The feat of the submarine with 13 captain Marinesko. Great Patriotic War - under water

Captain 3rd rank, known for the "Attack of the Century". Hero of the Soviet Union (1990).

Biography

Childhood and youth

Alexander Ivanovich was born in Odessa. From 1920 to 1926 he studied at a labor school. From 1930 to 1933, Marinesko studied at the Odessa Naval College.

Alexander Ivanovich himself never wanted to be a military man, but dreamed exclusively of serving in the merchant navy. In March 1936, in connection with the introduction of personal military ranks, Marinesko received the rank of lieutenant, and in November 1938 - senior lieutenant.

After completing retraining courses, he served as assistant commander on the L-1, then as commander of the M-96 submarine, whose crew, based on the results of combat and political training in 1940, took first place, and the commander was awarded a gold watch and promoted to the rank of lieutenant commander.

War time

In the first days of the Great Patriotic War, M-96, under the command of Alexander Ivanovich, was relocated to Paldiski, then to Tallinn, stood in a position in the Gulf of Riga, and had no clashes with the enemy. In August 1941, they planned to transfer the submarine to the Caspian Sea as a training submarine, but then this idea was abandoned.

On August 12, 1942, the M-96 went out on another combat mission. On August 14, 1942, the boat attacked a German convoy. According to Marinesko's report, he fired two torpedoes at German transport. According to German sources, the attack was unsuccessful - the convoy ships observed the trail of one torpedo, which they successfully dodged. Returning from the position, Marinesko did not warn the Soviet patrols, and upon surfacing he did not raise the naval flag, as a result of which the boat was almost sunk by its own boats.

At the end of 1942, Marinesko was awarded the rank of captain of the 3rd rank. In April 1943, Marinesko was appointed commander of the submarine S-13. The submarine under his command went on a campaign only in October 1944. On the very first day of the campaign, October 9, Marinesko discovered and attacked the Siegfried transport. The attack with four torpedoes from a short distance failed, and the transport had to be subjected to artillery fire from the submarine's 45-mm and 100-mm guns.

From January 9 to February 15, 1945, Marinesko was on his fifth military campaign, during which two large enemy transports, the Wilhelm Gustloff and the Steuben, were sunk. Before this campaign, the commander of the Baltic Fleet V.F. Tributs decided to put Marinesko on trial before a military tribunal for unauthorized abandonment of the ship in a combat situation, but delayed the execution of this decision, giving the commander and crew the opportunity to atone for their guilt in a military campaign.

Sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff

On January 30, 1945, the S-13 attacked and sent to the bottom the Wilhelm Gustloff liner, which carried 10,582 people:

• 918 cadets of junior groups of the 2nd training division of submarines
• 173 crew members
• 373 women from the auxiliary naval corps
• 162 seriously wounded military personnel
• 8,956 refugees, mostly old people, women and children

The transport, the former ocean liner Wilhelm Gustloff, was traveling without an escort. Due to a lack of fuel, the liner followed a straight course, without performing an anti-submarine zigzag, and damage to the hull received earlier during bombing did not allow it to develop high speed. It was previously believed that the German Navy had suffered serious damage. Thus, according to the Marine magazine, 1,300 submariners died with the ship, among whom were fully formed submarine crews and their commanders. According to the division commander, Captain 1st Rank A. Orel, the dead German submariners would have been enough to man 70 medium-tonnage submarines. Subsequently, the Soviet press called the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff “the attack of the century”, and Marinesko - “submariner No. 1”.

End of the war

On May 31, the commander of the submarine division submitted a report to the higher command, in which he indicated that the submarine commander drinks all the time, does not engage in official duties, and his further stay in this position is inappropriate. On September 14, 1945, Order No. 01979 was issued by the People's Commissar of the Navy N.G. Kuznetsov, which said:

From October 18, 1945 to November 20, 1945, Marinesko was the commander of the T-34 minesweeper of the 2nd minesweeper division of the 1st Red Banner trawling brigade of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet. November 20, 1945, by order of the People's Commissar of the Navy No. 02521, senior lieutenant Marinesko A.I. was transferred to the reserve. Submarines under the command of Alexander Marinesko made six military campaigns during the Great Patriotic War. Two transports were sunk, one was damaged. The M-96 attack in 1942 ended in failure. Alexander Marinesko is the record holder among Soviet submariners for the total tonnage of enemy ships sunk: 42,557 gross register tons.

