https://sputnikglobe.com/20240930/daredevil-wwii-operation-by-soviet-combat-divers-that-hit-jackpot-1120362442.html
Daredevil WWII Operation by Soviet Combat Divers That Hit Jackpot
Daredevil WWII Operation by Soviet Combat Divers That Hit Jackpot
Sputnik International
A group of Soviet divers who risked their lives to raise a sunken an enemy submarine during WWII received their hard-earned awards 80 years ago. What was the unique operation about?
2024-09-30T16:23+0000
2024-09-30T16:23+0000
2024-09-30T16:23+0000
russia
russia
soviet navy
gulf of finland
ww2
wwii
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On 30 July, 1944, the German submarine U-250, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Werner-Karl Schmidt, sank the Soviet anti-submarine patrol boat MO-105 in the Koivisto Strait in the Gulf of Finland. Her sister-ship the MO-103 retaliated, sinking the U-boat.Commander of Russia’s Baltic Fleet Admiral V.F. Tributs ordered a team of Soviet divers commanded by Ivan Prokhvatilov to find the sub and retrieve the documents. The vessel was laying at a depth of 30 meters and the salvage site was under German artillery fire.Working mainly at night for hours on end, the divers braved stormy waters, the risk of decompression sickness and gun battles raging above their heads.Despite German efforts to prevent the boat from falling into Soviet hands, on September 14, 1944, the Soviet Navy raised the U-250 and towed it to dry dock in Kronstadt.The success of the operation allowed the Soviet command to retrieve valuable information about German submarine building at the time and the new secret T5 acoustically-fused torpedo carried by the sub, allowed the Soviet Navy to improve its own torpedoes.
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soviet divers, german submarine u-250, russia’s baltic fleet admiral v.f. tributs, soviet navy raised the u-250, ww 2 soviet navy
soviet divers, german submarine u-250, russia’s baltic fleet admiral v.f. tributs, soviet navy raised the u-250, ww 2 soviet navy
Daredevil WWII Operation by Soviet Combat Divers That Hit Jackpot
A group of Soviet divers who risked their lives to raise a sunken an enemy submarine during WWII received their hard-earned awards 80 years ago. What was the unique operation about?
On 30 July, 1944, the German submarine U-250, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Werner-Karl Schmidt, sank the Soviet anti-submarine patrol boat MO-105 in the Koivisto Strait in the Gulf of Finland. Her sister-ship the MO-103 retaliated, sinking the U-boat.
Schmidt, along with five other crewmembers in the control room, managed to escape and was taken prisoner. Interrogations revealed that on board the sunken U-boat was a cache of important documents and minefield maps.
Commander of Russia’s Baltic Fleet Admiral V.F. Tributs ordered a team of Soviet divers commanded by Ivan Prokhvatilov to find the sub and retrieve the documents. The vessel was laying at a depth of 30 meters and the salvage site was under German artillery fire.
The frogmen were only able to raise the U-250's navigation log, so it was decided to raise the boat. Divers from the 76th rescue squad commanded by engineer captain 2nd rank Anatoly Kurdin were to attach metal pontoons to the bow and stern of the U-250. After these were filled with compressed air from hoses, they would float the sub to the surface.
Working mainly at night for hours on end, the divers braved stormy waters, the risk of decompression sickness and gun battles raging above their heads.
Despite German efforts to prevent the boat from falling into Soviet hands, on September 14, 1944, the Soviet Navy raised the U-250 and towed it to dry dock in Kronstadt.
The success of the operation allowed the Soviet command to retrieve valuable information about German submarine building at the time and the new secret T5 acoustically-fused torpedo carried by the sub, allowed the Soviet Navy to improve its own torpedoes.
