small Soviet submarine M-55 in Sevastopol

In September 1941, the Soviet-German front steadily shifted east. The fully occupied Baltic republics and Belarus were in the midst of a battle for Ukraine. Germany tried with all its might to implement the Barbarossa plan, but it increasingly had to be adjusted.

The Wehrmacht sharply slowed down the pace of its advance on land, and the Kriegsmarine has still not established control on the sea fairways in the waters of the USSR. The situation at sea changed daily, naval battles, air attacks, artillery cannonades, landings. The battles took place in the Black Sea, the Baltic and in the waters of the North Sea.

Early in the morning of September 26, 1941, the submarine M-171 set out on a combat mission from the Northern Naval Fleet's base at Polyarny. Two days later, she received a mission reporting enemy transport vessels in the Petsamo Bay area of ​​the Bering Sea. Walking through the narrow throat of the bay was a risky step, but the commander decided to do so. After all, his boat could literally slip through the eye of a needle. The submariners were not mistaken - the Germans did not notice the smallest submarine of the Soviet fleet. Soon the little one sank two enemy ships with two torpedoes.

The entire history of the creation of submarines has always been associated with an increase in power, ammunition, range and the corresponding size of submarines, but, carried away by scale, shipbuilders forgot about tasks that required precisely small dimensions. When sending submarines on long voyages, Soviet naval commanders did not think about grottoes and narrow straits, about movements in skerries or at shallow depths.

Small submarines went into battle from the very first days of the war and were not very successful. On August 16, 1941, M-174 broke through to the enemy base of Liinakhamari. According to the submariners, the torpedo was fired right at the pier.

The port of Liinakhamari was the main base for the export of nickel. Moreover, being on the front line of occupied Norway, he was deployed to fight the allies following the USSR. It is not surprising that Liinakhamari became a target of the Soviet Navy.

The harbor was turned into a powerful fortified area. It was difficult to break through here, and the Germans considered it impossible. The defense system of Liinakhamari and the bay consisted of 4 coastal batteries of 150 mm and 210 mm guns and 20 batteries of 88 mm anti-aircraft air defense guns, equipped for firing at ground and sea targets.

On August 11, 1941, a small submarine slipped through Petsamo in Liinakhamari - later a fleet admiral. She sank an enemy transport right in the roadstead. Egorov himself explained his success by the design features of the submarine. The width of the winding bay along which he approached the Germans was only 1 to 1.5 km. The enemy laid mines in the center of the fairway, not realizing that the Russians had the opportunity to bypass the warheads and actually slip right next to the rocks themselves.

The Malyutka submarines had a width of only 3.1 m and a length of 44.5 m. Accordingly, the submarine’s armament was limited, only 2 torpedoes and a 45 mm gun in front of the wheelhouse. Soviet submariners joked that they were floating on a tube with a cannon.

Project 6 bis submarine "Malyutka"

The decision to create small-displacement submarines was made in the early 30s. On March 20, 1932, the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR approved the project of designer Alexei Nikolaevich Asafov. Five months later, on August 29, the lead submarine was laid down at the Nikolaev shipyard. Already in 1933, intensive testing of small submarines began. Engineers identified a number of shortcomings and in August of the same year a decision was made to build 20 small submarines according to an improved design.

Submarines of Project 6bis received electric control of the bow horizontal rudders, a fast diving system, a new propeller and a modified stern shape. However, these submarines left much to be desired. First of all, the submariners were not satisfied with the speed of the submarines, capacity and navigation equipment.

The improved "Malyutki" series 12 became the most successful design development of small-sized submarines and were mass-produced. The new submarines were 4.5 m longer than the previous series, more powerful batteries, diesel and electric engines, increased underwater speed to 15 km/h, surface speed to 26 km/h. The submarines received modern navigation equipment for that time, and also had large ship reserves; the underwater displacement increased by 50 tons. This also made it possible to increase the ability to land and receive groups of paratroopers and reconnaissance troops from the coast. The cruising range reached 625 km on the surface and 200 km underwater. The submarine could dive to 60 m and had a cruising endurance of 10 days. The robust hull of the new small-sized submarines was divided by bulkheads into 6 compartments: torpedo, bow, central, battery, diesel and electric motor. To receive the main ballast, 3 side and 2 end tanks were intended in the absence of deck tanks.

M-class submarine

For a long time, the Germans could not determine what kind of underwater enemy they were dealing with. But small submarines also left their mark on the service of Soviet submariners. The crew of the M-type submarines consisted of only 21 people, but even two could not pass each other in the passages. The combat watch on the “Malyutki” was carried out for 4 hours and in two shifts. Many positions were combined. So torpedo operators were often cooks. To save energy, food on small boats was prepared at night, when the diesel engines charged the batteries while on the surface. It was difficult to serve in a small team and cramped confined space. There were 10 sleeping places, so the issue of cohesion and selection of the team was in the first place for the commander. Colleagues were supposed to become friends during their naval service.

