Soviet submarines in Arctic and Far East (re-done)

Summary table of Soviet submarines successes (Arctic)

ShCh class (6 units) 5 losses 7 ships sunk
S class ( 21 units) 2 losses 12 ships sunk 2 ship damaged
L class ( 3 units) no losses 3 ships sunk 1 ship damaged
K class (6 units) 5 losses 19 ships sunk 5 ships damaged
D class (1 unit) 1 losses -
V class (4 units) 1 losses 3 ships sunk
M class (16 units) 9 losses 7 ships sunk 1 ship damaged

Total units 57 with 23 losses with 51 ships sunk, 9 ships damaged,
The difference between submarines lost and destroyed targets was 2.21

Enemy military ships lost include submarine U-639, minesweeper M-346, (6) patrol ships Vandale, NKi-09, NM-01, NM-21,
V-6112, V-6115, (8) submarine chasers UJ-1108, UJ-1110, UJ-1202, UJ-1209, UJ-1217, UJ-1219, UJ-1220, UJ-1708, sunk and minesweeper M-22 damaged. The hospital ship Birka was also sunk.
The other victims were 34 merchants, tankers and motorboats that were sunk, destroyed or damaged without being repaired. Other 8 units were damaged and remained/returned to service


Lists of submarines

Shchuka series X
ShCh-401 (lost Apr 1942 mine)
23/Apr/42 sunk Norwegian merchant Stensaas (1359 GRT) torpedo. Cargo of ammunitions.
ShCh-402(lost Sept 1944 sunk by mines )
Received both the Order of the Red Banner and the Guards Badge
17/Oct/41 sunk Norwegian merchant Vesteraalen (682 GRT) torpedo.Had cargo and passengers (38 killed).
27/Feb/42 sunk German patrol ship Vandale with torpedo
ShCh-403 (lost Oct 1943 mine) Received the Order of the Red Banner.
22/Dec/41 while missing a merchant, a torpedo run on the shore exploding and damaging a German observation tower.
ShCh-404 Received the Order of the Red Banner
1/Apr/42 sunk German merchant Michael (2793 GRT) torpedo. Cargo with iron ore.
ShCh-421 (lost 9 Apr 1942 sunk by soviet submarine K-22, to prevent the capture. Despite being damaged by mine, she managed to move from the dangerous location with a sail done with engine canvas cloth, then she was located and crew rescued by K-22 that later torpedoed the ShCh-421)
Received the Order of the Red Banner
5/Feb/42 sunk German merchant Konsul Schulte (2975 GRT) torpedo. Cargo of prefabricated wooden barracks.
ShCh-422 (lost Jul 1943 mine or possibly by seaplane BV-138) Received the Guards Badge
12/Sept/41 sunk Norwegian merchant Ottar Jarl (1459 GRT) torpedo. General cargo for Germany
and hit with unexploded torpedo that same day the Norwegian merchant Tanahorn (336 GRT)
26/Jan/42 sunk Norwegian motorboat F-3G Borge (10 GRT )boarded and then sunk with gunfire. 3 POW.
ShCh-424 (lost 20 Oct 1939 rammed for accident by soviet patrol boat RT-43 before the war)



Stalinist series IXbis
S-51 from Pacific Ocean through Panama Channel and Atlantic to reinforce the North’s Fleet. Received the Order of Red Banner
3/Sept/43 sunk German submarine-chaser UJ-1202/Franz Dankworth with torpedo
S-54 (lost Mar 1944 mine) from Pacific Ocean through Panama Channel and Atlantic to reinforce the North’s Fleet.
S-55 (lost Dec 1943 mine) from Pacific Ocean through Panama Channel and Atlantic to reinforce the North’s Fleet.
29/Apr/43 sunk German merchant Sturzsee (708 GRT) torpedo. Cargo of iron ore.
12/Oct/43 sunk German merchant Ammerland (5381 GRT) torpedo. Cargo of 865tons of forage, 538tons of oats, 600tons of hay, 361tons of food.
8/Dec/43 should have been the sub. responsible for unexploded torpedo hit on Norwegian merchant Valerie (1016 GRT)
S-56 from Pacific Ocean through Panama Channel and Atlantic to reinforce the North’s Fleet. With 5 victories, was the third best submarine in Arctic and received both the Oder of the Red Banner and the Guards Badge
17/May/43 sunk German tanker Eurostadt (1118 GRT) torpedo. Cargo of 1.280tons of fuel
and lightly damaged German merchant Wartheland (3678 GRT) with unexploded torpedo during the same attack.
(it’s considered the only multiple torpedoes-launched attack by a Soviet submarine that scored hit on 2 different targets)
17/Jul/43 sunk German minesweeper M-346 with torpedo
19/Jul/43 sunk German patrol ship NKi 09 / Alane with torpedo
28/Jan/44 sunk German merchant Heinrich Schulte (5056 GRT) torpedo. No cargo
S-101 Received the Order of the Red Banner
29/Mar/43 sunk German merchant Ajax (2297 GRT)torpedo. Cargo of 538tons of oats and 349tons of straw.
28/Aug/43 sunk German submarine U-639 with torpedo
S-102 21/Oct/40 Finnish steamer Astrid (602 GRT) rammed by accident. Cargo of salt.
there was no war at the time between Finland and Soviet Union.
14/Jan/42 sunk German merchant Türkheim (1904 GRT) torpedo. Cargo of iron ore.



