Submarine L-21

On March 14, 1945, two German destroyers were heading west. They were transporting representatives of the East Prussian administration from Pillau who were fleeing the advancing Soviet troops. The calculation of the German bureaucrats seemed to be correct; high-speed warships with good anti-aircraft weapons could fend for themselves during a Soviet air raid. But this time another danger awaited the destroyers. A large column of water rose up at the side of the destroyer T-5 and within a few minutes the destroyer began to rapidly plunge under the water. Let's give credit to the commander of the second ship, the destroyer T-3, he did not abandon his comrade and tried to organize the rescue of the crew and passengers. But this time this decision was wrong and a few minutes later the destroyer T-3 was blown up by a mine. The destroyer's emergency party kept the doomed ship afloat for a long time; it lasted for almost two hours, but eventually sank. The mines that blew up the German ships were laid by the Soviet submarine L-21.
From the time of their creation, submarines were intended to covertly strike the enemy. Stealth gave them the opportunity to suddenly launch an attack and deliver a crushing blow. Naturally, torpedoes were best suited for this, and the first attacks by submarines on warships immediately yielded serious results. A small midget could drown a giant many times larger than itself. But one designer in Russia believed that covert mine laying could cause just as much damage to the enemy. One of the talented Russian engineers, Naletov, proposed building an underwater minelayer and designed it himself. This submarine, named "Crab", was built at a shipyard in Nikolaev and was delivered to the fleet in 1915. The submarine took part in the First World War, laid mines and even achieved success. The Turkish gunboat Isa-Reis was blown up by mines. Apparently influenced by the appearance of this submarine, German engineers designed their underwater minelayers.
Years passed, after the revolution and civil war, the USSR government tried to evaluate the submarines remaining from tsarist times. Alas, the picture was bleak. Most of the submarines were in poor condition. All this was aggravated by the fact that the existing Bars-class submarines had many design flaws. They did not have waterproof bulkheads, and most of the torpedoes were in external lattice tubes, which had to be abandoned due to the experience of the First World War. In practice, this meant that in case of any damage to the pressure hull, the Bars-class submarine quickly flooded and died.

