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Soviet submarine L-21

History
USSR EnsignSoviet Union
NameL-21
Laid down15 June 1938
Launched14 July 1940
Commissioned31 August 1943
Decommissioned29 December 1955
FateScrapped.
General characteristics
Class and typeLeninets-class
Displacement
  • 1,108 tons surfaced
  • 1,400 tons submerged
Length85.3 m (279 ft 10 in)
Beam7 m (23 ft 0 in)
Draft4.05 m (13 ft 3 in)
Propulsion
Speed
  • 18 knots (33 km/h) surfaced
  • 9 knots (17 km/h) submerged
Range
  • 10,000 nmi (19,000 km) at 10 kn (19 km/h) surfaced
  • 150 nmi (280 km) at 2.5 kn (4.6 km/h) submerged
Test depth80
Complement56
Armament
  • 1 × 100 mm (3.9 in) L/68 gun
  • 1 × 45 mm (1.8 in) gun
  • 8 × 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes (6 bow, 2 ext aft)
  • 18 × torpedoes
  • 20 × mines
Service record
Part of: Baltic Fleet

The World War II Soviet submarine L-21 belonged to the L-class or Leninets class of minelayer submarines. She was part of the last series (Group 4) of her class, having some improvements including more torpedo tubes. The commander during the war was Sergey S. Mogilevskiy.[1]

Service history

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Before completion, L-21 was sunk by German aircraft in Leningrad on 24 May 1942. L-21 was later raised, completed and commissioned, making both torpedo attacks and mine-laying. Among her victims was the Hansa, a neutral Swedish passenger ship travering from Nynäshamn to Visby. 84 innocent people were killed in the attack, which is commemorated by a memorial plaque in Visby Cathedral on Gotland, where the ship's bell is also preserved.[2] L-21 also managed to sink a number of German warships, including two torpedo boats and a submarine.

Ships sunk by L-21[3]
Date Ship Flag Tonnage Notes
23 November 1944 Eichberg Nazi Germany 1,923 GRT freighter (mine)
24 November 1944 Elie Nazi Germany 1,837 GRT freighter (mine)
24 November 1944 Hansa Sweden 563 GRT passenger ship (torpedo)
22 December 1944 Eberhard Nazi Germany 749 GRT freighter (mine) (possibly)
14 March 1945 T3 Nazi Germany 839 t displacement torpedo boat (mine)
14 March 1945 T5 Nazi Germany 839 t displacement torpedo boat (mine)
16 March 1945 U-367 Nazi Germany 769 t displacement (surfaced) submarine (mine)
23 March 1945 V 2022/E Colzmann Nazi Germany 581 GRT patrol boat (torpedo)
24 March 1945 Erni Nazi Germany 105 GRT tug (torpedo)
Total: 8,205 GRT

One of her mines heavily damaged the German destroyer Z43.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "M". town.ural.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 18 October 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  2. ^ "Hansa". Vrak - Museum of wrecks. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Allied Warships L-21 Submarine of the L (Leninec) class". uboat.net/. Retrieved 3 August 2014.