Donbass was a Soviet oil tanker, which took part in WWII transporting strategic cargos. The D. was built in 1931 and had the displacement of 7,925 tons. In 1942, D. set off from Reykjavík, Iceland, as part of the PQ-17 convoy. In the course of its mission, the D. shot down two German planes and picked up 51 survivors from an American transport ship. The D. was one of the surviving vessels of the PQ-17 convoy, which reached Arkhangelsk. In late August 1942, the D. set off for another mission along the Northern Sea Route, carrying fuel for a westbound caravan of ships. On its way, however, the D. was spotted in the Barents Sea by a German reconnaissance aircraft and in a few hours was attacked by two enemy destroyers. After a 45-min battle, the D. was torpedoed and sunk. Out of the 19 survivors, only 8 returned home after the German concentration camps. The captain and the ship’s engineer of the D. were awarded the Order of Merit.