Soviet submarine S-117

Shch-117 at an unknown date
History
Soviet Union
Name:	Shch-117, S-117, Makerel
Builder:	plant 189 / plant 202
Laid down:	9 October 1932
Launched:	15 April 1934
Commissioned:	18 December 1934
Decommissioned:	25 April 1953
Fate:	Lost due to unknown causes on 15 December 1952
General characteristics
Class and type:	Shchuka-class submarine
Displacement:	577 tons surfaced 704 tons submerged
Length:	57 m (187 ft 0 in)
Beam:	6.2 m (20 ft 4 in)
Draught:	3.78 m (12 ft 5 in)
Propulsion:	2 shaft diesel electric, 1,020 kW (1,370 hp) diesel, 600 kW (800 hp) electric
Speed:	surface - 12.5 kn (23.2 km/h; 14.4 mph) submerged - 6.3 kn (11.7 km/h; 7.2 mph)
Range:	6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 8 kn (15 km/h; 9.2 mph)
Test depth:	91 m (300 ft)
Complement:	38
Armament:	4 × bow torpedo tubes 2 × stern torpedo tubes (10 torpedoes) 2 × 45 mm (1.8 in) semi-automatic guns

S-117 (formerly Shch-117) was a Soviet Shchuka-class submarine (V-bis series) that was lost on or about 15 December 1952, due to unknown causes in the Strait of Tartary in the Sea of Japan. The boat may have collided with a surface ship or struck a mine. All 47 crew died in the incident.

Service History

Shch-117 was laid down on 9 October 1932 as Yard No. 189 at the Baltic Shipyard. ^[1]She was delivered unassembled to Dalzavod Ship Repair Center in Vladivostok for assembly and was commissioned on 18 December 1934. Shch-117 became part of the Soviet Pacific Fleet on 28 January 1935, commanded by Nikolai Yegipko. ^[2] In early 1936, Shch-117 conducted a long-endurance under-ice cruise, for which the crew received the Order of the Badge of Honour. Yegipko and Commissar Sergey Pastukhov both were awarded the Order of the Red Star. ^[3]

On 19 April 1945, Shch-117 was transferred to a new naval base at Sovetskiy Gavan as a component of the 8th Division. ^[4] After the Soviet declaration of war on Japan, Shch-117 patrolled off western Sakhalin.^[5]

On 10 June 1949 the submarine was renamed S-117. ^[2]

References

1. "ShCh-117". uboat.net. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
2. "«Щ-117» («Макрель»)". The Great Patriotic War underwater (in Russian). Retrieved 4 April 2015.
3. Polmar, Norman (1991). Submarines of the Russian and Soviet Navies, 1718-1990. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. p. 93. ISBN 9780870215704.
4. Rohwehr, Jurgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939-1945: The Naval History of World War II. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. p. 20. ISBN 9781591141198.
5. Rowehr, Jurgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939-1945: The Naval History of World War II. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. p. 426. ISBN 9781591141198.