Wilhelm Gustloff - Torpedoed by Soviet Submarine

As the Gustloff leaves Gotenhafen, the ship carries 1,000 U-boat cadets.  They are sorely needed as the Third Reich battles to keep from losing the war.  Also onboard are thousands of women and children, grateful to be on the ship and away from the advancing Soviet army.

An argument erupts on the bridge - about the course she will follow and whether to use navigation lights - as the ship makes its way in the Baltic Sea.  The captains in charge (there were more than one) decide to use the lights, for part of the time.  It was a fatal decision.

In this video clip, a crew member of the attacking Soviet submarine recalls what happened aboard his sub as it tracked the Gustloff.  His crew ultimately fire four torpedoes - three of them striking the German ship. 

Credits

Video clip from Last Voyage of the Gustloff, a documentary combining historic footage with recreated scenes from a three-hour, made-for-German-television film (in 2008) directed by Joseph Vilsmaier entitled Ship of No Return: The Last Voyage of the Gustloff (or, in German, Die Gustloff).