On November 30, 1945, Soviet submarine forces celebrated their most prominent victory in the entire war - that of the S-13 sub, commanded by Aleksandr Marinesko, sinking the german transport ship, the ‘Wilhelm Gustloff’ (25,484 DWT).
The pride of the Third Reich, the Gustloff was one of the most luxurious ships in the German fleet and was taking tourists onto Scandinavian cruises in the latter half of the 1930s. With the start of the war, the ship was repurposed, first into a floating hospital, then a floating barracks for cadets in the submarine training division.
Sadly, aside from almost 400 German submarine officers, the ship also took down with it 4,500 refugees from East Prussia, mostly women and children. The ship did not carry the appropriate markings of a medical vessel and was made out in grey camo, with anti-air cannons, travelling as part of a military convoy. This made it a target for the Soviet commander.
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