Submarines of the M type ("Malyutka") VI series. Small submarines Underwater tug "Sirena"

13.08.202327.05.2017

Stalin's babies
In the 30s of the 20th century, the Soviet Union followed 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 of a large number of ships and boats in 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 weak weapons, 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 all the weaknesses of the 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.

Submarine type M ("Malyutka") VI series

Historical data

Total information

Power plant

Submarines of the M type ("Malyutka") are a type of Soviet submarine from the Second World War, the smallest submarines in the Soviet Union during this period. “M” type submarines actively participated in the Great Patriotic War. Initially intended for close-range coastal defense and naval bases, they were able to conduct successful fighting even off the enemy’s coast, in enemy harbors.

General information

History of creation

Predecessors

Submarine "Lamprey"

Prerequisites for creation

In the early 30s of the 20th century, the Soviet government decided to create and strengthen the Pacific Fleet. The submarines of the Shchuka and Leninets types, which were in service at that time, and were built at factories and shipyards in the European part of the USSR, could be transported by railway only in disassembled form, but their reassembly at the shipyards of the Far East was difficult and required a lot of time. In connection with this, it was decided to design a class of small-sized submarines that could be transported by rail without disassembling.

Design

The development of the project was carried out in Technical Bureau No. 4, its head, Alexey Nikolaevich Asafov, who took the submarine "Lamprey" authored by I.G. Bubnov as the basis for the project. March 20, 1932 Revolutionary Military Council Soviet Union gave the go-ahead to the project of a small submarine of series VI, called "Malyutka"

Construction and testing

On August 29, 1932, the keel of the lead submarine of the Malyutka project, M-3, was laid down. They decided to make its hull riveted, not paying attention to the proposal of the project manager Asafov, to use electric welding. Testing of the prototype revealed the following shortcomings:

The underwater speed turned out to be lower than the design speed - 5 knots.
The submarine's immersion time was 80 seconds, which was longer compared to boats of other classes.
Insufficient seaworthiness.
After a torpedo shot, it was almost impossible to keep them under water and they unmasked themselves.
Unfortunate shape of the stern, which ended in a sharp ledge immediately behind the muffler located behind the wheelhouse

Description and design

Frame

Small submarines of the "Malyutka" type were single-hulled (the diameter of the pressure hull was 3110 mm). The internal volume of the boat was divided by three light bulkheads that could withstand a pressure of only one atmosphere.

Power plant and driving performance

Image gallery

Video

The name of A.N. Asafov is associated with another page in the history of domestic submarine shipbuilding, which is directly related to strengthening the Far Eastern borders of our country.

The first formations of the Naval Forces of the Far East, created in 1932, were a brigade of minesweepers (1st naval brigade) and a brigade of Pike-class submarines (2nd naval brigade, commander K.O. Osipov). Together with the then limited number of surface ships, aircraft and coastal artillery, the submarines laid the foundation for the Pacific Fleet.
Transportation by rail to the Far East of medium-sized submarines of the Shch type, and then of underwater minelayers of the L type, built in the European part of our country, was possible only in sections. Their entry into service was delayed because the assembly of these sections in the shipyards of the Far East required considerable time. Meanwhile, the international situation dictated the need to further strengthen the young Pacific Fleet. Historical experience has shown that this problem can be solved in a shorter time by delivering assembled surface ships and submarines to the Far East.

Russia has priority in transporting submarines with a displacement of more than 100 tons by rail over a distance of about 10 thousand km. During the Russo-Japanese War, the first 4 submarines of the "Kasatka" type arrived in Vladivostok from St. Petersburg in December 1904, having a displacement of 140 t. In the summer of next year, the number of submarines delivered to the Pacific Ocean was increased to 13.
The Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Soviet government decided to quickly design and build submarines of such small displacement that would allow them to be transported in finished form by rail without stopping oncoming train traffic. Given the great disunity of the adjacent territories of the USSR naval theaters, this made it possible to carry out any maneuver by submarine forces, using not only the water, but also the land transport system.
The railways accepted for transportation only those cargoes that, after being installed on the platform, fit into the normal dimensions approved by the government. This guaranteed the free passage of loaded rolling stock along all railway tracks of the USSR without the risk of damage to both station buildings, bridges, tunnels, and the transported cargo. By special order of the People's Commissariat of Railways, "oversized" cargo could also be accepted, the transportation of which was associated with limiting oncoming traffic, reducing speed or reducing the list of permitted routes. However, in any case, the railway gauge set strict limits on the cross-section of the transported submarine in the midsection area and its length.

The time for the design and construction of the required submarines, the preliminary design of which was developed by NTKM, was limited to the limit. A.N. Asafov, who at that time was the chief engineer of Technical Bureau No. 4, decided to take as a basis the design of the small submarine "Lamprey" with a displacement of about 120 tons, built by I.G. Bubnov in 1906 - 1909. She participated in the years Civil War in the inter-theater submarine maneuver from the Baltic Sea to the Caspian Sea, carried out on the instructions of V.I. Lenin. Transportation of 4 small submarines from Petrograd to Saratov was carried out using special railway platforms manufactured at the Izhora plant in Petrograd.

On March 20, 1932, the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR approved the project of a small submarine of series VI, called “Malyutka”. It was single-hull (the diameter of the durable hull is 3110 mm, the diameter of the strong cabin made of low-magnetic steel is 1000 mm, its height is 1700 mm. The fence of the cabin and bridge is made of duralumin. A box-shaped welded keel is attached to the lower part of the hull, which also serves as a drainage line. In Water was discharged from the main ballast tanks and submarine compartments.
Inside, the volume of the durable hull was divided by three light bulkheads, designed for a pressure of one atm, into 4 compartments - torpedo, central post, diesel and electric motor.
The role of the main ballast tanks, designed to extinguish the buoyancy reserve of the "M" type submarine (25%) during immersion and to restore it during ascent, was performed by 2 end tanks outside the pressure hull and one side tank inside it. The kingstons of the tanks opened outward using manual drives. It took 11 minutes for the submarine to surface.
In addition, there were deck tanks (like the "D" type submarine), a buoyancy tank at the bow (like the "Shch" type submarine) and an anti-float tank (to prevent the submarine's bow from rising after the release of torpedoes).
The battery consisted of one group (56 elements) and was located in the central post. The battery pit was covered with collapsible wooden panels.
The power plant was single-shaft. The main propulsion motor was used for both full and economic propulsion. In this case, half the battery voltage was supplied to the main propulsion motor (from the output neutral wire of the midpoint).
The steering device had electric (except for the bow horizontal rudders) and manual drives.
The submarine was equipped with a Hall anchor weighing 150 kg and two lifting eyes mounted on the hull.
The armament of the Malyutka-class submarine consisted of two bow torpedo tubes placed horizontally in the bow compartment (without spare torpedoes), and a 45-mm gun installed in the fence in front of the strong deckhouse. Loading of torpedoes was carried out through the open front covers of the torpedo tubes (with the rear covers closed). The torpedoes were “sucked in” along with water using a bilge pump (the so-called “wet” loading of torpedoes.
The construction of the submarine for this project was entrusted to the Nikolaev plant.

