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MV Wilhelm Gustloff was a German military transport ship, which was taking part in Operation Hannibal, when it was sunk by Soviet submarine S-13 in the Baltic Sea on 30 January 1945.

At the time, it was evacuating civilians and German military personnel from East Prussia and the occupied Baltic states, and German military personnel from Gotenhafen (Gdynia). By one estimate, 9,343 people died, making its sinking the deadliest maritime disaster in modern history. Originally constructed as a cruise ship for the Nazi Strength Through Joy (Kraft durch Freude) organization in 1937, Wilhelm Gustloff was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine (German navy) in 1939. She served as a hospital ship from 1939 to 1940, and then as a floating barracks for naval personnel in Gotenhafen until 1945, when she was fitted with anti-aircraft guns and used to transport evacuees.

Wilhelm Gustloff was the first purpose-built cruise ship for the German Labour Front (Deutsche Arbeitsfront, DAF) and used by subsidiary organisation Strength Through Joy (Kraft durch Freude, KdF). Originally intended to be named Adolf Hitler, the ship was instead named after Wilhelm Gustloff, leader of the Nazi Party's Swiss branch, who had been assassinated by a Jewish medical student in 1936.

For her third voyage, Wilhelm Gustloff left Hamburg on 1 April 1938 under the command of Carl Lübbe to join the KdF ships Der Deutsche, Oceania and Sierra Cordoba on a group cruise of the North Sea. 6, with both them and the crew of the lifeboat back at Wilhelm Gustloff by 7:45 am.

On 8 April 1938 Wilhelm Gustloff departed Hamburg for England, where she anchored over 5.6 kilometres (3 nmi) offshore from Tilbury so as to remain in international waters. He was replaced by First Officer Friedrich Petersen, who commanded Wilhelm Gustloff for the remainder of the cruise.

Between 20 May and 2 June 1939, Wilhelm Gustloff was temporarily repurposed by the German navy.

From September 1939 to November 1940, Wilhelm Gustloff served as a hospital ship, officially designated Lazarettschiff D. Hansa and one torpedo boat were soon disabled by mechanical problems, leaving Wilhelm Gustloff with just one torpedo boat escort, Löwe (ex-Gyller). Against the advice of the U-boat commander, Lieutenant Commander Wilhelm Zahn (an experienced submariner who argued for a course in shallow waters close to shore and without lights), Wilhelm Gustloff's captain, Friedrich Petersen, turned the ship into deep waters. As Wilhelm Gustloff had been fitted with anti-aircraft guns, and the Germans did not mark her as a hospital ship, no notification of her operating in a hospital capacity had been given.

Wilhelm Gustloff was soon sighted by the Soviet submarine S-13, under the command of Captain Alexander Marinesko. The three torpedoes that were fired successfully all struck Wilhelm Gustloff on her port side. Less than forty minutes after being struck, Wilhelm Gustloff was lying on her side. All four captains on Wilhelm Gustloff survived her sinking; an official naval inquiry was initiated only against Lieutenant Commander Zahn.

The figures from Heinz Schön's research make the loss in the Wilhelm Gustloff sinking to be "9,343 men, women and children".

About 1,000 German naval officers and men were aboard and died in the sinking of Wilhelm Gustloff. Before sinking Wilhelm Gustloff, Captain Marinesko had been facing a court martial due to his alcohol problems and for being caught in a brothel while he and his crew were off duty.

Young Adult historical fiction about the lives of four fictional characters during the evacuation of East Prussia and the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff. The Cruellest Night: Germany's Dunkirk and the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff (1979), by Christopher Dobson, John Miller and Ronald Payne.

"The Sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff", The Sea Hunters (television program), 2002. "Wilhelm Gustloff: World's Deadliest Sea Disaster", Unsolved History (television program), 2003.

Quick Facts

• Originally constructed as a cruise ship for the Nazi Strength Through Joy (Kraft durch Freude) organization in 1937, Wilhelm Gustloff was requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine (German navy) in 1939.
• Wilhelm Gustloff was the first purpose-built cruise ship for the German Labour Front (Deutsche Arbeitsfront, DAF) and used by subsidiary organisation Strength Through Joy (Kraft durch Freude, KdF).
• At the time, it was evacuating civilians and German military personnel from East Prussia and the occupied Baltic states, and German military personnel from Gotenhafen (Gdynia).
• About 1,000 German naval officers and men were aboard and died in the sinking of Wilhelm Gustloff.
• Originally intended to be named Adolf Hitler, the ship was instead named after Wilhelm Gustloff, leader of the Nazi Party's Swiss branch, who had been assassinated by a Jewish medical student in 1936.

Source material: Wikipedia - "MV Wilhelm Gustloff". Adapted and summarized for DiscoverScroll. Original contributors are credited through the linked Wikipedia article. Read original on Wikipedia. CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes were made from the original.