Nikolai Alexandrovich Lunin (Лунин, Николай Александрович) (1907–1970) was a Admiral

Admiral

Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...

 in the Soviet Navy

Soviet Navy

The Soviet Navy was the naval arm of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have played an instrumental role in a Warsaw Pact war with NATO, where it would have attempted to prevent naval convoys from bringing reinforcements across the Atlantic Ocean...

 and a Hero of the Soviet Union

Hero of the Soviet Union

The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...

.

Lunin was born in Mariupol

Mariupol

Mariupol , formerly known as Zhdanov , is a port city in southeastern Ukraine. It is located on the coast of the Azov Sea, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Mariupol is the largest city in Priazovye - a geographical region around Azov Sea, divided by Russia and Ukraine - and is also a popular sea...

 the son of a soldier. He studied at the Rostov-on-Don maritime college and joined the merchant marine serving aboard the tanker Azneft. He joined the Navy in 1935 and was arrested in the 1938 purge but released after 13 months. He was transferred to the submarine arm.

In 1941 Lunin commanded the Shch class submarine Shch-421 with Fyodor Vidyayev

Fyodor Vidyayev

Fyodor Alekseyevich Vidyayev was a Soviet Navy submarine commander during World War II. He was killed in action in 1943....

 as his second in command. He carried out several successful patrols in this boat, sinking a German transport. In 1942 he was given command of the new K class submarine , K-21

K class submarine (Soviet)

The K class were the largest submarines built for the Soviet Navy in the World War II era.-Design:The design was approved in 1936 as a long range "cruiser submarine" with a heavy torpedo and gun armament...

. The K-21 made an unsuccessful attack on the German battleship Tirpitz

German battleship Tirpitz

Tirpitz was the second of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz, the architect of the Imperial Navy, the ship was laid down at the Kriegsmarinewerft in Wilhelmshaven in November 1936 and launched two and a half years later in April...

 in June 1942. He subsequently carried out further patrols in Arctic waters sinking 17 German transports. In 1943 he became commander of the Northern Fleet's submarine brigade and was promoted to Rear Admiral in 1945.

After the war Lunin was involved in the Soviet exploration of the Arctic and Antarctic. Lunin retired in 1962 and died in 1970. He is buried in the Military Cemetery in St Petersburg.

Awards and honours

• Hero of the Soviet Union
  Hero of the Soviet Union
  The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
  
  
• Order of Lenin
  Order of Lenin
  The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
  
   - twice
• Order of Ushakov
  Order of Ushakov
  The Order of Ushakov was one of the highest naval awards of the Soviet Union among the Order of Nakhimov and it active is up to this day. Its name commemorates the Admiral Fyodor Ushakov, who never lost a battle and was proclaimed patron saint of the Russian Navy.The order was instituted during...
  
  
• Order of the Red Banner
  Order of the Red Banner
  The Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
  
  
• Order of the Patriotic War
  Order of the Patriotic War
  The Order of the Patriotic War is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisans for heroic deeds during the German-Soviet War, known by the former-Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War.- History :The Order was...
  
  
• Order of the Red Star
  Order of the Red Star
  Established on 6 April 1930, the Order of the Red Star was an order of the Soviet Union, given to Red Army and Soviet Navy personnel for "exceptional service in the cause of the defense of the Soviet Union in both war and peace". It was established by Resolution of the Presidium of the CEC of the...
  
  

Several streets are named after him in Muriupol, Polyarny

Polyarny

Polyarny is a closed town in Murmansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the outermost western side of the Kola Bay. Population: -History:It was founded in 1896 and named Alexandrovsk in honor of Tsar Alexander III. Town status was granted to it on , 1899...

 and Odessa

Odessa

Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...

, together with a school in Murmansk

Murmansk

Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...