Soviet submarine S-56

S-56 on display in Vladivostok
History
Soviet Union
Name	S-56
Builder	Dalzavod, Vladivostok
Laid down	24 November 1936
Launched	25 December 1939
Commissioned	20 October 1941
Decommissioned	14 March 1955
Fate	Stricken on 9 May 1975 and became a museum ship in Vladivostok
General characteristics
Class and type	S-class submarine (Series IX-bis)
Displacement	856 t (842 long tons) surfaced 1,090 t (1,070 long tons) submerged
Length	77.8 m (255 ft 3 in)
Beam	6.4 m (21 ft 0 in)
Draft	4 m (13 ft 1 in)
Propulsion	2 × diesel engines 2 × electric motors 2 × shafts
Speed	18.85 knots (34.91 km/h) surfaced 8.8 knots (16.3 km/h) submerged
Range	9,500 nmi (17,600 km)
Test depth	80 m (260 ft)
Complement	45
Armament	6 × torpedo tubes 2 × deck guns
Service record (World War II)
Commanders:	Kapitan vtorogo ranga G. I. Shchedrin 1941–1946
Victories:	4 merchant ships sunk (7,191 GRT)

S-56 was an S-class submarine of the Soviet Navy during and after World War II. She was laid down by shipyard #194 in Leningrad on 24 November 1936, shipped in sections by rail to Vladivostok where it was reassembled by Dalzavod. She was launched on 25 December 1939 and commissioned on 20 October 1941 in the Pacific Fleet. During World War II, the submarine was under the command of Captain Grigori Shchedrin and was moved from the Pacific Fleet to the Northern fleet across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans via the Panama Canal. After decommissioning, the submarine was turned into a museum ship.

Design

The Srednyaya or S-class submarine (Russian: Средняя, lit. 'medium'), also called Stalinets class (Russian: Сталинец, lit. 'follower of Stalin'), was an ocean-going diesel electric attack submarine. Its pressure hull had seven compartments, and the Series IX-bis submarine's displacement was 856 tonnes (842 long tons) while on the surface and 1,090 tonnes (1,070 long tons) while submerged. It had a length of 77.8 m (255 ft 3 in), a beam of 6.4 metres (21 ft 0 in), and a draft of 4 metres (13 ft 1 in). It had two diesel engines to power it on the surface and two electric motors for when it was submerged, providing 4,000 shaft horsepower (3,000 kW) and 1,100 shaft horsepower (820 kW), respectively, to the two propeller shafts. This gave it a speed of 18.85 knots (34.91 km/h) on the surface and 8.8 knots (16.3 km/h) while underwater, and the submarine had a range of 9,500 nautical miles (17,600 km). Its test depth was 80 metres (260 ft), and as armament it had six 530 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes, one 100 mm (3.9 in) deck gun, and one 45 mm (1.8 in) gun.

S-56 was part of the Series IX-bis, which was a modification of the original three boats of the S-class, the Series IX. The main difference between them was the replacement of German components used in Series IX with Soviet equivalents that could be manufactured domestically.

Commissioning

S-56 was laid down in Leningrad on 24 November 1936 before being shipped by rail to Vladivostok, where it was launched on 25 December 1939. The submarine was commissioned on 20 October 1941 with Grigory Shchedrin in command.

Service history

For her service, the submarine was awarded with the Order of the Red Banner and the Guards badge.

Ships sunk by S-56

Date	Ship	Flag	Tonnage	Notes
17 May 1943	Eurostadt		1,118 GRT	tanker (torpedo)
17 July 1943	M-346		551 GRT	minesweeper (torpedo)
19 July 1943	NKi-09/Alane		466 GRT	patrol vessel (torpedo)
31 January 1944	Heinrich Schulte		5,056 GRT	freighter (torpedo)
Total:			7,191 GRT

During the attack against Eurostadt, another torpedo hit and damaged the German freighter Wartheland (3,676 GRT) but the ship was saved because the torpedo was a dud.

References

Works

• Gardiner, Robert & Chesneau, Roger, eds. (1980). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1922–1946. London: Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 0-85177-146-7.
• Yakubov, Vladimir; Worth, Richard (2008). Raising the Red Banner: A Pictorial History of Stalin's Fleet 1920–1945. Chalford, Stroud: Spellmount. ISBN 978-1-86227-450-1.