Stalinist series IXbisII
S-14 20/Oct/44 could have sunk with gunfire a small Norwegian fishing boat (no data survived to confirm)
S-15 24/Aug/44 damaged German merchant Dessau (5933GRT) torpedo. There was no cargo.
Merchant could be considered a full victory because Germans didn’t repair her during the war.
S-16,S-17,S-18,S-19,S-20,S-21,S-22,S-23,S-24,S-25,S-26 (not operative units or operative only for few time at the end)
S-103
S-104 Received the Order of the Red Banner
20/Jun/44 sunk German submarine-chaser UJ-1209 Kuj-XXI with torpedo
12/Oct/44 sunk German merchant Lumme (1730 GRT) torpedo. Cargo of 950tons of prefabricated barracks.



Leninist series XIII
L-15 from Pacific Ocean through Panama Channel and Atlantic to reinforce the North’s Fleet.
4/Oct/43 a mine from submarine could have sunk the German submarine hunter UJ-1214/Rau V (354 GRT), but could also have been a German mine.

Leninist series XIIIbis
L-20 1/Jan/43 sunk German merchant Muansa (5472 GRT) torpedo. Cargo of 65 motor vehicles.
1/Feb/43 sunk German merchant Othmarschen (7077 GRT) torpedo. Cargo of 2.070tons of food.
L-22 Received the Order of the Red Banner
1/Jun/43 sunk German military hospital ship Birka (1000 GRT) mine.105 wounded soldiers killed.
1/Sep/43 damaged German merchant Rüdesheimer (2036 GRT) torpedo.
28/Dec/43 a mine from submarine could have sunk the German auxiliary minesweeper R-64, but could also have been a German mine.


