
The ''Wilhelm Gustloff'' was a ship built by Blohm & Voss and named after the assassinated leader of the Nazi party in Switzerland, Wilhelm Gustloff. It was launched on May 5, 1937, and was sunk on January 30, 1945. The sinking remains the worst disaster in shipping history, in terms of loss of life in a single vessel. ==History== Its original purpose was to target the low-cost cruise market. The German KdF organization provided cultural activities to German workers, including concerts, cruises and other holidays. The ''Wilhelm Gustloff'' was the flagship of the KdF cruise fleet until 1939. From September, 1939 to November, 1940, it served as a hospital ship. During the majority of the World War II, ''Wilhelm Gustloff'' was used primarily as a barracks ship for U-boat trainees. ==Sinking== The ship's final voyage was an evacuation of civilians and wounded German soldiers and sailors from Gotenhafen (also known as Gdynia) to Kiel. The ship left Gdynia early on January 30, 1945. That evening, escorted by only a small minesweeper (ship), ''Wilhelm Gustloff'' was attacked by the Soviet submarine S-13. Thirty (30) kilometres off shore and somewhere between Wladyslawowo and Leba it was torpedoed, taking three direct hits soon after 9.00 p.m. It sank over an hour later and plunged to a depth of 45 meters (150 feet). An eyewitness account claimed that 400 members of the Women's Auxiliary of the German Navy, died almost instantly after the second torpedo hit almost directly under the empty swimming pool in which they were sitting. The mass panic that followed the torpedo hits resulted in an increased loss of life, as many of the refugees ignored orders in the rapidly sinking ship, to allow women and children to disembark first, and many were trampled in a rush for access to the lifeboats and life jackets available. Some equipment was lost as a further result of the panic. The Gustloff slipped below the surface at approximately the 70 minute mark. Water temperature in the Baltic at this time of year is usually around 4 degrees Celsius; however, this was a particularly cold day with air temperature of minus 10 to minus 18 degrees, with ice floes covering the surface. The ship was built for fewer than 2,000 passengers. However because of its original recreational purpose it actually had capacity to board much more. Unfortunately it was carrying less than 50% of the rescue equipment necessary for the significantly increased number of passengers. It is estimated that of the approximately 5,000 to 7,000 refugees and over 1,000 soldiers and sailors on board at the time, only 1,239 passengers survived (other sources: 966 survivors), saved by German vessels in the vicinity. According to the ship's own records, the official total was 6,050 people. However taking into an account those who sneaked on board the ship unaccounted, the death toll was almost certainly much higher. Today one may find reports of 9,000, 10,000 and more. Of course, these numbers are only estimates made by different methods. For example, the Discovery Channel program "Unsolved History" has undertaken an extensive computer analysis of the sinking of the Gustloff, which in particular supported an estimate of 9,400 dead (among over 10,600 on board). The analysis considered: load density based on eye-witness reports and simulation of escape routes and survivability in conjunction with the timeline of sinking. There were many other refugees transport ships sunk by the Soviets and the British (like the Cap Arcona). However the Gustloff remains the worst disaster in shipping history, in terms of loss of life in a single vessel. 55.07N, 17.41E is the resting place of Gustloff. This is 30 km off shore, east of Leba (17.33E) and west of Wladyslawowo (18.24E). It has been designated as a war memorial site (off-limits to salvage crews). On Polish navigation charts it is noted as "Obstacle No. 73". ==Novel== The novel ''Im Krebsgang'' (2002) (English translation: ''Crabwalk''), by Gdansk-born German author Günter Grass, is based on the story of the disaster. ==See also== *List_of_disasters#Ship_and_ferry_disasters ==External links== *[http://www.feldgrau.com/wilhelmgustloff.html A Memorial to the Wilhelm Gustloff] *[http://www.wilhelmgustloff.com www.wilhelmgustloff.com] *[http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/wwii/articles/wilhelmgustloff.aspx The Greatest Marine Disaster in History... and why you probably never heard of it.] *[http://www.deepimage.co.uk/wrecks/wilhelm-gustoff/gustloff_main.htm Shipwreck Expedition May 2003, led by Mike Boring] Cruise ships German ships Shipwrecks
This discussion, like the article to which it relates, has itself been refactored. Fundamentally, a number of contributors took exception to the revisionist view of history expressed in one version of events, and that a NPOV had been bypassed. This article has now been substantially refactored to accommodate their legitimate concerns; moreover it should not be forgotten that Wikipaedia is an encyclopaedia. sjc ---- ''where it saved Polish military...'' Poor capitalization, grammatically poor, and seems like an attempt to insert a POV. Any ideas? --User:Golbez 07:43, 27 Mar 2004 (UTC) :Removed it. There might be more things questionnable in [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=KdF_Ship_Wilhelm_Gustloff&dummy=1&diff=2492946&oldid=2487455 that edit] -- User:Gwicke 19:12, 14 Apr 2004 (UTC)
created in error: Wiki lowercased the last 'd' of Kdf User:Sjc
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Words begining with KdF_Ship_Wilhelm_Gustloff:
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KdF Ship Wilhelm Gustloff
