Loud shipwreck. Where is the line between truth and fiction? The largest peacetime shipwreck in the history of a world shipwreck

On April 16, 1945, exactly 117 years after the death of Francisco Goya, the ship "Goya" was sunk by a torpedo attack carried out by a Soviet submarine. This disaster, which claimed 7000 lives, was the largest shipwreck in world history.

Goya

The Goya was a Norwegian cargo ship requisitioned by the Germans. On April 16, 1945, things went wrong in the morning. The ship was bombarded with a grim omen of impending disaster. Despite the defense, during the fourth raid, the shell still hit the bow of the Goya. Several people were injured, but the ship remained afloat and it was decided not to cancel the flight.

For "Goya" this was the fifth flight to evacuate from the advancing units of the Red Army. In four previous campaigns, nearly 20,000 refugees, wounded and soldiers had been evacuated.
The Goya set off on its last voyage loaded to capacity. The passengers were in the aisles, on the stairs, in the holds. Not everyone had documents, so the exact number of passengers has not yet been established, from 6,000 to 7,000. All of them believed that the war was over for them, made plans and were full of hopes ...

The ships ("Goya" was accompanied by an escort) were already at sea, when at 22:30 the observation noticed an unidentified silhouette on the right side. All were ordered to put on rescue residents. There were only 1,500 of them on board the Goya. In addition, one of the ships of the group, the Cronenfels, had a breakdown in engine room... Waiting for the end of the repair work, the ships drifted. An hour later, the courts continued on their way.
At 23:45, the Goya shuddered from a powerful torpedo attack. The Soviet submarine L-3, which followed the ships, began operations.
Panic began at the Goya. Jochen Hannema, a German tanker who became one of the few survivors, recalled: “Water rushed with a noise from the huge holes created by the impact of torpedoes. The ship broke into two parts and began to sink rapidly. Only the eerie rumble of a huge body of water was heard. "
The huge ship, devoid of partitions, sank in some 20 minutes. Only 178 people survived.

"Wilhelm Gustlov"

On January 30, 1945, at 2115 hours, the C-13 submarine discovered in the Baltic waters a German transport "Wilhelm Gustlov" accompanied by an escort, on board of which, according to modern estimates, there were more than 10 thousand people, most of whom were refugees from East Prussia : old people, children, women. But also on "Gustlov" were German submarine cadets, crew members and other servicemen.
The captain of the submarine, Alexander Marinesko, began the hunt. For almost three hours, the Soviet submarine followed the giant transport ship (the displacement of the Gustlov was over 25 thousand tons. For comparison, the steamer Titanic and the battleship Bismarck had a displacement of about 50 thousand tons).
Seizing the moment, Marinesko attacked "Gustlov" with three torpedoes, each of which hit the target. The fourth torpedo with the inscription "For Stalin" got stuck. The submariners miraculously managed to avoid the explosion on the boat.

Escaping the pursuit of a German military escort, the C-13 was bombarded with over 200 depth charges.

The flooding of "Wilhelm Gustlov" is considered one of the largest disasters in maritime history... According to official data, 5,348 people died in it, according to estimates of a number of historians, real losses could exceed 9,000.

Junyo Maru

They were called the "Ships of Hell". These were Japanese merchant ships used to transport prisoners of war and workers (in fact, slaves, who were nicknamed "romushi") to the Japanese-occupied territories during the Second World War. "Ships of Hell" were not officially part of the Japanese navy and did not have identification marks, but the Allied forces sank them from this no less fiercely. In total, during the war, 9 "Ships of Hell" were sunk, which killed almost 25 thousand people.

It is worth saying that the British and Americans could not have been unaware of the "cargo" that was transported on the ships, since the Japanese ciphers were deciphered.

The largest disaster occurred on September 18, 1944. The British submarine Tradewind torpedoed the Japanese ship Junyo Maru. Of the rescue equipment on the ship, packed with prisoners of war to the eyeballs, there were two lifeboats and several rafts. On board there were 4.2 thousand workers, 2.3 thousand prisoners of war, Americans, Australians, British, Dutch and Indonesians.