Post-war time

After the war, in 1946-1949, Marinesko worked as a senior mate on the ships of the Baltic State Trading Shipping Company, and in 1949 - deputy director of the Leningrad Research Institute of Blood Transfusion. In 1949, he was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of squandering socialist property; he served his sentence in 1949-1951 in Vanino. In 1951-1953 he worked as a topographer for the Onega-Ladoga expedition, and from 1953 he led a group in the supply department at the Leningrad Mezon plant. Marinesko died in Leningrad after a serious and long illness on November 25, 1963. He was buried at the Bogoslovskoye Cemetery in St. Petersburg. Nearby is the Museum of Russian Submarine Forces named after. A.I. Marinesko. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded posthumously to Alexander Ivanovich Marinesko on May 5, 1990.

Memory

• Monuments to A.I. Marinesko are installed in Kaliningrad, Kronstadt, St. Petersburg and Odessa.
• In Kronstadt, on house No. 2 on Kommunisticheskaya Street, in which Marinesko lived, a memorial plaque was installed.
• The feature films “Forget About Returning” and “First After God” are dedicated to Marinesko.
• The sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff is described in the novel The Trajectory of the Crab by Nobel laureate Günter Grass.
• In the name of A.I. An embankment in Kaliningrad and a street in Sevastopol were named Marinesko.
• Stroiteley Street in Leningrad, where Marinesko also lived, was renamed in 1990 to Marinesko Street. There is a memorial plaque on it.
• The flag of the submarine “C-13” is on display at the Central Museum of the Armed Forces.
• In St. Petersburg there is the Museum of Russian Submarine Forces named after. A.I. Marinesko.
• A stone block with a memorial plaque was installed in Vanino.
• In Odessa:
  • A memorial plaque was installed on the building of the Odessa Naval School, on Sofievskaya Street, in house No. 11, where Marinesko lived as a child.
  • Name A.I. Marinesko wears the Odessa Naval School.
  • Also, a memorial plaque is installed on the building of the labor school where he studied.
  • In 1983, a museum named after A.I. was created by students of Odessa school No. 105. Marinesko.

Grigory Aleksandrovich Lyubimov, professor at Moscow State University

On January 30, 1945, the Soviet submarine S-13 under the command of A.I. Marinesko sank the German nine-deck liner Wilhelm Gustloff at the exit from Danzig Bay.

By the end of World War II, a project for a new generation submarine was developed in Germany, which in its combat qualities was much superior to the submarines of the Allied submarine fleet. By January 1, 1945, the German fleet already had about a hundred submarines of this type at its disposal. The command staff for them was trained at a special base in Danzig. According to the plan of the German leadership, the mass launch of these boats into the sea, unexpected for the enemy, was supposed to completely block the sea communications of the Anglo-American troops in Europe, and this, in turn, was supposed to force our allies to enter into separate negotiations, as a result of which Germany avoided would be a military and political collapse.

In mid-January 1945, the order was given to transport the submariners trained there from Danzig to the submarine base. In this regard, 3,700 submarine officers boarded the Wilhelm Gustloff liner leaving Danzig on January 30, 1945. In addition, senior officials of East Prussia and Poland, senior Gestapo and SS officers, representatives of the Nazi leadership, as well as refugees and soldiers of the retreating German army sailed on the liner. In total, about 10 thousand people sailed on the liner. The liner was overloaded with people and cargo. It was guarded by a convoy of several ships.

