Victories of Soviet torpedo bombers

[Felix C]

The following text is a list of all confirmed enemy ships sunk or damaged by Soviet torpedo bombers during the war. The list include ships sunk both by torpedo and bombs (in case of bombing attack, it is specified “with bombs”, otherwise victory scored by torpedo hit), also included ships hit by air-dropped mines from these aircrafts. The list do not include ships sunk or damaged by the Soviet Air Force! Only the victories by Naval Aviation. The Air Force scored a number of victories (especially using Il-2 attack aircrafts and Pe-2 light bombers) but they not showed here. Also the list do not include ships sunk by other Naval Aviation aircrafts (like seaplanes) but it could be integrated in future. Work is a direct translation of list provided by Russian author Miroslav Morozov (tsushima.su) for Baltic, Arctic and Black Sea and author G.A. Kibardinym for Far East. These data are brand-new evaluations from their latest works: all previous assessments by '90s or older authors (both Soviet and Western) should be considered old and unreliable by now.

BALTIC SEA
1941
13 July 1941 German cutter Deutschland sunk by DB-3 (1st MTAP), with bomb.
23 July 1941 German auxiliary minesweeper M-3131 sunk by aerial-dropped mine.
1942
15 September 1942 German merchant Alkaid (5483 GRT) damaged by aerial-dropped mine.
1943
24 March 1943 German merchant Bungsberg (1504 GRT) sunk by aerial-dropped mine.
14 April 1943 German netlayer Netztender-14 / Simon sunk by aerial-dropped mine.
27 May 1943 German auxiliary patrol boat O.Re-35 sunk by aerial-dropped mine.
6 June 1943 German merchant Heinrich von Plauenn (1746 GRT) sunk by Il-4 torpedo bomber
23 August 1943 Finnish merchant Herakles (5103 GRT) damaged by Il-4 torpedo bomber
2 September 1943 Swedish merchant Svea Reuter (1333 GRT) sunk by Il-4 torpedo bomber
13 September 1943 Finnish icebreaker Sisu damaged by aerial-dropped mine.
16 September 1943 Finnish patrol ship Uisko sunk by Il-4 torpedo bomber
26 September 1943 German merchant Hildegard (1409 GRT) sunk by Il-4 torpedo bomber
30 September 1943 German merchant Zullchow-17 (396 GRT) sunk by Il-4 torpedo bomber
1 November 1943 German merchant Marienburg (1322 GRT) sunk by Il-4 torpedo bomber
1944
10 January 1944 Finnish merchant Dione (570 GRT) damaged by aerial-dropped mine.
27 May 1944 German merchant Ingeborg (895GRT) sunk by A-20 torpedo bomber
23 June 1944 German destroyer Z-39 damaged by one A-20 (51st MTAP) with bomb. After the damage inflicted by Soviet aircraft, she was further damaged by British raid and returned operative only on 1 April 1945. Other German destroyers suffered damages by Soviet Aviation aircrafts, among them Z-28 but damage was repaired quickly.
15 July 1944 German merchant Hochsee (2245 GRT) sunk by 2 A-20 torpedo bomber (51st MTAP)
16 July 1944 German anti-aircraft cruiser Niobe sunk by four A-20 (51st MTAP) with standard and penetration bombs during a planned attack.. Rated as "Flakschiff", as anti-aircraft ship or anti-aircraft cruiser, she was former Dutch HNLMS Gelderland. Kriegsmarine moved her in Kotka harbor, and Soviet Naval Aviation attacked her believing it was Finnish coastal battleship Väinämöinen. During the attack a single A-20 shot down, not "Nine" as claimed by Germans (over-claims of aircrafts shot down was widespread during war, and most authors does not bother to check real aircraft losses!).
20 July 1944 German tug Ceriba sunk by aerial-dropped mine
25 July 1944 Finnish minesweeper Vilppula and minesweeping boat Mercurius sunk by a single A-20 torpedo bomber (ships berthed close) (51st MTAP).
13 August 1944 German torpedo-recovery vessel TF-11 sunk by A-20 torpedo bomber (1st MTAP)
15 August 1944 German auxiliary vessel Salzburg damaged by A-20 (51st MTAP) with bomb