All this led to the decision of the Soviet government to begin the design and construction of new submarines. Having our own experience of the successful use of underwater minelayers and evaluating the experience of German submariners, it was decided to build one of the series of submarines as underwater minelayers.
The first submarines built in the USSR were series I submarines (Decembrist type). Despite some shortcomings, it turned out to be a good submarine for operations on the seas and oceans.
On the basis of this project, underwater minelayers of the II series (Lenenets type) were created. The shape of the hull was changed to simplify construction, and two pipes with 10 mines each were added. According to this project, submarines L-1-L-6 were built, three each for the Baltic and Black Sea fleets, respectively.
Next, twelve underwater minelayers were built for the Pacific Fleet. They were a modified design, mainly in the direction of increasing manufacturability during construction.
The last underwater minelayers of the Lenenets type were the submarines of the XIII series - bis. These ships were already very different from the Series II submarines. The length was reduced by two meters, and the noise of submarines was reduced through the use of special shock absorbers. The armament was supplemented by two stern torpedo tubes. The ammunition capacity of artillery guns has been increased. New, more powerful diesel engines made it possible to develop higher speeds on the surface.
The L-21 submarine belonged to precisely such submarines. It was laid down on September 30, 1938 at plant No. 189 in Leningrad. Construction went according to plan and the submarine was launched on July 30, 1940.
The displacement of the submarine on the surface was 1125 tons, while underwater it was 1416 tons. The length of the submarine was 83 meters, width 7 meters, draft 4.43 meters. The torpedo armament consisted of six bow and two stern 533 mm torpedo tubes. The supply of torpedoes reached 18 pieces. The mine armament consisted of 20 mines. The artillery armament consisted of one 100 mm and one 45 mm cannon. Two diesel engines of 2,000 horsepower each provided a maximum surface speed of 18 knots. When submerged, the boat was powered by two electric motors with a power of 650 horsepower each and could reach a maximum speed of 8 knots. The electric motors were powered by batteries, which were charged by diesel engines on the surface. Cruising range on the surface is 11,000 miles at a speed of 9 knots, underwater 130 miles at a speed of 2 knots. The maximum diving depth is 100 meters. Autonomy 30 days. The crew consisted of 57 people.
The submarine L-21 met the war at the factory wall of the Baltic Shipyard. Its readiness was estimated at 74 percent. However, the plant's management, busy with more pressing concerns with the completion and repair of ships, paid virtually no attention to the boat. Despite the difficult blockade winter of 41/42, work was still carried out on the submarine and by May 1942 its readiness was estimated at 85 percent.
On May 24, 1942, the L-21 submarine standing at the outfitting wall of the plant was hit by a heavy German shell. Severe damage led to the sinking of the submarine and it lay on the ground.
However, the factory workers and sailors of the Baltic Fleet managed to seal the holes and apply a plaster to the submarine’s hull. The efforts of the rescuers were crowned with success and on June 8, 1942, the submarine surfaced and was towed for completion.
In November 1942, the submarine underwent dry docking, during which the holes were sealed and the necessary repair work was carried out.
In the spring of 1943, the L-21 submarine finally began completion at the Baltic Shipyard. The workers had to repair a number of components and assemblies of the ship in difficult conditions of the blockaded city. As construction progressed, it became clear that a number of parts for mine pipes were missing in Leningrad. With great effort, the workers were able to produce them and the L-21 mines became one of the deadliest in the Soviet fleet.
The ship was delivered on August 31, 1943. The ship was accepted by the Navy and became a valuable addition to the 1944 company. In the winter of 43/44, the Dragon hydroacoustic station was installed on the ship.
The combat training course for the submarine crew lasted only a month, from September 30 to October 28. Already on the evening of October 28, the submarine set off along the skerry fairway to Helsinki for the war...
The most serious argument for the new submarine turned out to be its commander - captain 3rd rank Mogilevsky Sergei Sergeevich. He was born on September 16, 1909. Served in the Navy since 1931. After being drafted into the navy, he served on the battleship Marat and the destroyer Volodarsky. In 1933, after completing special courses for the command staff of the Red Army Navy, he was appointed commander of the warhead-3 on the L-1 submarine. In 1936, he was a student of the underwater diving training squad named after. Kirov. In the same year, Mogilevsky was appointed assistant commander, and from November 1938 commander of the L-1. Participant of the Soviet-Finnish war. Since February 1941, he was an officer in the submarine department of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet headquarters, and in November of the same year he took command of the L-21 under construction. Having extensive experience serving on submarines, he managed to force the crew and the ship to do almost the impossible. This is what became the key to success.
The command of the Baltic Fleet did not allow the submarine to remain in the Finnish bases for a long time. There was a war going on, German ships and transports carried cargo and troops along the entire southern coast of the Baltic Sea. Under these conditions, on November 10, 1944, L-21 left on its first trip to the Pommeranian coast.
On the afternoon of November 14, arriving at a position 45 miles northwest of the Stilo lighthouse, the submarine discovered a German cruiser with an escort. But this time luck turned away from the submariners. The target's too long distance and high speed did not give it a chance to reach salvo range.
On the morning of November 17, the submarine attacked a fishing trawler with torpedoes, but missed.
On the night of November 21, the ship moved to the Stolpe Bank area. Mogilevsky was in no hurry to lay mines. Having carefully studied the movement of German ships during the day, Mogilevsky was able to understand the location of the German fairway. To the observation of the Soviet commander we must add German carelessness. The Germans left a glowing buoy, which greatly helped the Soviet commander when laying mines.
However, the production itself, carried out on the night of November 23, was not an easy task. The mines had to be placed at a distance of 25 cables from the shore (4 kilometers). The depth at the location was 16 meters and if the submarine was detected by German ships, it would not be able to dive. It was possible to lay 16 mines, the 17th mine got stuck in a mine tube during placement and the submarine was forced to return to the Finnish skerries for repairs.
