Underwater hunter. Ivan Vasilyevich Travkin

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Underwater hunter. Ivan Vasilyevich TravkinIvan Vasilyevich was born 30 August 1908 in the family of a worker in the town of Naro-Fominsk, a small town near Moscow. His father's name was Vasily Nikolayevich, and he had eight children. He worked, like all Travkin, at the only textile factory in the city. In 1916, Vasiliy Nikolayevich, among many other employees of the enterprise, was called up for military service, and Vanya did not see him again. At the textile factory there was the only primary school in the city, into which Ivan grew up. The civil war years were the most difficult for the Travkin family. There was nothing to wear, nothing to eat. So that none of the children would die of hunger, the mother, in addition to the main work, would have time for the weaver to wash the people and wash the floors. And Vanya and his younger brother went to the station to beg for soldiers from passing trains trains of bread or bread. He often missed schoolwork and, in the end, in the third grade was left for the second year. Travkin graduated from the five-year school at 1922, then there was a school and, finally, a job as a fitter at a factory. In 1930, he joined the CPSU (b), and in the same year he was called to the Red Army. In the Naro-Fominsk military registration and enlistment office, the young man asked for a fleet, but in 1930, there was no “naval” order, and Ivan Vasilyevich was in the army in the second infantry regiment of the Moscow Proletarian Division.

Service in the model part was not easy - drill lessons were followed by lessons in shooting techniques and political studies. In spite of the days of the sea-filled days of work, they did not go away, and at every opportunity, Travkin asked the company commander to assist in his transfer to the fleet. News on departure for exams at the Higher Naval School of. Frunze, a young man received in the summer 1931. However, to rejoice, as it turned out, it was early - knowledge of Ivan Vasilyevich was clearly not enough for entering the educational institution. However, after talking with the head of the school, Travkin, to the surprise of many, was accepted, but not on the first course, but on the preparatory one. For the year he needed to fill the gaps in his education. And Ivan Vasilyevich took up his mind - over textbooks, he sat ten and twelve hours a day, without weekends and holidays. For the year, the intended goal was accomplished - Travkin caught up with the best cadets.

School Ivan Vasilyevich graduated in 1936. After successfully passing the exams, he was assigned to the Red Banner Baltic Fleet by the navigator of one of the oldest submarines on the Baltic, Shch-303. In April, 1938 Travkina became the flagship navigator of the entire submarine division. In addition, he studied in the Kirov Training Submarine Detachment after which he became an assistant commander of the Bars submarine B-1939 in 2. And finally, in February, 1940, in the rank of senior lieutenant, was appointed commander of the U-303 submarine.

Even before the start of the war, the submarine Ivan Vasilyevich was transferred to the training division, however, in connection with the outbreak of hostilities, she was again returned to service. The submarine requiring repair and modernization was located in Kronstadt, and Travkin with his team and the workers of the marine factory worked on it from morning to night. In late August, the Baltic Fleet decided to leave the base in Tallinn. From there, about a hundred warships were deployed to Kronstadt, which subsequently became actively involved in the defense of Leningrad. Unable to destroy the fleet at the crossing, the enemy decided to do it in the harbor. In the middle of September artillery hit the ships stationed in Kronstadt from the Peterhof area. In the following days, the enemy connected a huge number of his planes to the attack. In particular, 21 September flew around 180 enemy vehicles in the skies over Kronstadt. Travkin, standing on the bridge of the boat, directed the fire of the ship sorokapyatki, whose "voice" sank in the roar of large guns of destroyers and battleships. Two days later, the 270 aircraft already attacked the marine plant and ships. And the earth moaned again, and the water was boiling. Many ships were damaged, two workshops were destroyed at the plant, the headquarters building and the mooring wall ceased to exist.


The commander of "Shch-303" I.V. Travkin on the deck of his ship


In early October, Ivan Vasilyevich received an order to move U-303 U to Leningrad. It was not easy to do this - in the immediate suburbs enemy guns were deployed, beating on the ships going through the bay. After spending a submarine at night, Travkin moored her to the former royal yacht Polaris, standing opposite the Hermitage. The commander of the "Polar Star" placed the crew W-303 with all the amenities, besides the mother ship supplied the boat with electricity and water.