17 September 1944 German torpedo boat T-18 sunk by A-20 (51st MTAP) with bomb. Both were "Type 1937" torpedo boats. It was not the only enemy torpedo boat sunk by Soviet aircraft however, being surpassed by the larger and more powerful T-36 (Elbing class) sunk by Il-2 attack planes of the Air Force in 1945.
22 September 1944 German merchant Moero (5272 GRT) sunk with bombs and torpedoes by A-20 (1st MTAP), also German merchants Sumatra (9280 GRT), RO-22/Westplain (4370 GRT), Ingrid Traber (1883 GRT) and Malaga (2146 GRT) all damaged by bombs from A-20 (51st MTAP).
24 September 1944 German merchant Meyersledge (828 GRT) sunk by A-20 (51st MTAP) with bomb
12 October 1944 German transport Brake (5347 GRT) damaged by A-20 (51st MTAP) with bomb
30 October 1944 German merchant Finland (5251GRT) damaged by A-20 (51st MTAP) with bomb
1 November 1944 German transport Varte (4922 GRT) damaged by aerial-dropped mine.
6 November 1944 German merchant Schiffbek (2158 GRT) sunk by aerial-dropped mine.
20 November 1944 German merchant Varteland (6783 GRT) damaged by aerial-dropped mine.
25 November 1944 German tanker Memelland (6236 GRT) damaged by aerial-dropped mine.
29 November 1944 German merchant Max Bornhofen (1312 GRT) sunk by aerial-dropped mine
7 December 1944 German patrol ship V-1606 Julius Fock sunk by A-20 torpedo bomber (1st MTAP)
1945
14 January 1945 German auxiliary vessel Mimi Horn (3944 GRT) sunk by A-20 (51st MTAP) with bomb
15 January 1945 German merchants Doggerbank (257 GRT) and Ferdinand (167 GRT) sunk with bombs and torpedoes by A-20 (51st MTAP),
7 February 1945 German icebreaker Pollux sunk on aerial-dropped mine.
18 February 1945 German merchant Sangha (1923 GRT) damaged by A-20 (51st MTAP) with bomb
11 March 1945 German merchant Borbeck (6002 GRT) sunk by A-20 torpedo bomber (1st MTAP)
12 March 1945 German merchant Gerrit Fritzen (1761GRT) sunk and German merchant Storman (1459GRT) damaged by A-20 torpedo bombers (1st MTAP)
18 March 1945 German merchant Orion (1722 GRT) sunk and German merchant Ellen (1593 GRT) damaged by A-20 bombers (1st MTAP and 51st MTAP), while minesweeping boat R-227 sunk by A-20 (51st MTAP) with bomb
19 March 1945 German auxiliary patrol boat Gauleiter Burkel damaged by A-20 (1st MTAP) with bomb
22 March 1945 German merchant Frankfurt (1186 GRT) sunk by A-20 (1st MTAP or 51st MTAP) with bomb
26 March 1945 German tanker Sassnitz (694 GRT) sunk with bomb or torpedo by A-20 (51st MTAP), while minesweeping boat R-260 sunk and gunboat LAT-24 Orion damaged by A-20 (51st MTAP) with bomb, one small unidentified boat also sunk with bomb on the same attack.
30 March 1945 German merchant Jersbek (2804 GRT) sunk by aerial-dropped mine.
12 April 1945 German tanker Frida (722 GRT) damaged by A-20 (1st MTAP) with bomb
13 April 1945 German merchant Karlsruhe (897 GRT) sunk by A-20 torpedo bomber (1st MTAP)
16 April 1945 German merchant Cap Guir (1536 GRT) sunk and patrol ship V-313 damaged by A-20 (51st MTAP) with bomb
18 April 1945 German gunboat SAT-5 Robert Muller sunk by A-20 (1st MTAP) with bomb
24 April 1945 German merchant Huelva (1923GRT) sunk by A-20 (51st MTAP) with bomb
4 May 1945 Gunnery auxiliary cruiser Orion (temporarily named “Hector” as gunnery training ship, but re-named and re-rated before her loss) sunk by A-20 (51st MTAP) with bomb. By rating and importance, Orion (alongside) Niobe was the most notable victim of Soviet Naval Aviation in Baltic. The Air Force scored other two interesting successes sinking the seaplane-carriers Hans Albrecht Wedel and Boelcke in April. Another notable common claim is the loss of German old battleship Schlesien on 2 May (by A-20 bombers): she was already a total-loss and abandoned, claims of hits on wreck is controversial.
9 May 1945 on the last day of war, German merchant Liselotte Friedrich (517 GRT) and German landing craft F-517 sunk by A-20 torpedo bombers 51st MTAP