The coherence of the crew became a decisive condition for the successful operation of the boat. The small-sized Soviets were able to demonstrate all their best qualities during that very September campaign in Petsamo, when two torpedoes found two targets. But the successful attack was only the beginning of a test for the submarine and crew. Having fired two torpedoes, the submarine almost discovered itself; the boatswain had difficulty keeping it under water with the help of horizontal rudders.

On the return course, the M-171 suddenly lost control and fell into an anti-submarine metal net that the Germans had installed at the entrance to the bay. The commander realized that he had landed in underwater chain mail and gave the command to reverse. On the submarine, at first the trim on the bow grew slowly, and then more, and there was a threat of fire. The commander, seeing everything perfectly, continued to move in reverse. With great difficulty, the submarine freed itself from the nets, but the question became how to break through. It was necessary to hurry, and the commander gathered the crew to hear everyone's opinion. It was unanimously decided to go underwater right along the upper edge of the nets. As a result, hitting it only with its keel, the submarine escaped from the trap. When the enemy realized this, it was useless to pursue the submarine, the commander changed course, and the submarine confidently broke away from the chase.

The sailors were in high spirits, because any opponent of the Malyutka was much larger, much more powerful, so every victory of these submarines was especially valued. Upon entering the base, each boat fired a gun. The Northern Fleet adopted such a ritual, which became a tradition. The submarine that sank the enemy ship entered the harbor and announced that it was returning victorious with cannon shots according to the number of ships sunk.

In May 1942, another small submarine made another equally daring maneuver in the waters of the Arctic. While on a free hunt, submariners discovered a German convoy near the Varangerfjord. Two transport ships were guarded by eight patrolmen, which already implied the importance of the cargo. Unfortunately, by this time the Soviet submariners had almost run out of batteries; the charge remained for 1 hour of work under water. The commander could have refused the attack, but that was not the case with Soviet naval officers. The submariners decided to dive under the guards and surface between them and transport ships. “Malyutka” surfaced only 400 meters from the nearest enemy patrol ship. The sailors still managed to notice that the Germans on the bridge were looking for something on the horizon, not paying attention to the sea on the other side. The salvo and combat count of small boats was replenished with another sunk enemy ship.

Thanks to its design, the Malyutka boat managed to go under water faster than the Germans recovered from the torpedo explosions. Subsequent pursuit did not bring any results to the enemy. The submariners managed to retreat to the shores where the Soviet batteries were located, and under their fire the enemy was forced to retreat.

In the Soviet fleet, a fantastic diving record was set on M-type boats. He did it - the legendary submariner hid the boat under water in just 19.5 seconds, while according to the standards, 35 seconds were allotted for this. By the way, on the eve of the Great Patriotic War, the M-95 Marinesko submarine was recognized as the best in the Baltic Fleet. The small submarine confirmed this title already on July 22, 1941, when it sent an enemy ship with a displacement of 7 thousand tons to the bottom. A year later, in August 1942, the entire fleet started talking about Marinesko again, this time his “Malyutka” sank a German transport. For this campaign, the officers were awarded the Order of Lenin. But when he left to study at the Naval Academy, the M-96 boat was lost. Marinesko worried for a long time, believing that with him the crew could have survived. It’s very painful to lose 20 comrades at once.

In the Baltic Fleet, M-type boats had a hard time. The Wehrmacht quickly captured most of the Soviet ports. The range of the submarines was severely limited, so they suffered significant losses. Of the 9 Baltic “Malyutki”, only two survived. The first submarine died here on the second day of the war. Not far from Riga, the M-78 was fatally torpedoed by the German submarine U-144. In Liepaja, the sailors themselves had to blow up the M-71 and M-80, which were there for repairs.

small submarine M-174

In 1944, in the north, the port of Liinapamari, as well as the entire Petsamo region, became part of the Murmansk region of the USSR. “Little” boats with a short range of action could not successfully hunt remote enemy communications. It was decided to send them from the north to the Black Sea, and they were transported along railway. This unique method of redeploying submarines became one of the reasons for their active construction in the USSR.