Upon arrival in Leningrad, to Ivan Vasilyevich’s dismay over the boat, anxiety about his family increased (by that time the sailor had time to marry, and he had two daughters). Travkin believed that his wife Lydia Alexandrovna with children, as well as her niece, mother and grandmother, had time to evacuate. However, this was not the case - their train was never sent. In the meantime, the blockade city was getting worse with food, the supply of electricity stopped, there was no water. Food delivery by Lake Ladoga and by air was negligible. In the twentieth of November, for the fifth time, the norms for bread distribution were reduced - workers began to be given 250 grams per day, and children and dependents - by 125. It was also restless on the Travkin submarine - frequent anxiety, malnutrition, and constant watch-keeping exhausted the sailors.

At the end of the year, Ivan Vasilievich wrote in his diary: “December 1. Men, women, children, all die of hunger. They bury them without coffins (a tree is worth its weight in gold), wrapping them in some rags. 9th December. I received a letter from my mother. She writes that she left Naro-Fominsk. The war came to my city. December 16th. The commissar conveyed good news - the fascists were stopped near Moscow. December 19th. City transport does not work. Exhausted workers have to get to the factory through the whole city. But they go, repair ships and Tanksmake mines and shells. Real heroes. " Sometimes Ivan Vasilievich also managed to break away home, treat his relatives with the remnants of his meager rations. At the end of December, the number of products imported through Ladoga began to exceed daily consumption, and from the 24th the norms for issuing bread were slightly increased. Despite the frost, people took to the streets and hugged each other. On that day, hope triumphed in the city. And in early January, the submarine came to replenish instead of the sailors who had gone to the front. Travkin admonished those who came: "You will take good care of the ship, he will repay you the same."

At the beginning of the new 1942, Ivan Vasilyevich wrote: “January 22. Frost forty degrees. For firewood citizens break the last wooden buildings. Submariners chop holes in the ice, from which people take water. All winter they patronize this "water supply". 23 January. Visited at home. In the rooms of the cold, the windows were filled with plywood, the walls were blackened by the smoke of the stove. His wife's mother, unable to withstand the shocks, lost her mind. The emaciated wife barely moves, girls with flabby dystrophic faces sit on the bed and eat carpeting glue. ” In late January, Travkin escorted his relatives to the evacuation. During this trip, died mother Lydia Alexandrovna, and then her grandmother. The very same courageous woman froze her legs. Doctors offered to amputate both feet, but she refused and subsequently managed to cure them. The commander of the "pike" learned about all this much later.

After sending the family, Ivan Vasilyevich devoted all his time to repairing the submarine, as well as to solitary, private and general exercises. By February 23, all work on the ship was completed, and at the end of March the command warned the ship's commanders that the enemy was preparing another operation against fleet. Even before the Neva was opened, the Germans expected to deliver simultaneous artillery and air strikes on ice-bound ships. By the way, German pilots trained on Lake Ilmen, on the ice of which German soldiers drew life-size images of Russian ships. Everything went smoothly on ice, but when on April 4, enemy aircraft flew up to the city, they were met by friendly anti-aircraft gunners. The raid was successfully repelled, in two days the enemy lost 26 bombers. Travkin during the attack, despite the tearing bombs near the "North Star" and the submarine, was on the bridge.

Trial dives of the fleet submarines began to be performed only in May 1942. To work out the tasks, a section of the river was chosen between the Okhta and Liteiny bridges, where there were the greatest depths. U-303 successfully withstood all the tests and the command of the brigade was recognized as ready for a combat campaign. By that time, the fascists, seeing in the Russian submarines a great threat to their shipping, had installed mine-netting barriers in the Gulf of Finland. The enemy boastfully reported that the British submarines would rather pass through the Danish straits to the Baltic Sea than the Russian submarines would leave Kronstadt. However, the last word was for the submariners, and in the beginning of the 1942 campaign of the year, the fleet management proposed a plan for the submarines to be launched in three groups (on 10-12 boats), the first of which included ships with the most trained crews. This included U-303.