A special government commission headed by Deputy People's Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs, Head of the Political Directorate of the Red Army Ya.B. Gamarnik took strict control over all work on the construction and subsequent transportation of finished submarines to the Far East. For this purpose, the Nikolaev Shipyard built 18 120-ton railway transporters, each of which included two platform bogies.

The lead submarine of the "Malyutka" type (later "M-2") was laid down on August 29, 1932. The entire VI series consisted of 30 units. By the end of the year (October 2 and 3), 2 more submarines were laid down (later M-3 and M-1). Construction proceeded at a rapid pace in accordance with the strict calendar deadlines established by Labor and Defense. But despite the fact that A.N. Asafov proposed using electric welding in the construction of “M” type submarines, their hulls were still made riveted.
The first of the M-type submarines was M-3 (March 16, 1933), followed by M-2 and M-1 (April 8 and 9, 1933). The tests that began revealed that their speed was lower than the design speed (about 5 knots instead of the planned 7 knots), and the dive time (80 seconds) was longer than that of the submarines of the previous series. In addition, the M-type submarines had insufficient seaworthiness, and after a torpedo shot it was almost impossible to keep them under water and they unmasked themselves.

There were already about two dozen almost finished "M" type submarines afloat when a commission was created under the chairmanship of the head of the VIS V.M. Orlov to improve their combat qualities. Major industry and naval specialists took part in it, including P.F. Papkovich, Yu.A. Shimansky, electric welding specialist V.P. Vologdin, designer A.N. Asafov and his deputy V.F. Popov. The commission carefully examined the lead submarine of series VI.

It was found that one of the reasons for the decrease in the surface speed of the submarine was one unaccounted for circumstance. The resistance of water to the movement of a high-speed ship depends on the ratio between its length and the length of the waves generated. At the same time, the wavelength depends on the speed of movement.
If these values are equal or multiples of each other, the stern wave system is superimposed on the bow system so that the height of the waves increases, therefore, the resistance of the water to the movement of the ship also increases.

Another reason for the decrease in underwater speed was the rough roughness of the hull of the "M" type submarine due to the use of riveting transverse seams on the outer connecting strips with large-diameter semicircular rivet heads. The commission supported A.N. Asafov’s proposal to replace the riveting of the submarine’s durable hull with electric welding. The underwater speed was also affected by the unfortunate shape of the stern, which ended in a sharp ledge immediately behind the muffler located behind the wheelhouse. It was decided to give the rear part smooth contours with a special fairing. It was also discovered that while moving, jets of water rushing through the scuppers hit the parts of the submarine's bow superstructure with great force, which created additional resistance to its movement. It was necessary to install reflective shields inside the superstructure behind each scupper. This had some impact on the surface and even more so on the underwater speed of the Malyutka-class submarine. They reached 13 knots and 7 knots.

To improve the seaworthiness of the VI series submarine, it was necessary to recommend that personnel not use the buoyancy tank. After lifting the Malyutka submarine onto the slipway, it turned out that the kingstons of the main ballast tanks, instead of the usual gratings, only had drillings in the outer casing. The flow area of all drillings was smaller than the flow area of the kingston itself. Therefore, the resistance of such a grid had a significant impact on the rate of water flow through the kingston and sharply increased the time of filling the tanks. The holes in the casing were widened in accordance with the shape of the Kingston intake pipe and covered with a rare grille made of thick wire. As a result, the tank filling time was reduced by approximately 1.5 times. It was also possible to establish that in order to prevent the surfacing of the bow end of a submarine during torpedo firing, it is sufficient to open the filling port of the anti-ascent tank at the preliminary command “apparatus”, without waiting for the executive command “Pli”.
The first application of electric welding of "M" type submarine hulls was very imperfect: the plant simply replaced the rivet seams with welded ones, retaining the butt strips and recuts along the grooves. Under such conditions, no noticeable decrease in water resistance could be expected. Nevertheless, the M-type submarines were the world's first all-welded combat submarines.

TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL ELEMENTS OF THE "MALYUTKA" TYPE PLUS "SERIES VI"

Displacement 157 t / 197 t
Length 36.9 m
Maximum width 3.13 m
Surface draft 2.58 m
Number and power of main diesel engines 1 x 685 hp.
Number and power of main electric motors 1 x 235 hp.
Full surface speed 13.0 kt
Full underwater speed 7 knots
Cruising range at full speed 400 miles (5.84 kts)
Cruising range economic surface speed 1065 miles (10 kts)
Cruising range at economic underwater speed 55 miles (2.5 kts)
Autonomy 7 days

Armament: 2 bow torpedo tubes.
Ammunition - 2 torpedoes.

The enemies of the Soviet state tried to disrupt the implementation of the Underwater Construction Program. During the fire, which was the result of sabotage, several submarines that were under construction were damaged, with degrees of readiness: one - at 95%, the second - at 75%, the third - at 15%. A group of saboteurs, led by two engineers - German subjects, was neutralized.
However, the most damaged submarine, the construction of which began on June 14, 1933, had to be laid down anew on February 1, 1934 (later the submarine "M-27").
In total, 30 Malyutka-class submarines of the VI series were accepted into the USSR Navy from industry, of which 28 were delivered to the Far East.

They were transported in batches, usually of 3 units. The first echelon was sent from Nikolaev on December 1, 1933, the last on November 30, 1934. Before transportation, a strong conning tower with fencing, a periscope, torpedo and artillery weapons, a battery, and an anchor device were removed from the submarine, which significantly reduced the weight of the submarine being transported.
The acceptance certificate for the last of the "M" type submarines of series VI was approved on December 31, 1934. Two submarines remained, by government decision, in the Black Sea for training submariners. They received the letter-numeric names "M-51" and "M-52".
The construction of the "M" type submarine of the VI series made it possible to form another submarine brigade (commander A.I. Selting) in the Black Sea for the Naval Forces of the Far East. In terms of surface displacement, "M" type submarines occupied an intermediate position between torpedo boats and submarine hunters. "But for all their diminutiveness, these were real warships", noted one of the veterans of the Soviet submarine fleet, Hero of the Soviet Union G.N. Kholostyakov.

On August 13, 1933, the USSR Government decided to lay down next year 20 submarines of type "M" series VI-bis with a displacement of 161 tons / 201 tons. The Deputy People's Commissar of Defense participated in resolving issues related to improving their tactical and technical elements. chief of armaments of the Red Army M.N. Tukhachevsky, chief of the Navy V.M. Orlov, his deputy I.M. Ludri.
The VI-bis series submarines had a quick-diving tank, an electric drive to control the bow horizontal rudders, a more optimal propeller with better hydrodynamic characteristics, and slightly modified contours of the aft end. The speed of these submarines on the surface increased to 13.2 knots, while submerged - to 7.16 knots, endurance - up to 10 days, cruising range at full surface speed - up to 545 miles.

By November 1936, the M-type submarines of the VI bis series became part of the Navy. On the eve of the Great Patriotic War, there were 12 units at the Baltic Fleet, 2 units at the Black Sea Fleet, and 6 units at the Pacific Fleet.