In the 1930s, tense relations with Japan required a sharp strengthening of the young Soviet Pacific Fleet. Tokyo had serious naval forces. Moscow in the Far East had no way to respond to a potential attack at sea. There was also no time to organize the production of modern ships and submarines at remote shipyards. And then they decided to deliver the submarines ready-made by land transport across the country. Therefore, many parameters of the “Malyutka” type were also limited by the railway’s capabilities for transporting large-sized cargo. The experience of redeployment along steel highways came in handy during the Great Patriotic War. Having completed a land combat campaign from Murmansk, the small submarines joined the Malyutkas in the Black Sea. Here such submarines have already gained fame as masters of close combat. The most effective boat in the southern maritime theater was the M-111. She chalked up the transport Theadorich, Hainburg, two anti-submarine ships and two self-propelled ferries. The boat spent about 250 days under water, made 37 combat and four transport trips, more than all other “Baby” ships.

In November 1942, the M-111 boat, leaving the German escort ships, met with the U-18 submarine. The German shuttle attacked the M-111 submarine with all its torpedoes, but missed; the Soviet little one, unfortunately, had nothing to respond with.

The U-18 boat belonged to the class of small German submarines. In the Black Sea, “Malyutki” faced an opponent of their weight category for the first time. The enemy transferred the 30th flotilla here with its base at Constanta.

Before the arrival of the North Sea small-sized submarines, the 30th flotilla operated quite successfully, even off the Caucasus coast. However, northern reinforcements allowed the Black Sea people to establish total control over the water area. Because of possible attacks, German transports could not go to sea, and German submarines, like Soviet ones, eventually had to destroy their own submarines. So U-18, U-20 and U-23 were sunk by their crews on September 10, 1944 off the coast of Turkey. The remaining three submarines of the flotilla sank as a result of the bombing of Constanta. Only Soviet small-sized boats remained in the Black Sea. In early May 1945, 14 small Soviet M-type submarines set out on combat missions. On May 9, they were ordered to return to their permanent bases, since their service in the war had ended.

On February 22, 1932, the Council of Labor and Defense (STO) of the USSR issued a decree on the construction of 30 small submarines, with the first six due for delivery by July 1, and the rest by December 1, 1932. The boats were intended for the hastily formed Naval Forces of the Far East, and had to be transported, practically assembled, by rail without disturbing oncoming traffic, fitting into the existing dimensions. On March 10, 1932, the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR, based on a report by the head of the Directorate of Naval Forces (UVMS) of the Red Army V.M. Orlov, approved the project of the Malyutka submarine (VI series), developed under the leadership of engineer A.N. Asafov, with a displacement of 154 tons, with a speed of 13 knots on the surface and 7 knots underwater, armed with two 533 mm torpedo tubes without spare torpedoes and a 37 mm anti-aircraft gun.

"Little ones" come into operation

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"Little ones" come into operation

Construction of the first submarines of the XII series began at the Leningrad Sudomekh plant (since January 1, 1937, plant No. 196 of the People's Commissariat of Defense Industry). The construction was carried out using the sectional method, that is, a durable hull was formed from separate sections. At the same time, no restructuring of production was required - the shipyard had all the necessary production facilities and a staff of highly qualified specialists. Delays arose mainly due to untimely deliveries of components and parts by contractors. The work was led by experienced builders I.P. Leonov, E.P. Korsak, A.A. Ponomarev, A.M. Sedin, A.V. Ugryumov and others. Design engineer V.I. Yakovlev was appointed as the responsible representative of TsKB-18.

Although the lead boat of the new series was officially considered the S.88 (M-87), the first to be laid down was the S.89 (M-88) - June 17, 1936, then, June 27, 1936 - the S.90 (M-89) and only September 10, 1936 - P.88. In the summer of the following year, the M-87 and M-88 were launched, and in the fall their sea trials began, which, in general, confirmed the specification elements. The identified shortcomings included: increased noise of the trim pump D-4, vibration of the periscope at full speed in a submerged position, in some cases - a long time for blowing out the tank of a quick dive (40 s instead of 10-15), knocking of the stern cam clutch and sparking of the muffler. We had to put up with such a drawback as strong burying of the bow during rough seas. The selection committee (chaired by captain 1st rank M.V. Loshmanov) noted that the systems and mechanisms on boats of the XII series are simple and reliable and can be mastered in as soon as possible. On December 25, 1937, the lead submarines of the XII series - M-87 and M-88 - entered service.