But fortune favors the brave. On the morning of November 23, the German transport Eichberg (1923 GRT) walking along the fairway came across a submarine mine and was forced to run ashore. The Germans managed to save him, but the patrol ship VS-302, which came to the rescue, was itself blown up by a mine and went for repairs.
On the morning of November 24, the Danish steamer Elie (1873 GRT) sailing along the fairway with a German cargo was blown up by an L-21 mine and quickly sank. She became the first ship to die from an underwater mine.
Only the incompleteness of German documents at the end of the war does not allow the German transport Eberhard (761 GRT), which died in the area of ​​a mine-laying submarine on December 22, 1944, to be counted as a submarine.
Meanwhile, despite the breakdown, Mogilevsky continued to look for enemy ships and vessels on the way to the base. On the morning of November 24, he discovered a steamer 18 miles from Visby and fired three torpedoes at it. Two of them hit the target and the Swedish steamer Hansa (493 brt). The Swedes came under attack because there was a German patrol ship next to their ship.
Meanwhile, the submarine reached the Finnish skerries, where it attempted to independently get rid of the stuck mine. This failed and the boat arrived in Turku on November 26.
At the base, the mine was returned to its place and the submarine set off to search for German ships and vessels. Bad weather prevented the commander from achieving new successes.
On December 22, Kozalo almost managed to reach a position for a torpedo salvo on a German convoy coming from Libau to the Bay of Danzig, but the German patrol ship V-1604 managed to detect the submarine going out to attack and bombard it with artillery fire. The attack was foiled and the submarine retreated.
From its first voyage, the submarine L-21 arrived in Hanko on December 25, 1944. Already on December 26, the boat moved to Turku and stood for repairs.
In January and February 1945, the boat's batteries were replaced and the necessary repairs were made. At the same time, an unpleasant incident occurred with the crew of the submarine. Taking advantage of the absence of the commander, the senior assistant and the team began to “rest”, fortunately, there were plenty of reasons for this. Unauthorized absences and drunkenness led to the replacement of the first mate and mechanical engineer on the submarine. Mogilevsky himself received a reprimand from the command and threats that if he did not impose discipline on the boat, he would be removed from his post.
With such a cargo, the L-21 submarine set out on March 5, 1945 for its second voyage. Already on March 8, it became clear that the stern horizontal rudders were not working. It was impossible to continue the campaign without them. Despite the complex breakdown, the crew decided to repair them without returning to base. Repairs continued on the high seas for thirteen hours and the sailors managed to repair the damage to the rudders.
On the night of March 13, the submarine arrived in the area of ​​the Hel Peninsula. Having managed to understand the location of the German fairway, Captain 3rd Rank Mogilevsky once again demonstrated his skill as a ship commander. Taking advantage of the fog, he was able to avoid meeting with German patrol ships and on the morning of March 13 he managed to place all 20 mines 2 miles east of the Hel lighthouse.
The victims of the mine laying were the destroyers T-3 and T-5, the death of which was described above. It should be noted that the destroyer T-3 managed to sink the Soviet submarine S-4. Mogilevsky managed to avenge his fallen comrades. The exact number of sailors killed on German destroyers is unknown to this day.
Another victim of the L-21 mines was the German submarine U-367. The last message from her, which came on March 15, 1945, reported the explosion of a submarine on a mine in a square coinciding in coordinates with the mine laying of a Soviet underwater mine.
Twice on the evening of March 18, 1945, the submarine launched attacks on German convoys northwest of Cape Riksgaft. In both cases, according to the commander's observations, the torpedoes missed the target.
On the evening of March 22, aerial reconnaissance aircraft transmitted information to the submarine about the movement of a German convoy from Sveniamunde to Libau. On the morning of March 23, Mogilevsky overtook the convoy and fired a three-torpedo salvo at it. As a result, two torpedoes hit the patrol ship V2022 "Emil Colsman", with a displacement of about a thousand tons. 76 German sailors died on board the patrol ship.
Early in the morning of March 24, the submarine attacked another German convoy. Having fired three torpedoes, the sailors heard two explosions. What happened is unknown, but the F8 patrol ship reported that it saw the passage of three torpedoes near the convoy. None of them hit the target.
The last success was an attack on the afternoon of March 25, 1945 on a German convoy. As a result of a three-torpedo salvo, one torpedo hit the Gretel light floating battery. The German floating battery quickly sank, becoming Mogilevsky's last success. For a long time it was believed that this attack was unsuccessful, but German documents that have appeared in scientific circulation in recent years clearly prove the success of the L-21 commander.
Having successfully completed the combat campaign, the submarine returned to Turku on March 29, 1945.
As a result of the campaign, the commander of the submarine L-21 was awarded the Order of Ushakov, 2nd degree, for the campaign.
The submarine L-21 served in the Soviet fleet until 1955, when it was decommissioned and dismantled for metal.
Captain 3rd Rank Mogilevsky after the end of the war commanded a number of submarines ("K-54" from November 1946, "P-3" from August 1947), then served as chief of staff, commander of a separate division of experienced submarines. On July 15, 1950, Mogilevsky was awarded the rank of captain 1st rank. Since 1953, Mogilev member of the state commission for the acceptance of ships from industry. In 1966 he retired. He was awarded two Orders of the Red Star, the Order of Ushakov II degree, the Order of the Patriotic War I degree and medals.
It should be noted that, having completed only two military campaigns, Mogilevsky managed to send two destroyers, a submarine, a floating battery, a patrol ship and two transports to the bottom. The transport and patrol ship were damaged. It is possible (impossible to confirm with currently available German documents) that the transport was sunk.
This long list of successes allows us to raise the question of awarding Captain 1st Rank Mogilevsky with the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. He deserved it with his successes during the war. After all, at that time the Soviet headquarters did not have German documents that would allow them to evaluate the success of mine laying.

