Shark (submarine, 1909)

After the Russo-Japanese War, the Main Naval Headquarters decided on the need to create two types of submarines: a displacement of 100-150 tons for patrolling offshore and 350-400 tons for operations on the high seas. The main claim to the “Killer Whales” was their armament, consisting only of the external grating apparatus of the Dzhevetsky system. I. G. Bubnov developed two projects: the small one was called the Lamprey , and the large one was called the Shark . Both boats were considered by the Marine Technical Committee (MTK) "experimental, the construction of which should serve to independently develop the domestic underwater construction." On May 3, 1905, the Sharks project was approved at an ITC meeting. Project

provided for equipping the boat with two 600 l gasoline engines . from. On September 25, I. Bubnov sent a memorandum to the chief inspector of shipbuilding, in which he suggested replacing them with diesel engines due to the high explosiveness of gasoline engines. To maintain the design speed, it was proposed to reduce the width of the boat and abandon the wooden lining. The proposals were accepted, and with the start of financing, the project went into construction. The boat was launched on August 22, 1909, after which it passed preliminary tests. From May to July 1910 in the Kronstadt dock, “Shark” was modified in accordance with the comments. The tests were completed only in September 1911. The boat showed a speed significantly lower than the design, but nevertheless was accepted into the fleet.

During the First World War, “Shark” made 16 military campaigns, participated in the setting of minefields, the first of the Russian boats used the tactics of finding targets in the sea instead of waiting for the target in a fixed position.

On November 15, 1915, during the 17th expedition, with the purpose of a mine setting near Memel, the boat died. It was assumed that the boat died during the storm, losing stability due to mines located on the deck. According to the results of the expedition to the skeleton of the boat on June 29, 2014, the true cause of the death of the boat was established: undermining with a nose on a drifting mine during the transition in the surface The bow of the boat is torn off and lies 20 meters behind the stern, the surface compass is in the working position, the periscopes are removed, and on the bow of the boat there are visible traces of the explosion from the outside. The boat lies in the direction from the Gulf of Finland. Near the boat at the bottom 4 mines were found, which she transported on deck.

Submarine Detection

On weekends ^[2] , June 21–22, 2014, the search engines of the Deep Explorer diving vessel found off the coast of the Estonian island of Hiiumaa ^[2] at a depth of 30 meters ^{[3] the} skeleton of the sunken Russian ^[4] submarine "Shark". On June 29, 2014, a clear, well-preserved inscription “Shark” was found on the left side of the aft ^[5] .

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  Diving vessel Deep Explorer is preparing to enter the search area, June 16, 2014

The "Shark", like the Morges and Bars type submarines with an enlarged copy of Kasatka, belonged to the submarines of the so-called Russian type, characterized by common advantages and disadvantages: single hull, with the main ballast at the ends of the boat; the absence of waterproof bulkheads, which greatly reduced survivability, but improved ship control; long diving time - 3-3.5 minutes; not quite successful contours of the hull; very powerful weapons due to lattice torpedo tubes.

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  Inside the submarine "Shark". Engine room

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  Inside the submarine "Shark". Engine room, diesel engine

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  Inside the submarine "Shark". The bow of the boat. Right electric kitchen

Powerplant

3 diesel engines of 300 liters. from. worked on a separate shaft. The average diesel engine was connected to an electric motor of 300 liters. from.

Crew Placement

The crew was located in the bow compartment above the battery pit, the floor of which served as the upper deck on which the team lockers were mounted, officer cabins and the company cabin were located before the cabin

Initially, the armament (in the project) consisted of tubular torpedo tubes two in the stern and two in the bow located close to the hull (which made it impossible to reload in the underwater position from behind the horizontal steering wheels), and also from four pipes for storing spare torpedoes, two between torpedo tubes (45 cm below the tubes). But during the initial stages of construction added 4 lattice torpedo tubes on the deck. In 1915, a 47 mm gun and two machine guns were installed.

The shark at the time of construction was the best, but the long design of the reversible device for engines stopped commissioning until 1909 (further testing and fixing some problems delayed admission to the treasury until 1911).

On December 3, 2014, by a decree of the Minister of Culture of Estonia, Urve Tiidus, the remains of the submarine were recognized as a historical object of marine archeology of international importance and were taken under state protection ^[6] .

On November 28, 2015 (on the 100th anniversary of the death of the submarine) in the Estonian city of Paldiski in the church of St. Sergius of Radonezh, in the presence of representatives of the Russian Embassy in Estonia, a memorial plaque was opened with a list of the dead crew of the Akula submarine.

Relatives of the Shark crew members create a Book of Memory in order to compile a list of all submariners who have ever served on this submarine ^[7] .

• Ignatiev E.P. Submarines "Lamprey" and "Shark" // Shipbuilding. - L. , 1990. - Issue. 10 . - S. 51-54 .
  • Repeatedly: Ignatiev E.P. Submarines "Lamprey" and "Shark" // Shipbuilding. - L. , 1990. - Issue. 11 . - S. 63-66 .
• Taras A.E. Submarines of the Great War of 1914-1918. - Mn. : Harvest, 2003 .-- 336 p. - ISBN 985-13-0976-1 .
• The submarine "Shark". - SPb. , 1912.

• flot.com // "Shark"
• deepstorm.ru // Sub Shark. Type "Shark".
• akula1915.ru // Submarine "Shark" (1907-1915) Book of Memory