21.07.1941 – the last combat mission of the Soviet submarine M-94

The submarine was on its way from Saaremaa to patrol the Utö island area from Triigi harbour. At around 8 am, the German submarine U-140 torpedoed the Red Navy submarine in the Kõpu lighthouse area, hitting the stern area. The damaged ship sank into the sea with a list of about 60 degrees towards the stern, resting on the bottom. The bow and stern of the submarine reached the surface of the water. The submarine commander and three sailors who were on the bridge at the time of the explosion were washed overboard, one of them drowned, the others managed to climb out of the water onto the submerged bow. The survivors were rescued by another Soviet submarine that was nearby.

However, eight crew members survived the explosion in the first three compartments of the ship, including Lieutenant Commander Shilyayev. It was possible to leave the ship through a hatch in the battleship, using special rescue apparatus. Unfortunately, it turned out that some members of the M-94 crew did not know how to use them. Shilyayev had to give a brief briefing and introduce the operation of the apparatus. The surviving crew members crawled into the battleship and closed the hatch leading to the control compartment after them. Now, in order to open the upper hatch, it was necessary to first open the floodgate under the feet to equalize the pressure with the surrounding seawater, but due to the cramped conditions in the compartment, no one could bend down to it. In addition, the floodgate had “stuck” from long-term non-use. It was also not possible to send anyone back to the central post to make room. Fortunately, among those in distress was the exceptionally strong sailor Lyubimov, who was able to open the valve with his feet and the compartment began to fill with seawater. When the pressures equalized, it was possible to open the upper hatch and exit the submarine.

A support ship from Cape Ristna picked up the sailors who had surfaced. At around 10 a.m., the M-94 sank for good. 8 sailors perished along with the submarine. The wreck is still on the seabed at a depth of 13.4 meters.