awaited the Kringsmarine.

The army of German submariners resisted to the last torpedo. The last operation of Karl Dönitz was the evacuation of some of the naval admirals of the Third Reich to Latin America. Before his suicide, Hitler appointed Dennitsa head of the Third Reich. However, there are legends that the Fuhrer did not kill himself at all, but was transported by submarines from Germany to Argentina.

According to another legend, the values ​​of the Third Reich, including the Holy Grail, were transported by U-530 submarine to Antarctica to a secret military base. These stories have never been officially confirmed, but they suggest that the German submarines of the Second World War will haunt archaeologists and military lovers for a long time to come.

I doubt very much that from all of the above it will be possible to find something, but these items will always remain in history and in the lists of treasure seekers.

Library of Ivan the Terrible

It is believed that Ivan the Terrible's library was brought to Russia by Sophia Paleolog. Vasily III ordered to start translating these books: there is a version that the famous scientist Maxim Grek was sent to the capital for this.

John IV developed a special relationship with the "ancient Liberia". The king, as you know, was a great lover of books and tried not to part with the dowry of his Byzantine grandmother. According to legend, Ivan the Terrible, after his move to Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, brought the library with him. Another hypothesis says that John hid it in some kind of reliable Kremlin cache. But be that as it may, after the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the library disappeared.

The first Russian printed book "Apostle" (1564). She certainly was in the library of Ivan the Terrible.

There are many versions of the loss. The first is that priceless manuscripts burned down in one of the Moscow fires. According to the second version, during the occupation of Moscow, the Poles took the “liberia” to the West and sold it in parts there. According to the third version, the Poles really found the library, but in conditions of famine, they ate it in the same place in the Kremlin.

Myth, as you know, is created by people. For the first time, we learn about the “liberian” from the Livonian Chronicle. It describes how Ivan IV called the captive pastor Johann Vettermann to himself and asked him to translate his library into Russian. The pastor refused.

The next mention is found in the time of Peter the Great. From the note of sexton Konon Osipov, we learn that his friend, clerk Vasily Makariev found a room full of chests in the Kremlin dungeons, told Sofya about this, but she ordered to forget about the find. And so, in line with the classic plot, the clerk carried this secret with him ... until he told the sacristan about everything. Konon Osipov not only undertook an independent search for the cherished room (the passage turned out to be covered with earth), but also raised Peter I himself in search.

In 1822, Christopher von Dabelow, a professor at Dorpat University, wrote an article “On law faculty in Dorpat. Among other things, he cited a document he called "The Index of an Unknown Person". It was nothing less than a list of manuscripts kept in the library of Ivan the Terrible. When another professor, Walter Klossius, became interested in the original list, Dabelov stated that he sent the original to the Pernov archive. Klossius undertook a search. The document was neither actually nor in the inventory.

Nevertheless, in 1834, after Dabelov's death, Clossius published an article "The Library of Grand Duke Vasily Ivanovich and Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich", in which he spoke in detail about the professor's find and announced the list of manuscripts from the "Index" - the works of Titus Livius, Tacitus, Polybius, Suetonius, Cicero, Virgil, Aristophanes, Pindar, etc.

The search for "liberia" was carried out in the 20th century. As we know, in vain. However, academician Dmitry Likhachev said that the legendary library is hardly of great value. Nevertheless, the myth of the "liberian" is very tenacious. For several centuries, it has been overgrown with new “details”. There is also a classic legend about the “spell”: Sophia Paleolog put the “curse of the pharaohs” on the books, which she learned about from ancient parchment stored in the same library.

the Amber Room

For more than half a century, the search for this masterpiece has been going on. Their plot is similar to a twisted mystical and detective novel at the same time.

Let's turn to history.

In 1709, master Schlüter created the Amber Cabinet for the King of Prussia. Friedrich was delighted. But not for long. Strange things began to happen in the room: the candles themselves went out and flashed, the curtains opened and closed, and the room was regularly filled with a mysterious whisper.

“We don’t need such amber!” decided the monarch. The room was dismantled and removed to the basement, and master Schluter was expelled from the capital. The son and successor of Friedrich, Friedrich-Wilhelm, presented the amber room to Peter I.

For several decades, the dismantled office was gathering dust somewhere in the royal warehouse, until it was discovered by Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. The room was safely assembled in the Winter Palace, but something went wrong.

A month later, the empress orders the abbot of the Sestroretsk monastery to send thirteen of the most pious monks. Monks spend three days in the amber room in fasting and prayer. On the fourth night, the blacks proceed to the procedure of exorcism. For a while the room "calmed down".

With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War the office mysteriously ended up in the Royal Castle of Königsberg. After the Soviet troops stormed Koenigsberg in April 1945, the amber room disappeared without a trace, and its further fate still remains a mystery.

There have been repeated searches for the missing relic. Everyone who participated in them died under mysterious circumstances.

The Amber Room has been restored. From time to time, original items from the “bad old” amber room that pop up at auctions confirm Good work Russian restorers.

Golden Gates of Vladimir

An outstanding monument of ancient Russian architecture was built under Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky in 1164. In beauty, grandeur and architectural power, it surpassed the golden gates of Kyiv, Jerusalem and Constantinople.

The massive oak gates were decorated with cast gold plates. “Prince them with gold,” as recorded in the Ipatiev Chronicle.

The gates disappeared in February 1238, when the Tatar-Mongol rati approached the city. Khan Batu dreamed of triumphantly entering the city through the Golden Gate. The dream didn't come true. The public execution in front of the Golden Gate of Prince Vladimir Yuryevich, who was captured in Moscow, did not help Batu either.

On the fifth day of the siege, Vladimir was taken, but through a different gate. And the Golden Gate in front of Batu did not open even after the capture of the city. According to legend, the golden gate plates were removed and hidden by the townspeople in order to protect the relic from the encroachments of the Horde. They hid it so well that they still can't find it.

They are neither in museums nor in private collections. Historians, having carefully studied the documents of those years and based on the logic of the defenders of Vladimir, suggest that the gold was hidden at the bottom of the Klyazma. Needless to say, neither the search for professionals nor the digging of black archaeologists brought results.

Meanwhile, the wings of the Golden Gates of Vladimir are listed in the UNESCO registers as a value lost by mankind.

Remains of Yaroslav the Wise

Yaroslav the Wise, son of Vladimir the Baptist, was buried on February 20, 1054 in Kyiv in the marble tomb of St. Clement.

In 1936, the sarcophagus was opened https://www.softmixer.com/2011/06/blog-post_8163.html and was surprised to find several mixed remains: male, female and several bones of a child. In 1939 they were sent to Leningrad, where scientists from the Institute of Anthropology established that one of the three skeletons belonged to Yaroslav the Wise. However, it remained a mystery to whom the other remains belonged and how they got there.

Yaroslav the Wise

According to one version, the only wife of Yaroslav, the Scandinavian princess Ingegerde, rested in the tomb. But who was Yaroslav the child buried with him?

With the advent of DNA technology, the question of opening the tomb arose again. The relics of Yaroslav - the most ancient of the surviving remains of the Rurik family, had to "answer" several questions. The main one of which: the genus of Rurikovich - Scandinavians or all the same Slavs?

