Soviet S class submarine
Encyclopedia
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
s were part of 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...
's underwater fleet during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Unofficially nicknamed Stalinets ' onMouseout='HidePop("76734")' href="/topics/Leninets_class_submarine">L-class
Leninets class submarine
The Leninets or L-class were the second class of submarines to be built for the Soviet Navy. They were minelaying submarines and were based on the British L-class submarine, HMS L55, which was sunk during the British intervention in the Russian Civil War. Some experience from the previous...
L-2 Stalinets of 1931), boats of this class were the most successful and achieved the most significant victories among all Soviet submarines. In all, they sank of merchant shipping and seven warship
Warship
A warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat. Warships are usually built in a completely different way from merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuvrable than merchant ships...
s, which accounts for about one-third of all tonnage sunk by Soviet submarines during the war.
Project history
The history of the S-class represents quite an interesting turn in warship development. It was a result of international collaboration between SovietSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and German engineers that resulted in two different (but nevertheless related) classes of submarines often pitted against each other in the war.
In the early 1930s the Soviet government started a massive program of general rearmament, including naval expansion. Submarines were one key point of this program, but currently available types did not completely satisfy naval authorities. The recently developed Shchuka class submarine
Shchuka class submarine
The Shchuka class submarines , also referred to as Shch or SC class submarines were a medium-sized class of Soviet submarines, built in large numbers and used during World War II...
was satisfactory, but it was designed specifically for shallow Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
service and lacked true ocean-going capabilities, and larger boats of Soviet Navy were quickly becoming obsolete.
Thus, government commissioned several engineers to search for a suitable design for a medium-sized ocean-going submarine, and this search soon brought a success. After its defeat in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the German Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
was forbidden under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
to have submarines or build them in its own yards. Germany circumvented this restriction by creating various subsidiaries of their shipbuilding and design companies in third countries.
One of these proxies, the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
-based NV Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw
NV Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw
NV Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw , usually contracted to IvS, was a Dutch dummy company set up by the Reichsmarineamt after World War I in order to maintain and develop German submarine know-how and to circumvent the limitations set by the Treaty of Versailles...
(IvS), a subsidiary of Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG
Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau AG
Deutsche Schiff- und Maschinenbau Aktiengesellschaft was a cooperation of eight German shipyards in the period 1926 to 1945...
-AG Weser
AG Weser
Aktien-Gesellschaft Weser was one of the great German shipbuilding companies, located at the Weser River in Bremen. Founded in 1873 it was finally closed in 1983. Altogether, AG Weser built about 1400 ships of different types, including many war ships...
, was developing a similar design. The Spanish government, during General Primo de Rivera's dictatorship showed interest for such a submarine for the Spanish Navy
Spanish Navy
The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path...
. Several German naval officers (including Wilhelm Canaris
Wilhelm Canaris
Wilhelm Franz Canaris was a German admiral, head of the Abwehr, the German military intelligence service, from 1935 to 1944 and member of the German Resistance.- Early life and World War I :...
) visited Spain and struck a deal with a Spanish businessman, Horacio Echevarrieta
Horacio Echevarrieta
Horacio Echevarrieta Maruri was a businessman, banker, industrialist, patron of the arts, politician and diplomatic mediator....
. A single submarine was built in 1929–1930, and was tested at sea early in 1931, under the manufacturer's designation of submarino E-1
Submarino E-1
Submarino E-1 was a German-designed Spanish-built submarine that served in the Turkish Navy as the Gür between 1936 and 1947....
, since no navy had yet commissioned the ship.
The government of the Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
showed a clear preference for British submarine designs. Designers and builders then went to offer the design and the boat for sale to return their cost. Soviet engineers, among others, visited the yard in 1932 and were generally satisfied with the design, but suggested several modifications and improvements, in expectation of future local production. Another group of engineers went next year to the IvS office in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, as well as the Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
office of Deschimag, and then attended the completed boat's trials in Cartagena
Cartagena, Spain
Cartagena is a Spanish city and a major naval station located in the Region of Murcia, by the Mediterranean coast, south-eastern Spain. As of January 2011, it has a population of 218,210 inhabitants being the Region’s second largest municipality and the country’s 6th non-Province capital...