TWO "LENINITS" - THREE CREWS

(ABOUT COMBAT OPERATIONS OF THE CREW OF SUBMARINES "L-19" Pacific Fleet AND "L-20" Northern Fleet)

The Pacific submarine "L-19" and the North Sea "L-20" had two crews each during the Great Patriotic War. In March 1944, on the basis of the order of the People's Commissar of the Navy No. 002 dated 02/02/1944. In order to gain combat experience by the crews of submarines of the Pacific Fleet and replace the most tired crews of submarines of the Northern and Black Sea fleets, the crew of the submarine "L-20" of the Northern Fleet was replaced with the crew of the submarine "L-19" of the Pacific Fleet. The crew of the submarine "L-20" left for Vladivostok at the disposal of the commander of the 2nd BrBM of the Pacific Fleet. On the submarine "L-20" the crew is captain 3rd rank Alekseev E.N. took part in hostilities and made several military campaigns. In Vladivostok, a new crew was formed on the submarine "L-19" under the command of captain 3rd rank Kononenko A.S., the submarine took part in hostilities against Japan in August 1945, and did not return from the military campaign. Thus, on two "Leninists" - the Pacific "L-19" and the northern "L-20" during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. and the Soviet-Japanese war of 1945. Three crews took part in combat operations:

Crew Kononenko A.S. on "L-19" Pacific Fleet (August 1945)

Let us remember the military operations of three crews of two “Leninists” - “L-20” and “L-19” in the year of the 65th anniversary of the end of the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War.

COMBAT OPERATIONS OF THE SUBMARINE "L-20" WITH THE CREW OF CAPTAIN 2nd RANK TAMMAN V.F.

The submarine "L-20" met the beginning of the Great Patriotic War in Leningrad at the stage of completion at plant No. 189. To complete construction, the submarine was towed along the White Sea-Baltic Canal to Molotovsk to plant No. 402. A year later, in September 1942, the L-20 entered and transferred to Polyarnoye as part of the 2nd DnPL Brprel submarine of the Northern Fleet. Under the command of Tamman V.F. in 1942-1944 made 9 military campaigns. Basically, the submarine was used as an underwater minelayer - it laid mines off the Norwegian coast, occupied by the enemy, on the separated fairways for the movement of enemy ships and vessels (18 minefields were laid, 120 mines). Torpedo attacks by the L-20 crew were less successful. Only in two campaigns did submariners manage to sink two enemy transports: 01/01/1943. transport "Muansa" (Muansa, 5472 tons, cargo 65 cars) and 02/01/1943. - transport "Otmarschen" (Otmarschen, 7077t, food cargo 2070t). Several torpedo attacks were unsuccessful, and even more were missed attacks when, for various reasons, the submarine was unable to take a position to fire a salvo at detected enemy ships and vessels.

