Soviet submarine S-13

"S-13" was a "Stalinets"-class submarine of the Soviet Navy. Her keel was laid down by Krasnoye Sormovo in Gorky on 19 October 1938. She was launched on 25 April 1939 and commissioned on 31 July 1941 in the Baltic Fleet, under the command of Captain Pavel Malantyenko. [ [http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5098.html "Submarine of the S (Stalinec) class" at uboat.net] ] In the first half of September 1942, under Malantjenko's command, "S-13" sank two Finnish ships, "Hera" and "Jussi H", and a German ship "Anna W", totaling 4042 tons.

On 15 October 1942, caught on the surface while charging her batteries, "S-13" was attacked by the Finnish submarine chasers "VMV-13" and "VMV-15". During her crash dive, the submarine hit bottom, severely damaging her rudder and destroying her steering gear. The following depth charge attack worsened the damage, but "S-13" escaped and made it back to Kronstadt.

During the next three years, Malantyenko was relieved by Alexander Marinesko and "S-13" was repaired and returned to sea.

Under the command of Marinesko, then 32, on 30 January 1945, at Stolpe Bank off the Polish coast, "S-13" sank the 25,484-ton German liner "Wilhelm Gustloff", overfilled with refugees, with three torpedoes. Recent estimates calculate that over 9,000 people were killed, the worst loss of life in maritime history [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4442/is_200709/ai_n19511170/pg_1 "Greatest Wartime Sea Tragedy Becomes Major Film"] , a "Sea Classics" magazine September 2007 article] .

Soon after that, "S-13" fired at the "T-36", a torpedo boat that had come to the aid of the "Wilhelm Gustloff". Despite being overloaded with 564 survivors from the "Gustloff", the captain of "T-36" was able to dodge the torpedoFact|date=November 2007.

On 10 February 1945, "S-13" sank another German transport ship "General von Steuben". [ [http://rasputin.physics.uiuc.edu/~wiringa/Ships/MS-3/Germany/GeneralvonSteuben.html Data sheet on the "Dampfschiff General von Steuben"] ] 3,300 refugees and injured soldiers from the ship died, and only 300 survived [http://www.grani.ru/opinion/sokolov/m.134310.html] .

Marinesko hoped to be awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. He left the navy in early 1946, embittered. He was posthumously awarded the title in 1990.

"S-13" was decommissioned on 7 September 1954 and stricken on 17 December 1956.

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