Soviet submarine Shch-215

On 9 October 1941, north of Cape Emine in Bulgaria, Shch-215 attacked what she identified as a patrol vessel. The submarine fired a torpedo but it missed.[3]

On 18 November, east-north-east of Tsarevo, Bulgaria, Shch-215 torpedoed and sank the 641 gross register tons (GRT) Turkish steamship Yenice.[3]

On 20 June 1942, south of the mouth of the Sulina branch of the Danube Delta, Shch-215 attacked the German minesweepers FR 1 and FR 11 with two torpedoes at the vessels, both of which missed.[3]

Late on 23 January 1943, south of Cape Tarkhankut in Crimea, Shch-215 fired three torpedoes at a German barge, all of which missed.[3] In the small hours of the next day, west of Yevpatoria in Crimea, Shch-215 attacked the German barge F 125. The submarine fired three torpedoes and her deck gun at the barge, all of which missed.[3]

On 8 March, west-south-west of Cape Tarkhankut, Shch-215 attacked the German 965 GRT tanker Wolga-Don escorted by two patrol vessels. The submarine fired three torpedoes at the tanker, all of which missed.[3] On 13 March, south-west of Cape Tarkhankut, Shch-215 attacked the Hungarian 465 GRT cargo ship Budapest. The submarine fired two torpedoes at the freighter but both missed.[3]

On 16 May, south of Sudak in Crimea, Shch-215 fired two torpedoes at the German barge F 170. On 24 May, north-north-west of Sevastopol, Shch-215 attacked the Italian 3,740 GRT tanker Celeno with four torpedoes, all of which missed. On 29 May, 40 nautical miles (74 km) south-east of Feodosiya in Crimea, Shch-215 fired a torpedo at the German tug Netty, but missed.

On 30 August, north of the Bosphorus in Turkey, Shch-215 torpedoed and sank the German 1,782 GRT cargo ship Thisbe.[3]

Early on 11 November, west of Yevpatoria, Shch-215 fired two torpedoes at an unidentified merchant ship, both of which missed. Two hours later Shch-215 fired two more torpedoes at a merchant ship, probably the same vessel, but again both missed. Early on 15 November off Cape Tarkhankut, Shch-215 fired two torpedoes at a German convoy of barges and smaller vessels.[3] Four hours later she fired two torpedoes, sinking the German barge F 592. The next day, west of Yevpatoria, Shch-215 fired two torpedoes at the German minesweeper MT 1, both of which missed.[3]

On 27 March 1944, in the western part of the Black Sea, Shch-215 sighted the German 2,760 GRT cargo ship Totila being escorted by U-Jäger ("Submarine chaser") UJ-117. She attacked with four torpedoes, all of which missed.[3]

On 16 April, midway between Constanța and Sevastopol, Shch-215 attacked a German convoy. The submarine fired four torpedoes, missing U-Jäger UJ-115.[3]

On 24 August, north of Cape Emine, Shch-215 torpedoed and sank the Bulgarian 180 GRT sailing vessel Vita.[3] The next day she torpedoed and sank the Turkish 712 GRT cargo ship Yilmaz.[3]

MV Mefküre massacre

On 5 August 1944, north-west of the Bosphorus, Shch-215 sank the Turkish small motor schooner Mefküre by torpedo and gunfire.[3][6] Mefküre's tonnage is uncertain: some sources state 52 GRT;[3][6][7] others 120 GRT.[8] As well as torpedoing Mefküre, the submarine fired 90 rounds from her 45-mm guns and 650 rounds from her 7.62 mm machine guns.[1][2][4] Shch-215's commander, A.I. Strizhak, claimed that he had seen about 200 armed men aboard Mefküre.[1][4]

In fact Mefküre was carrying Jewish refugees who had embarked at Constanța bound for Palestine. Exactly how many refugees were crowded aboard is unknown, but a number estimated to be between 289 and 394 were killed.[6] Six of Mefküre's seven crew and only five of the refugees survived.[6] At daybreak they were rescued by the merchant ship Bulbul, which was also carrying Jewish refugees on the same route as part of the same charter.[6]

Ships sunk by Shch-215[9]

Date	Ship	Flag	Tonnage	Notes
18 November 1941	Yenice		300 GRT	freighter (torpedo)
30 August 1943	Thisbé		1,782 GRT	freighter (torpedo)
15 November 1943	F-592		155 GRT	barge (torpedo)
5 August 1944	Mefküre		52 GRT	motor schooner (torpedo and gunfire)
24 August 1944	Vita		180 GRT	sailing vessel (torpedo and gunfire)
Total:			2,469 GRT

On 16 June 1949 Shch-215 was reclassified S-215 (С-215 in the Cyrillic alphabet).[2]

S-215 was laid up on 13 July 1953, decommissioned on 29 December 1955 and scrapped at Inkerman on 18 January 1956.[1][2]

• Soviet submarine Shch-213, which sank the Jewish refugee ship MV Struma in 1942.

• Rohwer, Jürgen (1964). Die Versenkung der Judischen Flüchtlingstransporter Struma und Mefkura im Schwartzen Meer Feb. 1942–Aug. 1944 (in German). Frankfurt am Main: Bernard Graefe Verlag für Wehrwesen.