During the majority of the Second World War, the Wilhelm Gustloff was used primarily as a recreation ship for German troops. By mid-1945, however, it was also used to house U-boat trainees. Normally unarmed, it was equipped fore and aft with anti-aircraft guns as a precaution against attack when it was readied for its final mission, an evacuation of civilians and wounded German soldiers from Gotenhafen?.
Heavily overloaded and carrying only about 50% of the rescue equipment necessary to rescue its passengers if need be, the ship left Gotenhafen early on January 20, 1945. Escorted by only a small minesweeper, the Wilhelm Gustloff was attacked somewhere between Danzig and the Danish island of Bornholm on January 30 , 1945. It was torpedoed by the Soviet submarine S-13, commanded by [Aleksandr Marinesko]?, taking three direct hits at around 9.00 p.m.
An eyewitness account claimed that 400 of the refugees, 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 to allow women and children to disembark first, instead trampling each other in a mad rush for access to the few lifeboats and life jackets available. Some equipment was lost as a further result of the panic. It is estimated that of the approximately 6,000 to 8,000 refugees on board at the time, only about 1000 passengers survived, saved by German vessels in the vicinity.
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