J Alexander Marinesko bis mmander E pended MJEKCARAP JAPVHECKO
He also didn't like the idea of sharing credit for sinking ships either He craved honor and glory for himself and his crew His sub was loaded with 12 powerful torpedoes self propelled underwater missiles that sub crews could fire while submerged or while cruising on the surface Marinesko was eager to use them In late January Marinesko had received news of the German navy's massive evacuation of refugees and military personnel from East Prussia Large numbers of ships would be coming and going in the Gulf of Danzig That's where the best hunting would be so that's where he took S 13 S 13 searched the area for more than three weeks without spotting any targets The sub often sat stationary on the sea bottom during the day to avoid detection It surfaced at night to watch for passing ships Marinesko was particularly skilled at maneuvering stealthily until he was in a position to fire his torpedoes But first he had to find a worthy target Marinesko steered S 13 to a position known as the Stolpe Bank where a 24 mile long 38 6 km and ten mile wide 16 km underwater shoal of gravel extended out into the Baltic The water there was relatively shallow so ships avoided it preferring to swing out into the deeper channel It was not a safe place for a sub to launch an attack either but Marinesko
The Soviet submarine S 56 belonged to the same class as Marinesko's S 13 suspected that lookouts on ships would not be watching for subs on the shallow shore side as they passed That would give him the advantage he needed For several days S 13 waited and watched Large ships had to emerge from the Bay of Danzig eventually Marinesko reasoned He was right
At approximately seven o clock on the evening of January 30 S 13 surfaced just after dark Lookouts took up positions on the sub's conning tower sweeping the darkness for any glimmer of light listening for any sound of approaching engines It was a difficult and painful task Waves crashed over the sub soaking the lookouts Windblown snow and ice pelted them like bullets But their fear of their captain's wrath should they miss a passing target was far stronger than their discomfort from the subzero cold It wasn't long before one of the lookouts saw lights glimmering through a curtain of snow The lights were clearly moving A ship was approaching perhaps more than one The captain immediately ordered the crew to battle stations and gave orders to submerge but not all the way He wanted to stay on the high conning tower to visually direct the attack He also needed to reduce the chances of detection The approaching vessels might have radar and they would certainly have lookouts scanning the sea in all directions Luckily for S 13 waves were high enough that night to hide a low riding sub from radar Lookouts would see waves cascading over the sub's hull and think it was the white foam of waves breaking over rocks
