Soviet submarine Shch-215
Щ-215 (transliterated as Shch-215 or sometimes SC-215) was a Soviet Navy , Type X. She was built at the "Sudostroytelnyi zavod imeny 61 kommunara" in Mykolaiv, Ukrainian SSR, and entered service in October 1938 with the Soviet Black Sea fleet based at Sevastopol. Shch-215 survived the Second World War, was reclassified С-215 (S-215 in the Roman alphabet) in 1949 and was decommissioned in 1955. "Shch-215" is notorious for an attack in February 1944 when she torpedoed and sank the motor schooner . "Mefküre" was carrying between 300 and 400 Jewish refugees, all but five of whom were killed. Wartime  service. On 9 October 1941, north of Cape Emine in Bulgaria, "Shch-215" attacked what she identified as a patrol vessel. The submarine fired a torpedo but it missed. On 18 November, east-north-east of Tsarevo, Bulgaria, "Shch-215" torpedoed and sank the Turkish steamship . On 20 June 1942, south of the mouth of the Sulina branch of the Danube Delta, "Shch-215" attacked the German minesweepers "FR 1" and "FR 11" with two torpedoes at the vessels, both of which missed. Late on 23 January 1943, south of Cape Tarkhankut in Crimea, "Shch-215" fired three torpedoes at a German barge, all  of which missed. In the small hours of the next day, west of Yevpatoria in Crimea, "Shch-215" attacked the German barge "F 125". The submarine fired three torpedoes and her deck gun at the barge, all of which missed. On 8 March, west-south-west of Cape Tarkhankut, Shch-215 attacked the German tanker "Wolga-Don" escorted by two patrol vessels. The submarine fired three torpedoes at the tanker, all of which missed. On 13 March, south-west of Cape Tarkhankut, "Shch-215" attacked the Hungarian cargo ship . The submarine fired two torpedoes at the freighter but both missed. On 16 May , south of Sudak in Crimea, "Shch-215" fired two torpedoes at the German barge "F 170". On 24 May, north-north-west of Sevastopol, "Shch-215" attacked the Italian tanker with four torpedoes, all of which missed. On 29 May, south-east of Feodosiya in Crimea, "Shch-215" fired a torpedo at the German tug "Netty", but missed. On 30 August, north of the Bosphorus in Turkey, "Shch-215" torpedoed and sank the German cargo ship . Early on 11 November, west of Yevpatoria, "Shch-215" fired two torpedoes at an unidentified merchant ship, both of which missed. Two hours later "Shch-215" fired two more torpedoes  at a merchant ship, probably the same vessel, but again both missed. Early on 15 November off Cape Tarkhankut, Shch-215 fired two torpedoes at a German convoy of barges and smaller vessels. Four hours later she fired two torpedoes, sinking the German barge "F 592". The next day, west of Yevpatoria, "Shch-215" fired two torpedoes at the German minesweeper "MT 1", both of which missed. On 27 March 1944, in the western part of the Black Sea, "Shch-215" sighted the German cargo ship being escorted by "U-Jäger" ("Submarine chaser") "UJ-117". She attacked with four torpedoes, all of which missed . On 16 April, midway between Constanța and Sevastopol, "Shch-215" attacked a German convoy. The submarine fired four torpedoes, missing "U-Jäger" "UJ-115". On 24 August, north of Cape Emine, "Shch-215" torpedoed and sank the Bulgarian sailing vessel "Vita". The next day she torpedoed and sank the Turkish cargo ship . MV "Mefküre" massacre. On 5 August 1944, north-west of the Bosphorus, "Shch-215" sank the Turkish small motor schooner by torpedo and gunfire. "Mefküre"s tonnage is uncertain: some sources state ; others . As well as torpedoing "Mefküre", the submarine fired 90 rounds from her 45-mm guns and 650 rounds from her  7.62 mm machine guns. Shch-215's commander, A.I. Strizhak, claimed that he had seen about 200 armed men aboard "Mefküre". In fact "Mefküre" was carrying Jewish refugees who had embarked at Constanța bound for Palestine. Exactly how many refugees were crowded aboard is unknown, but a number estimated to be between 289 and 394 were killed. Six of "Mefküre"s seven crew and only five of the refugees survived. At daybreak they were rescued by the merchant ship "Bulbul", which was also carrying Jewish refugees on the same route as part of the same charter. Post-war fate. On 16 June  1949 "Shch-215" was reclassified "S-215" ("С-215" in the Cyrillic alphabet). "S-215" was laid up on 13 July 1953, decommissioned on 29 December 1955 and scrapped at Inkerman on 18 January 1956.