This caravan of ships leaving Danzig Bay was discovered by the Soviet submarine S-13, commanded by experienced submariner A.I. Marinesko. Despite the enemy's superiority in numbers and speed, despite the storm, poor visibility and the extremely shallow depth of the bay, Marinesko decided to attack the enemy. He carried out a bold flanking maneuver to attack the liner from the shore in shallow water, from where the enemy was unlikely to expect an attack. Thanks to the dedicated, well-coordinated work of the crew and the tactical decisions of the commander, unexpected for the enemy, the boat undetected took up an excellent position for a torpedo attack. The torpedoes fired by the S-13 boat accurately hit the target, creating colossal holes in the left side of the liner, as a result of which the liner sank half an hour later. The convoy ships were able to save less than a thousand passengers.

German ships, submarines and aircraft made every effort to destroy the S-13 boat. During this “hunt,” about 240 anti-submarine depth charges were dropped on the boat. However, S-13 returned safely to base.

The victory of the S-13 boat was assessed by contemporaries as the largest victory at sea in the 20th century. It is not for nothing that Western historians called Marinesco’s attack on January 30, 1945 the attack of the century. German military historian J. Rover wrote: “The sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff liner by a Soviet submarine was the largest contribution of the USSR to the struggle at sea between the warring parties.”

The feat of the S-13 boat was of great strategic and political significance. The new generation of German submarines did not go to sea because their command staff was destroyed. Hitler's plans to change the course of the war with victory at sea failed.

The results of the “attack of the century” were discussed at the Berlin Conference of the leaders of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition and became a decisive argument in our favor in the division of captured ships of the German fleet.

The commander of the legendary submarine S-13, Alexander Ivanovich Marinesko, was born on January 15, 1913 in Odessa. His father, a Romanian sailor, settled in Russia and worked as a fireman in a restaurant. After graduating from 6th grade of school, A.I. Marinesko in 1926 entered the Black Sea Shipping Company as a sailor's apprentice. In 1933 he was mobilized into the navy and, after completing command courses, was appointed commander of a submarine in 1934.

Passage of A.I. Marinesko's career was successful. By the beginning of the war, he was a lieutenant captain and commander of a large submarine, recognized in 1940 as the best boat of the Baltic Fleet. On this boat, Marinesko achieved significant success at the beginning of the war and was awarded the Order of Lenin. In 1943, he was appointed commander of the submarine S-13.

Despite his high professional qualities and ability to organize the combat work of the submarine crew, A.I. Marinesko had a number of penalties for violations of discipline incompatible with the rank of commander. This aspect of Marinesko’s character and behavior served as the basis for the party and personnel bodies of the Baltic Fleet to oppose awarding the boat’s crew and its commander with the highest awards for the unprecedented feat they accomplished. Everything was also done to ensure that the feat of the S-13 boat and its commander was forgotten.

A.I. Marinesko deeply felt the injustice that befell the crew of the boat and him personally. He could not control himself and was dismissed from the navy for a number of actions that disgraced the honor of an officer. Life outside the navy was tragic for Marinesko, and he died in poverty and obscurity in 1963.

In 1963, writer S.S. Smirnov in the television program “Feat” and in 1968, Fleet Admiral N.G. Kuznetsov in the article “Attacking S-13” spoke about the feat of the boat S-13 and its commander A.I. Marinesko. These speeches served as an impetus for a public movement for a worthy historical assessment of the feat of the S-13 boat.

In 1990, in connection with the celebration of the 45th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War, a Decree of the President of the USSR was published on the assignment of A.I. Marinesko was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. It’s a shame that this happened 27 years after the hero’s death.

It is interesting that in England in Portsmouth, in the Museum of Maritime History, there is a bust of A.I. Marinesko in memory of a man who made a worthy contribution to the collapse of fascism. Unfortunately, in our country there is a monument to Hero of the Soviet Union A.I. Marinesko stands only on his grave.

