The Baltic Fleet's Most Useful Trophy: U-250 Submarine
The crew of the U-250 submarine on its deck, December 1944. Photo: German Bundesarchiv
During the Great Patriotic War, the Navy fleet The Red Army destroyed many German submarines. In 1944, one of the sunken submarines was raised to the surface, searched and thoroughly studied. Thanks to a complex and unique operation carried out by our military divers, the fleet received several valuable trophies and vital information.
A short career
In January 1943, a new Project VIIC diesel-electric submarine was laid down at a German shipyard. In November of the same year, it was launched, and on December 12, it was accepted into the Kriegsmarine under the tactical number U-250. Lieutenant Commander Werner-Karl Schmidt was appointed as the ship's commander.
At the end of July 1944, U-250 set out on its first and last combat mission. On July 30, the submarine was in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland, not far from Vyborg. There, it attacked the Soviet small hunter MO-105 with a torpedo. The boat perished along with 20 sailors. Another 7 people were rescued.
Just a few hours later, the MO-103 sea hunter, commanded by Senior Lieutenant A.P. Kolenko, discovered the enemy submarine in a submerged position. In two passes over it, the boat dropped two series of five depth charges. The second attack was successful: one of the bombs damaged the pressure hull, and the submarine sank.
Six submariners who were at the central post were able to leave the boat and escape. Among them was the commander V.-K. Schmidt. Soviet sailors took them on board and took them prisoner. The remaining crew of the submarine perished. U-250 took the lives of 46 German sailors.
Five of the six rescued German submariners. In the center is the submarine commander V.-K. Schmidt. Photo Sovboat.ru
Valuable information
During the interrogation of the prisoners, it was established that important documents remained on board the submarine, such as a navigation log, maps of German mine laying, etc. In addition, the submarine carried various equipment and weapons of German manufacture, which were also of great interest.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Baltic Fleet, Admiral V. F. Tributs, ordered a search operation to locate the sunken submarine and retrieve the most valuable "cargo" from it. The operation was entrusted to the Special Purpose Company of the Baltic Fleet under the command of Captain 3rd Rank I. V. Prokhvatilov.
In early August, it was possible to pinpoint the location of the U-250 sinking and conduct a primary survey of the submarine. It was established that it was lying on the ground at a depth of about 35 m on an even keel with a slight list to starboard. The compartment with the diesel engines had a large hole, which was the cause of the sinking.
The dives to the target were carried out by military divers under the command of midshipman A. Burlak. Working in shifts, they studied the condition of the submarine and also searched it. The divers had to face a number of difficulties of various kinds. Working on a sunken submarine turned out to be difficult both physically and psychologically.
However, despite all the obstacles, the Special Purpose Company fighters were able to find and bring to the surface several important documents from the submarine's central post. In addition, they found many other interesting items and objects that also needed to be brought to the surface.
Commander of the Special Purpose Company I.V. Prokhvatilov, photo of the 1940s is ready. Photo Central Naval Museum
The activity of the Red Army Navy at the site of the submarine's demise attracted the attention of Finnish and German troops. artillery shelling, which made the work considerably more difficult. The German Navy also attempted to mine the area where U-250 was located in order to hinder the Special Operations Company, but this attempt was unsuccessful.
New task
Based on the results of the first works on the lost submarine, a new decision was made. The ship had to be raised to the surface and towed to a dry dock for a more thorough and detailed study. This task was assigned to the 76th emergency rescue squad, whose commander was engineer captain 2nd rank A. Kurdin.
According to the plan of the new operation, the divers of the 76th detachment were to install several pontoon tanks on the submarine. Then these tanks were supposed to be blown with compressed air, and they were supposed to lift the U-250 to the surface. In this form, the submarine could be towed in the desired direction and placed in a dry dock.
The manufacture of pontoons and necessary equipment, their delivery to the operation site and other preparatory activities took several days. Work on the submarine began in mid-August.