On the first battle trip, the ship of Ivan Vasilyevich went 4 July 1942. The submarine under the diesel engines was moving in the surface position, trawlers, protecting from mines, were in front of it, escort boats were on the sides, and fighters were patrolling in the sky. The next day, U-303 approached the shores of the island of Lavensari, where Travkin received the latest guidance and information about the situation at sea. The Gulf of Finland Travkin successfully crossed the submerged position, and in the evening of July 11, after ascending to the surface to charge the batteries, the submarine was discovered by enemy aircraft. While the helmsmen were driving U-303 to depth, the enemy from a long distance opened machine-gun fire on the submarine. And soon bombs began to burst nearby, the lights went out on the boat and the electric rudders failed. The crew, while the electricians were repairing the damage, switched to manual control.



Around midnight, Travkin's “pike” surfaced, and soon the observer discovered the transport of the enemy — a ship with a displacement of seven thousand tons, which was guarded by three small ships. The submarine lay down on the combat course and remained unnoticed until it was shot out by transport. The security boats immediately rushed to the side of the boat, but it had already disappeared under water. Noticing the place of immersion "pike", the patrol released a series of depth charges. After the first series of explosions, a second followed, and then a third. The boat was shaking, light bulbs burst, and Ivan Vasilyevich decided to put the ship on the bottom, turning off all the mechanisms. The boats understood that the Soviet boat was somewhere nearby and did not want to miss the "prey". Hydroacoustic "pike" listened to the sea the whole day, but the enemy ships did not leave. In the end, the enemy brought an electric cable to the submarine’s dive site. Launched along the bottom, he showed on the instruments the place where the ship was lying, and depth charges again fell on him. It was necessary to urgently leave, and Shch-303 began maneuvering at small moves. It was difficult for submariners, and the bombing with depth charges did not even stop. In this situation, the commander decided to head for a minefield located nearby. The enemy’s ships, fearing their own mines, did not follow the pike.

So Ivan Vasilyevich began to force the second line of mine-net obstacles, called the Nissar-Porkkalaudskaya. This minefield was very dense, and his Travkin passed at great depth. At the end of the third hour of the tense crossing over the boat, the antenna mine exploded. Such mines did not explode when striking their hull, but when they touched a long cable antenna. The pike shook quite hard, as a result of which the sealing of the battery cans was disrupted, from which hydrogen began to be released. There was another problem. The submarine hooked the signal network, and now any enemy ship could locate the boat by buoy. When night fell, UH-303 surfaced, and the sailors took a piece of the signal network. We also managed to fully charge the batteries, and Travkin continued on his way west.

Two days later the ship arrived at the specified position and began searching for the enemy. On July 17, the submarine Ivan Vasilyevich was in the area of ​​the lighthouse Rodsher, and here the watch commander found the enemy vessel. The submarine began to go into position to attack, but at the last moment Travkin considered that the transport was aground and left by the crew. After that, the boat went to the places of formation of convoys and in the afternoon of July 19 appeared in the area of ​​the island of Utyo. It was not long to wait for the enemy, the very next day six guard and two transports were found. A volley by two torpedoes at close range fell into the “largest fish” - the head vehicle of eight thousand tons. From the explosions, the submarine shook and lifted so that the deckhouse looked over the water. However, the tank of fast sinking continued to be filled, and the “pike” rapidly went to the depth. She, by the way, in this place was according to the map 75 meters, and therefore Travkin did not stop diving. Suddenly, the submarine hit the ground with its nose. Depth gauge issued a total 22 meter. Either the map lied, or the crew inaccurately determined the location of the pike. There was only one way out - to leave ashore as quickly as possible.