Soon after this, on January 28, 1938, the commander of the 3rd submarine brigade (BPL) of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, captain 1st rank A.A. Pyshnov, sent a report to the Military Council of the fleet, in which he indicated that with this design of the wheelhouse fencing, the control of a submarine of the XII series in on the surface when seas exceed 4 points it becomes impossible due to heavy flooding. On February 17, at a meeting at TsKB-18 chaired by B.M. Malinin, they considered new option fencing. The changes were as follows: the helmsman's platform together with the bulwark was raised by 1.2 m, and the aft part of the bridge was fenced with stationary handrails. Preliminary tests in the experimental pool carried out at the Central Research Institute-45 (currently the Central Research Institute named after Academician A.N. Krylov) by engineer Ya.E. Evgrafov showed that new form fencing of the wheelhouse increases resistance in a submerged position by only 2-3%, reducing stability by 0.5 cm. On April 20, 1938, the head of the 2nd Main Directorate of the People's Commissariat of Defense Industry (NKOP) A.M. Redkin approved the minutes of the meeting at the Central Design Bureau -18. Factory No. 196 carried out modifications to the deckhouse fencing on the first five boats according to the additional order of the Navy's Criminal Code, on the rest - before the boats were presented for testing. Only on the experimental submarine S.92 the wheelhouse fencing remained unchanged.

Considering high quality assembly, the plant management considered it unnecessary to test durable housings in the docking chamber. In order to test the strength of all-welded structures, on October 16, in the area of ​​the Gogland Reach, the M-91 submarine was lowered on the guineas of the Kommuna rescue vessel to a depth of 30 m. There were 8 crew members and factory specialists on board the boat. On the night of October 16-17, the descent was repeated, this time without people, to a depth of 70 m. The boat successfully passed the tests, and from that time the plant began hydraulic tests by pouring water into the compartments. It should be noted that during the war, boats of the XII series more than once demonstrated the strength of their hulls. So, for example, in 1942, M-172, due to a bilge error, “fell” to a depth of 90 m, but safely floated to the surface.

After signing the acceptance certificates, the boats were enrolled in the 26th Submarine Division (DPL) of the 3rd BPL of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet (commander-captain-lieutenant E.G. Yunakov) and were based at the port of Oranienbaum (Lomonosov). On October 15, 1938, a tragedy occurred - the M-90 (commander-captain-lieutenant Klimov), leaving the harbor, collided on the surface with the messenger ship LK-1. In the second compartment, flooded through a hole, 4 crew members were killed. The boat trimmed to the bow and buried its stem in the ground. The next day, the rescue ship Kommuna picked up the M-90 and delivered it to plant No. 196. Emergency repairs continued from October 25, 1938 to May 15, 1939.

In the summer of 1939, the leadership of the NK Navy decided to strengthen the submarine forces in the North. The M-87, M-88, M-89, M-91, M-92 and M-93, which had entered into service by this time, made the transition along the White Sea-Baltic Canal named after. I.V. Stalin and on June 21, 1939 formed the 4th division of the Northern Fleet BPL. As part of the 26th submarine submarine of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, only the M-90 remained (commander - Senior Lieutenant P.A. Sidorenko), which had the opportunity to take part in an interesting experiment.

During the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. Red Banner Baltic Fleet submarines had to operate in freezing conditions. It was then that they remembered the “device for observation from a submarine from under the ice,” proposed even before the war by Senior Lieutenant A.V. Lepeshkin. On February 17, 1940, the Main Military Council of the Navy, having heard the report of the inventor, approved the design of the device and ordered the creation of a commission chaired by the commander of the 3rd UPL of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, Captain 2nd Rank N.I. Vinogradov, to test it on the M-90 submarine. Re-equipment work was carried out at plant No. 196 under the leadership of the commander of the warhead-5 M-90 N.I. Kalushenkov. A so-called “water drill” was mounted on the periscope stand; two trusses with spikes in the upper part were installed on the deck of the superstructure to protect the boat from hitting the ice when surfacing. During tests in the spring of 1940, the “water drill,” which was a Fort Schneider winged engine turned upside down, created a stream of water that easily eroded a hole in the ice large enough for the periscope to pass through. The Main Military Council of the Navy, at a meeting on May 15, 1940, recognized, on the basis of the commission’s report, the device as successful, proposing to eliminate certain shortcomings. In particular, it was proposed to make the supports collapse to reduce the resistance to the movement of the boat in a submerged position. Unfortunately, I didn't get any experience further development, apparently due to the lack of navigational instruments for ice diving.

On December 5, 1940, acceptance certificates were signed for M-102 and M-103 - the last of the 14 boats of the XII series built by plant No. 196. On average, the construction period ranged from a year to a year and a half, which, in general, corresponded to the level of the Soviet pre-war underwater shipbuilding.