Katyusha series XIV
K-1 (lost Sep 1943 unknown cause) Scored the good result of 8 victories, best submarine of North Fleet.
8/Nov/41 sunk German merchant Flottbek (1930 GRT) mine
26/Dec/41 sunk Norwegian merchant Kong Ring (1994 GRT) mine. 257 German soldiers carried were killed.
8/Apr/42 sunk German merchant Kurzsee (754 GRT) mine. Cargo of food.
23/May/42 sunk German merchant Asuncion (4626 GRT) mine. Cargo of 2.454tons of food.
12/Sept/42 sunk German merchant Robert Bornhofen (6643 GRT) mine. Cargo of coal.
6/Dec/42 sunk German patrol ship NM-01 mine
and sunk German patrol ship NM-21 mine the same day
17/Feb/43 damaged merchant Moltkefels (7863 GRT) mine
K-2 (lost Sep 1942 mine)
K-3 (lost 21 Mar 1943 sunk by German submarine-chasers UJ-1102,UJ-1106 and UJ-1111)
3/Dec/41 sunk German submarine-chaser UJ-1708 Faroeer with gunfire. It was an hard gunfire battle: other two UJ escaped.
30/Jan/42 sunk Norwegian merchant Ingoy (327 GRT) mine. Cargo of post.
5/Feb/43 sunk German submarine hunter UJ-1108 Elbe with torpedo
12/Feb/43 destroyed German merchant Fechenheim (8116 GRT) torpedo. She run aground: towed in Germany but not repaired.
K-21 second best submarine of the North Fleet, had 7 victories, received the Order of the Red Banner.
21/Nov/41 sunk Norwegian merchant Bessheim (1774 GRT) mine. Carried troops but only 8 KIA.
21/Jan/42 sunk Norwegian motorboat F-223N Ingoy (15 GRT) gunfire
5/Jul/42 Made a torpedo attack against the large German battleship Tirpitz (sister of Bismarck). Soviet and some of modern Russian sources believed the ship was damaged, however this is refuted by modern evaluations. However the attack achieved a big propaganda coup during the war, arousing congratulations also from the Allied.
9/Jul/42 sunk German submarine hunter UJ-1110 with mine. Also carried troop: among them 21 KIA (excluding crew).
20/Feb/43 launched torpedoes against the Lopphavet harbor, listening explosions. Future POWs (took on 12 April) reported that “some” small moored motorboats were destroyed by a mysterious explosion, possibly the torpedoes. However this claim lack of other confirmations.
12/Apr/43 sunk Norwegian motorboat Froy (40 GRT) gunfire
and badly damaged Norwegian motor boats Havegga, Barren and Oeistein (all of 15 GRT) with gunfire during the same attack.
and also boarded the Norwegian motor boat Skrein (70 GRT) and captured the crew (7 POW), but she was abandoned on sea and later recovered by the Germans.
K-22 (lost 7 Feb 1943 mine ) Received the Guards Badge.
11/Dec/41 sunk Norwegian motorboat T-29SA Alphar (15 GRT)gunfire
and sunk Norwegian motorboat F-76G Borgar (15 GRT)gunfire (one was towing the other, carrying fuel).
19/Jan/42 sunk Norwegian merchant Vaaland (106 GRT) gunfire. General cargo.
on the same attack shelled the already wrecked and lost Norwegian merchants Mimona (1147 GRT) and Andromeda (658 GRT), both ships were already considered lost, even if some sources say that Mimona still had a cargo inside (military coats) that was destroyed.
9/Apr/42 save the crew of the damaged Soviet submarine ShCh-421 and then torpedoed and sunk the submarine to prevent capture.
K-23(lost 12 May 1942 sunk by German submarine-chaser UJ-1109 or Ju-88 bomber)
5/Nov/41 badly damaged German minesweeper M-22 with mine
26/Nov/41 attacked with gunfire the Norwegian trawler Start, causing 7 WIA.
19/Jan/42 sunk Norwegian merchant Sørøy (506 GRT) gunfire and torpedo



Dekabrist series I
D-1 (lost 13 Nov 1940 accident, before the war, unrelated with Winter War)
D-3 (lost Jun 1942 mine). Received both the Order of the Red Banner and the Guards Badge.
12/Aug/41 claim to have shot down a Me-110C aircraft, Germans admitted the loss but it’s not fully clear if submarine was responsible.


ex-British Sunfish
V-1 (lost 27 Jul 1944 British Liberator bomber, friendly fire) ex-British submarine, lend by the allied



ex-British Unbroken and Unison
V-2 ex-British submarine, lend by the allied
12/Oct/44 sunk German submarine-chaser UJ-1220 Zeebrugge with torpedo
V-3 ex-British submarine, lend by the allied



ex-British Ursula
V-4 ex-British submarine, lend by the allied
18/Oct/44 sunk an unknown ship (perhaps Norwegian) of small size. It was not included in German loss lists due the retreat but the sinking was clearly witnessed by crew of submarine that surfaced, with explosion and sinking of the target.
(It’s the only case when a Soviet claim on an unknown ship sunk by submarine without German confirmation that is accepted by modern authors due the exceptional nature of the event.)
20/Oct/44 sunk German submarine-chaser UJ-1219 Kuj-I with torpedo