The conditions in which the slaves on the ships had to survive were simply appalling. Many went mad, dying of exhaustion and stuffiness. When the torpedo ship began to sink, the ship's prisoners had no chance of escape. The boats accompanying the "hell ship" took only the Japanese and a small part of the prisoners on board. In total, 680 prisoners of war and 200 romushi remained alive.

This was the case when the living envied the dead. The captives who miraculously survived were sent to their destination - for construction railroad to Sumatra. There were not many more chances to survive there than on the ill-fated ship.

"Armenia"

The cargo-passenger ship "Armenia" was built in Leningrad and was used on the Odessa-Batumi line. During the Great Patriotic War in August 1941 "Armenia" was converted into a sanitary transport ship. The side and deck began to be "decorated" with large red crosses, which, in theory, were supposed to protect the ship from attacks, but ...

During the defense of Odessa, "Armenia" made 15 flights to the besieged city, from where more than 16 thousand people were taken on board. The last flight of the "Armenia" was a campaign from Sevastopol to Tuapse in November 1941. On November 6, having taken on board the wounded, practically all the medical personnel of the Black Sea Fleet and civilians, "Armenia" left Sevastopol.

At night, the ship arrived in Yalta. The captain of "Armenia" was forbidden to make the passage to Tuapse during daylight hours, but the military situation dictated otherwise. The port of Yalta did not have cover for protection from German air raids, and German troops were already on the near approaches to the city. And there was practically no choice ...

At 8 o'clock in the morning on November 7, the "Armenia" left Yalta and headed for Tuapse. At 11:25 a.m. the ship was attacked by a German torpedo bomber He-111 and sank less than 5 minutes after the torpedo hit the bow. Together with "Armenia", from 4,000 to 7,500 people died, and only eight managed to escape. Until now, the reasons for this terrible tragedy are controversial.

"Dona Paz"

The sinking of the Doña Paz ferry is the largest shipwreck in peacetime. This tragedy was a cruel lesson exposing greed, unprofessionalism and slovenliness. The sea, as you know, does not forgive mistakes, and in the case of Tribute Paz, mistakes followed one another ...
The ferry was built in Japan in 1963. At that time it was called "Himeuri Maru". In 1975, he was sold to the Philippines. Since then, it has been exploited even more than mercilessly. Designed to carry a maximum of 608 passengers, it was usually packed all the way, accommodating between 1,500 and 4,500.

Twice a week the ferry performed Passenger Transportation on the route Manila - Tacloban - Katbalogan - Manila - Katbalogan - Takloban - Manila. On December 20, 1987, the Doña Paz set off on her final voyage from Tacloban to Manila. On this flight, the maximum number of passengers was hammered - the Filipinos were in a hurry to the capital for the New Year.

At ten in the evening of the same day, the ferry collided with the huge tanker "Vector". From the collision, both ships literally broke in half, thousands of tons of oil spilled over the ocean. The explosion ignited. The chances of salvation were almost nil. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the ocean in the place of the tragedy was teeming with sharks.

One of the survivors, Paquito Osabel, later recalled: “ Neither the sailors nor the officers of the ship reacted in any way to what was happening. Everybody demanded life jackets and a boat, but they were not. The lockers in which the vests were kept were locked, and the keys could not be found. The boats were thrown into the water just like that, without any preparation. Panic, chaos, chaos reigned«.

The rescue operation began only eight hours after the tragedy. 26 people were caught from the sea. 24 - passengers of "Donji Paz", two - sailors from the tanker "Vector". Official statistics, which cannot be trusted, speak of the deaths of 1,583 people. More objective, independent experts claim that 4,341 people died in the crash.

"Cap Arcona"

Cap Arkona was one of the largest passenger ships in Germany, displacement - 27,561 tons. Having survived almost the entire war, Cap Arcona died after the capture of Berlin by the allied forces, when on May 3, 1945, the liner was sunk by British bombers.

Benjamin Jacobs, one of the Cap Arcon prisoners, wrote in The Dentist of Auschwitz: " Airplanes suddenly appeared. We clearly saw their identification marks. “These are the British! Look, we are KATSETNIK! We are prisoners of concentration camps! “- we shouted and waved our hands at them. We waved our striped camp hats and pointed at our striped clothes, but there was no compassion for us. The British began throwing napalm at the shaking and burning Cap Arcona. On the next approach the planes descended, now they were at a distance of 15 m from the deck, we could clearly see the pilot's face and thought that we had nothing to be afraid of. But then bombs fell from the belly of the plane ... Some fell on the deck, others into the water ... Machine guns were firing at us and those who jumped into the water. The water around the drowning bodies turned red".

