Soviet submarine Shch-317 explained

Shch-317 was a of the Soviet Navy. Her keel was laid down by A. Marti in Leningrad on 23 July 1934. She was launched on 24 September 1935 and commissioned on 29 September 1936 in the Baltic Fleet.

Service history

During the 1942 campaign, the submarine was under the command of Captain Mokhov Nikolay Konstantinovich and took part in the Soviet submarine campaign on 1942 in Baltic Sea. Shch-317 scored victories, all of them in the summer 1942. The submarine torpedoed and damaged the Danish merchant Orion (2,405 GRT) on 19 June 1942, but did not sink the cargo vessel. She scored most of her success against the German-Swedish iron ore shipping lines, which was the main target of 1942 Soviet submarine campaign.[1]

Loss

While returning home after the successful campaign of summer 1942, Shch-317 was sunk. On the last mission, the submarine division commander Captain 2nd Rank V.A. Yegorov was also on board. The most likely cause of the sinking was that she struck a naval mine in the Seeigel minefield on 18 July 1942.[2]

+ Ships sunk by Shch-317.[3]
DateShipFlagTonnageNotes
16 June 1942Argo2,513 GRT freighter(torpedo)
22 June 1942Ada Gorthon2,399 GRT freighter (torpedo)
8 July 1942Otto Cords966 GRT freighter (torpedo)
Total:5,878 GRT

Wreck discovery

UMEX (Underwater Exploration Team) divers located the wreck of Shch-317 on 2 May 2018 at a depth of 255 ft. (78 meters) in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland near Gogland.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Orlov Alex . Dmitriy Metelev . Evgeniy Chirva . Великая Отечественная - под водой . Town.ural.ru . 2014-08-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141018032848/http://www.town.ural.ru/ship/means/mens_m.php3#m013 . 18 October 2014 . dmy-all .
  2. Web site: Подводная лодка Щ-317. Тип "Щ" X серии . deepstorm.ru . 2020-03-31.
  3. Web site: Shch-317 of the Soviet Navy - Soviet Submarine of the Shch (Scuka) class - Allied Warships of WWII . uboat.net . 2014-08-26.
  4. Web site: Soviet Sub found and identified .