As a result of decisive and timely measures taken by the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Soviet Government, by 1938 the Pacific Fleet had 4 submarine brigades (commanders captain 1st rank M.P. Skriganov, captains 2nd rank K.M. Kuznetsov, I.D. Kulishov, G.N. Kholostyakov). One of the leaders of the Navy, Admiral N.G. Kuznetsov, who commanded the Pacific Fleet in 1937 - 1939, emphasized: “... our advantage in submarines in the Pacific Ocean had a sobering effect on the Japanese militarists... It is known that Japanese circles have long sharpened their teeth on our Primorye. And yet they did not dare to attack him. The power of our submarine fleet played a significant role in this. Therefore, the leading role in our fleet belonged to submariners."
Malyutka-class submarines served well to strengthen the combat capability of submarine forces and increase the level of professional training of personnel; in practice they demonstrated the strength and reliability of the design.
In December 1933, one of the first submarines of the "M" type, series VI, which still had only serial number 244 (later "M-6"), under the command of V.A. Mazin, carried out transitions in ice conditions from Sevastopol to Odessa and then beyond icebreakers from Odessa to Nikolaev. On December 18 of the same year, another submarine of the “M” type (later “M-8”) left Nikolaev through ice 25 cm thick with the help of icebreakers.

On January 5, 1934, she returned along the ice fairway to Nikolaev. The submarine hulls had no damage.
There are examples when the strength of welded submarines of type "M" was confirmed by "abnormal" cases. In 1934, the submarine "M-6" jumped onto the bank. For several hours, the waves brutally beat her hull against the rocks, dents formed in the bow and cracks appeared. After removing the submarine from the stones, it was possible to weld the crack and straighten out the dents without changing the removable hull sheets.
Two submarines had a chance to test the strength of their stems: the submarine "M-7" when it hit the hull of the mother ship, the submarine "M-13" - into the quay wall. At the same time, their nasal ends were somewhat deformed, but the hulls had no cracks or sheet breaks.
In the Pacific Ocean, the submarine "M-4" (commander V.A. Dolgov) and the submarine "M-6" (commander V.A. Mazin) in the winter of 1934 - 1935. made excursions from the base under the ice for training purposes.

The following winter, the M-17 submarine, commanded by M.I. Kupriyanov, completed its first trip to full autonomy (10 days). Then the submarine "M-16" (commander I.I. Baykov, leader of the submarine group), "M-17" (commander M.I. Kupriyanov) and "M-18" (commander G.I. Gavrilin) made a group voyage ).
“There was a turning point in the combat training of the Malyutoks, they began to be used more confidently and boldly,” M.I. Kupriyanov later recalled. “They concluded that for a 10-day voyage, additional fuel should be taken into one main ballast tank. And on submarines under construction They began to specially adapt part of the ballast tanks to receive fuel."
During the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939 - 1940. 11 M-type submarines of the VI-bis KBF series were actively operating on enemy communications. In the most difficult conditions of the autumn-winter period, with 40-degree frosts and a force 9 storm, they searched for enemy ships. Their hulls were frozen over, antennas were torn due to icing, and railings were broken.
The submarine "M-72" (commanded by Senior Lieutenant N.N. Kulygin) had to return to base in broken ice. She was able to enter Paldiski (Baltic port) only with the help of an icebreaker. Due to the pressure of the ice, the submarine "M-72" had dents in the wheelhouse fence, the sealing of its torpedo tubes was broken, and the stem was twisted to the side.
The submarine "M-74" (commander senior lieutenant D.M. Sazonov) returned from the cruise with a mutilated stem.

On January 4, 1940, the submarine "M-77" (commander Lt. A.E. Chemodanov) fell into broken ice near Kalbodengrund in the fog. And when visibility improved somewhat, it was attacked by a Finnish plane. It turned out to be impossible to repel his attack - the 45-mm gun and machine gun were not ready for immediate action due to the severe frost. The enemy fired at the submarine squeezed by the ice with a machine gun, and then dropped, but not accurately, a bomb. It took the submariners 22 minutes to warm up the gun, open fire on the plane and drive it away.
Winter 1939 - 1940 was a severe test of the combat effectiveness of the M-type submarine. Not a single one of them was lost during the Soviet-Finnish war.

On December 28, 1940, the first sub-ice voyage in history was carried out. It was attended by submarines of type "M" series VI of the Pacific Fleet: submarine "M-2" (commander senior lieutenant B.M. Mikhailov), "M-19" (commander senior lieutenant V.I. Avdashev) and "M -20" (commander senior lieutenant E.N. Alekseev) This complex task was led by the division commander, captain-lieutenant L.M. Sushkin, who was on the submarine "M-24" (submarine commander senior lieutenant A.G. Yaylo).
“I would like to note the particularly difficult service on the “M” type submarines - “baby ones,” said Admiral N.G. Kuznetsov. “They were clearly not created for the Pacific open spaces with the storms and cyclones there. And they had to serve on an equal basis with other boats ..."

During the Great Patriotic War, the submarine "M-51" of series VI of the Black Sea Fleet took part in the Kerch-Feodosia operation in December 1941. Together with the submarine "Shch-201" (commanded by captain-lieutenant A.I. Strizhak), the submarine "M-51" under the command of captain-lieutenant V.M. Prokofiev provided navigation and hydrographic support for the landing of troops in Feodosia captured by the enemy. The submarine "Shch-201", having placed luminous buoys with red and white lights on the fairway, then used a searchlight beam to orient the ships with landing troops approaching the Feodosia Gulf. The submarine "M-51" was located closer to Feodosia, 50 cables from it.
Based on its searchlight beam with a green filter, shining in a given sector, the cruisers "Red Caucasus" and "Red Crimea", the destroyers "Zheleznyakov", "Shaumyan" and "Nezamozhnik" and the transport ships participating in the landing, at dawn on December 29, determined entrance to the Feodosia port. The landing was successful.

During the war, Malyutka-class submarines sank 61 ships with a total displacement of 135,512 GRT, damaged 8 ships with a total displacement of 20,131 GRT, sank 10 warships and auxiliary vessels, and damaged 2 ships. This accounted for 16.9% of all ships sunk by USSR submarines and 12.4% of damaged enemy ships
Pacific submarines of the "M" type took part in the war with Japan in 1945, in particular in the Yuzhno-Sakhalin operation. Submarines "M-1" (commander senior lieutenant P.P. Nosenkov) and "M-5" (commander lieutenant commander P.P. Pivovarov) series VI delivered fuel and engine oil for surface ships to the port of Otomari (Korsakov) . The southern part of Sakhalin Island was returned to the USSR.
Without the Malyutok, nuclear submarines would not have appeared.

NEW SMALL "M" PLAYER SERIES XII

PETER IVANOVYCH SERDIUK

The history of the Malyutka-class submarine begins in 1932, when designer A.N. Asafov proposed building submarines that could be transported by rail to the Far East. This is how the submarines of series VI, then series VI bis, appeared, but they had a number of serious shortcomings.

