During the last Fatherland Liberation War, this 17-ton boat, the flagship of the Second Torpedo Boat Squadron, made a great service in the naval battle in the waters off Jumunjin to sink the U.S. imperialists' heavy cruiser Baltimore of 17,300 tons.

After the naval battle, the U.S. imperialists said that it would make even gods weep, and media of the world highlighted the battle, reporting that torpedo boats sank a heavy cruiser and it was not a battle but a miracle and calling it a mystery of the DPRK.

President Kim Il Sung said that the brave battle feats of the sailors of the Second Torpedo Boat Squadron, who sank the heavy cruiser of the U.S. imperialist aggressor forces and destroyed a light cruiser with four torpedo boats, would shine forever, recorded not only in the naval history of the DPRK but also in the history of world naval warfare.

In September Juche 99 (2010), the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un visited the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum and said that the torpedo boat No. 21 is a merited ship and it is a miracle to be specially recorded in the history of world naval warfare that the KPA sailors sank the U.S. imperialist aggressor forces' heavy cruiser Baltimore with only four torpedo boats during the war.

On July 17, 2012, the title of DPRK Hero was awarded to the torpedo boat No. 21, a symbol of the history of the KPA Navy.