Action of 6 December 1941

The Action of 6 December 1941 was a confrontation between the Bulgarian and Soviet navies in the Black Sea during World War II, taking place near the Bulgarian coast at Cape Emine.

Action of 6 December 1941
Part of the Black Sea campaigns (1941-1944)
Date6 December 1941
Location
Cape Emine, 20 miles off Varna, Bulgaria
Result Bulgarian victory
Belligerents
 Bulgaria  Soviet Union
Commanders and leaders
Unknown Captain Gricenko †
Strength
2 submarine chasers supported by aircraft 1 submarine
Casualties and losses
None 1 submarine sunk
38 killed

Background

When the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union commenced in June 1941, Bulgaria did not declare war on the Soviet Union, nor did it make any contribution to the land invasion. The country however did offer naval support to the Axis, allowing Axis warships to use Bulgarian ports[1] and even used three of its torpedo boats (including Drazki) to escort Romanian warships as they laid mines along the Bulgarian coast in October 1941,[2] these actions making the Bulgarian coast a target for the Soviet Black Sea Fleet.

The engagement
The Bulgarian submarine chasers were of the American SC-1 type.[3]

On 1 December 1941, several Soviet submarines, including the Shchuka-class Shch-204 (Captain Gricenko), were sent on a patrol along the Axis coastline. On 6 December, Shch-204 was spotted near Cape Emine, 20 miles off Varna, by Bulgarian Arado Ar 196 aircraft. The Bulgarian submarine chasers Belomorets and Chernomorets soon arrived at the scene and together with the aircraft attacked the Soviet submarine with depth charges, soon sinking her with all hands (Shchuka-class submarines had a crew of 38).[4][5][6]

Aftermath

The result of this engagement was the most significant Bulgarian naval victory of the Second World War, and Shch-204 was the only Allied submarine sunk by the Bulgarian Navy. Through this victory, the Bulgarian Navy demonstrated its availability and capability of working together with its German and Romanian counterparts in the Black Sea for the defence of Axis coastlines and convoys.[7]

Alternate Account

Non-Bulgarian sources describe the loss of ShCh-204 due mine occurred the same day (6 December 1941). [8] According to the Russian author M.Morozov the submarine chasers were located in Burges at the time of the attack, for work on engines, an alternate version of sinking due Romanian mine is also dismissed. Russian sources blame the loss to a German He-59 seaplane or to the Bulgarian seaplane Ar-196. [9]

References
  1. Hayward, Joel S. A. Stopped at Stalingrad: The Luftwaffe and Hitler's Defeat in the East, 1942–1943, University Press of Kansas, 1998
  2. Donald A Bertke, Gordon Smith, Don Kindell, World War II Sea War, Volume 4: Germany Sends Russia to the Allies, p. 323
  3. Navypedia: BELOMORETS submarine chasers (1917-1918/1921)
  4. Donald A Bertke, Gordon Smith, Don Kindell, World War II Sea War, Volume 5: Air Raid Pearl Harbor. This Is Not a Drill, p. 63
  5. Antony Preston, Warship 2001–2002, p. 88
  6. Mikhail Monakov, Jurgen Rohwer, Stalin's Ocean-going Fleet: Soviet Naval Strategy and Shipbuilding Programs 1935–1953, p. 265
  7. Antony Preston, Warship 2001–2002, p. 88
  8. ShCh-204 on uboat.net
  9. ShCh-204 on sovboat.ru
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