L-2 Submarine

Technical Data

• Soviet diesel-electric submarine-minelayer, L-class Series II
• Length: 78 meters
• Armament: one 100mm B-24PL gun, one 45mm 21-K gun, 6 bow torpedo tubes, 12 torpedoes, 20 PLT mines
• Crew: 54 men
• Lost without a trace November 14–15, 1941
• First discovered by Estonian hydrographic service in 2010
• Identified by Finnish team Divers of the Dark and a member of our team in 2012
• Depth: 87 m

Historical Background

On June 22, 1941, the submarine L-2 “Stalinets” was under command of Captain-Lieutenant Alexander Chebanov, assigned to the 14th Training Submarine Division. The boat was in repair at Factory No. 196, 83% complete by July 1.

On November 13, 1941, L-2 departed Kronstadt fully loaded with mines for the Bay of Danzig, sailing as part of the 4th Hanko convoy. During the night of November 13–14, near Keri Island, the ships entered a dense minefield (barrage D-46). At 1:07 AM, L-2 struck a mine with her stern and lost power but remained afloat. Twenty minutes later, she struck a second mine.

Minesweeper T-217, sent to evacuate the crew, failed to do so and departed, believing the boat abandoned. Only three men escaped to the drifting destroyer Surovy. Finnish records show the submarine was spotted drifting on November 14 and fired anti-aircraft guns at a reconnaissance plane. By November 15 she could no longer be found — she likely struck a third mine and sank with all hands.

50 sailors perished. Among them was the famous maritime poet Alexei Lebedev, the navigator of L-2. One of his last poems, written in autumn 1941, captures the mood before departure — a farewell to his beloved in Kronstadt, reflecting on the sea as both calling and grave.

Historical Photos of L-2

L-2 Commander Chebanov A.P.

Maritime Poet, Navigator Lebedev A.A.

Survey of Submarine L-2

The hull was discovered and preliminarily identified as Shch-301 in 2010. In 2012, divers from Finnish team Divers of the Dark and our team identified it as L-2.

In May and August 2019, joint Russian-Finnish dives surveyed the wreck in Estonian waters north of Cape Juminda.

Dive conditions: depth 87 m, clay and silt, +3°C, visibility 1–2 m.

The submarine lies heading south, without list, stern-down — the bow rises above the seabed while the stern has sunk 15–20 meters into sediment. The visible hull is intact; mine damage is buried below the seabed. The conning tower hatch is closed.

L-2 on the Seabed

L-2 3D Model

Sch-302 Submarine

Technical Data

• Soviet Shchuka-class diesel-electric submarine, Series III — one of the very first “Pikes”
• Length: 57 meters
• Armament: one 45mm gun, 6 torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern), 10 torpedoes
• Crew: 37 men
• Lost without a trace October 11–13, 1942
• Discovered and identified by our team on May 3, 2019
• Depth: 67 m

Ship History

At the start of the war, Shch-302 “Okun” (Perch) was part of the Training Submarine Division of the Baltic Fleet at Kronstadt, undergoing post-repair trials. She did not enter active service in 1941, and nearly her entire crew went to fight on land. Command was assumed by Captain-Lieutenant V.D. Nechkin, former commander of M-103. Shch-302 was used for experiments and testing innovations. On September 13, 1942, she was the first submarine to undergo a coilless demagnetization procedure. On September 22, a German air raid left the submarine with shrapnel holes in the pressure hull.

On October 10, Shch-302 departed on her first combat patrol. She was escorted to Lavensaari Island by Shch-311, the gunboat Moskva, and minesweepers. Due to bad weather, the escort took shelter in Norre-Kappellakht Bay, but Shch-302, having missed the signals, continued on to sea. Between October 11–13, 1942, the submarine struck a German mine.

On October 14, a Finnish reconnaissance aircraft north of Bolshoy Tyuters Island discovered and depth-charged a large oil slick. This was likely the trace of Okun, as no other submarines were in the area at the time. All 37 crew members perished with the submarine.

Discovery and Cause of Sinking

For many years it was believed that Shch-302 had been lost after hitting a mine from the Seeigel, Nashorn, or Juminda barrages between October 11–13, 1942 — until May 5, 2019, when the submarine’s wreck was found on the seabed.

The submarine was discovered near Bolshoy Tyuters Island during the expedition “Tribute to the Ships of the Great Victory.” The cause of sinking on October 11, 1942 was a UMA mine from the Seeigel-22 barrage, which detonated near compartments II–III while the submarine was at periscope depth heading west.

The explosion destroyed the fuel-ballast tanks. The submarine took a severe bow-down trim and lost buoyancy, driving nose-first into the seabed at an angle of about 20 degrees. The survey showed the hull resting at 67 meters — the bow is buried in silt, while the stern rises 4–5 meters above the seabed. It appears that some of the crew in the aft compartments survived the initial explosion and attempted to abandon the submarine through the diesel air intake shaft (the hatch cover is open), but were unable to do so.

Historical Photos of Series III “Pike” Submarines

Wreck Photos from the Seabed

Short Video about Sch-302

Sch-302 3D Model (Photogrammetry)