It was not possible to break away from the pursuit for a long time - others were coming to replace the bombed enemy ships. In the "pike" it became difficult to breathe, and then a mechanical engineer, who had examined the pipelines by order of Travkin, discovered an air leak in one of them, unmasking the boat. The entire group of cylinders was blocked and soon the sentry, dropping the last series of bombs, “fell silent”. At midnight, W-303 floated to the surface, and cool, moist air filled the inside of the ship.



In the evening of July 23, near the island of Dago, Ivan Vasilyevich discovered a German Emden-class cruiser and five destroyers in the periscope. It was a tempting goal, and Travkin decided not to miss it. "Pike" lay down on the combat course, and suddenly a message came from the torpedo squad to the central post that the torpedo lids did not open. The destroyers and the cruiser left, the submarine resurfaced, and the crew proceeded to an external inspection, which showed severe damage to the covers of the torpedo tubes due to the impact of the boat on the ground. For several hours, the sailors tried to repair the damage, but they were too serious, and 27 July Y-303 began a difficult journey home.

Travkin successfully led the boat through the mine positions of the enemy and the lines of ship patrols. A meeting of U-303 with Soviet minesweepers and sea hunters was to take place in the Narva Bay during the nights of August 4 and 5. On the night of the fourth number, the pike rose in the designated place and in the dark found the silhouettes of the ships. Suddenly, shooting started between them. Immediately immersed, the submarine left the battlefield. All day she lay on the ground, and the next night she came back to the designated place. After the ascent, Travkin ordered the signalman to transfer the call signs with a lantern, and right there the machine-gun routes reached out to the submarine - there were only enemy ships around. "Pike" instantly plunged, and depth charges already exploded around. The boat was thrown from side to side, the lights went out, a cork fell from the ceiling, the leveling tank turbopump failed, a leakage tank appeared, a leak was drawn from the battery well by sulphurous gas — the electrolyte splashed out of the seawater that had penetrated the hold. After another strong explosion, a short circuit occurred at one of the power stations, and a fire broke out. Electricians with their bare hands tore off the burning insulation from the wires, while managing to carry out orders to change the speed. Anti-submarine ships, like hungry sharks, clung to the W-303 - for 40 minutes, 96 bombs exploded around the ship. The sailors were saved by the fact that Travkin managed to lead the submarine to great depths. After that, Ivan Vasilyevich decided to return to the base independently, and at night 7 of August his “pike” got to Lavensari. There, the commander reported on the completion of the campaign. Here he learned that the minesweepers and sea hunters set off twice to meet the boat, but, encountering the superior forces of the enemy, they left.

The transition to Kronstadt passed without incident, and there the Shch-303 was docked for repair. But it was to be considerable - it was necessary to repair the holes from bullets and fragments, to clean the screws from signaling networks, to fix the stem, to repair breakwaters and torpedo tubes. The deadline for repair, by the way, was set extremely hard - twenty-five days. During the hike, five people from the crew received the Order of Lenin, five - the Order of the Red Banner, the rest of the sailors - the Order of the Red Star. On August 15, members of the Military Council of the Fleet, submarine commanders (including Ivan Vasilyevich) and military commissars of the ships visited Smolny, where they were received by the Secretary of the Central Committee Andrei Zhdanov, who thanked the government for the excellent military operations.

In preparation for the new campaign, Travkin, using maps and reports, carefully studied the experience of navigation, visited the fleet intelligence department, met with the commanders of other submarines. The conclusions were not joyful. The enemy sent additional ships to the Baltic from the north, a large number of new mines were delivered, and observation posts were set up on the islands and along the entire coast. In addition, without coordination with the command of the Red Army in the Pomeranian and Danzig bays, the British laid a hundred and fifty of their mines. Until the end of the war, the English Admiralty, despite all requests, did not provide the Soviet Union with the coordinates of its mine settings.


In the central post "U-303". The commander of the submarine captain 3 rank I.V.