ARCTIC
One of the large German "sperrbrecher" (ships intended for destruction of mines), was the largest warship sunk by Soviet torpedo bombers in Arctic.
1942
29 March 1942 German auxiliary minesweeper M-5608 sunk by aerial-dropped mine (by two DB-3). (Translator note: victory also indicated by same author as for scored by mines laid by Soviet MO-4 type submarine chasers: shared victory).
14 July 1942 German landing craft F-243 sunk by Il-4 with bomb.
19 July 1942 Norwegian motorboat Store Bill (72 GRT) and Audi (? GRT) sunk by two Il-4 with bombs.
9 August 1942 German patrol ship V-6113 damaged by two Il-4 torpedo bombers (2nd GSMAP).
7 October 1942 Norwegian merchant Dora Elise (721 GRT) damaged by two Il-4 torpedo bombers (2nd GSMAP).
1943
25 April 1943 German merchant Leesee (2624 GRT) sunk by HP-52 torpedo bomber (24th MTAP)
10 May 1943 German merchant Fedosia (3075 GRT) damaged by A-20 (24st MTAP) with bomb, this British lend-leased plane scored one victory in Soviet service, but A-20 quickly turned a favorite choice.
1944
2 April 1944 Norwegian merchant Andenes (863 GRT) sunk by A-20 torpedo bomber (9th MTAP).
23 April 1944 German patrol ship V-6109 Nordwind sunk by A-20 torpedo bomber (9th MTAP).
11 May 1944 German patrol ship V-6113 Gote sunk by Il-4 torpedo bomber (9th MTAP).
25 May 1944 Norwegian merchant Solviken (3502 GRT) sunk by Il-4 torpedo bomber (9th MTAP).
17 June 1944 Norwegian merchant Dixie (1571 GRT) sunk by Il-4 and A-20 torpedo bombers (9th MTAP).
27 June 1944 German merchant Herta (163 GRT) sunk by A-20 (9th and 36th MTAP) with bomb.
28 June 1944 German merchant Florianopolis (6419 GRT) sunk by A-20 (36th MTAP) with bomb.
23 August 1944 Norwegian motorboats Christie, Clippen and Livasbjer sunk by A-20 (5th MTAP) with bombs.
19 September 1944 German seaplane-catapult vessel Friesenland damaged by A-20 torpedo bomber (36th MTAP)., an interesting and large target for the Soviet torpedo bombers in Arctic, she survived the hit (took by UK after the war).
14 October 1944 German repair-ship Sudmeer (8133 GRT) sunk by A-20 torpedo bomber (36th MTAP)
16 October 1944 German minesweeping boat R-301 sunk by A-20 torpedo bomber (9th or 36th MTAP)
24 October 1944 German patrol ship V-6111 Masuren sunk by A-20 torpedo bomber (9th or 36th MTAP)
27 October 1944 German sperrbrecher (anti-mine ship) MRS-26 sunk by A-20 torpedo bombers (9th and 36th MTAP)

Minelaying operations resulted in the majority of sinking achieved by Black Sea's Soviet Naval aviation in 1943.
1944
16 April 1944 German lighter Dordogne (674 GRT) sunk by aerial-dropped mine (by Il-4).
18 April 1944 Romanian merchant Alba Iulia (5708 GRT) damaged by A-20 (13th GDBAP) with bomb (not recovered before the end of war)
22 April 1944 German tanker Ossag (2795 GRT) damaged by A-20 (13th GDBAP) with bomb, finished and sunk by Air Force bombers on 23 April.
23 and 24 April 1944 German submarine chaser UJ-103 damaged by A-20 (13th GDBAP) with bomb and by Air Force bombers.
24 April 1944 Romanian merchant Danubius (1489 GRT) damaged by A-20 (13th GDBAP) with bomb
3 May 1944 German submarine chaser UJ-2304 sunk by A-20 (13th GDBAP) with bomb
8 May 1944 German minesweeping boat R-197 and landing craft F-471 damaged by A-20 (13th GDBAP) with bombs
9 May 1944 German submarine chaser UJ-2314 sunk by A-20 (13th GDBAP) with bomb (previously damaged by ground artillery)
10 May 1944 German merchant Teja (2773 GRT) sunk by A-20 (13th GDBAP) with bomb and by Air Force bombers. Note: Teja lost alongside German merchant Totila (sunk by Air Force bombers): both ship full German and Romanian soldiers (~4000 killed on each ship).
11 May 1944 Hungarian merchant Tissa (961 GRT) damaged by A-20 (13th GDBAP) with bomb
25 May 1944 Romanian tug Basarabia sunk by A-20 (13th GDBAP) with bomb