. Echevarrieta's imprisonment for his connection with the October 1934 Revolution made the Spanish Navy lose any interest in the submarine, which was finally sold to the Turkish Navy
Turkish Navy
The Turkish Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces.- Ottoman fleet after Mudros :Following the demise of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I, on November 3, 1918, the fleet commander of the Ottoman Navy, Liva Amiral Arif Pasha, ordered all flags to be...
in 1935, in which it served until 1947 under the name of Gür
Gur
-People:*Mordechai Gur , Israeli politician and the 10th Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defense Forces-Places:*A village in Tibet, see Gur, Tibet*Gur place name in ancient Israel near Megiddo*Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands-Other:...
.
Despite several problems with trials, the design was considered satisfactory and Soviet government bought the design, with the condition Deschimag make the suggested improvements and assist with the building of several prototypes, which it did. Said modifications resulted in significant rework of the project, redesignated E-2. Blueprints were received from Germany in the end of 1933 and on August 14, 1934, the design was officially approved for production, designated IX series. Construction of the first two prototypes commenced in December 1934 at the Baltic Shipyard
Baltic Shipyard
The Baltic Shipyard is one of the oldest shipyards in Russia. It is located in Saint Petersburg in the south-western part of the Vasilievsky Island. It is one of the three shipyards active in Saint Petersburg...
(Baltiysky zavod) in Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
, using partially German equipment. In April 1935, the third prototype was laid down as well.
By the time the third prototype was started, it became obvious building the boats with foreign equipment would be too expensive, so the design was reworked slightly to use only domestically produced equipment. The result of this modification was the IX-bis series and went to mass production in 1936. Initially the first prototypes received the official designations N-1, N-2, and N-3 (Nemetskaya, "German") but in October 1937 they were re-designated S-x (Srednyaya, "Medium"). In the West, the class was much more widely known for its nickname, Stalinets, coined in analogy to earlier boats of Leninets type
Type L submarine
Type L submarine may refer to one of the following classes of submarines based on the :* Japanese Type L submarine, a class of submarine for the Imperial Japanese Navy; built in the mid 1920s and active in World War II...
, but it was never featured in any official documents.
The E-1 boat was eventually sold to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
in 1935, and was a prototype for German's own boats of Type I
German Type I submarine
The Type I U-boat was the first post-World War I attempt by the German Kriegsmarine to produce an ocean going submarine. Only two Type IAs were built, but the decision to halt production on further boats is believed to be because of political decisions and not because of major faults in the Type I...
. This design was later improved to become the famous Type VII
German Type VII submarine
Type VII U-boats were the most common type of German World War II U-boat. The Type VII was based on earlier German submarine designs going back to the World War I Type UB III, designed through the Dutch dummy company Ingenieurskantoor voor Scheepsbouw den Haag which was set up by Germany after...
and Type IX
German Type IX submarine
The Type IX U-boat was designed by Germany in 1935 and 1936 as a large ocean-going submarine for sustained operations far from the home support facilities. Type IX boats were briefly used for patrols off the eastern United States in an attempt to disrupt the stream of troops and supplies bound for...
U-boat
U-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
s of the Kriegsmarine
Kriegsmarine
The Kriegsmarine was the name of the German Navy during the Nazi regime . It superseded the Kaiserliche Marine of World War I and the post-war Reichsmarine. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches of the Wehrmacht, the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany.The Kriegsmarine grew rapidly...
.
Building and trials
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
(#189, #194, and #196), one in Nikolayev (#198) and one in Gorky
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
(#112). Boats for Pacific Fleet were assembled from prefabricated sections, delivered by railroad, in Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
's plant #202. The first boat was completed in the beginning of December 1935, and made her first dive on December 15. Next August both first boats entered official trials, and while several requirements were not met (for example, speed was 0.5 kt (0.9 km/h, 0.6 mph) lower than the specified 20 kt {37 km/h, 22 mph}) and there were some technical difficulties, the project was considered successful and the boats were commissioned into 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...
.
The third boat, while still using other German machinery, was powered by Soviet-made diesels, due to delays in delivery of originally intended ones. However, adaptation to significantly different domestic engines required significant redesigns that slowed construction. These modifications were later included into the official blueprints and were the foundation of the later, completely domestically build production series. These series were produced for all four fleets, with boats for Baltic
Baltic Fleet
The Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet - is the Russian Navy's presence in the Baltic Sea. In previous historical periods, it has been part of the navy of Imperial Russia and later the Soviet Union. The Fleet gained the 'Twice Red Banner' appellation during the Soviet period, indicating two awards of...
