“Athenia” the first civilian casualty of World War II, the Cunard passenger liner was sunk without warning off Scotland by the German Submarine U-30. Obit. Lemp was not court-martialed for this, however, after this incident Hitler ordered that no further attacks were to be made on passenger ships.

On May 9, 1941 Obit Lemp and 15 of his crewman were lost when the U-110 which he then commanded was captured. On this u-Boat was the most important prize of the war. She carried the Enigma machine that helped Britain break the top secret German military codes.





"Wilhelm Gustloff" - Greatest Sea Tragedy

The German Cruise liner “Wilhelm Gustloff“ sank on January 30, 1945. (Incidentally its namesake, the assassinated head of the Swiss Nazi Party, Wilhelm Gustloff, would have been 50 years old on January 30 had he survived).

The sinking of this ship was the greatest sea tragedy of all time. She was built to carry 1465 passengers and a crew of 400. The ship was now converted into a 500 bed hospital ship, and she set sail as part of Operation Hannibal, the largest naval rescue operation in history.

She was overcrowded with around 10,582 people on board, including 918 naval officers, 373 German Women Naval Auxiliaries, 162 wounded soldiers and 173 crew all fleeing from the Red Army who were raping and killing all in its path as it bore down to the Baltic ports of East Prussia. She was ploughing through the icy Baltic Sea when she was hit by three torpedoes from the German designed Russian Submarine S-13. She sank in 70 minutes near the Danish island of Bornholm.



Many families committed suicide rather than drown in the icy minus 18 degree water. Many of 964 persons rescued later died, and others were picked up by small boats and remain uncounted. Around 4000 of those killed were children and the latest research place people on board at 10 582; therefore, an estimated 9343 souls perished - six times the 1517 who died on the Titanic.

The reason I am sure that this is not a well-known tragedy is that it happened in wartime and although the majority were German civilians not much sympathy was forthcoming for Germany at this time.





"Armenia" Second Largest Sea Tragedy during WW ll

On the other hand, during the war the second biggest sea tragedy was a Russian hospital ship - so maybe when reading the following story, we realise neither country upheld the Geneva Convention when it came to each others' hospital ships.

Let's look at the sinking of the Soviet hospital ship, the “Armenia” on November 7, 1941, which was the worst maritime disaster at that time. All except eight of the 7000 passengers perished on a ship designed for not more than a thousand. Again, blind panic as they boarded the ship at Yalta fleeing from the Germans who had invaded the Soviet Union and had overrun the Crimean peninsula and were now bearing down on the town - all other exits were sealed by the Germans.

Both Hitler and Stalin had said they would not respect the Hague Convention as far as their respective hospital ships were concerned. So these sea tragedies go down in history as a wartime casualties and not the tragedies they were.

Both the Wilhelm Gustloff and the Armenia were carrying mostly civilians half of whom were children. There are so many sad stories in the War of hospital ships, or rescue ships being torpedoed or bombed. These two ships are at the top as they carried so many souls to their deaths.



To all those who sailed with the Merchant Navy, whoever they may be, our grateful thanks and “May their Souls rest in Peace.”



