Soviet`s submarine S-56   One of Soviet`s S-class series IX bis submarines laid down by Dalzavod, Vladivostok on November 24, 1936; launched December 25, 1935 and commissioned on October 20, 1941.   During October 1942 and March 1943 she was transferred from the Pacific to the Northern Fleet via Panama Canal. She was in active service during the war and on August 26, 1944 while sailing on the surface off the Kola Peninsula she was sighted, by the German U-711, and fired upon by a single acoustic torpedo. Fortunately for S-56 the torpedo malfunctioned, ran on the surface, and struck a ballast tank on the double hull. The soviet submarine suffered only slight damage, and the U-711 withdrew.   For her total war activities the S-56 was decorated with the Guards of Red Banner.   In mid 1950 the S-56 returned to the Pacific via a Northern Sea route were she stayed in active service until decommissioned in 1959 to become a charging barge at Vladivostok, designated ZAS-3. Subsequently the S-56 was preserved out of the water and set up as a memorial at Vladivostok.   Back to History Index      Image Country Year Description USSR - Soviet Union Navy Day, November class submarine, 14 February 1983 USSR - Soviet Union Memorial submarine S-56 in Vladivostok, 24 April 1983 USSR - Soviet Union Memorial submarine S-56 in Vladivostok, 29 Mars 1977 USSR - Soviet Union 1982 Submarine S-56