''S-117'' (formerly ''Shch-117'') was a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

(V-bis series). The submarine's career was spent with the Soviet Pacific Fleet. It was lost on or about 15 December 1952, due to unknown causes in the

Strait of Tartary Strait of Tartary or Gulf of Tartary (russian: Татарский пролив; ; ja, 間宮海峡, Mamiya kaikyō, Mamiya Strait; ko, 타타르 해협) is a strait in the Pacific Ocean dividing the Russian island of Sakhalin from mainland Asia ...

in the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

. The boat may have collided with a

surface ship Surface combatants (or surface ships or surface vessels) are a subset of naval warships which are designed for warfare on the surface of the water, with their own weapons and armed forces. They are generally ships built to fight other ships, subma ...

or struck a

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

. 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 The OJSC Baltic Shipyard (''Baltiysky Zavod'', formerly Shipyard 189 named after Grigoriy Ordzhonikidze) (russian: Балтийский завод имени С. Орджоникидзе) is one of the oldest shipyards in Russia and is part of ...

. She was delivered unassembled by rail to Dalzavod Ship Repair Center in

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( rus, Владивосто́к, a=Владивосток.ogg, p=vɫədʲɪvɐˈstok) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia. The city is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea ...

for assembly and was launched on 15 April 1934 and commissioned on 18 December. ''Shch-117 ''became part of the Pacific Fleet on 28 January 1935, commanded by Nikolai Yegipko. From 11 January to 20 February 1936, ''Shch-117 ''conducted a long-endurance under-ice cruise, for which the crew received the

Order of the Badge of Honour The Order of the Badge of Honour (russian: орден «Знак Почёта», orden "Znak Pochyota") was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding ...

. Yegipko and Commissar Sergey Pastukhov both were awarded the

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

in April 1936. The cruise was advertised in the Soviet press as part of the

Stakhanovite movement The term Stakhanovite () originated in the Soviet Union and referred to workers who modeled themselves after Alexey Stakhanov. These workers took pride in their ability to produce more than was required, by working harder and more efficiently, thu ...

. On 19 April 1945, ''Shch-117'' was transferred to a new naval base at Sovetskiy Gavan as a component of the 8th Division. After the Soviet declaration of war on

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

on 9 August, ''Shch-117'', under the command of

Captain lieutenant Captain lieutenant or captain-lieutenant is a military rank, used in a number of navies worldwide and formerly in the British Army. Northern Europe Denmark, Norway and Finland The same rank is used in the navies of Denmark (), Norway () and Finl ...

Pyotr Sinetsky patrolled off western

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh: ...

. It did not meet Japanese opposition and was recalled to base on 20 August. On 10 June 1949 the submarine was renamed ''S-117''. ''S-117'' was lost on 15 December 1952 due to unknown circumstances. Its crew of 47 perished.

References

Ships built in the Soviet Union Cold War submarines of the Soviet Union World War II submarines of the Soviet Union Maritime incidents in 1952 Lost submarines of the Soviet Union 1952 in the Soviet Union 1934 ships Maritime incidents in the Soviet Union Ships lost with all hands Ships built at the Baltic Shipyard {{USSR-mil-ship-stub