Submarine M-95 "Malyutka" - historical outline and information from the expedition

In May we reported on the discovery of the Soviet submarine M-95, which sank after hitting a mine in June 1942. On that occasion we also announced that we would soon receive and publish materials sent by one of the members of the expedition that searched for and found the wreck – Ivan Borovikov. As promised, below is the translated text.

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The M-95 was a Soviet M-class (“Malyutka” – “Little Baby”) monohull submarine with no additional lightweight outer hull. The project was created in the 1930s, and according to its assumptions, the ships of this class were to be used mainly for coastal protection. Their small size (40 m) allowed for the transport of units by rail. M” class ships were operated by a crew of 20 people, who had at their disposal two torpedo launchers (1 torpedo in each, without additional reserve) and a 45mm gun placed on the deck.

One of such small submarines was the M-95 under the command of M.Fyodorov, the construction of which began in 1938. For this submarine the Second World War began in 1941 in the Finnish town Hanko and was limited to only two missions.

One of them was the protection of a convoy during the evacuation of Tallinn. In turn, in the spring of 1942. M-95 was to carry out reconnaissance around Hoghland Island and check the conditions for submarine operations in the region. Shortly after leaving the port the crew carried out a mistaken attack, torpedoing and seriously damaging the old Soviet transport ship “Shaulay”.

After this unfortunate event, the ship called at the port of Lavensaari Island, where she replenished her torpedoes and then left on her last voyage on 14 June 1942. The final resting place of the wreck and crew of the M-95 remained unknown for 73 years.

On June 15, 1942 both the Soviet and the Finnish sides noticed a huge double explosion in the area of the Finnish minefield “Rukkayarvi”. For the next few days Finnish and German ships kept listening in the area where the explosion occurred and also carried out a drop of depth charges.

Our team had been searching for the wreck of the M-95 for two years. On 3 May 2015, we checked the area of the Finnish World War II minefield with side-scan sonar, coming across an object resembling the shape and size of “M” class submarines. The first dive took place a day later on 4 May and confirmed our initial suspicions. After 73 years, the wreck of the M-95 has been located.

The wreck rests upright at a depth of 63m in 2ºC water near Hoghland Island. It is in perfect condition after all these years. During the inspection we found damage in the bow section. We believe that this damage was caused by a mine explosion and a collision with the bottom. We did not find any damage caused by the explosion of depth bombs, with the exception of heavily bent handrails.

From what we could see, we assume that the crew fought for their lives to the end. Traces indicate that after hitting the bottom, the ship was still able to move forward, but unfortunately this manoeuvre was interrupted by a collision with rocks in its path. The escape hatch is partially open. Unfortunately, the crew members who survived the explosion and the impact with the bottom were not able to get out through it. The hatch was blocked by the already mentioned bent aluminium railings. On this basis, we assume that the bodies of all crew members are inside the wreck.

We have sent information about this discovery and a full report to the Ministry of Defence. The place where the 20 sailors met their fate will soon be given the status of a war grave. We hope that we will soon be able to make contact with the families of the M-95 crew to inform them of their fate and final resting place.

Our plans are to continue searching for the wrecks of missing Soviet submarines from World War II. A further 6 vessels with ‘missing in action’ status remain in the Gulf of Finland area. We hope to one day uncover all the white spots shrouding the tragic fate of Soviet submarines in the Baltic.

Source: Translation of the text sent by Ivan Borovikov – member of the expedition that found the wreck of M-95
Photo: Ivan Borovikov