On September 10, 2009, looking at the pale anthropologist Sergei Szegeda, the employees of the St. Sophia Cathedral Museum realized that things were bad. The remains of Grand Duke Yaroslav the Wise disappeared, and in their place lay a completely different skeleton and the Pravda newspaper from 1964.

The riddle of the appearance of the newspaper was quickly solved. She was forgotten by Soviet specialists, the last ones who worked with bones. But with the "self-proclaimed" relics, the situation was more complicated. It turned out that these were female remains, and from two skeletons dated completely different times! Who these women are, how their remains ended up in the sarcophagus, and where Yaroslav himself disappeared, still remains a mystery.

Faberge egg. Gift of Alexander III to his wife

Emperor Alexander III presented it as a gift to his wife Maria Feodorovna for Easter in 1887. The egg was made of gold and richly decorated with precious stones; it is surrounded by wreaths of leaves and roses, inlaid with diamonds, and all this brilliant splendor is complemented by three large sapphires.

Hidden inside is a Swiss watch movement from Vacheron & Constantin. During the revolution, the gift of the monarch was confiscated by the Bolsheviks, however, he "did not leave" Russia, as he was mentioned in the Soviet inventory of 1922. However, this was the last "trace" of the precious egg, antiquarians considered it lost.

What was the surprise of specialists when an American collector saw a photograph of a masterpiece in the old catalog of the auction house Parke Bernet (now Sotheby’s) for 1964. According to the catalog, the rarity went under the hammer as a simple piece of jewelry, the manufacturer of which was listed as a certain "Clark".

The royal gift was sold for ridiculous money - $2,450. Experts perked up, as it became known that the egg was in the UK at that time, and is unlikely to have been taken out of the country until now. Most likely, the current owners are not even aware of the true value of the egg. According to experts, its cost now is about 20 million pounds.

Kazan Icon of the Mother of God

The holy image was acquired on July 8, 1579 through the appearance of the Mother of God to the young Matrona, on the ashes of the house of the Kazan archer. Wrapped in a shabby sleeve, the icon did not suffer from the fire at all. The fact that the image is miraculous, it became clear immediately. During the very first religious procession, two Kazan blind men gained their sight. In 1612, the icon became famous as the patroness of Dmitry Pozharsky during the battle with the Poles.

Before the Battle of Poltava, Peter the Great with his army prayed precisely before the icon of the Kazan Mother of God. The Kazan image of the Mother of God overshadowed Russian soldiers in 1812. Even under Ivan the Terrible, the icon was dressed in a robe of pure gold, and Catherine II in 1767, when visiting the Bogoroditsky Monastery, put a diamond crown on the icon.

On June 29, 1904, the icon disappeared. Two shrines were stolen from the temple: the icons of the Kazan Mother of God and the Savior Not Made by Hands. The thief quickly showed up, the peasant Bartholomew Chaikin, a church thief. The defendant claimed that he sold the precious salary, and burned the image in the oven. In 1909, there were rumors that the icon was found by the Old Believers. And it started...

Immediately, several prisoners sitting in different prisons admitted that they knew the location of the shrine. Active searches were carried out until 1915, but none of the versions led to the acquisition of a miraculous image. Was the icon burned? And where did her precious robe go? So far, this is one of the greatest mysteries our history.

Cross of Euphrosyne of Polotsk

The creation of the famous cross in 1161 by the master jeweler Lazar Bogsha is connected with the name of this abbess princess. The masterpiece of ancient Russian jewelry art also served as an ark for storing Christian shrines received from Constantinople and Jerusalem.

The six-pointed cross was richly decorated with precious stones, ornamental compositions and twenty enamel miniatures depicting saints. In five square nests located in the middle of the cross, there were relics: drops of the blood of Jesus Christ, a particle of the Lord's cross, a piece of stone from the tomb of the Virgin, parts of the relics of Saints Stephen and Panteleimon and the blood of Saint Demetrius. On the sides, the shrine was overlaid with twenty silver plates with gilding and an inscription warning those who steal, give away or sell the shrine, a terrible punishment awaits.

Despite this, the fear of God's punishment did not stop anyone. At the turn of the XII-XIII centuries, the Smolensk princes took the cross from Polotsk. In 1514 he moved to Vasily III who captured Smolensk. In 1579, after the capture of Polotsk by the Poles, the shrine went to the Jesuits. In 1812, the cross was immured in the wall of St. Sophia Cathedral away from the eyes of the French. During the years of the revolution, the relic became a museum exhibit of the city of Mogilev.

Museum staff, of course, began to celebrate the mass pilgrimage to the shrine. The cross was moved to storage. It was missed only in the 1960s. It turned out that the cross disappeared ...

More than ten versions of the disappearance of an ancient relic were developed. There is a version that it should be looked for in the museum archive of some provincial Russian town. Or maybe the cross went to one of the top military officials of that time ... It is also possible that the cross of Efrosinya Polotskaya ended up in the USA along with other valuables transferred as payment for American military assistance. And there is an assumption that the cross did not leave Polotsk at all, and in 1812, they simply forgot to “demurre” the shrine, mistaking one of the many fakes for a real cross.

The outcome of any war depends on many factors, among which, of course, weapons are of considerable importance. Despite the fact that absolutely all German weapons were very powerful, since Adolf Hitler personally considered them the most important weapon and paid considerable attention to the development of this industry, they failed to inflict damage on the opponents, which would significantly affect the course of the war. Why did it happen? Who stands at the origins of the creation of the submarine army? Were the German submarines of World War II really so invincible? Why were such prudent Nazis unable to defeat the Red Army? You will find the answer to these and other questions in the review.

general information

Collectively, all the equipment that was in service with the Third Reich during World War II was called the Kriegsmarine, and submarines made up a significant part of the arsenal. Underwater equipment passed into a separate industry on November 1, 1934, and the fleet was disbanded after the war ended, that is, having existed for less than a dozen years. In such a short period of time, the German submarines of World War II brought a lot of fear into the souls of their opponents, leaving their huge mark on the bloody pages of the history of the Third Reich. Thousands of dead, hundreds of sunken ships, all this remained on the conscience of the surviving Nazis and their subordinates.

Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine

During World War II, one of the most famous Nazis, Karl Doenitz, was at the helm of the Kriegsmarine. German U-boats certainly played an important role in World War II, but without this man this would not have happened. He was personally involved in creating plans to attack opponents, participated in attacks on many ships and achieved success in this path, for which he was awarded and - one of the most significant awards Nazi Germany. Doenitz was an admirer of Hitler and was his successor, which did him a lot of harm during the Nuremberg trials, because after the death of the Fuhrer, he was considered the commander-in-chief of the Third Reich.

Specifications

It is easy to guess that Karl Doenitz was responsible for the state of the submarine army. German submarines in World War II, whose photos prove their power, had impressive parameters.

In general, the Kriegsmarine was armed with 21 types of submarines. They had the following characteristics:

• displacement: from 275 to 2710 tons;
• surface speed: from 9.7 to 19.2 knots;
• underwater speed: from 6.9 to 17.2;
• diving depth: from 150 to 280 meters.

This proves that the German submarines of the Second World War were not only powerful, they were the most powerful among the weapons of the countries that fought against Germany.

