Following the German invasion in June 1941 "Kommuna" was based at Leningrad, and although damaged by bombing continued to serve throughout the siege. In March 1942 she recovered four KV tanks, two tractors and 31 vehicles from Lake Ladoga, which had fallen through the ice road, called the "Road of Life", which was Leningrad's only supply route. That year she also repaired six M-class submarines, as well as salvaging the "411", the tugboat "Austra", the schooners "Trud" and "Vodoley-2", and several other vessels. In February 1943, the crew of "Kommuna" were sent to the Volga where they recovered the tug "Ivan" and an Ilyushin Il-2 aircraft. In 1944, "Kommuna" recovered 14 wrecks, totalling 11,767 tons, and repaired 34 ships. Following the end of the siege the entire crew were awarded the Medal "For the Defence of Leningrad". The ship continued to serve after the war, and in 1954 she was refitted and her engines were replaced by more modern Dutch ones. In November 1956 she located the submarine , and in October 1957 raised the .