January 30, 1895 born in Schwerin William Gustloff, future middle-level functionary of the National Socialist Party.
January 30, 1933 came to power Hitler; this day became one of the most significant holidays in the Third Reich.
January 30, 1933 Adolf Hitler appointed Gustloff Landesgruppenleiter of Switzerland based in Davos. Gustloff conducted active anti-Semitic propaganda, in particular, contributed to the dissemination of the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” in Switzerland.
January 30, 1936 medical student Frankfurter came to Davos with the aim of killing Gustloff. From a newspaper bought at a station kiosk, he learned that the governor was “with his Fuhrer in Berlin” and would return in four days. On February 4, a student killed Gustloff. Next year name "Wilhelm Gustloff" was assigned to a sea liner laid down as "Adolf Gitler".
January 30, 1945 years, exactly 50 years after birth Gustloff, Soviet submarine S-13 under the command of captain 3rd rank A. Marinesko torpedoed and sent the liner to the bottom "Wilhelm Gustloff".
January 30, 1946 Marinesko was demoted in rank and transferred to the reserve.

He began his working life as a small bank employee in the city of the seven lakes of Schwerin, and Gustloff compensated for his lack of education with diligence.
In 1917, the bank transferred its young, diligent clerk, who was suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis, to its branch in Davos. The Swiss mountain air completely cured the patient. While working at the bank, he organized a local group of the National Socialist Party and became its leader. The doctor who treated Gustloff for several years spoke of his patient as follows: “Limited, good-natured, fanatical, recklessly devoted to the Fuhrer: “If Hitler orders me to shoot my wife at 6 o’clock tonight, then at 5.55 I will load the revolver, and at 6.05 I will the wife will be a corpse." Member of the Nazi Party since 1929. His wife Hedwig worked as Hitler's secretary in the early 30s.

On February 4, 1936, Jewish student David Frankfurter entered a house marked W. Gustloff, NSDAP. He left for Davos a few days earlier - January 30, 1936 Without luggage, with a one-way ticket and a revolver in my coat pocket.
Gustloff's wife showed him into the office and asked him to wait; the frail, short visitor did not arouse any suspicion. Through the open side door, next to which hung a portrait of Hitler, the student saw a two-meter giant—the owner of the house—talking on the phone. When he entered the office a minute later, Frankfurter silently, without getting up from his chair, raised his hand with a revolver and fired five bullets. Quickly walking to the exit - amid the heartbreaking screams of the murdered man's wife - he went to the police and stated that he had just shot Gustloff. Called to identify the killer, Hedwig Gustloff looks at him for a few moments and says: “How could you kill a man! You have such kind eyes!”

For Hitler, Gustloff's death was a gift from heaven: the first Nazi killed by a Jew abroad, moreover, in Switzerland, which he hated! The all-German Jewish pogrom did not take place only because the Winter Olympic Games were being held in Germany in those days, and Hitler could not yet afford to completely ignore world public opinion.

The Nazi propaganda apparatus made the most of the event. A three-week period of mourning was declared in the country, national flags were lowered at half-mast... The farewell ceremony in Davos was broadcast by all German radio stations, the melodies of Beethoven and Haydn were replaced by Wagner's "Twilight of the Gods"... Hitler spoke: "Behind the murderer stands the hate-filled force of our Jewish enemy, trying to enslave the German people... We accept their challenge to fight!" In articles, speeches, and radio broadcasts, the words “a Jew shot” sounded like a refrain.

Historians view Hitler's propaganda use of Gustloff's murder as a prologue to the "Final Solution of the Jewish Question."

Gustlov is dead, long live Wilhelm Gustlov!

The insignificant personality of V. Gustloff, almost unknown before the assassination attempt, was officially elevated to the rank of Blutzeuge, a holy martyr who fell at the hands of a mercenary. It seemed that one of the main Nazi figures had been killed. His name was given to streets, squares, a bridge in Nuremberg, an air glider... Classes on the topic were held in schools "Wilhelm Gustloff, killed by a Jew".

In the name "Wilhelm Gustloff" was named the German Titanic, the flagship of the fleet of an organization called Kraft Durch Freude, abbreviated KdF - "Strength through joy".
Led it Robert Ley, head of the state trade unions "German Labor Front". He was the one who invented the Nazi salute Heil Hitler! with an outstretched hand and ordered that it be carried out first by all civil servants, then by teachers and schoolchildren, and even later by all workers. It was he, a famous drunkard and “the greatest idealist in the labor movement,” who organized a fleet of ships KdF.