On board the blazing Cap Arcona, more than 4,000 prisoners were burned to death or suffocated from the smoke. Some of the prisoners managed to escape and jump into the sea. Those who managed to avoid the sharks were picked up by trawlers. 350 prisoners, many of whom suffered from burns, managed to get out before the liner capsized. They swam ashore, but became victims of the SS. A total of 5,594 people died on Cap Arcon.

Lancasteria

Western historiography prefers to remain silent about the tragedy that took place on June 17, 1940. Moreover, the veil of oblivion covered this terrible disaster the day it happened. This is due to the fact that on the same day France surrendered to the Nazi troops, and Winston Churchill decided not to report anything about the death of the ship, as this could break the morale of the British. This is not surprising: the disaster of "Lancasteria" was the largest mass death of the British during the Second World War, the number of victims exceeded the sum of the victims of the sinking of the "Titanic" and "Louisitania".

Liner "Lancastria" was built in 1920 and after the outbreak of World War II was operated as a military vessel. On June 17, he evacuated troops from Norway. The German Junkers 88 bomber, which spotted the ship, began bombing. 10 bombs hit the liner. According to official figures, there were 4,500 soldiers and 200 crew members on board. They managed to save about 700 people. According to unofficial data, published in Brian Crabb's book about the disaster, it is said that the number of victims is deliberately understated.

Not all wrecked ships end their history in the depths of the sea, the fate of some of them is more prosaic - they run aground. We will tell you about the most impressive vessels that have remained forever in shallow water.

World discoverer

1. The ship with the sonorous name World Discoverer was built in 1974. His main task was to make cruises in the polar regions. The ship's hull has been specially designed so that the ship can cope with the impact polar ice However, this did not save him: on April 30, 2000, the World Discoverer ran into an uncharted reef, the starboard side was seriously damaged. To prevent the ship from sinking and to avoid human casualties, the captain decided to "run aground" into the Roderick Dhu bay. Despite the fact that the ship was subsequently plundered by marauders, at the present moment it is popular place among lovers of sea romance.

Mediterranean Sky

2. Mediterranean Sky, or, as it was called during construction, City of York, was built in 1952 in Newcastle (England). A cruise ship departed London in November 1953 and served at this port until 1971, when it was sold and renamed Mediterranean Sky. The last voyage of the vessel took place in August 1996 on the Brindisi - Patras route. Due to the financial position of the ship owner, the ship was seized in 1997. Two years later Mediterranean Sky was towed to the Gulf of Eleusis (Greece). At the end of 2002, the vessel began to draw water and tilt. In order to prevent drowning, it was towed to shallow water, but this did not help: in January 2003, the ship still capsized on one side and remained lying in anticipation of its fate.

Captayannis

3. Captayannis was a Greek cargo ship whose main task was to transport sugar. In 1974, during a storm, the ship was seriously damaged by a collision with a tanker: anchor chains the latter damaged the body of the Captayannis, and water began to flow inside. The captain attempted to steer the ship into shallow water, where it was successfully stuck on a sandbank. However, the next morning the ship capsized and is still there. The marauders took everything out of the ship, and now it is slowly covered with vegetation and serves as a home for many birds. Locals in a simple way they call it "sugar ship" and are happy to show it to all visitors.

4. The history of "America" began at the shipyard of Newport News (Virginia, USA). Launching took place on August 31, 1939 in the presence of Eleanor Roosevelt herself. They tried to make the interior of the ship as comfortable as possible, and in its decoration they used ceramics and stainless steel. On August 22, 1940, "America" set off on her maiden voyage, but already in 1941 the ship was requisitioned by the US Navy and sent back to Newport News for conversion into a warship. After the end of the war, America operated the route New York - Le Havre - Bremehafen, and in 1964 was sold to a Greek company and renamed Australis. After serving with the Greeks, the ship was resold five more times. The last resale took place in 1993 for conversion into a five-star floating hotel in Thailand, this time the ship was named "America's Star". In 1993, the liner left Greece in tow, but during a storm the tow rope broke. Several attempts to restore it were unsuccessful, and on January 18, 1994, America's Star ran aground near Canary Islands.