Composition of the Kriegsmarine

1154 submarines belonged to the military boats of the German fleet. It is noteworthy that until September 1939 there were only 57 submarines, the rest were built specifically for participation in the war. Some of them were trophies. So, there were 5 Dutch, 4 Italian, 2 Norwegian and one English and one French submarines. All of them were also in service with the Third Reich.

Navy Achievements

The Kriegsmarine inflicted considerable damage on its opponents throughout the war. So, for example, the most productive captain Otto Kretschmer sank almost fifty enemy ships. There are also record holders among the courts. For example, the German submarine U-48 sank 52 ships.

Throughout World War II, 63 destroyers, 9 cruisers, 7 aircraft carriers and even 2 battleships were destroyed. The largest and most remarkable victory for the German army among them can be considered the sinking of the battleship Royal Oak, the crew of which consisted of a thousand people, and its displacement was 31,200 tons.

Plan Z

Since Hitler considered his fleet extremely important for the triumph of Germany over other countries and had extremely positive feelings for it, he paid considerable attention to it and did not limit funding. In 1939, a plan was developed for the development of the Kriegsmarine for the next 10 years, which, fortunately, never materialized. According to this plan, several hundred more of the most powerful battleships, cruisers and submarines were to be built.

Powerful German submarines of World War II

Photographs of some surviving German submarines give an idea of ​​the power of the Third Reich, but only faintly reflect how strong this army was. Most of all, the German fleet had type VII submarines, they had optimal seaworthiness, were of medium size, and most importantly, their construction was relatively inexpensive, which is important in

They could dive to a depth of 320 meters with a displacement of up to 769 tons, the crew ranged from 42 to 52 employees. Despite the fact that the “sevens” were quite high-quality boats, over time, the enemy countries of Germany improved their weapons, so the Germans also had to work on modernizing their offspring. As a result of this, the boat has several more modifications. The most popular of these was the VIIC model, which not only became the epitome of German military power during the attack on the Atlantic, but was also much more convenient than previous versions. The impressive dimensions made it possible to install more powerful diesel engines, and subsequent modifications also featured strong hulls, which made it possible to dive deeper.

German submarines of the Second World War were subjected to a constant, as they would say now, upgrade. Type XXI is considered to be one of the most innovative models. In this submarine, an air conditioning system was created and optional equipment, which was intended for a longer stay of the team under water. A total of 118 boats of this type were built.

Results of the Kriegsmarine

The Germany of World War II, whose photos can often be found in books about military equipment, played a very important role in the advance of the Third Reich. Their power cannot be underestimated, but it should be borne in mind that even with such patronage from the bloodiest Fuhrer in world history, the German fleet did not manage to bring its power closer to victory. Probably, only good equipment and a strong army are not enough; for the victory of Germany, the ingenuity and courage that the brave soldiers of the Soviet Union possessed was not enough. Everyone knows that the Nazis were incredibly bloodthirsty and shunned little on their way, but neither the incredibly equipped army nor the lack of principles helped them. Armored vehicles, a huge amount of ammunition and the latest developments did not bring the expected results to the Third Reich.

Foreign submarines of the period of the Second World War in the Navy of the USSR

On July 26, 1944, the German submarine U250 set out on its first military campaign from the parking lot code-named "Grand Hotel" from the island of Nuokko in the Finnish skerries. The submarine was to operate in the area at the northern entrance to Bjerkezund. The Soviet command was informed about the presence of enemy submarines in this area, but no instructions were given regarding anti-submarine defense actions.

The struggle here went on with varying success.

On July 15, near Ruonti Island, the submarine U679 was attacked by a Soviet patrol consisting of two torpedo boats and two boats - sea hunters, and barely managed to escape, having received damage, while losing three people. Three days later, the submarine U479 almost sent the boat MO-304 to the bottom. MO-304, which lost its nose, managed to reverse to the base. The Soviet command attributed damage to boats to mines, since no one assumed that the Germans were spending ammunition on targets that were hardly more expensive than the torpedoes themselves.

On the afternoon of July 30, 1944, the boat MO-105 was anchored on the watch line north of Bjerkezund. At 12.43 an explosion was heard in the middle part of the boat's hull, MO-105 broke in half and sank. Soon, the MO-103 patrol boat approached the crash site. Having picked up seven surviving members of the crew of the deceased boat from the water, MO-103 conducted an anti-submarine search, but found nothing and remained on the patrol line.

In the evening, from one of the boats that covered the minesweeper boats operating in the area, they found the cabin of a submarine under water at a shallow depth, and immediately called a patrol boat with signal rockets and a siren. At 19.15, MO-103, having established hydroacoustic contact with the submarine, launched an attack with depth charges, after which a moving bubble trail was observed above the water. MO-103 repeated the attack, which became the death of the submarine U250: various objects appeared on the surface of the water, and among them six people who managed to leave the dying submarine through the wheelhouse hatch. Among the rescued submariners was the U250 commander, navigator, second navigator, junior foreman, orderly and sailor.

Almost immediately after that, it was decided to lift the U250, after which a group of specialists from the Emergency Rescue Service Baltic Fleet started to work. The submarine lay on a rocky shallow, at a depth of thirty-three meters. Ship-lifting work was carried out at night, as the enemy interfered in every possible way with the work of divers, shelling the site of the death of the submarine from the southwestern coast of the Vyborg Bay.

On the night of September 1, Kriegsmarine made another attempt to destroy the submarine's hull with depth charges, but, having lost an S80 torpedo boat to a mine, soon abandoned this venture. On September 14, 1944, U250 was raised, towed to Kronstadt and delivered to the DOK.

During the inspection of the compartments of the submarine, in addition to various ship documents, ciphers, codes, an Enigma-M cipher machine was found, as well as the latest T-5 homing acoustic torpedoes with operating instructions.

In addition, during the interrogation of prisoners, information was obtained about the organization of the activities of German submarines and the training system for submariners. After the torpedoes were removed from the submarine and raised to the wall of the dock, their thorough

The submarine itself was also of considerable interest to the Soviet command. Belonging to the VIIC series, she was a representative of the most common type of submarine in the history of world submarine shipbuilding (in total, Germany built more than seven hundred submarines of this type). These submarines formed the basis of the German submarine fleet and most of the German submarine aces achieved their success on Type VIIC submarines.

On November 6, 1944, by order of the People's Commissar of the Navy, a commission was created under the chairmanship of Captain 1st Rank M.A. Rudnitsky, which was entrusted with the study of the U250. The Soviet side was interested both in the introduction of the German experience in submarine shipbuilding in the USSR, and in the peculiarities of the living conditions of the submarine crew.

Back in 1942, TsKB-18 began the development of a Project 608 submarine, the elements of which were close to the German submarines of the VII series. After the U250 was raised, the People's Commissar of the USSR Navy N.G. Kuznetsov decided to suspend work on the project until the trophy was studied. In 1945, when Soviet specialists were able to get acquainted with the latest German submarines of the XXI and XXIII series, work on the project was finally stopped. Soon TsKB-18 took up the development of drawings for Project 613 submarines.

U250 became part of the USSR Navy under the designation TS-14 (trophy medium) on April 20, 1945, but it never entered service, and after four months it was excluded from the lists and handed over for disassembly.

