S-13 was a Stalinets-class submarine of the Soviet Navy. Her keel was laid down by Krasnoye Sormovo in Gorky on 19 October 1938. She was launched on 25 April 1939 and commissioned on 31 July 1941 in the Baltic Fleet, under the command of Captain Pyotr Malanchenko. The submarine is best known for the 1945 sinking of Wilhelm Gustloff, a German military transport ship/converted cruise ship. With a career total of 44,701 GRT sunk or damaged, she is the highest-scoring Soviet submarine in history.
S-13 portrayed on a Russian stamp, issued in 1996
The S-class or Srednyaya submarines were part of the Soviet Navy's underwater fleet during World War II. Unofficially nicknamed Stalinets, boats of this class were the most successful and achieved the most significant victories among all Soviet submarines. In all, they sank 82,770 gross register tons (GRT) of merchant shipping and seven warships, which accounts for about one-third of all tonnage sunk by Soviet submarines during the war.
S-56 on display in Vladivostok
Sea trials of S-1, 1936. Protection of artillery is clearly visible. Artillery itself had not yet mounted.
S-2 and Alexander Marinesco (commander of S-13) on a Moldovan stamp.
S-33 in Black Sea, 1942
