At 9:00 PM January 30th, 1945;
3 Torpedoes shot by a Soviet submarine vessel hit the bow, deck, and 3rd class floor of the
MV Wilhelm Gustloff.
After the impact, the ship almost immediately began to rotate on it's side; trapping hundreds of people to the 3rd class deck, water rushing in and drowning nearly all of them in minutes.
Like most shipwrecks, those on the 1st and 2nd class, and the top deck, were the most likely to survive.
The long, girthy ship progressively sank beneath the black, frigid depths of the Baltic sea- all while trapping more and more people in it's core as it turns on it side.
The ship also began to suffer from increased hull damage, (as what would normally happen when you get struck by 3 torpedoes) and sections of the hull began showing signs of possibly breaking off entirely.
As of those that managed to get pass the frantic crowd of refugees without getting punched and shoved all over, and were lucky enough to not get trapped inside the flooding halls of the ship; most came with a few set choices, none of them particularly preferable;
risking your life, looking for loved ones on the remains of the ship
or jump off the boat; most likely to die in the frigid temperatures beyond -40 degrees Celsius.
Heartbreakingly, some parents/grandparents, mainly mothers, were seen sacrificing themselves to save their children- most no more than 3-5 years old- handing them over to lifeboats passing by, as there would be no way for them to go along as well; either fitting in the boat to be an issue, or they're completely trapped.
After a painful, dreadful, sorrowful struggle; the Wilhelm Gustloff reportedly completely descended beneath the frigid depths of the Baltic sea after 2 hours of constant struggle.
Those that survived, even today, remember the horror of seeing, hundreds, thousands of bodies floating above the water- so many, of all different shapes and sizes- going on for miles.
A horror that, most survivors today claim they will take to their grave.
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The Wilhelm Gustloff: The Forgotten Greatest Maritime Disaster in History
Non-FictionOn January 30th, 1945 The Wilhelm Gustloff, a Former Cruise Liner, Now Carrying Over 10,000 Refugees Fleeing the Invading Red Army, Was Struck by 3 Soviet Submarine Torpedoes. Resulting in over 9,400 Men, Women and Children Losing Their Lives. Nami...
