S-7 in Baltic Sea, circa 1941
History
Soviet Union
NameS-7
BuilderKrasnoye Sormovo, Gorkiy
Laid down14 December 1936
Launched5 April 1937
Commissioned30 June 1940
FateSunk by Finnish submarine Vesihiisi on 21 October 1942
General characteristics
Class and typeSoviet S-class submarine
Displacement
  • 840 long tons (853 t) surfaced
  • 1,050 long tons (1,067 t) submerged
Length77.8 m (255 ft 3 in)
Beam6.4 m (21 ft 0 in)
Draught4.4 m (14 ft 5 in)
Propulsion
  • 2 × diesels 2,000 hp (1,491 kW) each
  • 2 × electric motors 550 hp (410 kW) each
  • 2 × shafts
Speed
  • 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph) surfaced
  • 9 knots (17 km/h; 10 mph) submerged
Test depth100 m (330 ft)
Complement50 officers and men
Armament
  • 6 × 21 in (530 mm) torpedo tubes (4 forward, 2 aft)
  • 12 × torpedoes
  • 1 × 100 mm (4 in) gun
  • 1 × 45 mm (2 in) cannon

S-7 was a Stalinets-class submarine 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.

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[1]
Date Ship Flag Tonnage Notes
9 July 1942 Margareta Sweden 1,272 GRT freighter (torpedo)
11 July 1942 Lulea Sweden 5,611 GRT freighter (torpedo)
30 July 1942 Kathe Nazi Germany 1,599 GRT freighter (torpedo)
5 August 1942 Pohjanlahti Finland 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.[1]

Loss

While attempting a new campaign (after the successful summer one), S-7 was attacked, torpedoed and sunk by the Finnish submarine 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.[2]

Discovery of wreck

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.[3]

References

  1. 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.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ 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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