Sunken Soviet sub is being lifted off Bulgaria

27.09.2010 Final stage of search of a Soviet submarine sunken off Bulgaria in Nov 1941 is getting started. Participants of the expedition have already defined approximate place of the accident. That was one of the last subs lost in that time which shipwreck site has been unknown and circumstances of sinking are still arguable. Nikolai Osipov, reporter of Vesti FM radio tried to find out what historians expect to discover about the crew sailed off 69 years ago.

That was Soviet submarine S-34, also known among historians as "eska". She disappeared in November 1941, and up to now her fate was known only from patchy archive records. It has been uncertain either where the crew was lost or what happened to "eska". Not long ago the sub was found near Bulgaria where local divers along with Russian experts start the final part of search operation, said Konstantin Bogdanov, director of Russian search expedition "Unbonnet to the ships of the Great Victory".

Bogdanov: Totally, 5 submarines were scuppered near Bulgaria; last year we identified L-24 sub and as long as our Russian-Bulgarian team worked so harmoniously we decided to continue searching and find "eska". We start to sweep sea bottom by side-scan sonar with a view to find the hull of this sub.

S-34 started her first combat crew in mid-July 1941 from Sevastopol, although did not participate in serious battles. There were several visual contacts with the enemy – Romanian ships tried to scupper her but failed, enemy destroyers fired at S-34 but ineffectively, too. Submarines had to be extremely careful, since the Black Sea was crammed full with mines which often became the reason of shipwrecks.

Bogdanov: According to the available information, Germans planted huge number of mines in this area. But this is only suggestion, and we're going to prove or explode it in the nearest days.

In Nov 1941 S-34 was transferred to the port of Poti, and then under command of Capt 3 rank Yakov Khmelnitsky she started her last cruise. Major task was patrolling of aquatic area, search and destruction of the enemy ships and convoys when possible. The crew had not got on radio contact since Nov 8, and six days later two bodies of sailors were found on Bulgarian coast – executive officer Snr. Lt. Dushin and boatswain Chief Petty Officer Terekhov. What did they do there and why did they left S-34 is a mystery which historians are still trying to puzzle out.

Bogdanov: Two bodies in wet suits were found; we assume those people left the sub. But it is unknown under what circumstances they did that, what happened to other crewmen, and how the sub scuppered. Ideally, it'd be perfect to find any documents, may be even a logbook.

S-34 was one of the last submarines which shipwreck site had not been founded through years. Once the search operation turns to be successful, divers will even lift the sub. Probably, the documents found inside the sub would tell about the accident cause. So far, S-34 lays on the sea bed at the depth of 60-70 meters. Three km southward Bulgarian town Sozopol there is a monument to the crew of S-34, just in the place where the bodies of two escaped servicemen were found.