In the summer of 1937, construction of submarines of the XII series began in Gorky at plant No. 112 NKOP (Krasnoye Sormovo). The production cycle was supervised by the heads of the hull and installation sections P.P. Markushev and P.N. Svetlov, N.M. Bekov, V.A. Kolotilshchikov and N.A. Tretyakov were appointed builders. Due to the lack of slipway space, the “babies” were built in series of 3 units, the first of which (M-57, M-96 and M-97) was laid down on July 26, 1937. Construction was carried out, as in Leningrad, in a sectional way, but , due to the insufficient span of the assembly shop, strong hulls and deckhouses had to be tested separately in the docking chamber and connected before launching. Boats intended for the Red Banner Baltic Fleet were first launched into the water and then installed in towed floating docks. At the beginning of October 1938 The “Baltic” boats M-96 and M-97, for the first time in the plant’s practice, were installed, according to the design of engineer A.P. Ovchinnikov, in one dock, but for a number of reasons their shipment did not take place and the submarines remained to winter in the backwater. The following year, the dock left for its intended purpose, and the boats M-57, M-58, M-59 and M-60 were loaded onto railway transporters and sent to Nikolaev. M-57, initially enrolled in the Black Sea Fleet, was then re-loaded onto a transporter and sent to the Far East, where, renamed M-49 on October 27, 1939, it became part of the Pacific Fleet.

The M-57 and M-58 were accepted by the fleet quite quickly, but the delivery of the remaining submarines was delayed due to the lack of the Krasnoye Sormovo plant’s own delivery base in Sevastopol, which is why the boats had to be transferred to Nikolaev to eliminate defects. This led to premature wear of the material part, and a number of mechanisms requiring replacement had to be delivered from Gorky. Ultimately, the M-60 took 9 months, and the M-59 took a whole year.

As a result, on April 9, 1941, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars issued a decree according to which 1 month was allotted for acceptance tests of small submarines. Violation of the deadline in the direction of increase was regarded as sabotage.

The deadline for the transfer of M-30, M-62 and M-63 to Kronstadt coincided with the beginning of the Soviet-Finnish War and the boats remained to winter at plant No. 196. With the opening of navigation in 1940, their mooring tests were completed. After signing the acceptance certificates, the “babies” were loaded into the harbor of the Krasny Putilovets plant onto railway transporters and sent: M-30 and M-63 to the Far East, and M-62 to the Black Sea. The boats were accompanied by their builders: N.A. Tretyakov (M-30 and M-63) and V.A. Kolotilytsikov (M-62).

Having accumulated sufficient experience and mastered the production of torpedo tubes, the plant was able to reach the level of construction of 10-11 submarines per year in the last pre-war year. During 1940 – 1941 The Black Sea Fleet included M-31, M-32, M-33, M-34, M-35 and M-36, which became the last boats of the XII series of pre-war construction. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the fleet received 28 submarines from industry, excluding the experimental R-1, 9 submarines were in the completion stage in the fleets, 8 submarines of the XII series were being built in Gorky.

If during the tests of the first boats built by plant No. 196 of the XII series, their design was considered successful, then later representatives of the Navy changed their opinion to the exact opposite, which caused a protest from the People's Commissar of the shipbuilding industry I.V. Tevosyan. On March 15, 1940, the Chairman of the Permanent Commission for the Acceptance of Ships and Vessels in Leningrad, Captain 1st Rank M.M. Dolinin, in his letter to the People's Commissar of the Navy, Admiral N.G. Kuznetsov, noted that, despite the increase in displacement, the boats had the same armament and a single-shaft power plant, like their predecessors. According to M.M. Dolinin, the tactical and technical elements of small submarines could be significantly improved by increasing their displacement by 30-40 tons.

The opinion of the chairman of the commission reflected the point of view of the Navy leadership, since back on June 23, 1939, the State Defense Committee (GKO) approved preliminary design No. 96 small submarine, developed at TsKB-18 under the leadership of engineer F.F. Polushkin. Taking the XII series project as a basis, the designer proposed placing the main ballast tanks in side boules, dismantled during transportation. This solution made it possible to install a two-shaft power plant on the boat and place four torpedo tubes in the bow. On March 31, 1940, the lead boat S. 122 (from September 25 - M-200) of the XV series was laid down at plant No. 196. The laying of new boats of the XII series was not envisaged; only submarines that were being completed were subject to commissioning.

On June 22, 1941, 8 submarines of the XII series were under construction at plant No. 112, 3 of them (M-119, M-121, M-122) were ready for launching, and the rest were at the completion site with installed main mechanisms. The war made its own adjustments: by decree of the State Defense Committee, from July 1, 1941, the plant was transferred to the production of T-34 tanks. The next decree of the State Defense Committee dated July 4, 1941 ordered submarines with a high degree of readiness to be sent for completion to Baku, and the rest to be mothballed. At the end of October 1941, the M-121, hastily launched, went under its own power to Astrakhan, the M-119 wintered in Kamyshin due to freezing, and the M-120 returned to the backwaters of the plant.