BLACK SEA
1941
3 August 1941 German landing craft SF-? sunk by DB-3, together with Air Force SB, with bomb.
1942
19 June 1942 German fishing boat n°2263 sunk by aerial-dropped mine (by Il-4). (Translator note: victory also indicated by same author as for scored by mines laid by Soviet MO-4 type submarine chasers: shared victory).
9 September 1942 Italian motor torpedo boats MAS-571, MAS-573 sunk, German landing craft F-125 damaged and F-134 damaged (not recovered) by Il-4 (5th GMTAP and 36th MTAP) with bombs. The air strike inflicted losses to the Italian group; MAS-571 previously torpedoed and sunk Soviet submarine ShCh-214. Despite much confusion and old wrong claims among Italian sources, that was the only single REAL success of Italian MAS in Black Sea.
17 September 1942 German landing craft F-331 and minesweeping boat RA-51 damaged by Il-4 (5th GMTAP and 36th MTAP) with bombs.
18 September 1942 German landing craft F-533 and minesweeping boat FZ-3 (MFK-3) sunk by by Il-4 (5th GMTAP and 36th MTAP) with bombs.
24 October 1942 German patrol boat RF-02 sunk by Il-4 (36th MTAP) with bomb.
21 December 1942 German patrol boat RJ sunk by Il-4 (5th GMTAP) with bomb.
1943
22 January 1943 Hungarian merchant Koloshvar (1030 GRT) damaged (not recovered) by Il-4 torpedo bomber.
26 February 1943 German landing craft damaged by aerial-dropped mine (by Il-4).
1 March 1943 German landing craft damaged by aerial-dropped mine (by Il-4)
6 March 1943 German landing craft PiLF-3219 sunk by aerial-dropped mine (by Il-4)
9 March 1943 German landing craft F-371 sunk by aerial-dropped mine (by Il-4)
14 March 1943 German landing craft F-136 sunk by aerial-dropped mine (by Il-4)
15 March 1943 German landing craft F-475 sunk by aerial-dropped mine (by Il-4)
30 March 1943 Bulgarian merchant Evdokia (706 GRT) damaged by Il-4 with bomb (not recovered).
4 April 1943 German landing craft damaged by aerial-dropped mine (by Il-4)
25 May 1943 Romanian towed barge Izmail sunk by aerial-dropped mine (by Il-4)
27 May 1943 Romanian towed barge Mihai Vitezhul sunk by aerial-dropped mine (by Il-4)
28 May 1943 Romanian lighter Kriti sunk by aerial-dropped mine (by Il-4)
30 May 1943 German tug Netty sunk by A-20 (36th DBAP) with bomb.
2 June 1943 German merchant Hainburg (378 GRT) damaged by Il-4 with bomb.
6 June 1943 Romanian lighter Kaliopi, lighter Dunarea-1 (1260 GRT) sunk, barge Olbunker BL-3 and lighter Zaptl-64 damaged by aerial-dropped mines (by Il-4)
12 June 1943 German merchant Birgit (1971 GRT) sunk by A-20 (36th DBAP) with bomb.
7 July 1943 German landing craft F-144 damaged by A-20 (36th DBAP) with bomb (not recovered).
2 August 1943 German lighter Pierre (1388 GRT) sunk by aerial-dropped mine (by Il-4)
10 August 1943 German merchant Boy Federsen (6689 GRT) sunk by Il-4 torpedo bomber. Note: ship sunk 1 day after attack.
13 August 1943 German tanker MT-2 (425 GRT) sunk by aerial-dropped mine (by Il-4)
7 September 1943 German barge Krupskaya sunk by aerial-dropped mine (by Il-4)
9 September 1943 Romanian tug DMO-1 damaged by aerial-dropped mine (by Il-4)
22 September 1943 Romanian lighter SNS-786 and towed barge Lydia sunk by aerial dropped mines (by Il-4) (Lydia later raised but not recovered).
2 October 1943 German minesweeping boat R-35 sunk (but later recovered) and R-203 damaged by A-20 (36th DBAP) with bombs.
4 October 1943 German landing craft F-125 sunk by aerial-dropped mine (by Il-4)
17 October 1943 German landing craft F-418 damaged by Il-4 torpedo bomber (not recovered).
22 October 1943 German tug Martin Wallner sunk by aerial-dropped mine (by Il-4)