In 1935, the designers created the famous XII series submarines. Its chief designer was...
Yellowed newsprint - a clipping from the newspaper "Leningradskaya Pravda" for April 4, 1957. It contains a note "Depth - 600 meters" - about the first Soviet hydrostat - research apparatus depths of the sea, commissioned by ichthyologists and designed at the Leningrad Institute "Giprorybflot".

The note appeared after a conversation with the chief designer of the hydrostat, engineer Pyotr Ivanovich Serdyuk. This device was already being built at the Baltic Shipyard. Designed for diving up to 600 meters, the hydrostat was shaped like a radio tube enlarged hundreds of times. An observer inside this steel “lamp” could observe deep-sea fish for a long time, photograph them in the light of a powerful spotlight and flashbulbs, and could film all stages of the trawl’s operation with a movie camera. In general, science, with the help of a hydrostat, had to illuminate dozens of problems that required solutions in those years.
While willingly talking about the hydrostat, the chief designer of the device, Pyotr Ivanovich Serdyuk, avoided my questions about himself, about his past, about what he did before joining Giprorybflot. The answer to these questions was found 20 years later among the documents of the TsVVM handwritten collection, when P.I. Serdyuk was no longer alive. It turned out that the conversation with the chief designer was the most successful - the XII series of the famous Soviet "M" type submarines. In 1957, just 12 years after the end of the war, Pyotr Ivanovich did not find the opportunity to say this.

Pyotr Ivanovich Serdyuk lived relatively short, but left a noticeable mark on the annals of Soviet shipbuilding in general and underwater shipbuilding in particular. Serdyuk belonged to a generation that was forged in the fire of the Civil War. The logic of life led such people into the ranks of fighters against interventionists and counter-revolution.
Pyotr Serdyuk began his working life early. While still in real school, as he wrote in his biography, he “supported himself with lessons.” During the First World War he was drafted and entered the Naval Engineering School. During the Civil War, Serdyuk participated in the armament and repair of ships in the Volga military flotilla. In 1924 he graduated from the shipbuilding department.
First in the Black Sea, and then in the Baltic, Serdyuk was the senior supervisor of the design and construction of the submarine. And then he became a designer himself.
His first submarine was approved, but it did not go into series production, but the second - “Malyutka”, which received the official name “series XII” and the unofficial name “serduchka”, was put into mass production. By the beginning of the war there were 28 such submarines. Throughout its practical life engineer Pyotr Ivanovich Serdyuk was prepared to design submarines, and the success of the XII series submarines, their excellent combat qualities - all this was natural.
... A fierce storm that broke out suddenly - this happened in the fall of 1941 - forced the commander of the S-102 submarine to send a radiogram to headquarters asking for permission to take shelter from the giant waves near the Rybachy Peninsula. The Northern Fleet Commander, Admiral A.G. Golovko, responded truly brilliantly. He radioed: "Baby" are at sea." The displacement of the "C" type submarine was more than three times greater than the displacement of the "M" type submarine. With his answer, the commander seemed to confirm the excellent qualities of the XII series submarine.
And their combat capabilities were also considerable. Among the submarines of the XII series there were 2 Red Banner submarines, 4 submarines became Guards submarines, and one - "M-172", commanded by Hero of the Soviet Union I.I. Fisanovich, had the Order of the Red Banner and was called Guards.

Notes from an eyewitness to the first dive of the first M-type submarine have been preserved:
“In the afternoon, testing of the immersion system began. Spectators watched as the boat alternately plunged the bow and stern into the water. Finally, as the trim was completed, when the deck had already disappeared under the water, and behind it the wheelhouse fence, the shiny copper handrails, and then nothing was left on the surface. The working class became convinced that with their own hands they really managed to build a submarine, which here, before their eyes, sank with people who are now there, under the water, signing acts confirming this fact. This caused a surge of joy. There was a loud "hurray" in honor of the working class - the owner of the country." From the characteristics stored in the manuscript collection of the Central Military Research Institute: "Engineer P.I. Serdyuk worked in the shipbuilding industry, was distinguished by design initiative and invested a lot of energy and energy in the construction of the Navy forces with very real achievements for the fleet. A. Redkin."
"Naval engineer P.I. Serdyuk, being one of the few engineers who specialized in the design and construction of submarines, took an active and intimate part in the construction of the Soviet submarine fleet from its very beginning. Comrade Serdyuk was the first senior industrial inspector on submarines being built after the Great October Revolution.
He worked in this position for 5 years, then, under his leadership, projects of some types of submarines were completed, of which a series was built in large numbers; these submarines successfully conducted combat operations during the Great Patriotic War in all active fleets. Engineer Serdyuk resolved the technical problems of the submarine fleet with the search for the most optimal design solutions and devoted a lot of strength and energy to the construction of the navy. "Engineer Rear Admiral M. Rudnitsky."

Above were statements by Soviet shipbuilding veteran N.S. Isserlis about some submarine designers. A party member since 1928, N.S. Isserlis graduated from the water department of the Moscow Institute of Transport Engineers. In 1928 he came to Malinin. Worked in a group of diesel engineers. I knew many prominent designers closely and, in particular, P.I. Serdyuk: “I remember well what P.I. Serdyuk looked like.
He was of average height and strong build. He was distinguished by his even attitude towards people. He had extraordinary engineering knowledge, never flaunted it, and always found a reason, without hurting his pride, to help a friend in his work, especially in the calculations of any devices. Peter Ivanovich left the brightest memory."

Retired captain 1st rank Alexander Vladimirovich Buk recalled how the M-type submarine was transported (his notes are stored in the Central Military Museum): “At the end of October 1933, at the native plant they were preparing for the long journey to the shores Pacific Ocean. Some preventive dismantling was carried out in order to somewhat smooth out the contours of the body, which was to be hidden in a giant case made of burlap. In an effort to prevent possible deformations of the pipelines, the sailors disconnected the pipelines at the flanges.
All the rudders and their guards, the conning tower fence were removed from the axles, the banquet around it was cut off, and the bolts securing the gas pipes were loosened. Under the submarine's hulls, underwater "towels" were placed, since after the ampoule batteries were unloaded, the submarine lost positive stability and could remain on the water with the help of taps on the "towels". When the dismantling was completed, all the parts were loaded into the cars, having previously attached tags with the name of the submarine. A 250-ton crane lifted the boat out of the water and placed it on a conveyor. It was a special structure designed for a long-term stay of a submarine on it without any hull deflections. On the steel beams of the conveyors lay wooden5 “pillows” that exactly coincided with the contours of the hulls. The bow and stern were attached to the longitudinal beams of the conveyor with steel “towels”. The train was oversized, so it moved slowly. A few weeks later, the submarines safely reached the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

The tactical and technical elements of the Malyutka-type submarines of the VI and VI-bis series made it possible to use them for professional training of personal crew in peacetime, but limited the possibilities of active combat use. It was necessary to create a small torpedo submarine, also available for transportation in assembled form by rail, but more seaworthy, with higher surface and underwater speeds, with a cruising range increased by 1.5 - 2 times (especially economic speed), i.e. capable of operating at a greater distance from its bases.