The ''Wilhelm Gustloff'' was a ship built by Blohm & Voss and named after the assassinated leader of the Nazi party in Switzerland, Wilhelm Gustloff. It was launched on May 5, 1937, and was sunk on January 30, 1945. The sinking remains the worst disaster in shipping history, in terms of loss of life in a single vessel. ==History== Its original purpose was to target the low-cost cruise market. The German KdF organization provided cultural activities to German workers, including concerts, cruises and other holidays. The ''Wilhelm Gustloff'' was the flagship of the KdF cruise fleet until 1939. From September, 1939 to November, 1940, it served as a hospital ship. During the majority of the World War II, ''Wilhelm Gustloff'' was used primarily as a barracks ship for U-boat trainees. ==Sinking== The ship's final voyage was an evacuation of civilians and wounded German soldiers and sailors from Gotenhafen (also known as Gdynia) to Kiel. The ship left Gdynia early on January 30, 1945. That evening, escorted by only a small minesweeper (ship), ''Wilhelm Gustloff'' was attacked by the Soviet submarine S-13. Thirty (30) kilometres off shore and somewhere between Wladyslawowo and Leba it was torpedoed, taking three direct hits soon after 9.00 p.m. It sank over an hour later and plunged to a depth of 45 meters (150 feet). An eyewitness account claimed that 400 members of the Women's Auxiliary of the German Navy, died almost instantly after the second torpedo hit almost directly under the empty swimming pool in which they were sitting. The mass panic that followed the torpedo hits resulted in an increased loss of life, as many of the refugees ignored orders in the rapidly sinking ship, to allow women and children to disembark first, and many were trampled in a rush for access to the lifeboats and life jackets available. Some equipment was lost as a further result of the panic. The Gustloff slipped below the surface at approximately the 70 minute mark. Water temperature in the Baltic at this time of year is usually around 4 degrees Celsius; however, this was a particularly cold day with air temperature of minus 10 to minus 18 degrees, with ice floes covering the surface. The ship was built for fewer than 2,000 passengers. However because of its original recreational purpose it actually had capacity to board much more. Unfortunately it was carrying less than 50% of the rescue equipment necessary for the significantly increased number of passengers. It is estimated that of the approximately 5,000 to 7,000 refugees and over 1,000 soldiers and sailors on board at the time, only 1,239 passengers survived (other sources: 966 survivors), saved by German vessels in the vicinity. According to the ship's own records, the official total was 6,050 people. However taking into an account those who sneaked on board the ship unaccounted, the death toll was almost certainly much higher. Today one may find reports of 9,000, 10,000 and more. Of course, these numbers are only estimates made by different methods. For example, the Discovery Channel program "Unsolved History" has undertaken an extensive computer analysis of the sinking of the Gustloff, which in particular supported an estimate of 9,400 dead (among over 10,600 on board). The analysis considered: load density based on eye-witness reports and simulation of escape routes and survivability in conjunction with the timeline of sinking. There were many other refugees transport ships sunk by the Soviets and the British (like the Cap Arcona). However the Gustloff remains the worst disaster in shipping history, in terms of loss of life in a single vessel. 55.07N, 17.41E is the resting place of Gustloff. This is 30 km off shore, east of Leba (17.33E) and west of Wladyslawowo (18.24E). It has been designated as a war memorial site (off-limits to salvage crews). On Polish navigation charts it is noted as "Obstacle No. 73". ==Novel== The novel ''Im Krebsgang'' (2002) (English translation: ''Crabwalk''), by Gdansk-born German author Günter Grass, is based on the story of the disaster. ==See also== *List_of_disasters#Ship_and_ferry_disasters ==External links== *[http://www.feldgrau.com/wilhelmgustloff.html A Memorial to the Wilhelm Gustloff] *[http://www.wilhelmgustloff.com www.wilhelmgustloff.com] *[http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/wwii/articles/wilhelmgustloff.aspx The Greatest Marine Disaster in History... and why you probably never heard of it.] *[http://www.deepimage.co.uk/wrecks/wilhelm-gustoff/gustloff_main.htm Shipwreck Expedition May 2003, led by Mike Boring] Cruise ships German ships Shipwrecks
KdF Ship Wilhelm Gustloff
This discussion, like the article to which it relates, has itself been refactored. Fundamentally, a number of contributors took exception to the revisionist view of history expressed in one version of events, and that a NPOV had been bypassed. This article has now been substantially refactored to accommodate their legitimate concerns; moreover it should not be forgotten that Wikipaedia is an encyclopaedia. sjc ---- ''where it saved Polish military...'' Poor capitalization, grammatically poor, and seems like an attempt to insert a POV. Any ideas? --User:Golbez 07:43, 27 Mar 2004 (UTC) :Removed it. There might be more things questionnable in [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=KdF_Ship_Wilhelm_Gustloff&dummy=1&diff=2492946&oldid=2487455 that edit] -- User:Gwicke 19:12, 14 Apr 2004 (UTC)
Kdf Ship Wilhelm Gustloff
created in error: Wiki lowercased the last 'd' of Kdf User:Sjc
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