, Northern, and Pacific Fleets being built in Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
, Black Sea Fleet
Black Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet is a large operational-strategic sub-unit of the Russian Navy, operating in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea since the late 18th century. It is based in various harbors of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov....
boats in Nikolayev, and some boats for Baltic and North in Gorky
Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod , colloquially shortened to Nizhny, is, with the population of 1,250,615, the fifth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, and Yekaterinburg...
.
During the war, the former riverboat production yard #638 in Astrakhan
Astrakhan
Astrakhan is a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the left bank of the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea at an altitude of below the sea level. Population:...
was employed for completion of several boats constructed in Leningrad and Gorky. Several boats were not completed: S-36, S-37, and S-38 were scuttled in the Nikolayev yard before the city was captured by Germans, and S-27 to S-30, S-45, and S-47, frozen during the war, were not completed after it, as their design was considered already obsolete. These boats were generally scrapped; S-27
Technical description
There existed three series-produced variations, differing mostly in their equipment. The first series utilized German engines and batteries, while the second was produced with domestic machinery. The third series introduced further improvements aimed mostly at lowering production cost and time, and the fourth series, albeit planned, was cancelled due to the beginning of the war.IX series
Only three ships were built in this group, S-1, S-2, and S-3, using partially German-supplied machinery. The boats were of semi-double hull type, with riveted pressure hull and welded light hull sections in superstructureSuperstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships...
and extremities for improved seaworthiness. The sail was medium sized and oval in plane, to reduce water drag. It housed conning tower
Conning tower
A conning tower is a raised platform on a ship or submarine, often armored, from which an officer can con the vessel; i.e., give directions to the helmsman. It is usually located as high on the ship as practical, to give the conning team good visibility....
, bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
, periscope
Periscope
A periscope is an instrument for observation from a concealed position. In its simplest form it consists of a tube with mirrors at each end set parallel to each other at a 45-degree angle....
fairings, and 45 mm (1.77 in) anti-aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare
NATO defines air defence as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action." They include ground and air based weapon systems, associated sensor systems, command and control arrangements and passive measures. It may be to protect naval, ground and air forces...
gun. A net cutter
Net cutter (submarine)
A submarine's net cutter is a device mounted on the bows of some naval submarines to cut through anti-submarine netting.Some net cutters are powered by explosives....
was fitted atop the bow. The hull was separated into seven compartments, three of which were able to withstand 10 atm
Atmosphere (unit)
The standard atmosphere is an international reference pressure defined as 101325 Pa and formerly used as unit of pressure. For practical purposes it has been replaced by the bar which is 105 Pa...
pressure. Nine main ballast tank
Ballast tank
A ballast tank is a compartment within a boat, ship or other floating structure that holds water.-History:The basic concept behind the ballast tank can be seen in many forms of aquatic life, such as the blowfish or argonaut octopus, and the concept has been invented and reinvented many times by...
s, separated into three groups (4 bow, 2 stern, 3 midships), together with a balancing tank and a quick dive tank were placed in the light hull. Trimming tanks were inside the pressure hull. Ballast tanks were emptied by pressurized air or engines exhaust, thus removing the need for ballast pumps.
Boats were powered by two MAN М6V49/48 four-stroke atmospheric reversive diesels
Diesel engine
A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber...
(2000 hp each at 465 rev/min) that drove two fixed pitch propellers together with two Electrosila PG-72/35 electric motors (550 hp at 275 rev/min), connecting by BAMAG (Berlin-Anhaltische Maschinenbau AG) type friction clutch
Clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device which provides for the transmission of power from one component to another...
es. Delivery of the engines for the third boat was constantly delayed and eventually it was equipped with domestically produced ones. For underwater propulsion energy was supplied by 124 APA
APA
- Associations :* Aborigines Progressive Association, an Australian organization* All Peoples' Association , a British voluntary organization* Allied Pilots Association, the certified collective bargaining agent for American Airlines pilots...