An increase in surface speed could be achieved primarily by significantly lengthening the hull of a small submarine. However, it was necessary to verify the possibility of transporting such a submarine in assembled form along the country's railways.
For this purpose, the plaza (a specially equipped floor for drawing a life-size theoretical drawing of the ship) depicted the successive positions of the elongated submarine as it moved on a conveyor through curves of the smallest radius and tunnels. As a result, it became possible to increase the length of the submarine by 20%, the largest diameter by 10%, which increased the displacement of the submarine by 40%. Nevertheless, even while maintaining the same engines that were installed on the "M" type submarines of the VI and VI-bis series, the design speed of the new version of the small submarine increased on the surface from 13 knots to 14 knots, in the submerged position - from 7 to 7, 8 knots This option was developed by designer S.A. Bazilevsky and was called the “MB project” (“Baby Bazilevsky”). However, a significant drawback of the project was the large displacement of the center of the submarine's size forward from the midsection.
There was a need for such a shift to the bow and all internal equipment of the submarine. As a result, for example, one row of batteries in the bow group ended up under the aft sections of the torpedo tubes, which made their maintenance difficult.
A more successful option, accepted for implementation, was proposed by NIVK employee P.I. Serdyuk (project M-IV). He was appointed chief designer of the new M-type submarine of the XII series.

Submarines of the XII series, which were still often called “Baby”, were single-hull, all-welded and single-shaft. The limited volume of their durable hull was divided by strong bulkheads into 6 compartments: the first - torpedo, second - bow battery, third - central air, fourth - stern battery, fifth - diesel, sixth - electric motor.
To receive the main ballast, 3 side and 2 end tanks were intended. There were no deck tanks. The submarine's buoyancy reserve was 25%. Kingstons and tank ventilation valves had both remote pneumatic and manual drives.
It took 47 seconds for the submarine to dive. The main ballast was purged using a diesel engine. The installation of a higher power 38-K-8 diesel engine made it possible to increase the speed to 14 knots.
The battery consisted of two groups of 56 ML-2 elements. The battery pits were covered with dismountable metal shields.
The submarine's secrecy has increased. In an underwater position, it was possible to observe through the periscope not only from the central post, as in the M-type submarine, but also from the control room.
The head submarines of the "M" type, series XII, were laid down:
For the Red Banner Baltic Fleet on September 10, 1936 ("M-87" after being transferred to the Northern Fleet became known as "M-171"), for the Black Sea Fleet - on July 26, 1937 ("M-57" after being transported to the Pacific Fleet received the name "M- 49").

The first submarine entered service with the Red Banner Baltic Fleet on December 25, 1937, the second submarine entered service with the Black Sea Fleet on August 3, 1939.
Small submarines of the "M" type, series XII, had undeniable advantages over the "M" type submarines of the VI and VI-bis series. Their surface and underwater speeds have increased, their cruising range at full speed in the surface and submerged positions has increased by 1.5 times, their economic speed in the surface position has increased by three times, and in the submerged position by two times.

TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL ELEMENTS OF TYPE "M" PLUS XII SERIES

Displacement 206 t / 258 t
Length 44.5 m
Maximum width 3.3 m
Surface draft 2.85 m
Number and power of main diesel engines 1 x 800 hp.
Number and power of main electric motors 1 x 400 hp.
Full surface speed 14 knots
Full underwater speed 7.8 knots
Cruising range at full speed 650 miles (8.0 kts)
Cruising range at surface economic speed 3380 miles (8.6 kts)
Cruising range underwater economic speed 108 miles (2.9 kt)
Autonomy 10 days
Working immersion depth 50 m
Maximum immersion depth 60 m
Armament: 2 bow TA, total number of torpedoes - 2
One 45 mm gun (195 rounds)

Before the Great Patriotic War, the USSR Navy commissioned 28 M-type submarines of the XII series, which were distributed among the fleets: Red Banner Baltic Fleet - 9 submarines, Black Sea Fleet - 10 submarines, Northern Fleet - 6 submarines, Pacific Fleet - 3 submarines. Another 17 submarines of this type were under construction. All of them entered service with the Navy during the war.
6 "M" type submarines of the XII SF series, transferred from the Baltic, took part in the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939 - 1940. They had to operate in the Arctic in the most difficult autumn-winter stormy conditions, when with a wave of 5-6 points the roll reached 52 degrees. The command of the Northern Fleet submarine brigade hastened to draw the following conclusion: “and” the use of “M” type submarines in the Barents Sea is subject to review.” But practice has shown that such a conclusion was premature.
Hero of the Soviet Union I.A. Kolyshkin objectively and comprehensively assessed the capabilities of the M-type submarine of the XII series of the Great Patriotic War: “How did these “babies” prove themselves, the combat capabilities of which some people doubted before the war? Well, skeptics were put to shame.

In the hands of excellent crews and smart, brave commanders, these submarines turned out to be capable of even more than expected. After all, they were designed as ships for short-range cover of their shores and bases, and not with polar weather in mind. But from the very first campaigns, the “babies” began to conduct active combat operations off the enemy’s coast and deftly penetrate into his harbors.”
The first, at the beginning of August 1941, entered the harbor of Linnahamari (Devkina Zavod), located in the Petsamovuono fjord (Pechenga Bay), for the purpose of reconnaissance of the submarine "M-174", commanded by Lieutenant Commander N.E. Egorov. Linnahamari harbor was the outport of Petsamo (Pechenga) - the final point of enemy sea communication along the coast of Scandinavia. Nickel ore, molybdenum, and cellulose were exported from Petsamo. Persamovuono Fjord was protected by coastal artillery batteries and was monitored by signal and observation posts.

On August 21, 1941, the submarine "M-172" entered Linnakhamari under the command of Lieutenant Commander I.I. Fisanovich. Having sunk the ship standing at the pier with torpedoes, the commander then took the submarine out of the fjord, navigating underwater only with the help of hydroacoustic equipment.

