How a group of Soviet submarines crossed three oceans during World War II
They were attacked by unknown submarines and were almost hit by the Allied ships.
Five submarines of the Soviet Pacific Fleet made a difficult and dangerous voyage across half the world. They had to get from Vladivostok to a combat zone in the Arctic.
The Soviet ‘S’ and ‘L’ type diesel-electric submarines had no experience of such voyages. Therefore, their route passed through the Allied naval bases in the U.S. and Canada, where they could get food and fuel, as well as carry out the necessary repairs.
They had to go through severe storms and even withstand a powerful tropical cyclone. And, when approaching the Panama Canal, the sailors were hit by sweltering heat.
“The signalmen, watch officers and I myself have acute conjunctivitis: so much sunlight that dark glasses do not protect… We are saving fresh water, its reserves are just enough for drinking,” noted Grigory Shchedrin, commander of the S-56 submarine in his diary on November 22, 1942.
The Soviet submarines were attacked several times by unknown submarines during the campaign and, in the Atlantic, they were almost hit by one of their own – the ships covering an Allied convoy mistook them for Germans.
Nevertheless, in March 1943, they reached the Northern Fleet base in Polyarny, near Murmansk. Three survived the war safely, while two were lost in combat.
