The sinking of Wilhelm Gustloff. The Greatest Maritime Disaster in World History

On January 30, 1945, the largest sea disaster in world history in terms of casualties occurred in the Baltic Sea. In the Słupsk Lavica area, about 45 nautical miles northeast of Łeba, a German ship Wilhelm Gustloff was torpedoed by Soviet submarine S-13. Over 9,000 people died as a result of the sinking of the unit.

Wrong target identification on the Baltic

Commander S-13, Lieutenant Alexander Marinesko, observing a ship sailing through the periscope at night at poor visibility under the escort of the T-36 torpedo, considered it a military transport evacuated soldiers from East Prussia before the attacking Red Army. In fact, it was a unit used to evacuate the civilian population, although there were also Kriegsmarine personnel on board.

Wilhelm Gustloff was launched in 1937 as a cruise ship of the "Kraft durch Freude" organization, owned by the German Labor Front. During the war, the unit held auxiliary and transport functions. At the time of the sinking there were more than 10,000 people on board, mostly women and children. The ship was armed with anti-aircraft artillery and had no hospital ship markings.

Torpedo attack and passenger drama

At 9:15, Marinesko launched a torpedo volley. The first of them tore the bow section on the left side, causing an immediate tilt of the unit. The second exploded in the area of the swimming pool, which was then used as a accommodation room for Kriegsmarine staff. The third torpedo struck the engine room, stopping the ship and depriving it of power. In a short time Wilhelm Gustloff He began to rapidly tilt and draw water.

There was a panic on board. Filled corridors and staircases prevented evacuation from lower decks. Thousands tried to get upstairs at the same time. There was a loss and access to lifeboats was extremely limited. Some of them were iced and unable to leave for water.

As it grows heelmany passengers slipped down the icy decks into the sea. Others jumped from a height of several meters, trying to capture overflowing lifeboats. The water temperature was about two degrees Celsius, which meant almost instantaneous death from cooling.

Emergency action and historical significance of the disaster

Rescue action was taken by a T-36 torpedo that managed to save more than 500 people. About 1.2 thousand passengers survived from the crash. During rescue operations, however, the unit had to manoeuvre rapidly after detecting further torpedoes launched by S-13. T-36 then dropped deep-sea bombs, damaging a Soviet submarine.

Flooding Wilhelm Gustloff for a time they tried to interpret as a war crime. It would only be if only civilians were on board the vessel and the ship itself was flying a civil flag and had the status of a protected unit.

Meanwhile Wilhelm Gustloff It sailed under the flag of the Navy, and on board were 918 officers and sailors of the 2nd school division of submarines (2nd U-Boot Lehr Division). The unit was also armed and moved in escort. Under these circumstances, its sinking was in line with the provisions of the Treaty on the Restriction of Marine Weapons of March 25, 1936, which allowed torpedoing of an auxiliary unit in a convoy warships.

In the 1960s, a wreck Wilhelm Gustloff She was interested in the Soviet side. At the time, there were allegations that boxes containing elements of amber chamber equipment could be loaded before the last voyage on board the ship. In 1994 Poland recognized the wreckage Wilhelm Gustloff for a war grave, which results in a ban on underwater work and diving within a radius of 500 metres of his resting place.

Disaster Wilhelm Gustloff remains one of the most dramatic symbols of the final phase of World War II. Its scale to this day surpasses all other known sea tragedies, recalling the consequences of the war conducted in conditions of total conflict.