In the new campaign U-303 out of the number of third-tier boats. High-speed minesweepers provided a safe road to Lavensari, and then the submarine moved independently. Through Gogland's anti-mine position, Travkin decided to break through between the Bank of Vicolla and the island of Big Tyuters. The calculation was correct, but the anchor mines were installed here. The ministry officers crept along the sides of the ship, creaking ominously, and only thanks to the skillful actions of the crew did the Gogland mine network position be successfully overcome. In order to wait for the night, in order to charge the battery, Ivan Vasilyevich put the submarine on the ground near the island of Rodscher. Soon hydroacoustics reported to him about the noise of screws. It turned out that in the area recommended by the Soviet submariners for charging batteries, a German submarine lurked.

U-303 did not find anything, and when it got dark, it rose from the ground and moved west. Soon the sailors were at the island of Gotska-Sanden, where they found a transport vessel. The submarine went to a rapprochement, but then Travkin examined the flag of neutral Sweden on the ship. And after a while, the submarine reached its designated position in the northern part of the sea. Here lay the path of the German transport vessels supplying troops in Finland. Soon the sailors discovered two such vehicles, marching in the guard of patrol ships. When the bearing on one of them with a displacement of ten thousand tons became salvo, the submarine commander ordered to shoot. A moment later, the patrol ships opened return artillery fire, but the "pike" had already disappeared under water. Not so successful was the attack carried out on October 20. Steep waves were walking at sea, and at the last one before the torpedoes started circulating, the ship went to a greater depth than necessary, and the attack fell. Return the favor out in late October, when U-303 discovered a huge German timber truck. The success of the attack lay in his surprise - Travkin ordered to hit the transport from the shore. After the volley was followed by the command: "The right wheel and dive to fifty meters." After a moment, the torpedoes' screws went off at the sides of the W-303. It turned out that a submarine was going along with escort ships. Fortunately, the torpedoes passed by, the enemy, not deciphering the Russian maneuver, fired at random. The watchmen also did not bomb the Soviet boat, apparently fearing to hurt theirs.

In this campaign, the crew of the "pike" met and cold, foggy November. 2 numbers on the boat came a radiogram, which reported that a tanker with fuel would probably pass through their position. The vessel was indeed discovered by Travkin, but the steep waves knocked off the torpedo course. A few days later, at midnight, a new convoy of two transports and two patrol ships was met. The three-torpedo volley of the submarine touched the patrol and the enemy's transport ship. On the same day, the "pike" went to the island Osmussar, from whom Ivan Vasilyevich decided to return to the base. Around the banks of Vicolla "pike" found German anti-submarine ships. The enemy, as in the first voyage, chased the boat for a long time, and the Baltic pilots who bombed the enemy helped the sailors. Soon, U-303 was at Lavensari.

Winter came, and the Gulf of Finland bound the ice. Only three boats remained to spend the winter in Kronstadt and among them Shch-303, which stood up for repair. Travkin left the ship for a while. The reason was very unusual - from the blocked Leningrad he was called to the capital, the People's Commissariat of the Navy. The combat experience of Ivan Vasilyevich, his tactical techniques attracted the attention of specialists. In addition, for his skillful actions he was awarded a foreign award - the Order of the "Naval Cross". On this trip, Travkin also visited Ulyanovsk, where his relatives lived in the evacuation. And the first day of spring 1943 brought a new joy to the commander U-303. For the courage shown in battles with the German invaders, for courage and fortitude, for organization and high discipline, his submarine was awarded the Guards rank.