The Nazis, led by Adolf Hitler, having come to power, in order to increase the social base of support for their policies among the German population, outlined the creation of a broad system of social security and services as one of their activities.
Already in the mid-1930s, the average German worker, in terms of the level of services and benefits that he was entitled to, compared favorably with workers in other European countries.
A whole flotilla of passenger ships to provide cheap and affordable travel and cruises was conceived for construction as the embodiment of the ideas of National Socialism and their propaganda.
The flagship of this fleet was to be a new comfortable airliner, which the authors of the project planned to name after the German Fuhrer - "Adolf Gitler".

On May 5, 1937, at the Hamburg shipyard, Blum and Voss solemnly launched the world's largest ten-deck cruise ship, commissioned by KdF. Gustloff's widow, in the presence of Hitler, broke a bottle of champagne on the side, and the ship received its name - Wilhelm Gustloff. Its displacement is 25,000 tons, length is 208 meters, cost is 25 million Reichsmarks. It is designed for 1,500 vacationers, who have glazed promenade decks, a winter garden, a swimming pool...

Thus began a short happy time in the life of the liner; it would last a year and 161 days. The “floating holiday home” worked continuously, the people were delighted: the prices for sea travel were, if not low, then affordable. A five-day cruise to the Norwegian fjords cost 60 Reichsmarks, a twelve-day cruise along the coast of Italy - 150 RM (the monthly earnings of workers and employees were 150-250 RM). While sailing, you could call home at an ultra-cheap rate and vent your delight to your family. Vacationers abroad compared living conditions with their own in Germany, and the comparisons most often turned out to be not in favor of foreigners. A contemporary reflects: “How did Hitler manage to take control of the people in a short time, to accustom them not only to silent submission, but also to mass rejoicing at official events? A partial answer to this question is given by the activities of the KdF organization.”

Gustlov's finest hour fell in April 1938, when, in stormy weather, the team rescued the sailors of the sinking English steamer Pegaway. The English press paid tribute to the skill and courage of the Germans.

The inventive Ley used the windfall propaganda success to use the liner as a floating polling station for the popular vote on the annexation of Austria to Germany. On April 10, at the mouth of the Thames, Gustlov took on board about 1,000 German and 800 Austrian citizens living in the UK, as well as a large group of journalist observers, left the three-mile zone and anchored in international waters, where the vote was held. As expected, 99% of voters voted yes. British newspapers, including the Marxist Daily Herald, were lavish in their praise of the union ship.

The ship's last cruise took place on August 25, 1939. Unexpectedly, during a planned voyage in the middle of the North Sea, the captain received a coded order to urgently return to port. The time for cruises was over—less than a week later, Germany attacked Poland and World War II began.

With the outbreak of war, almost all KdF ships ended up in military service. "Wilhelm Gustloff" was converted into a hospital ship and assigned to the German Navy - Kriegsmarine. The liner was repainted white and marked with red crosses, which was supposed to protect it from attack in accordance with the Hague Convention. The first patients began to arrive on board during the war against Poland in October 1939. Even in such conditions, the German authorities used the ship as a means of propaganda - as evidence of the humanity of the Nazi leadership, most of the first patients were wounded Polish prisoners. Over time, when German losses became noticeable, the ship was sent to the port of Gothenhafen (Gdynia), where it took on board even more wounded, as well as Germans (Volksdeutsche) evacuated from East Prussia.

Already the autumn of '43 showed that the quiet life was ending - on October 8 (9), the Americans covered the harbor with a bomb carpet. The floating hospital Stuttgart caught fire and sank; this was the first loss of a former KdF ship. The explosion of a heavy bomb near Gustlov caused a one and a half meter crack in the side plating, which was brewed. The weld will still remind itself on the last day of Gustlov’s life, when the S-13 submarine will slowly but surely catch up with the initially faster floating barracks.

In the second half of 1944, the front came very close to East Prussia. The Germans of East Prussia had certain reasons to fear revenge from the Red Army - the great destruction and killings among civilians in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union were known to many. Germanpropaganda depicted the “horrors of the Soviet offensive.”

