Inextricably linked with Vladivostok, the history of the submarine “S-56” is not simple and heroic. Having set off on its first voyage in October 1942, the crew of the submarine did not know what legendary fate awaited them.
Creature
The history of the submarine S-56 began on November 24, 1936. On this day, it was laid at the shipyard them. Andre Marty, located in Leningrad. There she was listed under number 405. This submarine, consisting of several sections, was sent to Vladivostok to the factory number 202 by rail. There its final assembly took place. The ship was launched three years after its laying, and it entered service on October 20, 1941. The submarine as a combat unit was immediately credited to the balance of the Pacific Fleet.
The submarine S-56 belongs to the middle class of the IX-bis series. It was designed by order of the Soviet government by one of the Dutch bureaus, which was part of the German company Deschimag in early 1934. As a rule, ships of this class showed reliability and excellent speed. They were taken as the basis when work began on the project of the German boat of the VII series. By the way, this submarine was massively used during the Second World War. This suggests that the technical specifications adopted at one time were the most successful.
In total, the Soviet Navy had a little more than forty boats of type "C", released in three series. The most effective of them were submarines IX bis. They managed to sink 19 enemy ships. Of the three dozen such submarines in naval battles, only half was lost.
Military campaigns
March 1943 The submarine S-56 is part of the Northern Fleet. During the war, the commander of the ship was Captain-Lieutenant G. I. Shchedrin. In mid-April, his crew returned from his first campaign, where he managed to sink two enemy ships at once. At the end of the same month, heroic submariners were awarded several orders and medals, and the number 2 appeared on the star depicted on the wheelhouse of the submarine.
May 1943 The second combat campaign. Its result was the destruction of the Oirstadt tanker and serious damage to the Varteland vessel. For only a year and a half, from April 1943 until the fall of 1944, submariners sank 8 ships, among which there were one destroyer, two tankers and patrol ships, as well as three vehicles. In addition, they had 4 more seriously damaged ships.
The most dangerous hike
It took place in February 1944. According to the crew of the S-56 boat, this campaign was the most extreme, since the submariners almost died during it. The fact is that after a successful attack by an enemy ship, the submarine went to a decent depth. However, she was spotted by enemy guards.
During the day, the submarine "S-56" was pursued by seven ships. During this time, they managed to drop more than three hundred depth charges on it ! At some point, the depth of the dive became below critical, but the coordinated work of the crew helped align the steering wheels and avoid danger.
In order to get away from the chase, it was decided to reduce noise by transferring electric motors by half a turn with the ventilation completely turned off. Because of this, the hydroacoustics that were on enemy ships could not detect our submarine. At that time, the concentration of carbon dioxide on it approached a critical point of four percent.
Successful maneuver
In this situation, the commander of the "S-56" addressed his crew with a speech in which he allowed the non-partisans to go on vacation, and asked the communists to pack themselves up and keep watch both for themselves and for their comrades. The first responded to the seventh torpedo compartment. Submariners, all as one, were asked to consider them Communists. Other compartments followed their example.
In order to somehow hold out, the sailors poured lime, located in the cartridges of air regeneration, on the floor. She began to absorb carbon dioxide and, thanks to this, the crew managed to survive. Just think, instead of 10-15 minutes, the submariners lasted more than 6 hours! Soon, the enemy ships left, believing that the Soviet boat was destroyed. When the danger was over, the submarine surfaced. The commander gave the sailors a day to rest, after which they quickly caught up with the same convoy, attacked him, and then sank another vehicle.
Achievements
The commander himself, and his crew, not without reason, believed that their boat was happy. Judge for yourself, during the transition to the Northern Fleet at the next inspection it turned out that on its board there was a stabilizer and an unexploded torpedo of the enemy.
Over the entire war period, the S-56 submarine carried out 8 campaigns, in which it managed to win 14 victories, destroying 10 and severely damaging 4 warships and other enemy vehicles. Thus, it turned out to be the most productive submarine of the USSR Navy for all the time of the Second World War in the number of documented sunk targets. At the end of March 1944, it was decided to award the boat with the Order of the Red Banner. For successful service in November 1944, the commander of the S-56, as well as Captain G. I. Shchedrin, received the title of Hero of the USSR. In total, more than 400 awards were awarded to this glorious crew during the war. In addition, in February 1945, the boat was also awarded the title of Guards.
The submarine commander later recalled that there were much more victories, but quite often the data of the submariners themselves did not always coincide with the intelligence reports. Honestly, now it is not so important how many military and transport ships were destroyed or shot down. The main thing is how people not only survived in such difficult conditions, but also successfully fought with a strong and cunning enemy, sometimes much superior in numbers.
In the postwar period
In 1954, "S-56" returned to the Far East, where she continued her service, becoming, as before, part of the Pacific Fleet. Over time, the Navy was replenished with more modern submarines. Therefore, the legendary "S-56", it was decided to withdraw from the military personnel. She was converted into a training base for training young sailors.
To create a memorial for the submarine S-56 and erect it on the Ship Embankment in Vladivostok, the submarine was disassembled into compartments and again assembled at the installation site. On May 9, 1975, the flag of the USSR Navy re-hoisted over it. The museum boat was opened in a festive atmosphere in the presence of three crew members: the guard of midshipman Yelin, minder Denisov and electrician Nazarov. In honor of each of the fourteen victories of this legendary ship, a salute sounded.
Museum
Today, in Vladivostok, the submarine S-56, together with another patrol vessel Krasny Pennant, is still on the same Ship Embankment. First, tourists enter the seventh compartment, which used to be a torpedo feed and residential at the same time. Here is an exposition where a model of the first combat submarine "Dolphin" is exhibited. This boat participated in the hostilities during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. It is worth noting that the presence of such vessels off the coast of Vladivostok significantly contributed to its protection from possible enemy shelling.
In the sixth compartment of the memorial Guards Red Banner Submarine S-56, electric motors were once located, which were used only for its movement under water. Now there is an exposition dedicated to the development of the Soviet submarine fleet. It is represented by models of submarines of different classes: “L”, “D”, “K”, “C”, “M” and “”. All of them participated in the fighting during the war, and the last of the above was the first in the Pacific Fleet.
In the fifth compartment was a diesel engine. It was included only for the implementation of surface movement. Now, one part of this compartment tells the story of the development of the Pacific Fleet after the war and up to the 80s of the last century, and the model of the diesel-electric submarine 641 of the project is installed on the other. Personal items of the commander and crew of the S-56 submarine are also presented here as exhibits.
The museum does not end there. The fourth compartment previously housed a galley and foreman's cabin. Now there is an exposition dedicated to the Victory over Nazi Germany. It tells about the exploits of submariners in both the Pacific and the Baltic, Black Sea and Northern Fleets.
What the boat looked like from the inside
In the middle of the submarine, three compartments were restored and have their original appearance. The first of them is a bow torpedo-vein. Here is a stock of torpedoes, devices for them, a loading and torpedo hatch, as well as berths for personnel. The second compartment mainly served as a mess room for officers. There was also a sonar cabin.
The third compartment was the central command post, where the commander was located and where the submarine was controlled. In this part of the submarine you can see the chart table, periscope, as well as horizontal and vertical rudders.
Conclusion
During the war years, submariners experienced a lot, so it is difficult to overestimate the heroism and courage of the sailors who defended their homeland without sparing their own lives. Now, after so many years, we can confidently say that the crew of this submarine was a real fighting family, since the ship was always present with strong comradely mutual assistance, extraordinary cohesion and strong friendship. In Vladivostok, the museum of the submarine "S-56" is open to visitors daily from 10 to 18 hours.