Wilhelm Gustlof
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Wilhelm
Gustlof was a German luxury cruise liner built for the
Deutsche Arbeidsfront and was laid down by Blohm &
Voss in August 1936. She was launched in May 1937, and
was commissioned the year after. She was the first
purpose built ship
where the sole idea were to provide cultural activities
for German functionaries and workers and to serve as a
public relations tool to present the National Socialism
and The Third Reich in a better image. After the
outbreak of World War Two she was requisitioned by the
Kriegsmaine, and served as both a hospital ship and
accommodation vessel for uboat trainees.In Operation
Hannibal, the evacuation of the eastern territories in
early 1945, she was assigned as a a troop transport.
Under a journey from Danzig to Stettin loaded with more
than 10.000 people, among them many civilian refugees
and wounded soldiers, she was spotted and hit with three
torpedoes from the Soviet submarine S-13 under command
of Alexander Marinesko 30. January 1945 outside Leba. It
is believed that as many as 9343 people lost their lives
in the sinking, but the exact number is even today
disputed. The wreck was after the war partly blown
up by the Soviet Navy, and the battered war grave rest
today on a depth of 35 to 47 meter east of Leba. Also
see the the wrecks of General Von Steuben and Goya.
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| 55° 07′ 29" N 17° 42′ 13" E  Picture: Wilhelm Gustlof Courtesy of Wilhelm Gustlof Museum Last updated: January 2021
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