Since by the autumn of 1941 the Leningrad factories were under blockade, and the Nikolaev ones were captured by the enemy, the director of factory No. 112, according to the decision of the State Defense Committee, signed on January 9, 1942 an order on the organization of a shipbuilding department, which was headed by an experienced shipbuilding engineer M.I. Lerner. Had to form again production base and return shipbuilding specialists from the tank assembly shops. Fortunately, the plant had a large reserve of mechanisms and materials, which was important in the context of the loss of connections with contractors. Work began with the replacement of a diesel engine with the M-119, which failed due to the fault of personnel during wintering. In April, the completion of the M-121 was completed, which in May left along the river route Volga - Sheksna - Sukhona - Northern Dvina to Molotovsk (now Severodvinsk) for sea trials in the White Sea. Following her, the M-122, completed in Baku, set off under its own power. Almost simultaneously, a repaired M-119 was delivered by rail to Molotovsk. On July 17, 1942, the State Defense Committee decided to transfer the M-119, M-121 and M-122 to the Northern Fleet. M-121 safely crossed into the Kola Bay, while the voyage of M-119 and M-122 took place in extremely difficult storm conditions. The accompanying minesweeper T-105 was washed ashore on Danilov Island, but the “babies”, having passed all the tests, arrived in the village of Rosta near Murmansk, where the delivery base of plant No. 112, headed by engineer A.M. Lepekhov, was located. In the fall of 1942, M-104, M-105, M-106 were delivered to Molotovsk by rail, and in December-January, M-107 and M-108 were delivered in the same way. These five boats, like the previous ones, were transferred to the Northern Fleet. Their completion at plant No. 402 (currently PA Severnoye machine-building enterprise") and testing continued until the end of the summer of 1943. On August 24, 1943, the acceptance certificate for the submarine M-108 was signed - the last of the XII series, which became part of the Navy.

Submarines M-104, M-107, M-108, M-119, M-121, M-122 were in varying degrees of readiness at plant No. 112 (Gorky)

It so happened that the most numerous type of submarines of the Soviet fleet during the Second World War were boats with the peaceful and very childish name “Malyutka”. It was not by chance that these boats received their designation. At that time, these were the smallest Soviet submarines. M-type submarines took an active part in the Great Patriotic War Patriotic War. Despite the fact that they were originally intended for close-in defense of naval bases and coasts, they were capable of conducting successful combat operations even off the enemy’s coast and in enemy harbors.

In the early 1930s, the USSR government set the task of creating and strengthening the Pacific Fleet. The submarines "Pike" and "Leninets" in service at that time, which were built at factories and shipyards located in the European part of the country, could only be transported by rail in disassembled form, but their reassembly at the shipyards of the Far East was difficult and required a lot of time. In this regard, it was decided to develop small-sized submarines that could be transported by rail without disassembling. The project of a small submarine of the VI series, called "Malyutka", was approved on March 20, 1932 by the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR. The development of the new submarine project was carried out by Technical Bureau No. 4, headed by Alexey Nikolaevich Asafov. The basis for the design was the submarine of the “Lamprey” project by I. G. Bubnov with a displacement of 120 tons.

The new series of submarines were inexpensive and could be built relatively quickly. The small size of the submarines made it possible to transport them by rail assembled, which opened up wide possibilities for maneuvering around internal pathways between distant naval theaters of combat. Finally, for the first time in the world practice of submarine construction, it was planned to make the hull of the boats all-welded. The combination of all these considerations predetermined the adoption and practical implementation of the project of the boat of the VI series “Malyutka” - the first small submarine built in the USSR, which was lucky enough to become the ancestor of several series of similar warships of the Soviet fleet. In total, 153 M-type submarines were built in the Soviet Union, of which 78 boats before the war, 22 during the war and 53 boats of the improved XV series after the end of the Great Patriotic War.

Submarine "Malyutka" VI series

Small submarines of the “Malyutka” type were single-hulled (the diameter of the durable hull was 3110 mm). The internal volume of the submarine was divided by three light bulkheads that could withstand a pressure of only one atmosphere. The battery of the boats consisted of one group (56 elements), which was located in the central post. The battery pit was covered with collapsible wooden panels. The submarine's power plant was single-shaft. The main propulsion motor of the Malyutka was used for both full and economic propulsion of the submarine. The steering device had manual and electric (with the exception of the bow horizontal rudders) drives.

The role of the main ballast tanks, which were necessary to extinguish the buoyancy reserve of M-type submarines during diving and to restore it during ascent, was assigned to two end tanks located outside the durable hull of the boat and one side tank inside the hull. The kingstons of the tanks opened outward using manual drives. It took the submarine 11 minutes to surface. The working depth of the boats was 50 meters, the maximum depth was 60 meters.

