Soviet submarine L-4 explained

The World War II Soviet submarine L-4 belonged to the L class or of minelayer submarines. She had been named Garibaldets in honour of the men of Garibaldi. During the war she was commanded by Evgeniy Petrovich Polyakov (ru|Евгений Петрович Поляков).^[1]

Service history

For her service, the submarine was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.^[2] Among her victories was the torpedoing of the German tanker Friederike (formerly Firuz), whose loss prevented her use during the Axis evacuation of Crimea during the Crimean Offensive.^[3]

In 1944 Michman Ivan Perov was awarded Hero of the Soviet Union.

Ships sunk by L-4 ^{[4] [5] [6]}

Date	Ship	Flag	Tonnage	Notes
15 September 1941	Chipka		2,304 GRT	freighter (mine)
19 September 1941	W-2		ca. 50 GRT	minesweeper (mine)
10 October 1941			2,369 GRT	minelayer (mine) ^[7] ^[8]
22 July 1943	Hudayi Bahri		29 GRT	sailing vessel (gunfire)
23 July 1943	Gurpinar		100 GRT	sailing vessel (gunfire)
28 July 1943	EL-73		139 GRT	lighter (mine) ^[9]
23 November 1943	Santa Fé		4,627 GRT	freighter (mine) ^[10]
11 May 1944	Friederike		7,327 GRT	tanker (torpedo). Not sunk but written-off.
Total:			16,940 GRT

Mines from L-4 also damaged the German barge F-130. During an artillery duel she damaged the German barge F-329.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Orlov Alex . Dmitriy Metelev . Evgeniy Chirva . Великая Отечественная - под водой . https://web.archive.org/web/20030525034603/http://www.town.ural.ru/ship/means/mens_p.php3#z2 . dead . 2003-05-25 . Town.ural.ru . 2014-08-03 .
2. Web site: Orlov Alex . Dmitriy Metelev . Evgeniy Chirva . Великая Отечественная - под водой . Town.ural.ru . 2014-08-03.
3. Web site: Operation "60,000" – 1944 . WorldWar2.ro . 2014-08-03.
4. Web site: L-4 of the Soviet Navy – Soviet Submarine of the L (Leninec) class – Allied Warships of WWII . uboat.net . 2014-08-03.
5. Web site: Allied Submarine Attacks 1939–1945. Historisches Marinearchiv . 2014-11-17.
6. Морозов, М. Э. Советские подводные лодки во Второй мировой войне. Летопись боевых походов. Энциклопедия. — М.: Книжный мир, 2021. — С. 109—114. — 736 с. — 1000 экз. — ISBN 978-5-6047066-7-1. (in Russian)
7. Web site: SMR Regele Carol I . WorldWar2.ro . 2014-08-03.
8. Web site: Allied Submarine Attacks 1939–1945. Historisches Marinearchiv . 2014-11-17.
9. Web site: Allied Submarine Attacks 1939–1945. Historisches Marinearchiv . 2014-11-17.
10. Web site: Allied Submarine Attacks 1939–1945. Historisches Marinearchiv . 2014-11-17.