Malyutka series XII
M-104
M-105
M-106 (lost 5 Jul 1943 rammed by submarine chaser UJ-1217/Star XXII)
M-107 11/Sept/43 sunk German submarine-chaser UJ-1217/Star XXII with torpedo (took revenge for M-106).
M-108 (lost Feb 1944 mine)
M-119
M-121 (lost Nov 1942 mine)
M-122 (lost 14 May 1943 German fighter-bombers)
16/Mar/43 sunk German merchant Johannisberger (4467 GRT) torpedo. Cargo of 2.042tons of coal and 60tons of tar.
M-171 Received the Guards Badge
29/Apr/42 destroyed German merchant Curityba (4969 GRT) torpedo. Cargo of iron ore.
29/Jan/43 damaged German merchant Ilona Siemers (3245 GRT) torpedo.
The merchant was never again operative because in Germany was further damaged by American aircrafts.
31/Mar/43 collided against a Norwegian motorboat while surfacing. Unclear event.
M-172 (lost Oct 1943 mine) Received both the Order of Red Banner and the Guards Badge
1/Feb/43 sunk German patrol ship V-6115/Ostwind with torpedo
M-173 (lost Aug 1942 mine)
22/Apr/42 sunk German merchant Blankenese (3236 GRT) torpedo. No cargo.
M-174 (lost Oct 1943 mine) Received the Guards Badge
21/Dec/41 sunk German merchant Emshörn (4301 GRT) torpedo. Cargo of 3.500tons prefabricated wooden barracks.
M-175 (lost 10 Jan 1942 sunk by German submarine U-584)
M-176 (lost Jul 1942 mine)



Malyutka series XV
M-200 (lost 21 Nov 1956 accident after the war )
M-201 19/Aug/44 sunk German patrol ship V-6112 / Friese with torpedo



Data from modern author Miroslav Morozov

Summary table of Soviet submarines successes (Far East against Japan - 1945)

ShCh class ( 37 units) no losses 1 ship sunk
S class ( 2 units) no losses -
L class ( 11 units) 1 loss 2 ships sunk 1 ship damaged
M class ( 28 units) no losses -

Total 78 units with 1 loss with 3 ships sunk and 1 damaged
The losses-victories result was 3 .
Enemy military ships lost include only the large auxiliary gunship(Shinko Maru n°2) that was damaged
The other victims were 3 units: a merchant, a cable-layer and a motorboat sunk.

Lists of submarines


Shchuka Series V
ShCh-103 (lost 4 Nov 1935 accident before the War)
ShCh-102 in 1938 seized what seemed to be a Japanese trawler but was found to carry mines. Few detail of this event.
ShCh-101, ShCh-104, ShCh-105,ShCh-106,ShCh-107,ShCh-108,ShCh-109,ShCh-110,ShCh-111,ShCh-112


Shchuka series Vbis
ShCh-113,ShCh-114,ShCh-115,ShCh-116
ShCh-117 (lost 15 Dec 1952 accident after the War)
ShCh-118,ShCh-119,ShCh-120


Shchuka series VbisII
ShCh-121,ShCh-122,ShCh-123,ShCh-124,ShCh-125


Shchuka series X
ShCh-126 21/Aug/45 sunk a Japanese motorboat with gunfire
ShCh-127, ShCh-128,ShCh-129,ShCh-130,ShCh-131,ShCh-132,ShCh-133,ShCh-134,ShCh-423


Shchuka series Xbis
ShCh-135,ShCh-136,ShCh-137
ShCh-138 (lost 18 Jul 1942 accident, detonation of a torpedo. Before hostilities with Japan)


Stalinist series IXbis
S-52,S-53


Leninist series XI
L-7,L-8,L-9,L-10,L-11
L-12 22/Aug/45 sunk Japanese cable-layer Ogasawara Maru (1456 GRT) torpedo


Leninist series XIII
L-13
L-14
L-16 (lost 11 Oct 1942 sunk by Japanese submarine I-25 near the American coasts. Before hostilities with Japan. Japanese submarine believed it was an American target.)
L-17
L-18
L-19 (lost 23 Aug 1945 mine) The only soviet submarine in Pacific lost during wartime against Japan.
Was also the best Soviet submarine in the Pacific with 2 victories
22/Aug/45 damaged the Japanese large auxiliary gunship Shinko Maru No.2 (2578 GRT original size when used as cargo) torpedo
and sunk Japanese merchant Taito Maru (887 GRT) torpedo the same day


Malyutka series VI
M-1,M-2,M-3,M-4,M-5,M-6,M-7,M-8,M-9,M-10,M-11,M-12,M-13,M-14,M-15,M-16,M-17,M-18,M-19,M-20,M-21,M-22


Malyutka series VIbis
M-43,M-44,M-45,M-46,M-47,M-48


Malyutka series XII
M-49(lost Aug 1941 mine before hostilities with Japan)
M-63 (lost Aug 1941 mine before hostilities with Japan)



Data from modern author Mirozlav Morozov

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