By this time, enemy activity in the area had increased. In connection with this, the Baltic Fleet took measures to strengthen the protection of working specialists. Counter-battery combat was organized using long-range artillery, combat boats were on duty at sea, etc.
U-250 in dry dock. Photo Sovboat.ru
The sailors and divers of the 76th detachment had to work in difficult conditions. In order to make reconnaissance and targeting more difficult for the enemy, the main work was carried out at night. In addition, it was necessary to take into account the strong wind and rough sea, which barely allowed the work to continue. However, despite all these difficulties, the divers successfully completed their task.
The installation of the pontoons on the submarine was completed on August 30. However, a strong storm soon began, which carried some of the structures out to sea. The search for the lost pontoons and their return to their place took several days. By this time, the situation had changed, and the divers' work became easier. The fact is that on September 4, Finland ceased military operations against the USSR, and the shelling ceased.
On September 13, divers completed the installation of the pontoons, and the submarine was raised to the surface the next day. On September 15, it was delivered to Kronstadt for installation in one of the dry docks. Immediately after this, the study of the captured ship began.
Special trophies
As expected, the sunken U-250 contained many interesting items and materials. Some of them were discovered and raised during the first stage of diving operations, while others were only recovered after the submarine was raised and delivered to the dock.
First of all, various maps and other navigational materials, communications documents, etc. were taken from the submarine. In addition, a virtually complete Enigma encryption machine was found on the U-250. The captured commander V.-K. Schmidt helped decipher the documents.
Submarine and one of the pontoons (in the foreground). Photo Sovboat.ru
The submarine had two unused G7es Zaunkönig torpedoes on board, equipped with an acoustic homing system. Soviet specialists were given access to this product for the first time and were able to study it. In addition, British colleagues were invited to familiarize themselves with the Zaunkönig products.
Finally, the submarine itself, built according to Project VIIC, was of certain interest to Soviet shipbuilders. Its design, units, armament, etc. were studied.
Positive effects
The operation to detect, search and raise the German submarine U-250 yielded important results. Thanks to it, it was possible to supplement knowledge about the enemy, solve a number of combat tasks and lay the foundation for further developments of various kinds. Moreover, some of the results of this operation were used by the allies.
The first results of the operation were already obtained in mid-August. A fairway leading from Swinemünde to Leningrad and passing between German minefields was discovered in the captured documents. Mines were laid along this route, and several German ships were blown up by them in mid-August. The enemy had to take urgent measures and clear the important fairway.
During the study of the captured submarine, they found a lot of solutions and ideas that could be used in their projects. In this regard, in January 1945, the Navy command ordered the suspension of the development of the diesel-electric submarine project "608". Later, on its basis, a new project 613 was completed, which took into account German experience and the results of the U-250 survey.
The stern of the submarine: a hole in the hull is visible. Photo Sovboat.ru
The raised submarine also had a significant impact on Soviet torpedo engineering. The G7es demonstrated how the acoustic homing problem could be solved, and with its help the first successful examples of such weapons were created. Similar work was also being carried out in Great Britain at the same time.
All the efforts and exploits of the sailors and divers also received a worthy assessment. Already on September 30, 1944, just a couple of weeks after the submarine was raised, Admiral V.F. Tributs signed an order to award the participants of the operation with state awards. In particular, six of the work managers were awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
In April 1945, the German submarine was included in the Baltic Fleet under the new number TS-14. It was planned to repair it and use it as a test vessel for testing various systems and products. However, the restoration of the ship was soon deemed inexpedient. On August 20, the submarine was written off and soon sent for scrapping.
Fights and trophies
The main task of the navy during war is to destroy enemy ships, submarines, vessels and coastal installations. However, in certain situations other actions may be required that are no less important. This was the case with the U-250 submarine.
The Baltic Fleet sailors managed to destroy another German submarine during its very first voyage. The submarine then became a source of valuable data of various kinds, which were used both immediately and in the long term. The Red Army Navy received a unique chance and was able to take full advantage of it.
Information