Beginning in March 1943, the submarine was plagued by misfortunes. During a March military campaign in the Tana Fjord area, while crossing a minefield, the submarine, being at a depth of 58 meters, was blown up by a mine - the magnetic compass on the boat failed, several kingstons and ventilation valves were blown up, and the lighting was damaged. The personnel repaired the combat damage and the submarine continued to carry out its combat mission. But this campaign was unsuccessful - four times the submarine detected single enemy warships and a convoy, but was unable to attack them due to unfavorable hydrometeorological conditions (large waves, poor visibility). The submarine returned to base.

On the next April campaign, being north of Hammerfest in the area where the mines were laid near the shore near the island of Jjelmsø, the submarine touched the ground twice, which almost disrupted the mine laying. It was possible to place mines in the given area, but they were unable to carry out another task - landing a reconnaissance group on the shore due to high waves and rocks. The submarine returned to base.

After repairs in August 1943, the submarine "L-20" went on a combat mission to the area of ​​Cape North Cape - Cape Omgang. This trip for the “twenty” turned out to be the most difficult. 09/03/1943 After laying minefields at the mouth of the Oxefjord, when crossing a German minefield, a metallic knock was recorded on the submarine, and an hour later a strong explosion occurred near the submarine. The submarine did not receive any damage and continued to perform its assigned task. On the same day, in the afternoon, in the area of ​​Cape Sletnes, "L-20" discovered an enemy convoy and launched a torpedo attack on transport and an escort ship, firing three torpedoes from a distance of 4 cables. In fact, two German BOs were attacked, who noticed the torpedo trail and counterattacked the submarine, dropping 33 depth charges on it. When evading pursuit, due to improper actions of personnel, the seal of the rapid submersion tank was broken and the submarine hit the ground twice at a depth of 45 meters. As a result of impacts on the ground, the Dragon sonar was disrupted and water began to flow into the submarine’s durable hull. Due to loss of buoyancy, the submarine lay on the ground at a depth of 110 meters (the maximum immersion depth for a submarine of this project is 100 meters). The second compartment was flooded to the top tier of beds, and all electrical appliances in the first and second compartments were damaged. Twelve hours of struggle for survivability culminated in the victory of the submariners - the submarine managed to surface at night with the second compartment partially flooded. The submarine floated up with its stern almost vertically (the trim at the bow reached 86 degrees), electrolyte was spilled, and several battery tanks were cracked. Due to a sharp decrease in pressure in the nasal compartments during ascent (during the BZZh, back pressure was created), some of the personnel suffered decompression sickness, one of the victims was Red Navy man A.D. Egorov. died. The submarine managed to get underway and arrived at the base a day later.

After emergency repairs to the submarine "L-20" under the command of Captain 2nd Rank Tamman V.F. twice in December 1943 and February 1944 went on military campaigns. During the December campaign, the submarine laid minefields in the Porsangerfjord area. 12/26/1943 received an order to take a position to intercept the battleship Scharnhorst, on the night of December 27, she discovered two enemy destroyers, but was unable to launch a torpedo attack due to an unfavorable heading angle and a long distance. A few days later the submarine returned to base. In February 1944 On a trip to the area of ​​Rolvso Island for reconnaissance and mine laying, the submariners’ luck finally turned away. When charging the battery in stormy conditions, the kingston of the Central General Hospital No. 1 and the stern horizontal rudders were damaged by wave impacts; when attempting to dive, a trim of up to 20 degrees occurred. The submarine was returned to base.

The low effectiveness of the combat operations of the L-20 submarine, apparently, was one of the reasons that the Northern Fleet command decided to replace the crew with the Pacific crew of the same type of L-19 submarine.

COMBAT OPERATIONS OF THE SUBMARINE "L-20" WITH THE CREW OF CAPTAIN 2nd RANK ALEXEEV E.N.

In March 1944, the crew of captain 3rd rank Alekseev E.N. received the submarine "L-20" from the crew of captain 2nd rank Tamman V.F. Over the course of a month, the submarine underwent navigation repairs, battery replacement and drydocking, and the crew completed the organizational period.