Dimitrios

5. Dimitrios (old name - Kintholm) is small (67 meters) cargo Ship which was built in 1950. After three decades, on December 23, 1981, the ship ran aground off the coast of Greece. There are many rumors regarding the origin of the ship and its wreck. There is even a version that Dimitrios was used to transport smuggled cigarettes between Turkey and Italy, and the Greek authorities seized the ship and deliberately released it so that it had to go five kilometers in shallow water. According to another version, on December 4, 1980, the ship was forced to enter the Greek port due to the serious illness of the captain. After arriving at the port, due to various problems with both the crew and the ship itself, the entire crew was disbanded, and the ship was left in the port. It was there until June 1981, when its location was not deemed unsafe. After that, the ship changed its location many times until it finally got stuck in the place where it is to this day. No attempts were made to restore it.

6. Olympia was a commercial ship that was hijacked by pirates in 1979 en route from Cyprus to Greece. After an unsuccessful attempt to pull the ship out of the gulf near the island of Amorgos, where it was driven by sea robbers, the ship remained there until now, becoming the most remarkable object on the island.

8. The French barge BOS 400 was the largest floating crane in Africa with a length of 100 meters, and on June 26, 1994 ran aground in the bay South Africa while being towed by the Russian "Tiger". The ships had to overcome the route from Congo to Cape Town, but during the storm the tow line was damaged and the barge ran aground at a place called Duiker Point. Despite several attempts at towing, the floating crane was completely lost.

La Famille Express

9. La Famille Express was built in 1952 in Poland and until 1999 served in the Soviet Navy under the name "Fort Shevchenko", after which it was sold and received its second (and last) name. The circumstances of the shipwreck are not known for certain, except that the ship ran aground during Hurricane Francis in 2004 off the southern waters of Provo, near the Turks and Caicos Islands (Caribbean Sea). No attempts were made to tow the ship and was quickly plundered by looters. But now the abandoned ship serves as an excellent attraction for all tourists who find themselves in these parts.

HMAS Protector

10.HMAS Protector was acquired by the government South Australia back in 1884 to protect coastline from possible attacks. The ship went through the First World War and almost went through the Second. Ironically, the ship died in a collision with a tug in July 1943 en route to New Guinea. The rusting remains of the ship can still be seen at the same location.

Evangelia

11. Evangelia is a merchant ship that was built at the same shipyard as the Titanic. On May 28, 1942, the ship was launched under the name Empire Strength. It was later known as Saxon Star, Redbrook and finally Evangelia. In 1968, during thick fog at night, the ship sailed too close to the coast and ran aground near Costinesti (Romania). Some say it was done on purpose to get insurance benefits. The hypothesis is indirectly confirmed by the fact that during the crash, despite the dense fog, there was no storm on the sea, and all the equipment was working properly.

Santa maria

12. "Santa Maria" was a Spanish dry cargo ship, the main task of which was to transport a huge number of various kinds of gifts from the Spanish government to those who supported the country during the economic crisis. The ship carried sports cars, food, medicine, clothing, and more. On September 1, 1968, the ship ran aground while passing through Cape Verde en route to Brazil and Argentina. A local tug tried to save the ship, but the attempt was unsuccessful, but the valuable cargo somehow miraculously disappeared. Since then, "Santa Maria" has been one of the main attractions of Cape Verde.

13. The wreck of Maheho can rightfully be called one of the most famous shipwrecks of the 20th century. The ship was built in 1905 and was one of the first turbine steamers. Maheho walked around regular flight Sydney - Auckland until he was drafted into service during the First World War. In 1935 the ship was sold to Japan. During his towing, the ships were caught in a severe storm, and the towing line broke. Futile attempts to secure the cable during the storm led to nothing, and Maheho set off on a "free voyage" with eight crew members on board. Three days later, the ship was found on the shores of Fraser Island - fortunately, none of the crew was injured. After this incident, Maheho was put up for sale, but no buyers were found, and it is still in the same place. Beaten by time, rusted and not needed by anyone except tourists.