On August 20, 1944, the troops of the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts began the Yasso-Chisinau operation. On the same day aviation Black Sea Fleet subjected to a massive bombardment of the Constanta Naval Base, where German and Romanian submarines were based. On August 29, Soviet sailors were presented with a picture of the results of the raid on Constanta. Of the submarines in the port, U9 received a direct hit and sank right at the pier, the submarines U18 and U24 were also heavily damaged, and when the Red Army entered the city they were flooded in the outer roads of Constanta. The former Italian, and now under Romanian control, midget submarines SV-4 and SV-6 did not escape damage.

The trophies of the Red Army, in addition to the above submarines, were the Romanian submarines "Rechinul" and "Marsuinul", as well as the former Italian midget submarines SV-1, SV-2 and SV-3.

The third Romanian submarine "Delfmul" was captured in Sulina. All of them, except for the heavily damaged and beyond repair SV-6, were enrolled in the Black Sea Fleet.

The U9, U18 and U24 that died in Constanta were raised by the Emergency Rescue Service of the Black Sea Fleet, but they were not restored; torpedoes of the M-120 submarine near Sevastopol.

On August 29, 1944, the Romanian (former Italian) midget submarines SV-1, SV-2, SV-3 and SV-4 were captured by Soviet troops in Constanta. Like the Romanians, the Soviet Union did not find a use for the former Italian midget submarines. After studying the submarines were cut into metal.

Among the Soviet trophies in Constanta were two Romanian submarines - "Rechinul" and "Marsuinul". The third Romanian submarine - "Delfmul" was captured in Sulina. September 5, 1944 captured submarines raised the Soviet naval ensign.

The war on the Black Sea has already ended, and submarines did not have to take part in the fighting on the side of the USSR. Already in November 1945, the USSR returned Delfmul to Romania, which received the designation TC-3 in the Soviet fleet. The submarine was of no interest to Soviet specialists, and by that time Romania was already being considered as a potential member of the Eastern Bloc. After the submarine was decommissioned for scrap, its main mechanisms became part of the exposition of the maritime museum in Constanta. In 1951, the Rechinul was transferred to the Socialist Republic of Romania, which bore the designation TS-1 in the Soviet fleet. The third submarine "Marsuinul" (TS-2), seriously damaged by the explosion of its own torpedoes in the port of Poti on February 20, 1945, was scrapped in the USSR in 1950.

On March 30, 1945, troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front took Danzig. Here, on the stocks of the Schichau plant, the hulls of twenty of the latest submarines of the XXI series (U3538 - U3557) were discovered. For another 14 submarines (U3558 - U3571), sections were prepared. In the summer of 1945, the hulls of unfinished submarines were launched and transferred to the Soviet Union.

The first thirteen submarines were included in the fleet on April 13, 1945. The remaining seven - February 12, 1946. In the Soviet fleet, they all received the designations TS-5 - TS-13, TS-15, TS-17 - TS-19, TS-32 - TS-38. In March 1947, TS-5 - TS-12 received the designations R-1 - R-8. Part of the submarines had a fairly high degree of readiness, so the submarines were supposed to be completed according to project 614 with the replacement of the missing German equipment with components of domestic production. Work on the project was carried out by SKB-143 under the leadership of V.N. Peregudov. Under pressure former allies on anti-Hitler coalition plans to complete the construction of captured submarines had to be abandoned. located in the most high degree readiness R-1, R-2 and P-Z (former German U3538, U3539, U3540) were sunk on March 8, 1947 20 miles northwest of the Ristna lighthouse, the rest of the submarines were handed over for dismantling in 1947-1948.

On February 10, 1945, at the Schichau shipyard in Elbing, the advancing units of the Red Army captured 166 Seehund XXVIIB series midget submarines, which are at various stages of construction. The most ready of them - 16 units, the Germans managed to blow up.

The post-war fate of these submarines is unknown. Part Soviet fleet they were not included and, most likely, after the study were dismantled on the spot.

The U78 VIIC series can also be included in the number of Soviet trophies. The submarine was accepted by the Kriegsmarine on 15 February 1941 despite being armed with only two torpedo tubes. As a full-fledged combat unit, it was never used, and until March 1945, the personnel of the 22nd flotilla in Gotenhafen trained on it. At the end of the war, the submarine was reclassified as a floating charging station, but the submarine's armament was retained. Formally in the 4th flotilla, the floating charging station was located in Pillau. During the battles for the city on April 18, 1945, the submarine was sunk by fire from the 2nd Battery of the 523rd Corps Artillery Regiment from the 11th Guards Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front right at the pier of the Marine Station. After the end of the war, the hull of the submarine was raised, but the submarine itself was of no interest to the Soviet side, and was handed over for disassembly.

In Germany, the design bureau under the leadership of G. Walter was actively developing a project for submarines with a steam-gas turbine unit (PGTU). Built in 1940, the U80 test submarine reached a fantastic speed of 28 knots for the first time in the history of the submarine fleet.

During the war years in Germany, despite the lack of materials and labor, work on PSTU continued. In 1942, the Germans managed to build four such submarines - U792 and U793 according to the Wa201 project and U794 and U795 according to the WK202 project, which received the general designation XVII series. By 1944, these submarines had passed a complex of various tests. By the end of the war, the leadership of the Reich decided on their mass construction. It was planned to build 108 submarines of the XVII series by the middle of 1945, but as a result, only three submarines saw the light - U1405, U1406 and U1407. The development of projects for submarines with PSTU was carried out in Germany until the signing of the act of surrender. At the end of the war, all submarines from PSTU were scuttled. The British managed to find and raise two submarines - U1406 and U1407, one of which they handed over to the Americans.

In August 1945, a group of Soviet shipbuilding engineers dressed in military uniform, sent to Germany for "technical intelligence". By that time, an employee of Walter's bureau had defected to the Soviet occupation zone from the Americans. With his help, Soviet specialists restored all the design documentation of German submarines from PSTU. On the basis of this documentation and technical samples, which were found in the Soviet zone of occupation of Germany by employees of "technical intelligence", in the USSR, by the forces of a specially created KB-143, project 617 was developed and the S-99 submarine was built.

Submarine TS-14 (U250)

The German submarine VII-C series was laid down on January 9, 1943 at the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel, launched on November 11, 1943, and commissioned on December 12, 1943. In 1943-1944 she made two combat campaigns.

On June 30, 1944, in the Björke-Sund area, she sank the Soviet patrol boat MO-105, but on the same day she was destroyed by depth charges of the sea hunter MO-103. 46 crew members of the submarine were killed. The divers determined that the submarine was lying at a depth of 27 meters on an even keel with a list of 14 degrees to starboard, and examined the hole above the diesel compartment. Under the cover of a smoke screen and with strong opposition from German torpedo boats and Finnish coastal troops, the submarine was raised with the help of two pontoons and arrived in Kronstadt on September 14. On September 15, it was delivered to the dry dock. Secret documents, the Enigma cipher machine and four new G7es acoustic torpedoes were found on board, which were later studied by British naval experts together with Soviet specialists.

The submarine aroused the greatest interest among Soviet shipbuilders.

