Alexander Ivanovich Marinesko (russian: Александр Иванович Маринеско, uk, Олександр Іванович Марiнеско, ro, Alexandru Marinescu; – 25 November 1963) was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

naval officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent cont ...

and, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the captain of the submarine '' S-13'' which sank the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

military transport ship ''

Wilhelm Gustloff Wilhelm Gustloff (30 January 1895 – 4 February 1936) was the founder of the Swiss NSDAP/AO (the Nazi Party organisation for German citizens living outside Germany) at Davos. He remained its leader from 1932 until he was assassinated in 1936 ...

''. The most successful Soviet submarine commander in terms of gross register tonnage (GRT) sunk, with 42,000 GRT to his name, he was posthumously awarded the title

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

in 1990.

Early life

Born in

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrat ...

, Marinesko was the son of a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, a ...

n sailor, Ion Marinescu, and a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * Som ...

woman, Tatiana Mihailovna Koval from

Kherson Governorate The Kherson Governorate (1802–1922; russian: Херсонская губерния, translit.: ''Khersonskaya guberniya''; uk, Херсонська губернія, translit=Khersonska huberniia), was an administrative territorial unit (also ...

. His father had fled to the Russian Empire after beating an officer and settled in Odessa, Ukrainizing his name to Ivan and changing the last letter "u" of his surname to "o". Marinesko trained in the Soviet Merchant Navy and the

Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

, and was later moved to a command position in the

Baltic Fleet , image = Great emblem of the Baltic fleet.svg , image_size = 150 , caption = Baltic Fleet Great ensign , dates = 18 May 1703 – present , country = , allegiance = (1703–1721) (1721–1917) (1917–1922) (1922–1991)(1991–present) ...

. He was promoted to lieutenant (ensign) in March 1936 and advanced to senior lieutenant (sub-lieutenant) in November 1938. In the summer of 1939 he was appointed commander of the new submarine M-96. When it entered service in mid-1940, it was declared to be the best submarine of the Baltic Fleet. Marinesko was awarded a golden watch and promoted to captain-lieutenant (капитан-лейтенант, equivalent to Lieutenant Commander (LCDR/O-4) in the USN) in 1940.

World War II

Nazi Germany attacked USSR in June 1941. The Soviet high command of the Baltic Fleet decided that the M-96 should be sent to the Caspian Sea to serve there as a training boat. But this could not be realized because of the German

blockade of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad (russian: links=no, translit=Blokada Leningrada, Блокада Ленинграда; german: links=no, Leningrader Blockade; ) was a prolonged military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the Soviet city of ...

. On 12 February 1942, a German artillery shell hit M-96, causing considerable damage. In the beginning of 1943, Marinesko was appointed commander of the modernized submarine S-13. Of the 13 units of the Type S (Stalinets), Series IX and IXbis, only this boat survived the war.

''Wilhelm Gustloff'' and ''Steuben''

Marinesko left

Porkkala Naval Base Porkkala Naval Base was a Soviet naval base operational from 1944–1956 in the municipalities of Kirkkonummi, Ingå and Siuntio on the Porkkala peninsula, 30 kilometers (19 mi) ''west'' of Helsinki, the Finnish capital. The area was lea ...

on 11 January 1945 and took position near Kolberg on January 13. During the next few days his submarine was attacked several times by German torpedo boats. On 30 January 1945, S-13 attacked and sank the ''

'', which was evacuating civilians, mostly families with children and military personnel from East Prussia. There were probably 9,400 casualties. Days later, on 10 February, Marinesko sank a second German ship with two torpedoes, the '' Steuben'', carrying mostly wounded military personnel, and over 800 civilians, evacuating East Prussia and Memel (now Klaipėda) with an estimated total number of 4,267 casualties. Marinesko thus became the most successful Soviet submarine commander in terms of gross register tonnage (GRT) sunk, with 42,000 GRT to his name. Marinesko tomb 03

Before sinking the ''Wilhelm Gustloff'', Alexander Marinesko was facing a court martial due to his problems with alcohol and was thus deemed "not suitable to be a hero". He was instead awarded the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

. He was downgraded in rank to lieutenant and dishonorably discharged from the navy in October 1945. In 1960 he was reinstated as captain third class and granted a full pension. In 1963 Marinesko was given the traditional ceremony due to a captain upon his successful return from a mission. He died three weeks later on 25 November 1963 from cancer, and was buried at the

Bogoslovskoe Cemetery Bogoslovskoe Cemetery (russian: Богословское кладбище) is a cemetery in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is located in the Kalininsky District of the city between and . The name comes from the church of John the Apostle, (russi ...

in St. Petersburg. Marinesko was posthumously awarded

by Mikhail Gorbachev in 1990 after rehabilitation by the newspaper ''

Izvestia ''Izvestia'' ( rus, Известия, p=ɪzˈvʲesʲtʲɪjə, "The News") is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Russia. Founded in 1917, it was a newspaper of record in the Soviet Union until the Soviet Union's dissolution in 1991, and describes ...

''.

Legacy

In 1990 Ulitsa Stroitelei (Builders' Street) in St. Petersburg was renamed in his honor to Ulitsa Marinesko, located in Kirovskiy District, connecting Avtovskaya and Zaitseva streets. The Museum of Russian Submarine Forces in St. Petersburg was named after him,St. Petersburg Submarine Museum
А.I. Marineskо Museum of Submarine Forces website. and monuments dedicated to him were erected in Kaliningrad, Kronstadt, and Odessa. He is one of the more prominent characters in the

Günter Grass Günter Wilhelm Grass (born Graß; ; 16 October 1927 – 13 April 2015) was a German novelist, poet, playwright, illustrator, graphic artist, sculptor, and recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Literature. He was born in the Free City of Da ...

' novel ''

Crabwalk ''Crabwalk'', published in Germany in 2002 as ''Im Krebsgang'', is a novel by Danzig-born German author Günter Grass. As in earlier works, Grass concerns himself with the effects of the past on the present; he interweaves various strands and c ...

'' (2002), which describes in detail the sinking of the ''Wilhelm Gustloff''.

Honours and awards

* Two Orders of Lenin * Two Orders of the Red Banner *

Medal "For Military Merit" A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

Medal "For the Defence of Leningrad" The Medal "For the Defence of Leningrad" (russian: Медаль «За оборону Ленинграда») was a World War II campaign medal of the Soviet Union established on December 22, 1942 by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Sovie ...

* Medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945" *

Medal "In Commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of Leningrad" The Medal "In Commemoration of the 250th Anniversary of Leningrad" (russian: Медаль «В память 250-летия Ленинграда») was a state commemorative medal of the Soviet Union established by decree of the Presidium of the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marinesko, Alexander 1913 births 1963 deaths Heroes of the Soviet Union Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner Military personnel from Odesa Soviet military personnel of World War II Soviet submarine commanders Ukrainian people of Romanian descent Ukrainian people of World War II Soviet people of Romanian descent Deaths from cancer in the Soviet Union Burials at Bogoslovskoe Cemetery Deaths from cancer in Russia