11/07/2011

The sunken motor ship "Bulgaria" claimed the lives of dozens of people, and made us think once again about the safety of the river and sea transport... Most people are only familiar with the tragedy of "Titanic", about which many films have been filmed and many stories have been told.

N oh, oddly enough, it was not the "Titanic" that took to the bottom of the a large number of human lives. In this rating, a list of the most terrible shipwrecks throughout history, and it is based on those killed in these disasters. It is worth noting that all these disasters occurred in peacetime.

1.Dona Paz - 4,375 dead

A passenger ferry registered in the Philippines. Sank on December 20, 1987 after collision with the tanker "Vector". At the same time, approximately 4,375 people died, which makes this maritime disaster the largest in peacetime. The ferry was built in 1963 at the Japanese shipyard "Onomichi Zosen", Onomichi, and was called "Himeuri Maru". The Himeuri Maru, owned by Ryukyu Kaiun Kaisa, cruised Japanese waters with a capacity of 608 passengers. In 1975 the vessel was sold to Sulpicio Lines, a Filipino passenger ferry operator, and was named Don Sulphico and later Doña Paz. A month before the collision, the ferry was being repaired at the docks. At the time of the collision, Dona Paz carried out passenger services twice a week on the route Manila — Tacloban — Katbalogan — Manila — Katbalogan — Tacloban — Manila.

2. Explosion in Halifax - 1,950 dead

The Halifax Explosion is an explosion that occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917 in the harbor city of Halifax. The massive explosion of the French military transport "Mont Blanc", loaded with explosives, which occurred as a result of the collision of the "Mont Blanc" with the Norwegian ship "Imo", the port and much of the city were completely destroyed. About 2 thousand people died in the explosion, under the rubble of buildings, and because of the fires that emerged after the explosion. Approximately 9 thousand people were injured.

3. Joola - 1,863 dead

A Senegalese state ferry that capsized off the coast of The Gambia on September 26, 2002. The disaster killed at least 1,863 people. On September 26, 2002, the Yoola ferry departed from Ziguinchor in the Casamance area on one of its routine journeys to the Senegal capital Dakar. During the voyage, the ship, designed to carry about 580 passengers, accommodated about 2000 people. Along the way, the ship capsized as a result strong wind off the coast of the Gambia. Detailed reports show it happened in less than five minutes.

4. Sultana - 1,800 dead

The steamer Sultana, sailing on the Mississippi River, was destroyed by an explosion in one of four boilers on April 27, 1865. This led to the greatest maritime disaster in the history of the United States. About 1,800 of the 2,400 passengers on board were killed. The steamer sank near Memphis, Tennessee.

5. Titanic - 1,517 dead

The Titanic is a British steamer of the White Star Line, one of three twin ships of the Olympic class. The largest passenger liner in the world at the time of its construction. During the first voyage on April 14, 1912, it collided with an iceberg and sank after 2 hours and 40 minutes. Onboard there were 1316 passengers and 892 crew members, a total of 2208 people. The Titanic disaster became legendary and was one of the largest shipwrecks in history. Several feature films have been shot on its plot.

6. Empress of Ireland - 1,012 dead

The Empress of Ireland is a Canadian passenger liner laid down on the stocks of the Govan shipyard, near Glasgow, Scotland. Launched in January 1906, underwent sea trials until June 27, 1906. One of the most large ships of its own class, owned by the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company. Made flights between England and Canada. The comfort of the premises, the high speed of the ship, as well as the excellent service on board the liner have earned him popularity among those wishing to cross the Atlantic Ocean. During its next voyage on May 29, 1914, the Empress of Ireland collided with the Norwegian coal carrier Sturstadt on the St. Lawrence River and sank 14 minutes later at a depth of more than 40 meters. He carried on board 1477 people (420 crew members and 1057 passengers).

7. Estonia - 852 dead

The ferry Estonia was built in 1979 in Germany at the Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg. "Estonia" sank on the night of September 27 to September 28, 1994. At the same time, 852 people out of 1049 who were on board were killed. The ferry was originally built for Viking Line and was named Viking Sally. He was supposed to run between Turku, Mariehamn and Stockholm. In 1986 it was sold to the company " Silja line"And renamed" Silja Star ", keeping it on the same route. In 1991, the ferry was operated by Wasa Line, wholly owned by Silja Line, and the ferry, now named Wasa King, began operating between the Finnish city of Vaasa and the Swedish city of Umeå. In January 1993, the Swedish company Nordström & Thulin and the Estonian Shipping Company (Estonian Shipping Company, abbreviated as ESCO) established the joint venture Estline ( EstLine A / S ”), which acquired the ferry“ Wasa King ”, renaming it“ Estonia ”(“ Estonia ”).