Despite the fact that by that time the submarines of the VII series were no longer the latest, having been in serial construction for more than five years, the design of the submarine was highly appreciated by Soviet shipbuilders. The People's Commissar of the Navy N. G. Kuznetsov issued a special order to suspend the ongoing development of a new project of a medium submarine (project 608) until the captured U250 was studied. Of particular interest to specialists was the undamaged secret G7es torpedo, equipped with an acoustic homing system.

From April 12 to August 20, 1945, the submarine U250 under the name TS-14 (TS-captured ship) was part of the Soviet Navy as an experimental submarine. It was planned to restore it, but due to severe damage and the lack of spare parts, the TS-14 submarine was withdrawn from the fleet and dismantled for metal at the Leningrad base of Glavvtorchermet on the Turukhany Islands.

Tactical - Technical Data of the submarine TS-14:

Displacement: surface / underwater - 769/871 tons. Main dimensions: length - 67.1 meters, width - 6.2 meters, draft - 4.74 meters. Speed: surface / underwater - 17.7 / 7.6 knots. Power point: two forced, six-cylinder, four-stroke Germaniaverft M6V 40/46 diesel engines, two electric motors with a total power of 750 hp, two propeller shafts. Armament: 88 mm C35 gun with 220 rounds, four bow and one stern 533 mm torpedo tubes, 14 torpedoes or 26 TMA mines, one 37 mm M42U assault rifle and 2x2 20 mm C30 assault rifles. Diving depth: 295 meters. Team: 44–52 submariners.

on the study of the German submarine U-250 and the determination of its further use

The general guidance for studying the German technology of submarine shipbuilding and determining the technical condition of the German submarine U250 raised from the water for its further use is assigned to the head of the shipbuilding department of the Navy. For direct work on the boat, to help the head of the shipbuilding department of the Navy, appoint a commission in the following composition:

Chairman of the commission - head of department "E" of the NTC NKVMF engineer-captain 1st rank comrade. Rudnitsky M.A., Deputy chairman of the commission - chief of staff of the ODSKR submarine captain 2nd rank comrade. Yunakova E.G., Members: from the Criminal Code of the Navy - early. department of the CPA of the Criminal Code of the Navy at the head. No. 194 engineer-captain 2nd rank comrade. Martynchik, - head of the section of the NTC of the NKVMF, engineer-lieutenant colonel comrade. Petelin, - Art. engineer of the NTC NKVMF engineer-captain 2nd rank comrade. Tsvetaeva, - art. engineer of the 2nd department of the III department of the Criminal Code of the Navy, engineer-lieutenant colonel comrade. Khasina, from the TU of the Navy - engineer-captain of the 2nd rank comrade. Indeikin, from the AU of the Navy - engineer-lieutenant colonel comrade. Khudyakov, engineer-lieutenant colonel comrade. Zorin, from the MTU of the Navy - engineer-captain of the 2nd rank comrade. Martynenko, engineer-captain of the 2nd rank comrade. Saulsky, from the communications department of the Navy - engineer-lieutenant colonel comrade. Voronkov, engineer-lieutenant colonel comrade. Belopolsky, from the hydrographic exercise. Navy - head of the department of the navigation department, captain of the 2nd rank comrade. Gadov. The commission is entrusted with the following tasks:

1. Determine the technical condition of the U250 submarine to make a decision on its restoration and use.

2. Determine the most interesting technical and tactical parts of the boat for the purpose of their further study and implementation in domestic design and construction.

3. View all technical documentation for the ship to resolve the issue of its use in design and construction.

I. Commander of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet:

1) By the forces of the Kronstadt Marine Plant, by November 1, 1944, on the U250 submarine, work related to ensuring its buoyancy and preserving the hull, mechanisms, systems, devices and equipment.

2) Transfer the U250 submarine to the freeze-up in Leningrad to shipyard No.-196 and put in a wooden floating dock for further work on it, as well as for its study.

3) To equip the submarine U250 by the time of transfer to Leningrad with personnel according to the state No. 4/22B.

4) Transfer all material found on the U250 submarine (drawings, instructions, manuals, books, personal notes of the submarine crew, ship's logs, photos, etc.) to the chairman of the commission for study and through the head of the Criminal Code of the Navy organized translation and reproduction.

5) To select from the wooden floats available in Kronstadt for the installation of the U250 submarine.

II. Head of the Naval Shipbuilding Department:

1) Issue orders to the industry and draw up contracts for the performance of work related to the preservation of the hull, systems, devices, mechanisms and equipment, repair and conservation.

2) Translate from German into Russian the materials found on the submarine and publish them, as well as supply naval organizations with them.

3) According to the available German drawings and from nature, prepare a complete set of drawings of the U-250 submarine with all the necessary data.

4) Together with the head of the Navy's diving department, report to me by January 1, 1945, the need and real possibilities for restoring the U250 submarine into a warship, as well as the feasibility of transferring German technology to domestic shipbuilding.

III. To the head of the mine and torpedo department of the Navy:

1) Take the most urgent measures to study the German torpedoes located in the torpedo tubes and on the racks of the U250 submarine for safe disarmament and removal from the submarine.

2) After studying the German torpedoes and torpedo tubes, report to me their advantages and disadvantages in comparison with domestic electric and air torpedoes and tubes.

IV. Head of the Artillery Directorate of the Navy:

Determine the need to bring the artillery systems removed from the U-250 submarine (37 mm machine guns and 20 mm twin machine guns) and periscopes into good technical condition and report to me by January 1, 1945 the possibility of using them for the design and manufacture of domestic installations.

V. To the head of the communications department and the head of the hydrographic department of the Navy: Take measures to restore the radio, hydroacoustic and navigation equipment to transfer experience in the manufacture of domestic equipment and devices.

VI. Head of the technical department of the Navy:

Before the submarine leaves for Leningrad, in the battery workshops of the TO KBF, process the battery removed from the U250 submarine, taking all measures to restore it.

VII. Head of the chemical department of the Navy:

Based on the materials presented by the chairman of the commission, to study the rescue and identification devices and chemicals found on the U250 submarine (rescue masks, regeneration cartridges, dyes, etc.) and report to me by January 1, 1945 the expediency and real possibilities of introducing them for our underwater fleet.

VIII. To the Head of the Department of Clothing and Schipper-Economic Supply of the Navy:

1) Based on the materials presented by the chairman of the commission, study the uniforms of German submariners found on the U-250 submarine and report to the deputy. People's Commissar Navy Colonel-General of the Coastal Service comrade. Vorobyov the possibility of providing special clothing to the personnel of our submarines.

2) Provide the Naval Shipbuilding Department with the necessary amount of paper for printing translated materials, as well as publish them, if necessary, in a typographic design.

IX. Head of the Food Supply Department of the Navy:

Examine the assortment of food used on German submarines, as well as its storage containers and report to the Deputy People's Commissar of the Navy, Colonel-General of the Coastal Service Comrade. Vorobyov about the possibility of introducing such food and containers for the supply of our submarines.

X. To the head of the intelligence department of the Main Military School of the Navy:

To provide the necessary assistance to the Naval Shipbuilding Department in translating materials from German into Russian and making photographs.