The submarine's first departure to sea with a new crew to practice combat training tasks took place on May 9, 1944. In the Kola Bay near Toros Island, the submarine was attacked by two enemy aircraft; during the shelling, more than 60 shell fragments and bullets hit the superstructure and the conning tower fence. Submarine commander Alekseev E.N. received minor injuries to the head and leg. Returning to base, the submarine underwent emergency repairs.

From June to October 1944, the submarine made 4 combat campaigns. The first two campaigns in June 1944. The commander of the 1st DnPL, Captain 1st Rank Avgustinovich M.P., provided support to the submarine. During these trips, the submarine laid 3 minefields (60 min) in the area of ​​Rolsø Island. The campaigns took place under strong enemy opposition; the submarine evaded discovered floating mines several times and was attacked by enemy aircraft, which dropped several depth charges on it. There were some problems when carrying out mine laying. 06/27/1944 the first mine placed spontaneously exploded 4 minutes after being placed three cables away from the submarine.

During the August campaign of 1944. The submarine operated in the Kongsfjord area and placed an active minefield along the route of an enemy convoy discovered in the Makkaur Cape area, consisting of 3 transports, 2 TFRs and a technical unit. No mine explosions were recorded during the passage of a corn convoy along the exposed MH. The submarine was unable to launch a torpedo attack due to its large heading angle. Three hours later, two explosions were heard in the area where the MH was deployed (there is no foreign data on the discovery of the MH and losses there). The submarine returned to base.

At the end of August, the submarine underwent navigation repairs during which the VAN-PZ antenna was installed on it.

In September, the submarine went on a combat mission to a position in the Syltefjord area. For 20 days, the submarine was in the combat area, discovered a large enemy landing barge, but due to the long distance, was unable to launch a torpedo attack. The campaign was unsuccessful, the submarine returned to base.

The last military campaign in October 1944. The submarine "L-20" made its way to the Lopp Sea area. In the Serø Sund Strait, the submarine laid out two lines of minefields. The laying of the mines almost ended in tragedy; during the laying, the mine device on the starboard side failed, while trying to feed the mine manually, the supply cable broke and the 15th mine got stuck in the hatch. When surfacing in conditions of strong seas, the mine fell out of the hatch, the submarine successfully completed its combat campaign and returned to base.

In November 1944 The submarine was undergoing repairs and did not go to sea until the end of the Great Patriotic War.

Results of the combat activities of the submarine "L-20" with the crew of captain 2nd rank Alekseev E.N.: four combat campaigns, 6 minefields were laid, 115 mines were delivered. Effective torpedo attacks by the crew of Alekseev E.N. did not have.

COMBAT OPERATIONS OF THE SUBMARINE "L-19" WITH THE CREW OF CAPTAIN 3rd RANK KONONENKO A.S.

About the combat operations of the Pacific submarine "L-19" under the command of captain 3rd rank Kononenko A.S. in August 1945 there is not much information. Together with the submarine "L-12", it operated for several days off the Japanese coast with the task of destroying enemy ships and vessels. The submarine operations were successful, the L-19 especially distinguished itself; as a result of torpedo attacks and the use of artillery, two Japanese ships with a total tonnage of 3,444 tons were sunk on August 22: the auxiliary gunboat Shinko Maru No. 2 - The cargo steamer Shinkyo-Maru with a tonnage of 2557 brt and the coastal cargo steamer Taito Maru with a tonnage of 887 brt were mobilized into the fleet in 1941. These ships were used to evacuate troops and civilians from Sakhalin Island to the Japanese islands. As a result of two attacks on enemy ships, 1,333 people were killed. Taking into account those killed on board the ship sunk by the L-12 submarine, a total of 1,708 people (according to Japanese data) died on that day off the coast of Hokkaido from the actions of Soviet submariners. "L-19" is the most effective submarine in the short Soviet-Japanese war.

The submarine "L-19" did not return from the combat campaign; it died during the transition from the combat area to Aniva Bay on August 25, 1945. Possible reasons for the death of the L-19 could be a mine explosion while crossing Japanese minefields in the La Perouse Strait, an attack by an unknown submarine (Japanese or American) on the route to Aniva Bay, a collision of a submarine in the fog with a Japanese ship on the approaches to the La Perouse Strait . Today it is impossible to clearly name the cause of the submarine’s death.

