Soviet submarine S-7

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Soviet S-7.jpg
S-7 in Baltic Sea, circa 1941
History
Naval Ensign of the Soviet Union 1935.svgSoviet Union
NameS-7
Builder Krasnoye Sormovo, Gorkiy
Laid down14 December 1936
Launched5 April 1937
Commissioned30 June 1940
FateSunk on 21 October 1942
General characteristics
Class and type S-class submarine (Series IX-bis)
Displacement
  • 856 t (842 long tons) surfaced
  • 1,090 t (1,070 long tons) submerged
Length77.8 m (255 ft 3 in)
Beam6.4 m (21 ft 0 in)
Draft4 m (13 ft 1 in)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 18.85 knots (34.91 km/h) surfaced
  • 8.8 knots (16.3 km/h) submerged
Range9,500  nmi (17,600 km)
Test depth80 m (260 ft)
Complement45
Armament

S-7 was an S-class submarine (Series IX-bis) of the Soviet Navy. Her keel was laid down by Krasnoye Sormovo in Gorkiy on 14 December 1936. She was launched on 5 April 1937 and commissioned on 30 June 1940 in the Baltic Fleet. During World War II, the submarine was under the command of Captain Sergei Prokofievich Lisin and took part in the Soviet submarine Baltic Sea campaign in 1942. S-7 scored victories, but was sunk in action.

Contents

Design

The Srednyaya or S-class submarine (Russian : Средняя, lit.  'medium'), also called the Stalinets class (Russian : Сталинец, lit.  'follower of Stalin'), was an ocean-going diesel electric attack submarine. Its pressure hull had seven compartments, and the Series IX-bis submarine's displacement was 856 tonnes (842 long tons) while on the surface and 1,090 tonnes (1,070 long tons) while submerged. It had a length of 77.8 m (255 ft 3 in), a beam of 6.4 metres (21 ft 0 in), and a draft of 4 metres (13 ft 1 in). It had two diesel engines to power it on the surface and two electric motors for when it was submerged, providing 4,000 shaft horsepower (3,000 kW) and 1,100 shaft horsepower (820 kW), respectively, to the two propeller shafts. This gave it a speed of 18.85 knots (34.91 km/h) on the surface and 8.8 knots (16.3 km/h) while underwater, and the submarine had a range of 9,500 nautical miles (17,600 km). Its test depth was 80 metres (260 ft), and as armament it had six 530 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes, one 100 mm (3.9 in) deck gun, and one 45 mm (1.8 in) gun. [1] [2] [3]

S-7 was part of the Series IX-bis, which was a modification of the original three boats of the S-class, the Series IX. The main difference between them was the replacement of German components used in Series IX with Soviet equivalents that could be manufactured domestically. [4]

Service history

The submarine made all her victories in summer 1942, having some success against the German-Swedish iron ore shipping lines (the main target of 1942 Soviet submarine campaign).

Ships sunk by S-7 [5]
DateShipFlagTonnageNotes
9 July 1942Margareta Flag of Sweden.svg
1,272 GRT
freighter (torpedo)
11 July 1942Lulea Flag of Sweden.svg
5,611 GRT
freighter (torpedo)
30 July 1942Kathe Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg
1,599 GRT
freighter (torpedo)
5 August 1942Pohjanlahti Flag of Finland.svg
682 GRT
freighter (deck gun)
Total:9,164 GRT

On 27 July 1942 S-7 also attacked the German merchant Ellen Larsen (1,938 GRT): the torpedoes missed and S-7 opened fire with her gun. As result the merchant was driven ashore. [5]

Loss

While attempting a new campaign (after the successful summer one), S-7 was attacked, torpedoed and sunk by the Vesihiisi.

Four crewmembers were saved and captured, including the commander Lisin. Commander Lisin was believed killed in action and was awarded post-mortem the distinction, Hero of the Soviet Union. Once Finland signed an armistice with the Allies in 1944, Lisin was freed and was sent by the Soviets to an NKVD special camp. However accusations against him were dropped (he kept the title of Hero) and became a military instructor at an officer school. [6]

Discovery of wreck

Side-scan sonar 200 kHz 2 m x 65 m (6.6 ft x 213.3 ft) of the wreck, by Bjorn Rosenlof in the Swerdish-Aland search team. Sidescansonarbild 200 khz 2 x 65 m.jpg
Side-scan sonar 200 kHz 2 m × 65 m (6.6 ft × 213.3 ft) of the wreck, by Björn Rosenlöf in the Swerdish-Åland search team.

In July 1998, the wreck of S-7 was found. The official data of war archives alleges that S-7 was torpedoed in Finnish waters, but the submarine was found in Swedish territorial waters – east of Söderarm in Stockholm's northern archipelago. [7]

Notes

  1. ↑ Helgason, Guðmundur. "S (Stalinec) class". Uboat.net. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
  2. ↑ Gardiner & Chesneau 1980, p. 337.
  3. ↑ Yakubov & Worth 2008, pp. 136–137.
  4. ↑ Yakubov & Worth 2008, pp. 138–141.
  5. 1 2 "S-7 of the Soviet Navy – Soviet Submarine of the S (Stalinec) class – Allied Warships of WWII". uboat.net. Retrieved 2014-08-03.
  6. ↑ Orlov Alex; Dmitriy Metelev; Evgeniy Chirva. "Великая Отечественная - под водой" (in Russian). Town.ural.ru. Archived from the original on 2014-08-09. Retrieved 2014-08-03.
  7. ↑ Ringman, Magnus; Cantwell, Oisín (31 July 1998). "Ubåten rostar mitt i farleden" [The submarine rusting in the middle of the sea lane]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 July 2015.

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References


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