1 March 1943 of the year. Handing the crew of the submarine Shch-303 "Guards banner


In the spring of 1943 in the Gulf of Finland, the enemy set up solid minefields (more than 8500 mines). Enemy planes flew in the air around the clock, on the busy islands they started to make noise-finding stations, and additional network barriers were installed at sea, which were monitored over 300 ships. A new task for the U-303 crew was to detect the anti-submarine obstacle lines and, where possible, to find submarines. In the evening of May 7, the brigade commander and fleet commander arrived at the submarine. In this way, not every submarine was escorted to the march, but there was a special case - everyone understood that there was little chance of returning from such a task. 11 May U-303 left Lavensari and headed west. In Gogland’s position, the most dangerous were the anti-cocking and magnetic mines, and Travkin’s boat was moving forward very slowly, about three kilometers per hour. Having successfully reached the north-eastern part of the island of Waindlo, the sailors sent a message to the brigade headquarters to overcome the first position. Now it was necessary to explore the Nayssar-Porkkalaudsky line. U-303 went along it from south to north. Every half hour, Ivan Vasilyevich stopped the course and raised the submarine under the periscope. The picture was bleak - fifty meters ahead of each other stretched in two rows of barrels and anti-submarine network buoys. Sometimes the Minrepi gnashed on the sides of the "pike", and the eastern side of the barrier was guarded by enemy anti-submarine ships. Free from networks, open water throughout the line was not. For sailors, there was only one thing left - to try to go under the nets in a deep place.

When it got dark, Travkin began to carry out his plans, however, as the submarine passed through, it still got entangled in the nets, and soon the underwater acoustics announced that the enemy ships were approaching. It was not possible to break through further, and Ivan Vasilyevich, unwrapping the "pike", led her away from the nets. However, the enemy did not lag behind, in large batches began to tear the depth charges. The boat was constantly changing course, but the ring of pursuing ships remained unchanged. After a while one battery was discharged, and in the compartments began to feel the lack of air. To save him, the commander ordered all unoccupied sailors to lie down and not move. And still it was very hard. When it was forty-five hours after the last ventilation of the compartments, many sailors were in a faint state of mind. Suddenly, without the order of the commander, the submarine began to emerge. Ivan Vasilyevich, having ordered to prepare the submarine for urgent immersion, climbed onto the bridge and was stunned. Around the boat at different distances were enemy ships and guided guns on the pike. However, this was not all - the foreman of the bilge waving a white rag was waving the nose of the boat. At that moment, they announced their readiness to dive, and the commander went downstairs. U-303 rapidly went under water, and only the traitor remained floating on the surface. While the enemy ships were rushing in the dive site of the "pike", the boat lay on the ground.

For two hours the enemy bombed the boat, but the exhausted, tired, gasping people continued to fight. Finally, the long-awaited ally came - darkness. However, when the "pike" surfaced, she was immediately noticed by several enemy boats. I had to go back to the maximum depth and hide in the nearest underwater depression. And again the explosions thundered, and again the boat was hurled and swayed. In the end, the noise of the screws subsided, and the submarine resurfaced. In the distance, enemy PLO boats loomed, but they did not notice the submarine. In the forced mode, the batteries began to charge, and Travkin sent a radiogram that failed to break through the second line of obstacles. Soon the "pike" was noticed, and the boat went under water. For three nights the sailors tried to charge the batteries, and each time the enemy interfered with them. In the end, Travkin, not seeing the exit, sent the ship to the minefield. Having safely passed through the middle, U-303 surfaced and started charging the batteries. Ten days spent submarine in a minefield, hiding only from enemy aircraft. After that, she lay down on the opposite course and in the middle of June, having again passed the Gogland mine-net position, she returned to Kronstadt. It is curious that after leaving Finland the war, Travkin had a chance to talk with an officer of the German PLO. The enemy believed that in May the second line of the barrier was attempted by several Soviet boats, and all of them managed to be destroyed.

Reporting on the results of intelligence, Ivan Vasilievich expressed the view that submarines do not break through barriers. Unfortunately, his opinion was not immediately considered. In August, “S-9” Mylnikova and “S-12” Bashchenko were sent for a breakthrough. Both boats died along with the crews. After that, the People's Commissar of the Fleet forbade sending Baltic boats for a breakthrough, and the naval took the brunt of the battle on communications aviation.

27 January 1944 Leningrad celebrated the lifting of the blockade. On the Neva embankment, where Shch-303 stood, tens of thousands of Leningraders, weeping for joy, congratulated each other. And soon Travkin was assigned to a new boat, the K-52. All the commander’s requests to leave him on U-303 were unsuccessful, and within five days Ivan Vasilyevich surrendered the submarine.