In October 1944, the first detachments of the Red Army were already on the territory of East Prussia. Nazi propaganda began a widespread campaign to “expose Soviet atrocities,” accusing Soviet soldiers of mass murder and rape. By spreading such propaganda, the Nazis achieved their goal - the number of volunteers in the Volkssturm militia increased, but the propaganda also led to increased panic among the civilian population as the front approached, and millions of people became refugees.

On January 21, Grand Admiral Doenitz gave the command to begin Operation Hannibal - the largest evacuation of the population by sea of ​​all time: more than two million people were transported to the West by all the ships at the disposal of the German command.

At the same time, the submarines of the Soviet Baltic Fleet were preparing for the war-ending attacks. A significant part of them was blocked for a long time in the Leningrad and Kronstadt ports by German minefields and steel anti-submarine nets deployed by 140 ships in the spring of 1943. After breaking the blockade of Leningrad, the Red Army continued its offensive along the shores of the Gulf of Finland, and the capitulation of Finland, an ally of Germany opened the way for Soviet submarines to the Baltic Sea. Stalin's order followed: submariners based in Finnish harbors to detect and destroy enemy ships. The operation pursued both military and psychological goals - to complicate the supply of German troops by sea and to prevent evacuation to the West. One of the consequences of Stalin’s order was Gustlov’s meeting with the submarine S-13 and its commander, Captain 3rd Rank A. Marinesko.

Nationality: Odessa.

Captain of the third rank A. I. Marinesko

When life in Odessa returned to normal, foreign ships began to arrive at the port. Dressed and cheerful passengers threw coins into the water, and Odessa boys dived after them; Few people managed to get ahead of the future submariner. He left school at the age of 15, knowing how to read, write somehow and “sell his vest sleeves,” as he later often said. His language was a colorful and bizarre mixture of Russian and Ukrainian, flavored with Odessa jokes and Romanian curses. A harsh childhood hardened him and made him inventive, teaching him not to get lost in the most unexpected and dangerous situations.

He began life at sea at the age of 15 as a cabin boy on a coastal steamer, graduated from a nautical school, and was called up for military service. Marinesko was probably a born submariner; he even had a naval surname. Having started his service, he quickly realized that a small ship was most suitable for him, an individualist by nature. After a nine-month course, he sailed as a navigator on the submarine Shch-306, then completed command courses and in 1937 became the commander of another boat, M-96 - two torpedo tubes, 18 crew members. In the pre-war years, M-96 bore the title "the best submarine of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet", putting emergency dive time record - 19.5 seconds instead of 28 standard, for which the commander and his team were awarded a personalized gold watch.

By the beginning of the war, Marinesko was already an experienced and respected submariner. He had a rare gift for managing people, which allowed him to move without loss of authority from “comrade commander” to an equal member of the feast in the wardroom.

In 1944, Marinesko received under his command a large submarine of the Stalinets series, S-13. The history of the creation of boats in this series deserves at least a few lines, as it is a vivid example of secret military and industrial cooperation between the USSR and the Third Reich before the war. The project was developed by order of the Soviet government in an engineering bureau owned jointly by the German navy, Krupp and the shipyard in Bremen. The bureau was headed by the German Blum, a retired captain, and it was located in The Hague - in order to circumvent the provision of the Versailles Peace Treaty, which prohibited Germany from developing and building submarines.

At the end of December 1944, the S-13 was in the Finnish port of Turku and was preparing to go to sea. It was scheduled for January 2, but Marinesko, who had been on a spree, appeared on the boat only the next day, when the “special department” of the security service was already looking for him as a defector to the enemy’s side. After evaporating the hops in the bathhouse, he arrived at headquarters and honestly told about everything. He couldn’t or didn’t want to remember the names of the girls and the place of the “spree,” he only said that they drank Pontikka, Finnish potato moonshine, compared to which “vodka is like mother’s milk.”