In September, the submarine "M-171" under the command of Art. Lieutenant V.G. Starikov and secondly the submarine "M-174". The enemy has strengthened anti-submarine defenses.
In October 1941, the submarine "M-171", having again penetrated the port, came across an anti-submarine network at the exit from it. The submarine was discovered. Coastal batteries fired at her with depth charges, and PLO ships bombarded her with depth charges. Only 40 minutes later the submarine managed to escape from the steel net in which it was entangled with its bow horizontal rudders. But it turned out to be impossible to break through the fence. The crew made a unanimous decision: the M-171 submarine will surface and engage in artillery combat with the enemy, using a 45-mm gun. If it is not possible to escape from the trap, then the submarine must be blown up... But the time has come for the tide, the amplitude of which in northern latitudes is significant. The water level above the anti-submarine network increased, which the commander of our submarine took advantage of. “M-171! Imperceptibly crawled over the luff of the net and came out of the fjord.
The Northern Fleet command appreciated the courageous and decisive actions of the personnel of small submarines of the XII series. Along with the positive assessment of the “M” type submarines of the XII series, the sailors noted the difficulties of serving on them: “The “babies” go to sea for a short time - for a few days, for a week. While the “Shch” or “K” type submarines make one trip, the “babies” "they manage to make two or even three exits. But even a short voyage of this submarine greatly exhausts the crew. The sea treats the “baby” unceremoniously, throwing it like a chip. The submarine is cramped, the living conditions are difficult. And there are only enough people for a two-shift watch. This means that during the search, people have a 12-hour working day. To this should be added alarms, attacks, bombings, when everyone is on their feet, everyone is at their combat posts. But, having returned to the base, the “little ones” do not stagnate for long, if there is no need for repairs." Submariners learned from combat experience the main disadvantages of the M-type submarines of the XII series. The commander of the submarine "M-90" of the Baltic Fleet G.M. Egorov, later admiral of the fleet, Hero of the Soviet Union, said: "..." little ones "required great skill from the crews. They had only one engine. This meant that if due to poor maintenance will fail, for example a diesel engine - good luck. The ship will be stuck motionless in the middle of the sea, because there were no reserve funds on it...”
The fleet needed small transportable submarines with a twin-shaft engine and more powerful weapons. Work on projects of similar submarines has been carried out since 1939. One of the projects (M-IV) by designer Ya.E. Evgrafov provided for the installation of 4 torpedo tubes inside a durable hull, another project (M-II) by designer F.F. Polushkin - two devices inside a durable body and two in the superstructure. In June 1939, a new version (M-VII) by F.F. Polushkin with four torpedo tubes inside a durable hull was considered. The preliminary design of this particular small submarine (from August 1939, series XV) was approved by the Defense Committee on July 23, 1939. In December of the same year, the project was submitted for approval to the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. F.F. Polushkin proposed moving the main water ballast outside the submarine’s durable hull, placing it in external onboard tanks in the form of removable boules (similar to the submarine “Shch”). In this regard, the submarine became one and a half hull, and the displacement increased to 281 tons, the buoyancy reserve was 23.6%.

As a result, a significant volume was freed up inside the durable case with the same 6 compartments separated by flat bulkheads. This made it possible to supply 2 diesel engines with a power of 600 hp each. at 600 rpm. As a result, the total power of the main surface diesel engines of the twin-shaft submarine increased by 1.5 times, the surface speed increased by 1.8 knots, and the cruising range at economic speed on the surface increased by more than 1,000 miles. Two propulsion electric motors with a power of 230 hp each. made it possible to maintain, despite the increased displacement, the same underwater speed. It became possible to place 4 torpedo tubes in the bow compartment, equipped with drives for setting the depth of the torpedo (PUN) and its Aubrey gyroscopic device (PUPO).

All ship systems and devices of the XV series submarines were designed anew, their placement was made more rationally. As a result, the submarine’s survivability and combat effectiveness significantly increased, and the living conditions for personnel improved. The navigation autonomy has increased 1.5 times - up to 15 days.
At the same time, the M-type submarines of the XV series remained transportable by rail. It was only necessary to remove the side boules, which were then welded onto the submarine hulls. To transport submarines, special 240-ton railway transporters (each of 4 platform trucks) were built.
The lead submarine of the "M" type, series XV, was laid down on March 31, 1940. A total of 15 submarines of the "M" type, series XV, were under construction, of which only 4 submarines entered service with the USSR Navy during the war.
The submarine "M-90" of series XII (then commanded by Senior Lieutenant P.A. Sidorenko) became the first diesel submarine specially equipped for ice navigation. Winter 1939 - 1940 on the submarine "M-90" the KBF was factory mounted on

During testing, the hydraulic drill made holes in the ice cover without much difficulty, which allowed the commander to raise the periscope to view the horizon. On the upper deck of the submarine, in the stern and bow parts of the superstructure, 2 metal trusses with spikes were installed in the upper part to protect the hull from damage when surfacing from under the ice.
The Main Supreme Council of the Navy, having examined the test results on May 15, 1940, recognized the device for swimming submarines under ice as successful, pointing out certain easily removable shortcomings.
Another "M" type submarine of series XII - "M-171" SF - was re-equipped during the war years according to the MZ - XII design by designer S.A. Egorov. Having retained its torpedo and artillery armament, the submarine was able to accept 18 PLT mines into on-board ballast tanks with mines mounted on the hull. For training purposes, "M-171" set 87 minutes. It was the smallest underwater minelayer in the history of Soviet submarine shipbuilding. For its creation, S.A. Egorov was awarded the State Prize of the 3rd degree.

During the Great Patriotic War, small submarines were distinguished by high combat activity. It is known that only in 1941 - 1942. 6 submarines of the "M" type, series XII SF, made 82 combat cruises, including 29 cruises by the submarine "M-171", 18 cruises by the submarine "M-172", 17 cruises by the submarine "M-174", 16 cruises - Submarine "M-176", 13 cruises - submarine "M-173".
The submarine "M-35" of the Black Sea Fleet completed 33 combat missions during the war.

In total, the small submarines of the XII and XV series have 61 sunken ships with a total displacement of 135,512 GRT and 8 damaged ships with a total displacement of 20,131 GRT. These same submarines destroyed 1 enemy warship.

In the Black Sea, the submarine "M-35" under the command of Lieutenant Commander V.M. Prokofiev sent to the bottom the self-propelled barge CNP -1293 (1270 GRT), the tanker "Ossag" (2790 GRT) and the military transport "KT" (834 GRT) .
The submarine "M-36" (commanded by captain-lieutenant V.N. Komarov) sank the tanker "Ankara" (4768 GRT).
The submarine "M-111" (commander captain 3rd rank Y.K. Iosseliani) sank the transport "Theodoric" (5600 grt), 2 sea self-propelled ferries MFP, lighters "Duearya - I" (505 grt), "Hainburg" (300 grt ) and several other ships. The same submarine, under the command of Lieutenant Commander M.I. Khomyakov, sank KFK-84 (105 GRT) on April 22, 1944, and on May 4, with one torpedo salvo, destroyed the submarine ships "UJ-2313" and "UJ-2314" (also types KFK).
The commander of the submarine "M-35", captain-lieutenant M.V. Greshilov, on October 26, 1941, boldly entered the battle north of Constanta, using a 45-mm gun, with a convoy of three tugs and 6 armed barges of the "Zibel" type. Two barges washed ashore. One of them was broken by a storm, the enemy managed to refloat the other.

The submarines of the Northern Fleet operated most successfully. Torpedoes from the submarine "M-105" (commander captain 3rd rank V.N. Khrulev) destroyed the submarine ship "UJ-1214" and several transports.
The submarine "M-107" (commanded by senior lieutenant V.P. Kofanov) sank the submarine ship "UJ-1217" ("Star XXII").
A number of large transports were sent to the bottom of the submarine "M-171", commanded by Captain 3rd Rank V.G. Starikov (including "Curitiba", 4969 GRT) and the submarine "M-173" under the command of Lieutenant Commander V.A. Terekhin (including Utlandshoern, 2642 GRT, and Blankensee, 3236 GRT).
The submarine "M-174" (commanded by captain-lieutenant N.E. Egorov) has the transport "Emsjörn" (4301 GRT), and the submarine "M-122" (commanded by captain-lieutenant P.V. Shipin) has the transport " Johannisberg" (4533 brt), the submarine "M-176" (commander-lieutenant commander I.L. Bondarevich) has 6 transports, including the transport "Michael" (2722 brt).
At the end of the war, M-type submarines of the XV series joined the fighting in the North. Two enemy transports were sunk by the submarine "M-200" ("Revenge") under the command of Lieutenant Commander V.L. Gladkov.
The submarine "M-201" under the command of captain 3rd rank N.I. Balin sent a transport and 2 warships to the bottom, including the patrol ship "V-6112".