In September, 1944 capitulated Finland, and the road to the sea for the submarines became wider, although it went around the mine-net obstacles along narrow skerries. On October 28, the brigade's chief of staff gave Travkin an order to go to the bay of Danzig with the aim of attacking the enemy, and on November X. K-9 left Helsinki. The sea was stormy, and on the evening of November 11, Ivan Vasilyevich ordered 52 to float. He himself went to the bridge and there, seeing a clear horizon, bent down to call up the watch officer. At that moment a huge wave hit the ship. She knocked the commander down, throwing the boat inside. Having flown five meters, Travkin crashed into the steel floor of the central post, having received a concussion, a fracture of his right arm and an eye injury.


Right: K-52 Commander Captain 3 Rank Travkin Ivan Vasilyevich (1908 - 1985)


Until November 21, the submarine was looking for large transports, but they did not come across. And at night, the 21 numbers, moving away from the four enemy guard, during the "urgent dive" submarine K-52 hit the ground hard. The heaviest were damage in the fourth compartment. A part of the batteries broke, and the diesel that gushed from the damaged fuel system flooded the battery well, threatening with a short circuit. In addition, water gushing from a small hole. After hydroacoustics reported that the enemy ships had left, the pumps were working at full capacity. When some outboard water remained in the submarine, Travkin gave the command to float. Motorists did their best, but the water was still seeping at the site of the damage. She was constantly evacuated, and by the end of the month, the submarine, moving on the surface, arrived in Kronstadt. So ended the first campaign K-52.

The next military campaign, which began in February 1945, was much more successful. By the end of February, Travkin attacked an enemy convoy consisting of vehicles and escort ships. The strike of three nose torpedo tubes struck two ships at once. The confused enemy did not immediately respond, and K-52 managed to escape from prosecution. On March 4, the submarine attacked another German transport, and on the night of March 7 struck a separate enemy destroyer. The next day, Ivan Vasilievich came across a new convoy of three transports and successfully attacked one of them. After returning to the base, the entire crew of the submarine was awarded orders.

Travkin's last hike began in mid-April. 21 numbers he attacked with three torpedoes a large cargo ship, marching in the escort of two guard. The enemy was strenuously searching for a boat, but the commander took her to another area and already on April 22 hit a new target - a transport ship. At the same time, he received a radiogram in which he was informed of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and the award of the submarine with the Order of the Red Banner. A few days later, K-52 again successfully attacked a convoy of three transport ships. Since the boat was not pursued, Travkin returned and hit the second enemy ship.



The last days of the war were especially difficult. During one of the pursuits, the patrol ships followed the submarine for seven hours, “ironing” the restless sea and spending a total of about a hundred depth charges. When all the torpedoes on the K-52 were used up, the submarine received a go-ahead for return, and on Victory Day came to Kronstadt. Ivan Vasilyevich, having spent some time with the team, went to Leningrad, where his family also returned. The Great Patriotic War ended, and a new life began. Travkin was appointed to the place of the Chief of Staff of the training ship division. He was also elected to the Leningrad City Council. He had a lot of worries and problems. The main situation was with the housing - part of the housing stock needed to be thoroughly repaired, and the other part was completely destroyed. The number of materials was very limited. Helped Ivan Vasilyevich and in the employment of demobilized sailors. Stories about the war and about the people with whom he happened to serve, the front-line soldier generously shared with the youth, speaking in various cities of the country. The old injuries made themselves felt, and in 1957 the relatively young first rank captain Travkin left the Armed Forces. However, sitting at home was above his strength, and Ivan Vasilyevich got a job at the Marine Atlas editorial office (1959-1965), and then at the Ministry of the Navy (1966-1973). In addition, he wrote a number of military memoirs. The famous submariner died 14 June 1985.