8. Eastland - 845 dead

It was a passenger ship based in Chicago. It was used for excursions to the Great Lakes. The ship sank on July 24, 1915 as a result of a natural disaster. This was the largest shipwreck in the Great Lakes region.

9. Birkenhead - 460 dead

Birkenhead is a ferry built especially for the Royal Navy. It was designed as a frigate, but was later used to transport troops. On February 26, 1852, while transporting troops, the ship crashed off the coast of Cape Town in South Africa.

10. Mary Rose - 400 dead

Mary Rose was the three-deck flagship of the British Navy under King Henry VIII Tudor. This massive carrakka was launched in Portsmouth in 1510. The name was probably given in honor of the French queen Mary Tudor (the king's sister) and the rose as the heraldic symbol of the Tudor house. During the Italian Wars, the Mary Rose was commanded by brother admirals Edward and Thomas Howard. In 1512 "Mary Rose" took part in the attack on Brest. In 1528 and 1536. it was modernized: the number of guns was increased to 91, the displacement was increased to 700 tons. In 1545, King Francis I of France landed on the Isle of Wight. The British sent 80 ships led by the Mary Rose to the Solent Strait to protect the island. The karakka, overloaded with artillery, never distinguished by stability, suddenly began to heel and sank along with Admiral George Carew. Only 35 sailors managed to escape. By the way, the remains of this ship were found, and now they are stored in maritime museum Portsmouth city .

optopus.ucoz.ru, photo from pajamasmedia.com

We all know about the ill-fated story of the Titanic, but few people know that this tragedy was only the third largest casualty in the history of shipping. Today we offer you to familiarize yourself with a list of the 10 most terrible disasters that have occurred on the water.

1. MV Wilhelm Gustloff.
In January 1945, this German ship was hit by three torpedoes in the Baltic Sea while participating in the evacuation of civilians, military personnel and Nazi officials who were surrounded by the Red Army in East Prussia. The ship sank in less than 45 minutes. More than 9,400 people are estimated to have died.

2. MV Doña Paz.
This Philippine ferry sank after colliding with the MT Vector oil tanker on December 20, 1987. More than 4,300 people died. The collision occurred in the middle of the night and caused a fire, and the life jackets were locked, forcing passengers to jump into the burning water, moreover, infested with sharks.

3. RMS Lusitania.
This British liner sailed from Liverpool to New York. During World War I, the ship was shot down by German torpedoes on May 7, 1915 and sank within just 18 minutes after the impact. The crash killed 1,198 of the 1959 people on board.

4. RMS Lancastria.
This British ocean liner was requisitioned by the government during World War II. It sank on June 17, 1940, claiming 4,000 lives. This disaster caused more deaths than the sinking of the Titanic and Lusitania combined.

5. RMS Empress of Ireland.
This Canadian liner sank in the St. Lawrence River after colliding with a Norwegian bulk carrier on May 29, 1914 due to heavy fog. 1012 people were killed (840 passengers and 172 crew members).

6. MV Goya.
The German transport ship MV Goya carried 6,100 passengers when it was sunk by a Soviet submarine in the Baltic Sea on April 16, 1945. The ship sank just 7 minutes after the impact. Almost all of the people on board were killed. Only 183 people survived.

7. USS Indianapolis (CA-35).
On July 30, 1945, Indianapolis was torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-58 and sank 12 minutes later. Of the 1,196 people, only 300 survived.

8. MV Le Joola.
A Senegalese ferry capsized off the coast of The Gambia on September 26, 2002, killing at least 1,863 people. As it became known, the ferry was overloaded, therefore, when faced with a storm, it capsized after 5 minutes. Only 64 people survived.

9. SS Mont-Blanc.
This French ammunition freighter exploded in Halifax harbor on December 6, 1917. The explosion caused the death of 2,000 people, including residents of the city. The explosion was triggered by a collision with the Norwegian ship SS Imo. The fire from the collision caused an ammunition explosion that destroyed the harbor and city.