The combat activities of small submarines were highly praised. The submarines "M-171" and "M-174" of the Northern Fleet were among the first to become guards submarines. The submarines "M-35" and "M-62" of the Black Sea Fleet were also awarded the Guards rank. The submarines "M-111" and "M-117" of the Black Sea Fleet were awarded the Order of the Red Banner, and the submarine "M-172" of the Northern Fleet became a Red Banner Guards ship.
It is very significant that it was the small submarine of the XII series - "M-171" SF - from August 1942 until the end of the war that held the Challenge Red Banner of the Komsomol Central Committee, established for the best submarine of the USSR Navy.

SMALL SUBMARINES
SUBMARINES OF TYPE "M" ("Malyutka") SERIES VI B VI -BIS

Dmitriev

The name of A.N. Asafov is associated with another page in the history of domestic submarine shipbuilding, which is directly related to strengthening the Far Eastern borders of our country.

The time for the design and construction of the required submarines, the preliminary design of which was developed by NTKM, was limited to the limit. A.N. Asafov, who at that time was the chief engineer of Technical Bureau No. 4, decided to take as a basis the design of the small submarine "Lamprey" with a displacement of about 120 tons, built by I.G. Bubnov in 1906 - 1909. She took part during the Civil War in the inter-theatre submarine maneuver from the Baltic Sea to the Caspian Sea, carried out on the instructions of V.I. Lenin. Transportation of 4 small submarines from Petrograd to Saratov was carried out using special railway platforms manufactured at the Izhora plant in Petrograd.

On March 20, 1932, the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR approved the project of a small submarine of series VI, called “Malyutka”. It was single-hull (the diameter of the durable hull is 3110 mm, the diameter of the strong cabin made of low-magnetic steel is 1000 mm, its height is 1700 mm. The fencing of the cabin and bridge is made of duralumin. A box-shaped welded keel was attached to the lower part of the hull, which also served as a drainage line. In Water was discharged from the main ballast tanks and submarine compartments.
Inside, the volume of the durable hull was divided by three light bulkheads, designed for a pressure of one atm, into 4 compartments - torpedo, central post, diesel and electric motor.
The role of the main ballast tanks, designed to extinguish the buoyancy reserve of the "M" type submarine (25%) during immersion and to restore it during ascent, was performed by 2 end tanks outside the pressure hull and one side tank inside it. The kingstons of the tanks opened outward using manual drives. It took 11 minutes for the submarine to surface.
In addition, there were deck tanks (like the "D" type submarine), a buoyancy tank at the bow (like the "Shch" type submarine) and an anti-float tank (to prevent the submarine's bow from rising after the release of torpedoes).
The battery consisted of one group (56 elements) and was located in the central post. The battery pit was covered with collapsible wooden panels.
The power plant was single-shaft. The main propulsion motor was used for both full and economic propulsion. In this case, half the battery voltage was supplied to the main propulsion motor (from the output neutral wire of the midpoint).
The steering device had electric (except for the bow horizontal rudders) and manual drives.
The submarine was equipped with a Hall anchor weighing 150 kg and two lifting eyes mounted on the hull.
The armament of the Malyutka-class submarine consisted of two bow torpedo tubes placed horizontally in the bow compartment (without spare torpedoes), and a 45-mm gun installed in the fence in front of the strong deckhouse. Loading of torpedoes was carried out through the open front covers of the torpedo tubes (with the rear covers closed). The torpedoes were “sucked in” along with water using a bilge pump (the so-called “wet” loading of torpedoes.
The construction of the submarine for this project was entrusted to the Nikolaev plant.

TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL ELEMENTS OF THE "MALYUTKA" TYPE PLUS "SERIES VI"

They were transported in batches, usually of 3 units. The first echelon was sent from Nikolaev on December 1, 1933, the last on November 30, 1934. Before transportation, a strong conning tower with fencing, a periscope, torpedo and artillery weapons, a battery, and an anchor device were removed from the submarine, which significantly reduced the weight of the submarine being transported.
The acceptance certificate for the last of the "M" type submarines of series VI was approved on December 31, 1934. Two submarines remained, by government decision, in the Black Sea for training submariners. They received the letter-numeric names "M-51" and "M-52".
The construction of the "M" type submarine of the VI series made it possible to form another submarine brigade (commander A.I. Selting) in the Black Sea for the Naval Forces of the Far East. In terms of surface displacement, M-type submarines occupied an intermediate position between torpedo boats and submarine hunters. “But for all their miniature size, these were real warships,” noted one of the veterans of the Soviet submarine fleet, Hero of the Soviet Union G.N. Kholostyakov.

NEW SMALL "M" PLAYER SERIES XII

PETER IVANOVYCH SERDIUK

In 1935, the designers created the famous XII series submarines. Its chief designer was...
Yellowed newsprint - a clipping from the newspaper "Leningradskaya Pravda" for April 4, 1957. It contains a note "Depth - 600 meters" - about the first Soviet hydrostat - an apparatus for exploring the depths of the sea, commissioned by ichthyologists, designed at the Leningrad Institute "Giprorybflot" .

Retired captain 1st rank Alexander Vladimirovich Buk recalled how the M-type submarine was transported (his notes are stored in the Central Military Museum): “At the end of October 1933, at our native plant, we were preparing for the long journey to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. We carried out some preventive dismantling in order to somewhat smooth out the contours of the hull, which was to be hidden in a giant case made of burlap.In an effort to prevent possible deformations of the mains, the sailors disconnected the pipelines at the flanges.
All the rudders and their guards, the conning tower fence were removed from the axles, the banquet around it was cut off, and the bolts securing the gas pipes were loosened. Under the submarine's hulls, underwater "towels" were placed, since after the ampoule batteries were unloaded, the submarine lost positive stability and could remain on the water with the help of taps on the "towels". When the dismantling was completed, all the parts were loaded into the cars, having previously attached tags with the name of the submarine. A 250-ton crane lifted the boat out of the water and placed it on a conveyor. It was a special structure designed for a long-term stay of a submarine on it without any hull deflections. On the steel beams of the conveyors lay wooden5 “pillows” that exactly coincided with the contours of the hulls. The bow and stern were attached to the longitudinal beams of the conveyor with steel “towels”. The train was oversized, so it moved slowly. A few weeks later, the submarines safely reached the shores of the Pacific Ocean.

