In 1934-1935 the autonomous underwater special vessel (project code – APSS) was created in the USSR. The work was carried out by the Special technical bureau for military inventions of special purpose (Ostekhbyuro – local abbreviation), which was headed by V.I. Bekauri.
Created midget submarine had torpedoes or an explosive charge on board. Control of the boat could be carried out in several modes: on the radio (with the visual tracking from aircraft or ship of control), mechanical control (with help of the automatic course marker) or manual control by crew.
In 1936 the submarine was delivered to the Black Sea for the testing. Identified weaknesses as well as repressions of 1937-1938 in the Soviet Union led to the halt of the project.
Soviet midget submarine, 1942. [5]
In June 1942, the boat was captured by the German army, which seized the Crimea during the Second World War. The further fate of the submarine is not exactly known.
References:
1. АЭРО – подводная лодка “ПИГМЕЙ”. – Mode of access: http://sevastopol.su/author_page.php?id=30960.
2. Советский Наутилус. – Mode of access: http://topwar.ru/1287-sovetskij-nautilus.html.
3. АПЛ (автономная подводная лодка) “Пигмей”. – Mode of access: http://www.town.ural.ru/ship/ship/pigmey.php3.
4. АПСС или первая наша сверхмалая. – Mode of access: http://667bdr.livejournal.com/305001.html.
5. 0_633b0_14b46a70_L.jpg. – Mode of access: http://img-fotki.yandex.ru/get/5306/34657840.36/0_633b0_14b46a70_L.jpg.
6. Остехбюро. – Mode of access: http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9E%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%85%D0%B1%D1%8E%D1%80%D0%BE.