World’s biggest loss of life in a single ship sinking. Nearly 10,000 souls perished.

You may be thinking Titanic which killed 2,224 people may be the biggest in history.

No. Not all. 9,403 people killed in the utter darkness, icy cold waters of the Baltic Sea is the worlds and histories largest single ship disaster.

I am certain that you are all under the impression that the world’s biggest sea accident was the Titanic sinking. The accident that took place on the morning of 15^th April 1912 witnessed the biggest ever built unsinkable luxury liner named Titanic striking an iceberg at 23.40/Sunday killing 2,224 people on board.

But, wait a minute this information is wrong.

Believe me, there was an another big sea disaster in the world history, which many do not know, that killed 9,403 people including 5,000 children in the dark, cold waters of the Baltic sea – shores of Gotenhafen (Poland) on the 30^th January 1945.  Out of the 10, 582 people on board, miserably 9,403 faced tragic death resulting mankind’s merciless killing of human beings and wounded.

MV Wilhelm Gustloff disaster is still the biggest and largest loss of life in a single ship sinking in history.  The ship MV Wilhelm Gustloff was launched on 05 May 1937 and measures 208.5 m (684 ft) in length and 23.59 m (77 ft 5 in) in width had a capacity of gross 25,484 tons. The vessel was designed to hold a maximum of 1,880 passengers and crew only and was originally built as a cruise liner for the German labor front. The purpose of the liner was to extend recreational and cultural activities for the German workers which include concerts, cruise and other holiday trips.

In 1939, she was put into the service as a navy hospital ship to transport the wounded soldiers and rest. The ending days of 1940, the ship was repainted from hospital ship to white and green stripe to standard naval grey. Then for almost 4 years she was kept at the dockside of Gotenhafen port for training naval staff. Then later she was again put back to service for transporting military personnel.

Consecutively on the 30^th of January 1945, MV Wilhelm Gustloff left the port of Gotenhafen on the Baltic Sea bound for Flensburg carrying 10,582 people. Passengers included, German civilian refugees, Govt. officials, injured naval staff, wounded soldiers and crew. Out of the large number of the passengers, 5,000 were children and infants, who were promised a safe place in the west. As mentioned earlier the vessel was designed to hold only up to 1,880 passengers and crew, but due to the urgency and in the height of the war, there was no other alternative other than to accommodate all these passengers. The temperature was Minus 18 Degrees and was thick dark, when the ship left the port.

Meantime, due to the Operation Barbarossa, the Hitler’s attempt to invade the Soviet Union, was a complete disaster and hence the Russians were looking for a revenge.

MV Wilhelm Gustloff was soon sighted by a Soviet Sub S-13 and exactly at 9.16 PM, Soviet Sub fired three torpedoes at her port side. The first struck near the port bow, the second near midships – below the swimming pool, while the third hit the engine room, cutting off electrical power.  To prevent the ship from sinking, the captain ordered all water tight doors to be closed at once. This unwittingly drowned many of the ship’s crew who would have been essential in manning lifeboats and organizing evacuations. The second torpedo killed hundreds of the Women’s Naval Auxiliary who have used the empty ship’s swimming-pool as a sleeping-area. The third torpedo arguably created the most damage of all. It striked the ship’s engine-room, simultaneously disabled the ship and isolated it from the outside world. Without functioning the engines, Wilhelm Gustloff  was unable to move – all electrical power, from lights to telephones and even the ship’s wireless radio, suddenly lost power, plunging everything into darkness.

It was a total panic inside the ship. People who were not killed or drowned were desperate to get out of the sip in the utter darkness. Since there were not enough life jackets or boats, many jumped into the freezing cold January waters of the Baltic Sea. Thousands were frozen and faced a slow death. Due to no light on the ship, people found unable to find the way and reach the life jackets and boats. Common known law of – Ladies and children first – was ignored. Everyone adopted the case of Every man for himself. In order to avoid seeing their life partners and relations die in the freezing ice water, soldiers and sailors shot their own families and then committed suicide. While an escort vessel of Gustloff which could reach the side of the ship within 15 minutes could rescue 472 of the luckiest on board.

Within an hour, MV Wilhelm Gustloff continued to sink making thousands impossible to escape. In total, nine small ships and boats together rescued a total of 1,179 people and the last rescued was a baby found alive in one of the Gustloff’s lifeboats, exactly seven hours after the ship went down.

Finally from the 10,582 people on board 9,403 souls perished in the icy frigid waters of  darkness, making in history, the largest loss of life in a single ship sinking. The Soviet Submarine Commander who torpedoed Gustloff was shunned by the entire world including the Soviet Union’s many, for killing thousands of innocent people even though l was an enemy ship. Later Capt. Marinesko died in Russia on October 1963 when he was fifty years old.

MV Wilhelm Gustloff now lies 44 meters deep in a war protected area off the coast of  North-west Poland with heart full of thousands of souls loud cries and sufferings.

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