XI. In order to concentrate German experience in one center and make more rational use of it, to concentrate all the material used on the U-250 submarine in the shipbuilding department of the Navy, as well as to allow the removal of mechanisms and other equipment from the submarine only with the knowledge and consent of the latter. XII. Until the final determination of the further use of the U-250 submarine, list it as part of a separate division of submarines under construction and overhaul in Leningrad, with maintenance according to the state No. 4/22-B (beeches). XIII. The chairman of the commission is given the right to call individual specialists from research institutes, the need for which arises along the way. XIV. Conclusions and conclusions on the German submarine U-250 in all parts, to the heads of the relevant central departments of the Navy, submit to the head of the shipbuilding department of the Navy by December 25 for a summary report to me.

KUZNETSOV

Submarine U250 during testing and commissioning of the German Navy. 1943.

Submarine U250.

Submarine U250 in dry DOCK after recovery. Kronstadt. September 1944.

Extraction of the bodies of dead German submariners from the U250 pressure hull.

Captured crew members of the U-250 submarine. In the center is the commander of the submarine Lieutenant Commander Werner Schmidt.

Submarine TS-1 (SI "Rechinul" ("Shark")

Laid down in 1938 at the state shipyard in Galati (Romania). On May 4, 1941, the submarine S1 ("Rechinul") was launched, in August 1943 the Romanian Navy entered service. S1 took part in the fighting against the Soviet Black Sea Fleet. In the first combat campaign, S1 patrolled the Turkish Zundulak area, then moved to Batumi to cover the evacuation of the Crimea.

In the second half of June to July 1944, the submarine conducted a combat campaign in the Novorossiysk region. On the morning of June 28, the submarine was attacked by Soviet hunters, as a result of which it had minor damage. Rechinul spent another month in its assigned area, during which time the submarine was repeatedly subjected to unsuccessful attacks by Soviet anti-submarine defenses.

On August 29, 1944, the SI ("Rechinul") submarine was captured as a trophy by the Red Army in Konstanz. On September 5, 1944, the Soviet Naval flag was hoisted on the submarine and on September 14 it became part of the Black Sea Fleet under the designation "TS-1" (TS - captured ship).

On August 4, 1947, the submarine received the designation "N-39" (in the Soviet fleet with the introduction unified system designation, the letter "H" (German) was intended for all captured and reparation boats, regardless of their real "origin"), on January 12, 1949, captured submarines were officially classified as medium submarines. On June 16, 1949, the submarine was again renamed S-39.

On July 3, 1951, the S-39 submarine was expelled from the USSR Navy and transferred to Socialist Republic Romania, where she served as part of her Navy under the former name "Rechinul" until the end of the 50s, after which she was scrapped.

Laid down in 1938 at the state shipyard in Galati (Romania). On May 22, 1941, the submarine was launched; in July 1943, without acceptance tests, it formally became part of the Royal Romanian Navy. In September 1943, the submarine finally entered service.

Under the Royal flag of Romania, the submarine S2 ("Marsuinul") took part in the fighting against the Black Sea Fleet, making an exit to the coast of the Caucasus. Throughout the entire combat campaign, the submarine was subjected to constant and prolonged harassment by both its own and Soviet anti-submarine defense forces.

On August 29, 1944, the submarine was captured as a trophy by the Red Army in Constanta. On September 5, the Soviet Naval flag was hoisted on it and on September 14, 1944, under the designation "TS-2" (TS - captured ship), it became part of the Black Sea Fleet.

On the afternoon of February 20, 1945, in the parking lot in the port of Poti, while trying to extract the German G7a torpedo from the torpedo tube on the TC-2, the torpedo charging compartment exploded. According to the commission investigating the disaster, the explosion occurred as a result of the premature removal of the longitudinal torpedo beam. The torpedo abruptly lifted its nose up and hit the charging compartment on the protruding parts of the hull. As a result of the torpedo explosion, fourteen submariners died, and the submarine itself, despite being in the port, sank sixty-five minutes later, because due to the confusion of the personnel, the struggle for the survivability of the submarine was not conducted. After 9 days, by 4 pm on March 1, 1945, the TS-2 was raised from a depth of six meters and drained by the forces of the 36th Emergency Rescue Squad of the Black Sea Fleet and towed to Sevastopol for refurbishment. The dead members of the submarine crew are buried in the city cemetery in Poti.

According to the results of the “organizational conclusions”, the head of the mine-torpedo department of the Black Sea Fleet, captain 2nd rank A.P. Dubrovin, the flagship miner of the Black Sea Fleet, captain 1st rank S.V. Rogulin and the commander of the submarine division, Hero of the Soviet Union B.A. military ranks one step, the head of the diving department, Rear Admiral P.I. Boltunov, was removed from his post, the commander of the Diving Brigade, Rear Admiral S.E. Chursin and the chief of staff, Captain 2nd Rank N.D. Novikov, were severely reprimanded. The commander of the TS-2 captain 3rd rank A.S. Alinovsky "for systematic drunkenness, the collapse of discipline and organization of service" was tried by a military tribunal.

On August 4, 1947, the submarine was given the designation H-40, and on June 16, 1949, S-40. On November 28, 1950, due to the impossibility of restoration, the S-40 submarine was excluded from the lists of the USSR Navy; on December 8, 1950, it was transferred to the Stock Property Department for disassembly.

Submarine TS-3 ("Delfinul" ("Dolphin")

Laid down in 1929 at the Cantieri Navali dei Quamaro shipyard in Fiume (Italy) by order of Romania. Simultaneously with the construction of the submarine, the construction of the Constanta floating base was ordered to the Italians. The submarine was launched on June 22, 1930, and in 1931 entered service with the Italian Navy. In April 1936, the submarine was purchased by the Romanian government and entered service with the Royal Romanian Navy.

With the beginning of the war against the Soviet Union, the submarine took part in the fighting against the Soviet Black Sea Fleet. Despite the fact that Delfinul was the only Axis submarine on the Black Sea until the arrival of German and Italian submarines, the Soviet command was forced to divert significant forces to carry out anti-submarine defense tasks. There is a legend that tells that in the fall of 1941, the Delfinul commander, having discovered the Soviet battleship Parizhskaya Kommuna, at the moment when the latter was walking without guards and substituting his side for a torpedo salvo, gave the command “Hang up!”. He explained to the astonished assistant: "No one will believe that the only Romanian submarine sank the only Russian battleship on the Black Sea."

On August 20, 1941, Delfinui became the target of an attack by the Soviet submarine M-33, which fired a torpedo at the Romanian submarine to no avail. On November 5, 1941, 5 miles north of Yalta, Delfinui attacked an unknown single Soviet ship. Attack not detected the Soviet side. Perhaps the object of the attack was the Soviet motor tanker "Kremlin" (the former "Soyuz Vodnikov"). The steamships Uralles and Lenin, mentioned on this occasion in a number of sources, cannot be considered as such, since the Uralles was killed by a German air strike near Evpatoria on October 30, 1941, and the Lenin died on a Soviet mine near the Cape Sarych at the end of July 27, 1941.

On August 27, 1944, the Delfinui submarine was captured as a trophy by Soviet troops in Sulina. On September 5, 1944, the flag of the USSR Navy was hoisted on the submarine; on September 14, 1944, the submarine became part of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet. In October, a non-combat-ready submarine was towed to Balaklava, on October 20, 1944, the submarine received the designation "TS-3" (TS - captured ship). As part of the USSR Navy, she did not make military campaigns.

