Dekabrist (Series Ⅰ) became operational in March 1933 following a painful series of trials that tested her crew to the limit. Construction of the class was not continued beyond the units already authorised. The submarines saw operational service during the Second World War and achieved some successes. Leninets (Series Ⅱ) and Shchuka (Series Ⅲ) initiated the most numerous and successful developments in their category, and construction of follow-on types was continued until 1946. Pravda and her two sisters (Series Ⅳ) were accepted in 1936, apparently to avoid scandal, only to be taken in hand for refitting one year later. Their war activity was reduced to the transport role in 1941. Of the individuals mentioned only Bazilevskii, Krylov, Malinin, Shcheglov and Voroshilov died in their beds; the others lost their lives during 1937-43, being shot, murdered or dying in prison.
展开▼
