Artists N. E. Bublikov and G. V. Gorshkov. 1939
August 1919. The White Army is preparing for a second campaign against Petrograd. The British squadron under the command of Admiral Walter Cowan is in charge of the Gulf of Finland. British planes are bombing Kronstadt, and ships are shelling the coast of the Kopor Bay. The command of the Red Baltic Fleet is sending submarines there.
One of them, the Panther, is commanded by Alexander Bakhtin, a graduate of officer diving courses. On August 31, the Panther went on another combat mission. Through the periscope, A. Bakhtin saw two enemy destroyers anchored and decided to attack the enemy from the sunny side, from the northwest, so that he could then escape from pursuit to a great depth without changing course.
After a successful hit, the Panther could not surface to ventilate and recharge the batteries, as it was afraid of persecution. She had to lie down on the ground and "sleep" all night. People were having trouble breathing. Due to the lack of oxygen in the boat, even a match could not be lit, and it was impossible to start the diesel engine immediately. And in order to return home, the commander of the ship had to find a way through our minefields.
The boat went 80 miles underwater, staying submerged without air regeneration for about 30 hours. At the current state of the art, this was an outstanding record in the history of scuba diving. Later, the Panthers learned that they were being chased by nine enemy destroyers and several seaplanes...
The sunk British destroyer Vittoria was the newest: it was launched not so long ago. Its displacement was 1,375 tons, and it could reach a speed of 34 knots.