On October 12, 1945, the Delfinui submarine was returned to Romania; on November 6, 1945, it was excluded from the lists of the USSR Navy. Under the former name "Delfinui", the submarine served in the Navy of the Socialist Republic of Romania until 1957, after which it was excluded from the lists, disarmed and scrapped.

Tactical - Technical Data of submarines TS-1, TS-2, TS-3:

Displacement: surface / underwater -636/860 tons. Main dimensions: length - 68.0 meters, width - 6.45 meters, 4.1 meters. Speed: surface / underwater - 16.6 / 8.0 knots. Cruising range: surface / underwater - 8040 / 8.2 miles. Power plant: diesel-electric. Armament: four 533 mm bow torpedo tubes - 4, two 533 mm stern torpedo tubes, one 88 mm gun. Diving depth: 80 meters. Autonomy: 45 days. Team: 45 submariners.

Submarine S1 ("Rechinul").

Submarine S-39 (formerly Rechinul).

Submarine "Delfinul" in the dock. 1942

Submarine "Delfinul".

Submarine TM-4 (SV-1)

The Italian submarine SV-1 ("Costiero", type "B") was laid down on January 27, 1941 at the Kaproni Taliedo shipyard in Milan. After the entry into service of the Italian fleet, as part of the 11th submarine flotilla, she took part in the anti-submarine defense of Naples and Salerno.

In late April - early May 1942, she was transferred to the Black Sea, where she joined the fight against the Soviet fleet. September 8, 1943, after the withdrawal of Italy from the war, transferred to the Romanian Navy.

August 29, 1944 became a trophy of the Red Army in Constanta (Romania) and October 20, 1944 enlisted in the Black Sea Fleet. On February 16, 1945, due to the technical condition of the submarine TM-4, due to its unsuitability for further combat use, it was excluded from the USSR Navy and handed over for disassembly.

Submarine TM-5 (SV-2)

The Italian submarine SV-2 was laid down on January 27, 1941 at the Kaproni Taliedo shipyard in Milan. After the entry into service of the Italian fleet, as part of the 11th submarine flotilla, she took part in the anti-submarine defense of Naples and Salerno. In late April - early May 1942, she was transferred to the Black Sea, where she joined the fight against the Soviet fleet.

September 8, 1943 transferred to the Italian command of the Romanian Navy. On August 29, 1944, she became a trophy of the Red Army in Constanta (Romania), and on October 20, 1944 she was enrolled in the Black Sea Fleet. On February 16, 1945, due to its unsuitability for further combat use due to its technical condition, the SV-2 submarine was excluded from the USSR Navy. For a detailed study, it was transferred to the enterprises of the People's Commissariat of Industry in Leningrad, where it was handed over for disassembly.

Submarine TM-6 (SV-3)

The Italian midget submarine SV-3 was laid down on May 10, 1941 by Kaproni Taliedo (Milan). From April 25 to May 2, 1942, she was transferred by land from La Spezia to Constanta. She made six combat exits in the Mediterranean Sea. Within a month, the submarine was launched and put into combat readiness. During the Great Patriotic War, she operated as part of the IV Flotilla and was based at Yalta, and then at Burgas. For the winter, the submarine arrived in Constanta.

In 1942, it was planned to transfer Italian midget submarines from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea, but the defeat of the German troops at Stalingrad and their subsequent retreat frustrated these plans. On January 2, 1943, all Italian ships were withdrawn from the Black Sea, but they could not return to their homeland, since the Black Sea straits were closed, and the way to the Mediterranean Sea through the Balkans was blocked by Yugoslav partisans.

In 1942-1944, SV-3 made six combat campaigns. The information that on June 26, 1942, 10 miles south of Cape Sarych, SV-3 sank the Soviet submarine S-32 is not true.

After the signing of the armistice between Italy and the allies, SV-3, along with other Italian midget submarines, was transferred to the Romanian Navy, where on August 29, 1944, the submarine was captured by the advancing Soviet troops at the Constanta Naval Base. October 20, 1944 SV-3 was included in the Soviet Black Sea Fleet under the designation TM-6 (captured small).

On February 16, 1945, due to its unsuitability for further combat use due to its technical condition, the TM-6 submarine was excluded from the USSR Navy and transferred to the Separate Training Submarine Division for use in educational purposes. In 1955, the TM-6 submarine was dismantled for metal.

Submarine TM-7 (SV-4)

The Italian midget submarine SV-4 was laid down on May 10, 1941 at the Cargopi Taliedo shipyard in Milan. After the entry into service of the Italian fleet, as part of the 11th submarine flotilla, she took part in the anti-submarine defense of Naples and Salerno. In late April - early May 1942, she was transferred to the Black Sea, where she joined the fight against the Soviet fleet. On June 27, 1942, the submarine unsuccessfully attacked the leader of the "Tashkent". On August 26, 1943, the Soviet submarine Shch-203 was sunk by a SV-4 torpedo. September 8, 1943 transferred to the Italian command of the Romanian Navy.

August 29, 1944 became a trophy of the Red Army in Constanta (Romania) and October 20, 1944 enlisted in the Black Sea Fleet.

On February 16, 1945, due to the technical condition of the SV-4 submarine, due to its unsuitability for further combat use, it was excluded from the USSR Navy. Transferred to a separate training division of submarines for training purposes, where it was handed over for disassembly.

Tactical - Technical Data of submarines SV-1 - SV-4:

Displacement: surface / underwater - 35.96 / 45 tons. Main dimensions: 14.9 meters, beam 3.0 meters, draft 2.05 meters. Speed: over water / under water - 7.5 / 6.6 knots. Diesel power: 80 hp, electric motor power: 100 hp Cruising range: surface / underwater - 1,400/50 miles. Armament: two 457 mm torpedo tubes. Crew: 4 divers.

Midget submarine SV-1.

Midget submarine SV-4.

Italian midget submarines:

SV-3 in Yalta.

SV-1 - SV-4 in Sevastopol at Morzavod.

Italian SMPL SV-2 on the surface off the Crimean coast. 1942.

Italian SMPL during transportation.

Italian midget submarines type SV in Constanta.

Italian submarines type SV in Constanta. 1942

Italian submarine CB-3. Yalta. 1942, summer.

Submarine TS-16 (U9)

The PV series submarine was laid down on April 8, 1935 at the Germaniawerft AG shipyard in Kiel. On July 30, 1935, U9 was launched and entered service on August 21, 1935.

The submarine participated in the Second World War in the West and in the East, made 19 military campaigns, destroyed forty-seven ships and the French submarine "Doris". In the autumn of 1941, the Kriegsmarine decided to transfer six submarines to the Black Sea, including U9. Since the passage Black Sea Straits was excluded, the transfer was carried out along the route Kiel - Hamburg - Dresden (along the Elbe), then by land to Ingolyntadt and further down the Danube to Sulina, and then to the base - in Constanta. It took only six weeks to relocate the submarine U9.

U9 was the first submarine to carry its own symbols, it was the metal Iron Cross, installed on the conning tower in peacetime. The sign was intended to evoke the U9 submarine from the First World War. At present, the sign from the fence of the cabin U9 is on display at the Museum of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol.

