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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 10 general entries.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Wilhelm Gustloff
Germany. The Wilhelm Gustloff was a cruise ship that was bilt for the Kraft derch Fruede line. It was built at the Blohm & Voss Shipyards of Hamburg Germany.
May 5, 1937. The ship was named after the Nazi Wilhelm Gustloff and was launched on May 5, 1937. It would be the flagship of the KDF cruise lines.
WWII. The Gustloff was never turned back into a civilian vessel. After her services as a hospital ship, it was used as a barracks ship to house U-Boat personnel who were being trained for U-Boat fighting. This was due to the British blockade.
6050. When the Gustloff set sail with the refugees from Germany, the records indicated that 6050 people were onboard. It could handle that many people on short trips, but was normally built for a little less than 2000 people. However, researcher Heinz Schon's records indicated that probably 4000 people extra were onboard and never recorded on the final embarkation papers.
January 30, 1945. The Gustloff sunk in the Baltic Sea on January 30, 1945. People would not have survived long in the frigid waters because the waters in the Baltic Sea were 4 degrees Celsius.
4. On the night of January 30, there were four captains in command of the vessel. But, blunders were happening. None of the men could come to a viable conclusion as to which way to take the Gustloff where it would be safe. Then, the senior captain onboard activated his red and green running lights as to not have a collision with the mine sweeper convoy that he was told was in the area. This now made the Gustloff an easy target.
torpedo. As the ship was heading out to deeper waters, a Soviet submarine fired three torpedoes at the Gustloff. All three made a direct hit. It took less than an hour for the Gustloff to go under te waves.
9400. Depending on what source you read, there were nearly 9400 people killed that night in the Wilhelm Gustloff disaster. Since it is rumored that there was over 10,000 people onboard at the time, it would mean that over 85% of the people were killed. Most were trampled in the ensuing chaos in the stairwells and corridors of the ship. Others drowned in the frigid waters of the Baltic.
No. It is now considered a war memorial and no one is allowed to salvage anything from the wreck. However, the Polish government recovered the ship's bell for an exhibit and it later was used for decoration in a Polish fish restaurant.
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