Action of 6 December 1941
{{Infobox military conflict
|image=
|caption=
|conflict=Action of 6 December 1941
|partof=the Black Sea campaigns (1941–1944)
|date=6 December 1941
|place=Cape Emine, 20 miles off Varna, Bulgaria
|result=Bulgarian victory
|combatant1= {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Bulgaria}}
|combatant2={{flag|Soviet Union|1936}}
|commander1={{flagicon image|Naval Ensign of Bulgaria (1878-1944).svg}} Unknown
|commander2={{flagicon|Soviet Union|naval-1935}} Captain Gricenko{{KIA}}
|strength1=2 submarine chasers supported by aircraft
|strength2=1 submarine
|casualties1=None
|casualties2=1 submarine sunk
38 killed
}}
{{Campaignbox Black Sea campaigns (1941–44)}}
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.
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 portsHayward, Joel S. A. Stopped at Stalingrad: The Luftwaffe and Hitler's Defeat in the East, 1942–1943, University Press of Kansas, 1998 and even use three of its torpedo boats (including Drazki) to escort Romanian warships as they laid mines along the Bulgarian coast in October 1941.Donald A Bertke, Gordon Smith, Don Kindell, World War II Sea War, Volume 4: Germany Sends Russia to the Allies, p. 323 These actions made the Bulgarian coast a target for the Soviet Black Sea Fleet.
The engagement
File:USS SC-17.jpg type.]]
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).Donald A Bertke, Gordon Smith, Don Kindell, World War II Sea War, Volume 5: Air Raid Pearl Harbor. This Is Not a Drill, p. 63Antony Preston, Warship 2001–2002, p. 88Mikhail Monakov, Jurgen Rohwer, Stalin's Ocean-going Fleet: Soviet Naval Strategy and Shipbuilding Programs 1935–1953, p. 265
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.Antony Preston, Warship 2001–2002, p. 88
Alternate account
Non-Bulgarian sources describe the loss of Shch-204 due to a mine on the same day (6 December 1941).[https://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/5035.html ShCh-204] on uboat.net
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 the sinking due to a Romanian mine is also dismissed. Russian sources blame the loss to a German He 59 seaplane or to a Bulgarian Ar 196 seaplane.[http://www.sovboat.ru/ship/h204.php3 ShCh-204] on sovboat.ru
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?149651 Shch-204 on wrecksite.eu]
Category:Naval battles of World War II involving Bulgaria
Category:Naval battles of World War II involving the Soviet Union
Category:December 1941 in Europe