The tactical and technical elements of the Malyutka-class submarines of the VI and VI-bis series made it possible to use them for professional training of personal crew in peacetime, but limited the possibilities of active combat use. It was necessary to create a small torpedo submarine, also available for transportation in assembled form by rail, but more seaworthy, with higher surface and underwater speeds, with a cruising range increased by 1.5 - 2 times (especially economic speed), i.e. capable of operating at a greater distance from its bases.

An increase in surface speed could be achieved primarily by significantly lengthening the hull of a small submarine. However, it was necessary to verify the possibility of transporting such a submarine in assembled form along the country's railways.
For this purpose, the plaza (a specially equipped floor for drawing a life-size theoretical drawing of the ship) depicted the successive positions of the elongated submarine as it moved on a conveyor through curves of the smallest radius and tunnels. As a result, it became possible to increase the length of the submarine by 20%, the largest diameter by 10%, which increased the displacement of the submarine by 40%. Nevertheless, even while maintaining the same engines that were installed on the M-type submarines of the VI and VI-bis series, the design speed of the new version of the small submarine increased on the surface from 13 knots to 14 knots, and in the submerged position - from 7 to 7, 8 knots This option was developed by designer S.A. Bazilevsky and was called the “MB project” (“Baby Bazilevsky”). However, a significant drawback of the project was the large displacement of the center of the submarine's size forward from the midsection.
There was a need for such a shift to the bow and all internal equipment of the submarine. As a result, for example, one row of batteries in the bow group ended up under the aft sections of the torpedo tubes, which made their maintenance difficult.
A more successful option, accepted for implementation, was proposed by NIVK employee P.I. Serdyuk (project M-IV). He was appointed chief designer of the new M-type submarine of the XII series.

TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL ELEMENTS OF TYPE "M" PLUS XII SERIES

http://book.uraic.ru/elib/pl/lodki/malye.htm

As NVO reported (# 28, 2000), recently in the territorial waters of Latvia, 9 miles from the port of Ventspils, at a depth of 60 m, a Soviet Malyutka-class submarine, M-78, was discovered, which died on the second day Great Patriotic War. It was identified by the Swedish research vessel "Altair", which worked in the territorial waters of Latvia and with Latvian specialists on board, mapping bottom areas and studying various objects and objects located at the bottom.

This information aroused interest among HBO readers; they would like to know more about the fate of “Malyutka”. Who was her commander? What tasks did the submarine solve and under what circumstances did it die? Who dealt the fatal blow? I will try to at least partially answer these questions.

Long before the attack on the Soviet Union, when preparing the Barbarossa plan, German strategists took into account that the main threat to the German fleet and the Nazis’ sea communications would be Soviet submarines. In numbers they represented an impressive force. By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, as of June 22, 1941, the USSR had 215 submarines of various subclasses, including 71 in the Baltic Fleet. They made up up to 30% of the ship composition of the Soviet Navy. Approximately the same proportion of surface and underwater components was in the Baltic. Therefore, the Germans prepared most carefully to fight them.

So, at the beginning of 1941, they deployed a flotilla of submarines to the Baltic, mainly to solve anti-submarine missions. A few days before the start of a massive invasion of the territory of the Soviet Union, the commanders of German submarines received instructions giving them the right to proactively, even before the start of hostilities, and, if possible, covertly destroy Soviet submarines at sea. On June 22, all formalities were completely abandoned. A full-scale fleet war began.

And the first victim of attacks by German submarines in the Baltic was the submarine "M-78" from the 4th division of the 1st brigade of fleet ships, commanded by senior lieutenant Dmitry Shevchenko. That night (from June 22 to 23), the M-78, together with the M-77, left Libau for relocation to Ust-Dvinsk. The transition, according to combat orders, was carried out in a surface (!) position.

In the area east of Vindava (Ventspils), the submarines came under a German air raid. "M-77" promptly "drew" under the water, and soon two explosions were heard on it. As it turned out, at this time the M-78 was attacked by two electric torpedoes by the German submarine U-144, whose commander was Lieutenant Commander Gerd von Mittelstadt. The fact is that, unlike the M-77, the M-78 submarine, due to a malfunction, was unable to dive in time and continued to remain on the surface, which the German commander took advantage of. None of the crew

The M-78 did not survive; the commander of the 4th division, Lieutenant Commander Matveev, also died on board.

The confrontation between the German U-144 and the Soviet submariners of the Baltic Fleet did not end there. On June 24, 1941, a German submarine suddenly surfaced in front of the Soviet submarine S-8, leaving Ust-Dvinsk on the surface, under the command of Captain 3rd Rank Mikhail Boyko. It was unsafe to shoot at the enemy due to a very short distance; if hit, 4 combat torpedoes in the bow torpedo tubes could detonate; the commander also considered it inadvisable to go for a ram. The S-8 commander gave the command “Right on board” and, turning on a counter course, returned to base. These actions were regarded as cowardice, and Boyko was tried by a military tribunal. In the first months of the war, the sentences in such cases were, as a rule, equally severe - execution.

However, soon, despite the heavy losses in the first months of the war, the understanding came that putting a submarine commander against the wall could be done quickly, but it would take a long time and not be easy to prepare him. It became clear that simplified methods of training commanders and peacetime templates were not suitable; it was necessary to quickly introduce the bitter experience of anti-submarine warfare into the practice of combat operations. This position soon found support among naval commanders of all levels, and by August 1941, Baltic submariners were able to turn the tide. The brave captain-lieutenant G. von Mittelstadt was finally deservedly “punished.”

August 10, 1941 submarine of the Baltic Fleet captain-lieutenant Petrov "Shch-307" ("Cod") south of the island Dago won the duel situation with "U-144" under the command of G. von Mittelstadt and sent her to the bottom with the entire crew.

The general results of the confrontation between Soviet submarines and German and Finnish submarines during the Great Patriotic War in the Baltic Sea are presented in the table below.

date	Commander, attacking square	Area of death pl.	Consequences of the attack
23.06.41	Capt. Lieutenant G. von Mittelstadt, "U-144"	Vindava district	"M-78" died, art. Lieutenant D.L. Shevchenko, the entire crew died
28.06.41	Capt. Lieutenant H. Holtring, "U-149"	Dago Island district	"M-99" died, art. Lt. B.M. Popov, the crew died
21.07.41	Capt. Lieutenant Yu. Hellriegel, "U-140"	Soelo Sound	"M-94" died, art. Lt N.V. Dyakov, 11 people saved
10.08.41	Capt. Lit. N.I. Petrov "Shch-307" ("Cod")	south of Dago Island	"U-144", Capt. Lieutenant G. von died Mittelstadt, crew killed
21.10.42	cap. 3rd rank O. Aitol, "Vesehiisi"	lighthouse district Sederarm	"S-7" died, cap. 3rd rank S.P. Lisin, S.P. were rescued from the crew. Lisin and three crew member, until 1944 were Finnish captivity
27.10.42	Capt. Lieutenant E. Pakola, "Iki-Turso"	Åland Islands	"Shch-308", Capt. Lieutenant N. Kostylev, died, the crew died
5.11.42	Capt. Leiko, "Vetehinen"	Åland Islands	"Shch-305" died, cap. 3 ranks D.M. Sazonov, the crew died