July 21, 1941 - the last battleship of the Soviet submarine M-94

The submarine was on its way from the port of Triigi in Saaremaa to patrol the area of Utö Island. Around 8 a.m., the German submarine U-140 torpedoed the Red Fleet submarine in the Kõpu lighthouse area, hitting the stern area. The injured ship sank into the sea with an inclination of about 60 degrees towards the stern, resting on the bottom. The bow and rudder of the submarine reached the surface. The commander of the submarine on the bridge at the time of the explosion and three sailors were washed into the sea, one of them drowned, the others were able to climb on the nose part of the water. The survivors were rescued by another Soviet submarine nearby.

However, in the first three sections of the ship, eight crew members had survived the explosion, including Lieutenant Captain Shilayev. It was possible to leave the ship through the hatch in the combat tire, using special rescue equipment. Unfortunately, it turned out that some members of the M-94 team could not use them. Shilayev had to give a brief instruction and introduce the operation of the apparatus. The surviving crew members snapped the battle tire and closed the hatch leading to the control section. Now, to open the top hatch, it was first necessary to open the flush valve under the foot to equalize the pressures with the surrounding seawater, but due to the congestion in the carriage, no one could bow to it. In addition, the flush valve was "stuck" after prolonged non-use. It was also not possible to send someone back to the central post to make room. Fortunately, there was an exceptionally strong sailor Lyubimov among those in distress, who was able to open the valve with his feet and the suit began to fill with seawater. As the pressures equalized, the upper hatch was opened and the submarine exited.

The support ship, which arrived from Ristna Cape, picked up the sailors who had surfaced. Around 10 a.m., the M-94 sank completely. Along with the submarine, 8 sailors were killed. The wreck is still 13.4 meters deep on the seabed.

Used sources and references:

Further reading (in Russian): http://www.deepstorm.ru/DeepStorm.files/17-45/m%20XII/M-94/M-94.htm