38-MAK-760 accumulators, equipped with K-5 hydrogen burners. Batteries lacked traditional central walkway, instead using special service trolleys suspended from deckhead. This design allowed to significantly decrease the height of the battery compartment, freeing space for crew. The electrical system omitted the complicated layout common on earlier Soviet designs and was simple and reliable. All connections were insulated and the bulkhead
Bulkhead
Bulkhead may refer to:* Bulkhead, a compartment of a building for preventing spread of fires, see Compartmentalization * Bulkhead , a retaining wall used as a form of coastal management, akin to a seawall, or as a structural device such as a bulkhead partition* Bulkhead , a wall within the hull of...
feedthroughs were designed to withstand same pressure as the bulkheads themselves.
The vessels were equipped with six torpedo tubes (four bow
Bow (ship)
The bow is a nautical term that refers to the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is most forward when the vessel is underway. Both of the adjectives fore and forward mean towards the bow...
and two stern
Stern
The stern is the rear or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite of the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section...
) of 533 mm (21 in) caliber. Six spare torpedoes could be stored in the racks of the bow torpedo compartment, so the complete load was 12 torpedoes. Usually 53-38 torpedoes were used, as high-speed 53-39 torpedoes were available only in limited numbers, and electric ET-80 torpedoes were unreliable and the crews did not like them. It was also possible to launch mine
Naval mine
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, an enemy vessel...
s through torpedo tubes. No torpedo automation was installed, and all shooting was manual. The stern tubes had an interesting feature: instead of the usual doors, they were closed by a special rotating cylinder that streamlined the contour of the stern when the tubes were not in use. A 45mm (1.77 in) semi-automatic anti-aircraft gun was mounted on the conning tower, and a 100 mm (3.9 in) on the deck for surface combat.
Observation and communication equipment was somewhat less than top-level, but generally adequate. The boats were equipped with two periscope
Periscope
A periscope is an instrument for observation from a concealed position. In its simplest form it consists of a tube with mirrors at each end set parallel to each other at a 45-degree angle....
s, observation PZ-7.5 and targeting PA-7.5, mounted very close to each other and reports existed of difficulties in their simultaneous use. Several radios were installed. The Mars-12 microphone system was primary an underwater sensor, and an underwater communication system was also installed on all boats. No radars were installed on any series of the type.
IX-bis series
Instead of German engines, domestically produced 1D turbo-diesels were installed. Unlike their foreign counterparts, they had (for the same power) slightly higher speeds and were non-reversible. To accommodate turbocompressors and other additional systems, exhaust manifolds were enlarged and various subsystems completely redesigned. In addition, domestically produced batteries were used. The open bridge was redesigned after requests from the crews, returning to traditional closed type. Later in the war boats were equipped with a Burun-M radio director, and the radios received an upgrade. Some boats were also equipped with periscope aerials, allowing the use of radio at periscope depths, and an ASDIC was mounted on most of the boats, significantly increasing patrolling and fire efficiency.IX-bis-2 series
Many minor improvements were introduced in this series, mostly to reduce cost and production time. Welding started to be implemented in building pressure hull as well.Project 97
A major redesign of the series was started in early 1940s, including new engines, increased torpedo load and an all-welded pressure hull, but war interrupted the work and all six boats of first series were scuttled soon after laying down.Postwar
Two submarines of this class, S-52 and S-53, along with two Soviet M class submarineSoviet M class submarine
The M-class submarines, also Malyutka-class , were a class of small, single-, or 1½-hulled submarines built in the Soviet Union and used during World War II. The submarines were built in sections so they could easily be transported by rail...
, and two Shchuka class submarine
Shchuka class submarine
The Shchuka class submarines , also referred to as Shch or SC class submarines were a medium-sized class of Soviet submarines, built in large numbers and used during World War II...
s (under lease, S-121 and S-123) were handed to People's Liberation Army Navy
People's Liberation Army Navy
The People's Liberation Army Navy is the naval branch of the People's Liberation Army , the military of the People's Republic of China. Until the early 1990s, the navy performed a subordinate role to the PLA Land Forces. Since then, it has undergone rapid modernisation...
in June, 1954, thus becoming the foundation of the submarine force of the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. Both the M and S class submarines were sold to China, and subsequently, two more S class submarines, S-24 and S-25 were also sold to China a few years later. Those purchased with China received Chinese names, and the two leased S class submarine did not. S-52, S-53, S-24 and S-25 were named as New China # 11, 12, 13 and 14 respectively.