Two WWII submarines found at bottom of Gulf of Finland
ST. PETERSBURG. May 7 (Interfax) - Members of an underwater search expedition, entitled "Bow to the Ships of Great Victory," have discovered two Soviet Baltic Fleet submarines which perished during the years of Great Patriotic War (1941-1945).
The expedition, which started off in Kronshtadt, was carried out off the Gulf of Finland's outer islands of Gogland and Bolshoi Tyuters, Konstantin Bogdanov, head of the expedition, told Interfax on Friday.
"We discovered two submarines, Shch-406 and Shch-320. The search was carried out with modern hydrolocating equipment. After we discovered objects that were similar in shape to a submarine, divers were sent down to them for underwater imagery," Bogdanov said.
The expedition also established that both submarines perished as a result of a mine blast. "Judging by the state of the submarines, you can see that in both of them the crews were fighting for their lives after the explosion. In one of the submarines, the hatch is fully open; in the other, the surviving crew most likely tried to escape in a special vehicle," Bogdanov said.
As is tradition, this week the crews will be given military honors. Priests will be sent the site to perform a prayer service and divers will leave memorial plaques on the wreckage with a full list of crew members.
"Also, whenever we discover a shipwreck, we pass the information to the Russian Defense Ministry. The site is marked on the map as a mass grave," Bogdanov said.
The expedition to locate Soviet ships that sank during World War II has been held since 2005.