Two submarines "L-19" (Pacific Fleet) and "L-20" (SF) and three crews of these submarines, captains 2nd rank Tamman V.F. and Alekseev E.N., and captain 3rd rank Kononenko A.S. made a significant contribution to the Victory of our people in the Great Patriotic and Soviet-Japanese Wars. The submariners fully fulfilled their duty to the Motherland, but the price of Victory was high - the submarine "L-19" did not return from the combat campaign, the submariners of the crew of Kononenko A.S. forever went into the depths of the sea. Eternal memory to the submariners who gave their lives for the freedom and independence of our Motherland.

Sazhaev M.I., Vladivostok-2010.

About the most difficult combat campaign of the submarine "L-20" and the struggle for survivability during the accident, about the fate of the boatswain of the Pacific crew of the submarine "L-20" Revenko I.N. A wonderful material was published in the Severodvinsk newspaper "Soviet Worker" dated May 7, 2000. A newspaper clipping and photographs from his archive were given to the Vladivostok Maritime Assembly by a veteran submariner, participant in the Great Patriotic War, boatswain of the submarines "L-19" and "L-20", retired midshipman Ivan Nesterovich Revenko.

PHOTOS and MATERIALS FROM I.N. REVENKO'S ARCHIVE boatswain of the submarines "L-19" (Pacific Fleet) and "L-20" (Northern Fleet):

Weapons of Victory Military Affairs Team of authors --

Submarine type, L“ (II series)

The design bureau, headed by B. Malinin, began designing underwater minelayers of the “L” type of the II series immediately after the completion of the main work on the “D” type boats.

Taking the D-type submarine as a basis, the designers replaced the stern torpedo tubes with two tubes with a device for storing and releasing 20 minutes. The outer hull on “L” type boats did not completely cover the strong hull, but was adjacent to it in its lower part. For the first time in the domestic fleet, two 1100 hp uncompressor diesel engines were installed on new boats. With. every. The power of each of the two double-anchor rowing electric motors was 600 hp. With. At full speed, the motor armatures were switched on in parallel, at low speeds in series. One anchor could operate on the economic speed, which made it possible to abandon the electric motors of the economic speed. The battery consisted of three groups of 112 cells each. As a result of all these changes, the surface displacement of "L" type boats compared to "D" type boats increased from 980 to 1100 tons, and the surface speed decreased from 15.3 to 14.1 knots.

While submarines of the L-ll type were being built, designers began designing submarines of the L-XI type. These boats were built in the Baltic for the Pacific Fleet, so the design had to be redesigned so that it could be transported by rail when disassembled. The L-ll boats entered service in 1936, the L-X1 - by 1938.

The most advanced “L” type boats were the XIII series boats. They could fire torpedoes with more powerful charges and at a greater range than the I boats! series.

Two torpedo tubes were installed in the aft superstructure in addition to the mine tubes. The 100-mm guns were modernized, increasing their firing range at sea and coastal targets. Their elevation angle was also increased, which made it possible to fire at aircraft.

The L-X1I submarines had two 2 thousand hp engines. With. with a specific gravity of 14 kg/l. With. instead of 20 kg/l. With. on the L-ll boats, which made it possible to increase their speed to 18 knots. The displacement of the XIII series boats has been increased to 1200 tons.

The Great Patriotic War showed that L-type submarines, developed in accordance with the first construction program of the Soviet fleet, turned out to be good warships and caused great damage to the enemy.

TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Displacement:

surface 1100 t

underwater 1400"

Travel speed:

surface 14.1 knots.

underwater 8.3"

Immersion depth 90 m

Width 6.1"

Weapons:

bow torpedo tubes 6

torpedo stock 12

stern mine tubes 2

reserve min 20

100 mm gun 1

45 mm anti-aircraft semi-automatic 1

Bottom mine.

RED Banner SUBMARINE "S-13" (submarine type "S" (ix-BIS S.) 31 units of submarines of this series were manufactured. S-13 was laid down on November 19, 1938. Launched on April 25, 1939. Included in the Baltic Fleet entered on July 31, 1941. During the Great Patriotic War, submarine crews completed 4