45-mm 21-K cannon on the Malyutka boat

The Malyutka boats of the first series had a number of serious shortcomings that reduced their combat value. In general, when on the surface, series VI boats developed a speed of no more than 11 knots (at 13 knots at technical specifications), the underwater speed was also lower. When a torpedo salvo was fired, the submarine floated to the surface, showing the upper part of the wheelhouse. The immersion time from a cruising position was about two minutes, which was significantly longer than that of the large boats of the earlier Dekabrist project. The seaworthiness of the boats was also considered insufficient.

Some shortcomings were easily eliminated. For example, the hulls of the first boats were made riveted, despite the fact that the project manager Asafov insisted on using electric welding. As a result, a specially created commission made changes to the project during construction, including the decision to use electric welding when creating the building was recognized as the only correct one. Changes were also made to the system for filling ballast tanks, and the outline of the stern of the submarine was changed. The latest submarines of the VI series were built taking into account the proposals of the commission, which made it possible to increase the speed of the boat to design values, as well as to improve other characteristics of the boats.

Despite this, the VI-bis series also became quite numerous, with 20 submarines built. Six of them went to the Pacific Ocean, 12 became part of the Baltic Fleet, and two ended up in the Black Sea. The Pacific and Black Sea boats of this series survived the war, but the Baltic “Malyutki” suffered serious losses. Two boats were lost, three were blown up by personnel. By the end of the Great Patriotic War, only two such Malyutkas remained in the Baltic Fleet - five submarines of this series were mothballed at the beginning of the war, and after its completion they were dismantled for metal.

During the war years, not a single “Baby” of the first two series was successful. Of all, only the Black Sea M-55 was used twice, but both times to no avail. The 50 built boats of the VI and VI-bis series were unable to prove themselves by sinking enemy ships. It is obvious that their performance characteristics in the conditions in which the Soviet submarine fleet almost immediately found themselves did not allow them to successfully solve the assigned combat missions. It is also important to note that 34 of them were in the Pacific Ocean and did not take any part in hostilities until 1945. It turned out that the main advantage of the Malyutka submarines of the VI and VI-bis series was not their combat capabilities in combating enemy surface ships, but the ability to transport them by rail. At the same time, the boats also performed other tasks during the war: they conducted reconnaissance, delivered small landings and cargo, and the M-51 submarine of the Black Sea Fleet took part in the Kerch-Feodosia operation in December 1941. The boat provided navigation and hydrographic support for the landing area in Feodosia captured by the enemy, and also served as a floating lighthouse, located 50 cables away from Feodosia.

Submarine "Malyutka" series VI-bis

But the main armament of the submarines remained unchanged - two 533-mm torpedo tubes with two torpedoes (only one full salvo) and a 45-mm semi-automatic 21-K cannon. But the dive time was significantly reduced: from the cruising position - to 35-40 seconds (more than two times faster than the Dekabrist), and from the positional position - to 15 seconds. The main means of detecting the enemy at the initial stage of the war for the Malyutki was a conventional periscope, but starting in 1942, the boats began to receive the Mars-8 noise direction-finding stations, which were quite modern at that time.

In total, the USSR laid down 46 submarines of the M type, series XII: 28 entered service before the start of the Great Patriotic War and 18 during the war. 16 boats of this project ended up in the Black Sea, 14 in the North, 9 in the Baltic and 6 in the Far East. During the war, submarines of this series made fairly large-scale regroupings between theaters of combat. So in 1944, four “Malyutkas” from the Pacific Ocean went to the Black Sea; the boats arrived at their destination after the end of the war. The 4 submarines that survived in the North were also sent here. During the Great Patriotic War, 26 M-class submarines of the XII series were lost - 60 percent of their original number. 9 boats perished in the North, 8 in the Black Sea, 7 in the Baltic, and two more Malyutkas perished in the Pacific Ocean.

Submarine "Malyutka" XII series

Separately, we can highlight the fact that the Malyutka submarines took part in transporting goods to besieged Sevastopol. The boat could carry little on board - 7 tons of fuel or 9 tons of cargo, as well as up to 10 people with weapons. But even such transitions were of great importance for a city besieged by the enemy. In total, the “Malyutki” from the Black Sea Fleet completed 12 transport trips to besieged Sevastopol.

Submarine "Malyutka" XV series

Performance characteristics of the submarine Type “M” VI series:
Displacement: 157 tons (surface), 197 tons (submerged).
Dimensions: length – 36.9 m, width – 3.13 m, draft – 2.58 m.
Immersion depth – 50 m (working), 60 m (maximum).
The power plant is diesel-electric.
Power power plant: diesel – 685 hp, electric motor – 235 hp.
Design speed - 6.4 knots (underwater), 11.1 knots (surface).
Cruising range - 690 miles (surface), up to 48 miles (underwater).
Autonomy – 7 days.
Crew – 17 people.
Armament: two bow 533-mm torpedo tubes without spare torpedoes, 45-mm 21-K cannon (195 rounds of ammunition).