Submarine U9 as part of the 30th Submarine Flotilla took part in combat operations against the Soviet Black Sea Fleet, having made 12 combat campaigns. May 11, 1944 U9 damaged patrol ship"Storm".

On August 20, 1944, U9 was sunk in the naval base of Constanta by bombs from Pe-2 aircraft of the 40th aviation regiment of dive bombers of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force.

At the beginning of 1945, the submarine was raised by the Emergency Rescue Service of the Black Sea Fleet, towed to Nikolaev and put on refurbishment on August 19, 1945. Enrolled in the USSR Navy with the assignment of the designation TS-16 (TS - captured ship).

On December 12, 1946, the TS-16 submarine was excluded from the lists of the USSR Navy due to the impossibility of restoration and handed over for disassembly.

Tactical - Technical Data of the submarine TS-16:

Displacement: surface / underwater - 279/328 tons. Main dimensions: length - 42.7 meters, width - 4.08 meters, height - 8.6 meters, draft - 3.9 meters. Power plant: two six 4-stroke MWM RS127S diesel engines with 350 hp each, two Siemens electric motors with 180 hp each. Speed: surface / underwater - 13/7 knots. Cruising range: surface / underwater - 3100/43 miles. Armament: one artillery gun 2st / 65 S / 30 (1000 shells), three 533-mm bow torpedo tubes (5 torpedoes or 18 mines TMV or 12 TMA). Maximum diving depth: 150 meters. Crew: 25 submariners.

Submarine U9. Descent to the water.

Submarine U9.

German submarines U9 (moored by the first hull), U14 and U8 at the pier in Konstanz. 1941

Submarine U9 in autumn 1944 and early 1945.

In memory of the U9 submarine of the First World War, the boat wore an emblem in the form of an Iron Cross on the wheelhouse fence.

The emblem in the form of the Iron Cross, removed from the fence of the cabin U9 in the Museum of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol.

Submarine U18

The PV series submarine was laid down on July 10, 1935 at the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel. On December 6, 1935, the submarine was launched and on January 4, 1936 became part of the Kriegsmarine.

On November 20, 1936, during a training attack in the Lübeck Bay, she was rammed by a T-156 destroyer and sank. As a result of the accident, eight submariners died. The submarine was raised in September 1937 and recommissioned.

At the beginning of World War II, she was part of the 3rd Submarine Flotilla. She took part in the fighting in the West, during six military campaigns, six ships were sunk by the submarine and two transports were damaged. In the autumn of 1941, six submarines, including U18, were transferred to the Black Sea. Since the passage of the Black Sea straits was excluded, the transfer of submarines was carried out along the route Kiel - Hamburg - Dresden (along the Elbe), then by land to Ingolyntadt and further down the Danube to Sulina, and then to the base - to Constanta. The relocation of the submarine began in the summer of 1942, and at the end of May 1943, U18 again entered service, and only six weeks were spent on transporting the submarine.

The submarine took part in the fighting against the Soviet Black Sea Fleet, having made eight military campaigns, on August 29, 1943, it sank the auxiliary minesweeper Dzhalita. On November 18, 1943, she damaged the Joseph Stalin tanker with a torpedo, which returned to Tuapse under her own power; on August 30, 1943, she damaged patrol boat No. 2, armed only with machine guns.

On August 20, 1944, the submarine U18 was heavily damaged by Soviet aircraft in the port of Constanta and, due to the impossibility of commissioning, was flooded by the crew in the outer roadstead. At the end of 1944, the submarine was raised by the Emergency Rescue Service of the Black Sea Fleet. On February 14, 1945, it was decided not to restore the submarine. She was excluded from the lists of the fleet and put on a joke.

On May 26, 1947, the U18 submarine was sunk during an exercise by artillery fire from the M-120 submarine near Sevastopol. June 19, 1947 for the second time excluded from the lists of ships of the Soviet Navy.

Tactical - Technical Data of the submarine U18:

Submarine U18 on the Black Sea. 1943, September.

Emblem of the submarine U18 on the guardrail

Submarine U18.

Submarine U24

The German submarine of the IIB series was laid down on April 21, 1936 at the Germaniaverf shipyard in Kiel. She was launched on September 24, 1936 and commissioned on October 10, 1936. At the beginning of World War II, she was part of the 3rd Submarine Flotilla. She took part in the fighting in the West, during which seven ships were sunk by a submarine, one transport was damaged. In the autumn of 1941, when it became clear that the "blitzkrieg" in the USSR had failed, the German command decided to transfer part of its naval forces to the Black Sea. It was decided to include six submarines in their number, consolidated into the 30th flotilla. These submarines included the U24. Since the passage of the Black Sea straits was excluded, the transfer of submarines was carried out along the route Kiel - Hamburg - Dresden (along the Elbe), then by land to Ingolyntadt and further down the Danube to Sulina, and then to the base - to Constanta. The submarine set foot in fighting against the Soviet Black Sea Fleet. She made twenty combat campaigns, destroyed the minesweeper T-411 ("Defender"), the tanker "Emba", two motorized boats (artillery), patrol boat SKA-0367

On August 20, she was heavily damaged by the aircraft of the Black Sea Fleet in the harbor of the port of Constanta. Due to the impossibility of access to the open sea, the submarine was sunk in the outer roadstead.

In the spring of 1945, she was raised by the Emergency Rescue Service of the Black Sea Fleet, mothballed and handed over to the rear of the fleet for long-term storage. On June 7, 1945, she was enrolled in the Black Sea Fleet, but was not restored and on May 26, 1947 was sunk during exercises by torpedoes from the M-120 submarine near Sevastopol. On June 19, 1947, she was finally excluded from the lists.

Tactical - Technical Data of the submarine U24:

Displacement: surface / underwater - 279/328 tons. Main dimensions: length - 42.7 meters, width - 4.08 meters, draft - 8.6 meters. Speed: surface / underwater - 13 / 7.0 knots. Power plant: two six-cylinder four-stroke diesel engines MWM RS127S 350 hp each, two Siemens electric motors 180 hp each. Armament: two artillery pieces 2ssh/65 S/30 (1000 shells), three 533-mm bow torpedo tubes (5 torpedoes or 18 mines TMV or 12 TMA). Maximum diving depth: 150 meters. Crew: 25 submariners.

Submarine U24 of the Kriegsmarine.

Submarines U9 and U24 are transported on barges with the aim of being transferred to the Black Sea. 1941, autumn.

Emblem of the U24 submarine on the wheelhouse fence.

Submarine U78

The medium German submarine VIIC was laid down on March 28, 1940 at the Bremen-Vulkan shipyard under building number 6, launched on December 7, 1940. The submarine entered service on February 15, 1941. Due to the lack of torpedo tubes, U-78 received only three tubes instead of five: two bow and one stern. Therefore, the submarine did not make military campaigns, throughout its career it was used as a training one, until March 1945, the personnel of the 22nd flotilla in Gotenhafen trained on it.

At the end of the war, the submarine was reclassified as a Floating Charging Station, but the submarine's armament was retained. Formally in the 4th Flotilla, the PZS was located in Pillau. During the battles for the city on April 18, 1945, the submarine was sunk by fire from the 2nd Battery of the 523rd Corps Artillery Regiment from the 11th Guards Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front right at the pier of the Marine Station.

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