According to the materials of the book V.F. Makeeva "In the sea of ​​Travkin" and the site http://www.otvoyna.ru
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  1. +7
    24 December 2015 08: 12
    Thank you very much .. it is necessary to continue the series, about submarine commanders ..
  2. +6
    24 December 2015 08: 51
    Awards
    Hero of the Soviet Union
    3 Order of Lenin
    2 Order of the Red Banner
    Order of Ushakov II degree
    Order of the Patriotic War, XNUMXst class Order of the Red Star
    Medal "For Military Merit"
    Anniversary medal "For Valiant Labor (For Military Valor).
    Medal "For the Defense of Leningrad"
    Medal "For the victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."
    Anniversary medal "Twenty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945." Anniversary medal "Thirty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."
    Anniversary medal "Forty years of victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."
    Anniversary medal "30 years of the Soviet Army and Navy"
    Medal "40 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
    Medal "50 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
    Medal "60 years of the Armed Forces of the USSR"
    Medal "In memory of the 250th anniversary of Leningrad"
    Naval Cross (USA)
  3. +5
    24 December 2015 09: 12
    It is good that the famous submariner passed away before the greatest tragedy-collapse of the Great Country for which he fought. Eternal memory to the front-line heroes and rear workers!
  4. +3
    24 December 2015 11: 25
    Thank you very much for this article! Sometimes, from old films shot under Socialism, I see that in schools and institutions there was a tradition --- photographs of Heroes, the so-called. Red corners. Let it come back!
  5. +1
    24 December 2015 11: 35
    Without belittling the heroism of the commander and the crews of his submarines, I want to note: unfortunately, not a single declared sinking is confirmed by documents (only damage to two cargo ships). I do not advise you to trust memoirs and other "sources" to which many authors refer in their works. There are a lot of bright colors in them, behind which streams of lies and postscripts are hidden. For example, many commanders reported sinking only on the basis of the SOUNDS of exploding torpedoes, the absence of an enemy ship on the surface of the water in an hour or two or three, etc. etc.
    1. 0
      24 December 2015 12: 15
      Quote: Tempest
      Without diminishing the heroism of the commander and crew of his submarines, I want to note: unfortunately, not a single declared sinking is confirmed by documents (only damage to two cargo ships).

      EMNIP, one sunken ship near Travkin is confirmed:
      ... his combat score from 16 ships was reduced to 8 by Soviet official history, of which one victory was confirmed
      (c) M. Morozov
  6. +1
    24 December 2015 11: 36
    The Shch-303 is associated with a unique case of desertion from a submarine on a military campaign.

    In May 1943, the "Щ-303" was on a military campaign. On the evening of May 21, enemy ships were found on a submarine. The foreman of the bilge engine drivers, who was at the central post, Boris Galkin closed the bulkhead doors, locking the crew. Then he fed high pressure air into the tanks. The boat surfaced. Having climbed onto the deck, Galkin began to signal the enemy ships. The crew of the submarine managed to open the locked bulkhead door and make an emergency dive. The enemy’s anti-submarine boats were picked up from Galkin’s water and dropped deep bombs on the submarine (https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A9-303).
  7. 0
    24 December 2015 11: 42
    By the way, the Germans had enough oddities with submarines. You can recall the truck that damaged the boat and the toilet, supposedly sinking another.
  8. +1
    24 December 2015 12: 21
    Quote: Alexey RA
    Quote: Tempest
    Without diminishing the heroism of the commander and crew of his submarines, I want to note: unfortunately, not a single declared sinking is confirmed by documents (only damage to two cargo ships).

    EMNIP, one sunken ship near Travkin is confirmed:
    ... his combat score from 16 ships was reduced to 8 by Soviet official history, of which one victory was confirmed
    (c) M. Morozov

    Can you give a name? No in my database
  9. +2
    24 December 2015 13: 30
    Commander of the happy pike!
  10. +1
    24 December 2015 15: 09
    Travkin was lucky, the boat managed to return. And so in the Baltic, the largest losses of our pl.
  11. +1
    24 December 2015 22: 18
    Even in his youth, I read his memoirs "To Spite All Deaths". The harsh everyday life of Soviet Baltic submariners during the war. I recommend.
  12. The comment was deleted.

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