Stalin's babies
In the 30s of the 20th century Soviet Union took the path of industrialization and increasing its own military potential. Considerable attention was paid to issues of fleet development. At that time, the theory of the “mosquito fleet” prevailed, providing for the creation large quantity ships and boats of the coastal zone. This also applied to the submarine fleet, where the emphasis was on small submarines. In the USSR, this class was represented by the Malyutka submarine, the so-called “M” type of several series.

A total of 153 submarines were built between 1932 and the end of the 1940s, including 53 after the end of World War II. As a result, at that time these were the most popular submarines of the USSR. "Malyutka" turned out to be the smallest submarine in serial production in the Soviet Navy. Throughout the 30s, Soviet engineers worked on the creation of ultra-small submarines, but most of the projects were frankly “inflammation of a sick imagination”, and the rest simply did not meet the requirements of the military.

The combat characteristics of the new little ones were also not outstanding. The boats had low survivability, insufficient speed, short cruising range and autonomy. But the main drawback was the weak armament, represented by only two torpedo tubes without spare torpedoes. At the same time, the speed of construction of such submarines was very high, and the technology implied the use of a minimum number of complex technical solutions, which was a big plus for the new Soviet industry. In addition, the dimensions of the submarine made it possible to transport it by rail, which was considered a significant advantage.

Between 1932 and 1934, 30 Malyutka series VI submarines were built. Almost all the boats went to serve in the Far East. The first modification was distinguished by weak speed characteristics and dive duration. Almost simultaneously, boats of the VI-bis series went into production, of which 20 were built by the end of 1934. Boats of this series have slightly increased speed, autonomy and diving speed. More than half of the submarines were sent to the Baltic, and six more to the Pacific Ocean.

The next series was the XII-series boats. The total number of submarines was 46 boats, of which 18 were built during the Great Patriotic War. Boats of this series had increased characteristics of speed, cruising range and improved equipment, but retained the main fundamental disadvantages. Small submarines of this series received a slightly larger displacement, which had a positive effect on seaworthiness and habitability. After the war, 57 XV-series boats entered service. They turned out to be even more seaworthy, and their autonomy increased to 15 days. It is worth noting that the construction of such boats in the second half of the 40s is difficult to explain, since the war demonstrated everything weak sides project.

Officially, during the entire war, the “Malyutki” accounted for 61 sunk transport ships and 10 warships, but some of these victories were not confirmed by the enemy. In this case, a significant number of submarines were lost.

Gradually, the class of small submarines disappeared, giving way to ocean-going submarines with a long range. Subsequently, several projects of ultra-small submarines were developed, but they were intended for underwater saboteur operations, and not for use as classic submarines.

M-type submarines - “Malyutka”- a type of Soviet submarine from World War II, the smallest submarines in the Soviet Union during this period. Submarines of the "M" type actively participated in the Great Patriotic War. Intended for close-in defense of coasts and naval bases, they were capable of conducting successful combat operations even off the enemy’s coast, in enemy harbors.

History of creation

Series XII (Project 40)

The designer of the new project, also called “Baby,” was P. I. Serdyuk. The series consisted of 46 boats. 28 of them entered service before the war. The Baltic Fleet received 9 submarines, the Black Sea - 10, the Northern - 6, the Pacific - 3. Another 18 submarines were transferred to the fleet during the war.

Series XV (Project 96)

The lead boat was laid down on March 31, 1940. A total of 57 boats were built, but during the war only 4 submarines of the series entered service. The author of the project was F. F. Polushkin. According to his design, the boat had a one-and-a-half-hull design: the boules, made by analogy with the “Shch” type, housed ballast tanks removed from the boat’s hull, freeing up scarce space and improving habitability. To transport the boat by rail, the boules were removed. The boat became two-shaft, which significantly increased survivability. Navigation autonomy increased to 15 days. The increase in length led to an increase in surface speed to 14 knots, but the underwater speed even decreased (from 7-8 knots for the XII series to 6 knots).

Achievements

The Malyutka class submarine has a total of 61 sunk ships in its combat record. The total displacement of sunk ships is 135,512 GRT. The Malyutkas also damaged 8 ships with a total displacement of 20,131 GRT and destroyed 10 enemy warships.

Awards for "M" type submarines

Footnotes and sources

Links

• Koreans found a dead Soviet submarine near their shores, rg.ru, 2008/09/29