MV Wilhelm Gustloff
Wilhelm Gustloff as a hospital ship, before being converted into an armed military transport. Docked in Danzig, 23 September 1939. | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Germany | |
| Name | Wilhelm Gustloff |
| Namesake | Wilhelm Gustloff |
| Owner | German Labour Front (Deutsche Arbeitsfront) |
| Operator | Hamburg Süd |
| Port of registry | Hamburg, Germany |
| Builder | Blohm & Voss |
| Cost | 25 million ℛ︁ℳ︁ |
| Yard number | 511 |
| Laid down | 1 August 1936 |
| Launched | 5 May 1937 |
| Completed | 15 March 1938 |
| Maiden voyage | 24 March 1938 |
| In service | 1938–1939 |
| Out of service | 1 September 1939 |
| Identification | Radio ID (DJVZ) |
| Fate | Requisitioned into the Kriegsmarine on 1 September 1939 |
| Germany | |
| Name | Lazarettschiff D (Hospital Ship D) |
| Operator | Kriegsmarine (German navy) |
| Acquired | 1 September 1939 |
| In service | 1939–1940 |
| Out of service | 20 November 1940 |
| Notes | Converted to floating barracks beginning 20 November 1940, including repainting from hospital ship colours to standard navy grey |
| Germany | |
| Name | Wilhelm Gustloff |
| Operator | Kriegsmarine |
| Acquired | 20 November 1940 |
| In service | 1940–1945 |
| Out of service | 30 January 1945 |
| Fate | Torpedoed and sunk on 30 January 1945 by Soviet submarine S-13 |
| Notes | Used as floating barracks for the Second Submarine Training Division until the vessel returned to active service ferrying civilians and military personnel as part of Operation Hannibal |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Cruise ship |
| Tonnage | 25,484 GRT |
| Length | 208.5 m (684 ft 1 in) |
| Beam | 23.59 m (77 ft 5 in) |
| Height | 56 m (183 ft 9 in) (From Keel to Masthead) |
| Draught | 6.5 m (21 ft 4 in) |
| Decks | 5 |
| Installed power | 9,500 hp (7,100 kW) |
| Propulsion |
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| 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 |
| Crew |
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| Armament |
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MV Wilhelm Gustloff was a German military transport ship, sunk on 30 January 1945 by Soviet submarine S-13 in the Baltic Sea while evacuating civilians and military personnel from East Prussia and the German-occupied Baltic states, and German military personnel from Gotenhafen (Gdynia), as the Red Army advanced. 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.