drifting echo
Wilhelm Gustloff was a German military transport ship (formerly a hospital ship and originally a cruise-liner). She was built in 1937 and entered service in 1938. Wilhelm Gustloff was the lead ship in the German Labour Front, and completed an unofficial cruise to convince Austrians to vote for the Annexation of Austria. Gustloff also served as a propaganda tool in hopes of securing a positive impression of the Third Reich. In her short career as a cruise liner, she carried 80,000 passengers on a total of 60 voyages and even rescuing survivors of a SOS dispatch.
She was converted to a hospital ship in September of 1940, and then transferred to a floating barracks in November of the same year. During this time she was home to 1,000 U-boot trainees.
Sadly, in January of 1945, Wilhelm Gustloff would be lost during an evacuation. She was ordered to participate in Operation Hannibal, at 9PM, Soviet submarine S-13 launched four torpedoes at Gustloff. 3 of these torpedoes hit, one of these torpedoes hit a majority of the Women’s Naval Auxiliary, only 3 out of the 373 auxiliary personnel survived. In roughly 40 minutes the ship sank. Out of the 10,600 passengers onboard, 9,600 lost their lives. This one event has been one of the worst maritime disasters in history.
Stats:
Speed:
15.5 kn (28.7 km/h; 17.8 mph)
Range:
12,000 nmi (22,000 km) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Capacity :
1,465 passengers (as designed) in 489 cabins (10,600 as of Operation Hannibal)
Crew
417 cruise ship
20 officers, 145 enlisted (naval)
opal basin
flint cove