FAR EAST
1945
9 August 1945 Japanese merchants Edamitsu Maru (6872 GRT), Enpo Maru (6873 GRT), Erimo Maru (6891 GRT), Hozugawa Maru (875 GRT) damaged by Il-4 and DB-3 (4th and 52nd MTAP) with bombs. In another location, Japanese merchant Daito Maru (6859 GRT) sunk by DB-3 torpedo bomber (49th MTAP) (Translator note: currently still unclear the degree of damages suffered by ships during the first raid: vessels later attacked and further torpedoed by Soviet motor torpedo boats).
10 August 1945 Japanese merchant Awakawa Maru (6925 GRT) sunk by DB-3 torpedo bomber (49th MTAP), Issin Maru (1448 GRT) sunk by DB-3 torpedo bomber (52th MTAP). Japanese escort ship CD-82 sunk by Il-4 torpedo bomber (4th MTAP).

[lupodimare89]

Oh cool! So apparently someone else was saving pages from soviet-empire hehe!
Well, this spared me one update. There are only 2 details I would have added as fix/correction:

19 June 1942 German fishing boat n°2263 sunk by aerial-dropped mine (by Il-4). (Translator note: victory also indicated by same author as for scored by mines laid by Soviet MO-4 type submarine chasers: shared victory).

While Morozov in list didn't wrote it, seems clear to me the actual naming should be "MFK-2263"

Also i had some personal big questions over the torpedo-boats actions against the Japanese ships.
For example i believed that “Tensho Maru” (3035 GRT) was hit by aircraft before being hit by Soviet MTB, but she is not on the list. Also some unanswered questions over “Erimo Maru” (if she was also hit by MTB or not) and questions of the actual damage on “Edamitsu Maru” ed “Enpo Maru” (if they were actually total losses or not). I've also other two-three names of Japanese merchant sunk or damaged but they should have been victim of non-naval aviation (plus one sunk by Seaplanes).

[Felix C]

Hello Lupodimare89,

The list was sent to me by an acquaintance and I thought it would be useful to post here as a repository for future research. Did not know it was from soviet-empire site.

Regards

Felix C

[igorr]

***ARCTIC
***1942
***19 July 1942 Norwegian motorboat Store Bill (72 GRT) and Audi (? GRT) sunk by two Il-4 with bombs.
Correct name of second fisherboat is AUD.
***7 October 1942 Norwegian merchant Dora Elise (721 GRT) damaged by two Il-4 torpedo bombers (2nd GSMAP).
Correct name is TORA ELISE

***1944
***23 August 1944 Norwegian motorboats Christie, Clippen and Livasbjer sunk by A-20 (5th MTAP) with bombs.
Correct names of latest two are KLIPPEN and LIVASBJOR
27 October 1944 German sperrbrecher (anti-mine ship) MRS-26 sunk by A-20 torpedo bombers (9th and 36th MTAP)
MRS.26 wasn't Sperrbrecher but a mothership for little minesweeping pinassen

[Mangrove]

23 August 1943 Finnish merchant Herakles (5103 GRT) damaged by Il-4 torpedo bomber

Neither the war diaries of the HQ of the Finnish Navy (LINK 1 | LINK 2 | LINK 3), war diary of Uudenmaan Rannikkoprikaati (LINK) nor the war diary of the HQ of the Finnish Air Force (LINK) make any references to this attack. Finnish minelayer Riilahti was sunk by Soviet motor torpedo boat TK 94 near Tiiskeri on the same day (LINK).

[lupodimare89]

23 August 1943 Finnish merchant Herakles (5103 GRT) damaged by Il-4 torpedo bomber

Neither the war diaries of the HQ of the Finnish Navy (LINK 1 | LINK 2 | LINK 3), war diary of Uudenmaan Rannikkoprikaati (LINK) nor the war diary of the HQ of the Finnish Air Force (LINK) make any references to this attack. Finnish minelayer Riilahti was sunk by Soviet motor torpedo boat TK 94 near Tiiskeri on the same day (LINK).

I suppose this info should be better sent in some way to M.Morozov himself.
The direct quoting (giving location) it's:
ТР «Гераклес» (фин.) 5103 = 23.8.43 ю-з Турку 1 Ил-4 Г.Д. Васильев АТ
It's also included in his book Торпедоносцы Великой Отечественной. Их звали «смертниками» out of May 2022.
He also works with German data, DEFE/Ultra, maybe found something there (while i checked the Ultra files myself, i didn't bother to check air-attacks but focused mostly on ships vs ships)