The

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Soviet submarine ''L-21'' belonged to the L-class or ''Leninets'' class of

minelayer A minelayer is any warship, submarine, military aircraft or land vehicle deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for ins ...

submarines A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or info ...

. She was part of the last series (Group 4) of her class, having some improvements including more torpedo tubes. The commander during the war was Sergey S. Mogilevskiy.

Service history

Before completion, ''L-21'' was sunk by German aircraft in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

on 24 May 1942. ''L-21'' was later raised, completed and commissioned, making both torpedo attacks and mine-laying. Among her victims was the ''Hansa'', a neutral Swedish passenger ship travering from Nynäshamn to Visby. 84 innocent people were killed in the attack, which is commemorated by a memorial plaque in

Visby Cathedral Visby Cathedral (), formally Visby Saint Mary's Cathedral (''Visby Sankta Maria domkyrka''), is a cathedral within the Church of Sweden, seat of the Diocese of Visby, Bishop of Visby. It lies in the centre of Visby, the main town on the Swedish ...

Gotland Gotland (; ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a Provinces of Sweden, province/Counties of Sweden, county (Swedish län), Municipalities of Sweden, municipality, a ...

, where the

ship's bell A ship's bell is a bell on a ship that is used for the indication of time as well as other traditional functions. The bell itself is usually made of brass or bronze, and normally has the ship's name engraved or cast on it. Strikes Timing of shi ...

is also preserved. ''L-21'' also managed to sink a number of German warships, including two torpedo boats and a submarine. One of her mines heavily damaged the German destroyer ''Z43''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:L21 1940 ships Ships built in the Soviet Union Leninets-class submarines Submarines sunk by aircraft World War II submarines of the Soviet Union Maritime incidents in May 1942 Ships sunk by German aircraft