10. RMS Titanic.
This is perhaps the most famous sea tragedy of all times and peoples. Titanic was by passenger liner sunken in the northern part Atlantic Ocean April 15, 1912, after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Southampton to New York. The death of the Titanic claimed 1,514 human lives.

The ships ("Goya" was accompanied by an escort) were already at sea, when at 22:30 the observation noticed an unidentified silhouette on the right side. All were ordered to put on rescue residents. There were only 1,500 of them on board the Goya. In addition, one of the ships of the group, the Cronenfels, had a breakdown in the engine room. Waiting for the end of the repair work, the ships drifted. An hour later, the courts continued on their way.
At 23:45, the Goya shuddered from a powerful torpedo attack. The Soviet submarine L-3, which followed the ships, began operations.
Panic began at the Goya. Jochen Hannema, a German tanker who became one of the few survivors, recalled: “Water rushed with a noise from the huge holes created by the impact of torpedoes. The ship broke into two parts and began to sink rapidly. Only the eerie rumble of a huge body of water was heard. "
The huge ship, devoid of partitions, sank in some 20 minutes. Only 178 people survived.

"Wilhelm Gustlov"

Escaping the pursuit of a German military escort, the C-13 was bombarded with over 200 depth charges.

The sinking of "Wilhelm Gustlov" is considered one of the largest disasters in maritime history. According to official data, 5,348 people died in it, according to estimates of a number of historians, real losses could exceed 9,000.

It is worth saying that the British and Americans could not have been unaware of the "cargo" that was transported on the ships, since the Japanese ciphers were deciphered.

This was the case when the living envied the dead. The captives who had miraculously survived were sent to their destination - to build a railway to Sumatra. There were not many more chances to survive there than on the ill-fated ship.

"Armenia"

The cargo-passenger ship "Armenia" was built in Leningrad and was used on the Odessa-Batumi line. During the Great Patriotic War in August 1941, "Armenia" was converted into a sanitary transport ship. The side and deck began to be "decorated" with large red crosses, which, in theory, were supposed to protect the ship from attacks, but ...

At night, the ship arrived in Yalta. The captain of "Armenia" was forbidden to make the transition to Tuapse during daylight hours, but the military situation dictated otherwise. The port of Yalta did not have cover for protection from German air raids, and German troops were already on the near approaches to the city. And there was practically no choice ...

"Dona Paz"

The sinking of the Doña Paz ferry is the largest shipwreck in peacetime. This tragedy became a cruel lesson, exposing greed, unprofessionalism and slovenliness. The sea, as you know, does not forgive mistakes, and in the case of "Dania Paz" mistakes followed one after another.
The ferry was built in Japan in 1963. At that time it was called "Himeuri Maru". In 1975, he was sold to the Philippines. Since then, it has been exploited even more than mercilessly. Designed to carry a maximum of 608 passengers, it was usually packed all the way, accommodating between 1,500 and 4,500.

Twice a week the ferry performed passenger traffic on the route Manila - Tacloban - Katbalogan - Manila - Katbalogan - Takloban - Manila. December 20, 1987 "Doña Paz" set off on her last voyage from Tacloban to Manila. On this flight, the maximum number of passengers was hammered - the Filipinos were in a hurry to the capital for the New Year.

One of the survivors, Paquito Osabel, later recalled: " Neither the sailors nor the officers of the ship reacted in any way to what was happening. Everyone demanded lifejackets and lifeboats, but they were not available. The lockers in which the vests were kept were locked, and the keys could not be found. The boats were thrown into the water just like that, without any preparation. Panic, chaos, chaos reigned".

"Cap Arcona"

Lancasteria

Western historiography prefers to remain silent about the tragedy that took place on June 17, 1940. Moreover, the veil of oblivion covered this terrible catastrophe on the day it happened. This is due to the fact that on the same day France surrendered to the Nazi troops, and Winston Churchill decided not to report anything about the death of the ship, as this could break the morale of the British. This is not surprising: the Lancasteria disaster was the largest mass death of the British in the entire Second World War, the number of victims exceeded the number of victims of the sinking of the Titanic and Louisitania.