The S-13 commander would have been arrested if not for the acute shortage of experienced submariners and Stalin’s order, which had to be carried out at any cost. Divisional commander Captain 1st Rank Orel ordered the C-13 to urgently put to sea and wait for further orders. On January 11, the fully fueled C-13 headed along the coast of the island of Gotland into the open sea. For Marinesco, returning to base without a victory was tantamount to being court-martialed.

As part of Operation Hannibal, on January 22, 1945, the Wilhelm Gustloff in the port of Gdynia (then called Gotenhafen by the Germans) began accepting refugees on board. At first, people were accommodated with special passes - primarily several dozen submarine officers, several hundreds of women from the naval auxiliary division and almost a thousand wounded soldiers. Later, when tens of thousands of people gathered in the port and the situation became more difficult, they began to let everyone in, giving priority to women and children. Since the planned number of places was only 1,500, refugees began to be placed on decks, in the passages. Women soldiers were even placed in an empty swimming pool. In the last stages of the evacuation, the panic intensified so much that some women in the port, in desperation, began to give their children to those who managed to get on board, in the hope of at least saving them in this way. In the end , January 30, 1945, the ship's crew officers had already stopped counting the refugees, whose number had exceeded 10,000.
According to modern estimates, there should have been 10,582 people on board: 918 junior cadets of the 2nd training submarine division (2. U-Boot-Lehrdivision), 173 crew members, 373 women from the auxiliary naval corps, 162 seriously wounded military personnel, and 8,956 refugees, mostly old people, women and children.

Attack of the century.

Captain Gustlov Peterson is 63 years old; he has not driven ships for many years and therefore asked for two young sea captains to help him. The military command of the ship was entrusted to an experienced submariner, corvette captain Tsang. A unique situation has arisen: on the ship’s command bridge there are four captains with an unclear distribution of powers, which will be one of the reasons for Gustloff’s death.

On January 30, accompanied by a single ship, the torpedo bomber Lev, Gustloff left the port of Gotenhafen, and a dispute immediately broke out among the captains. Tsang, who knew more than the rest about the danger of attacks by Soviet submarines, proposed to go in a zigzag with a maximum speed of 16 knots, in which case slower boats would not be able to catch up with them. “12 knots, no more!” - Peterson objected, recalling the unreliable weld in the side plating, and insisted on his own.

Gustloff walked along a corridor in minefields. At 19:00 a radiogram was received: a formation of minesweepers was on a collision course. The captains gave the command to turn on the identification lights to avoid a collision. The last and decisive mistake. The ill-fated radiogram remained forever a mystery; no minesweepers appeared.

At about 19 o'clock the boat surfaced, just at that time the lights on Gustloff came on. In the first seconds, the officer on duty could not believe his eyes: the silhouette of a giant ship was glowing in the distance! He appeared on the Marinesco bridge, wearing the non-standard, oily sheepskin sheepskin coat known to all Baltic submariners.

At 19:30, Gustloff's captains, without waiting for the mystical minesweepers, ordered the lights to be turned off. It’s too late - Marinesko has already grabbed his cherished goal with a death grip. He could not understand why the giant ship did not zigzag and was accompanied by only one ship. Both of these circumstances will make the attack easier.

A joyful mood reigned on Gustloff: a few more hours and they would leave the danger zone. The captains gathered in the wardroom for lunch; a steward in a white jacket brought pea soup and cold meat. We rested for some time after the arguments and excitement of the day, and drank a glass of cognac for success.

On the S-13, four bow torpedo tubes are prepared for attack, on each torpedo there is an inscription: on the first - "For the Motherland", On the second - "For Stalin", on third - "For the Soviet people" and on the fourth - "For Leningrad".
700 meters to the target. At 21:04 the first torpedo is fired, followed by the rest. Three of them hit the target, the fourth, with the inscription "For Stalin", gets stuck in a torpedo tube, ready to explode at the slightest shock. But here, as often with Marinesko, skill is complemented by luck: the torpedo engine stalls for an unknown reason, and the torpedo operator quickly closes the outer cover of the apparatus. The boat goes under water.

At 21:16 the first torpedo hit the bow of the ship, later the second one blew up the empty swimming pool where the women of the naval auxiliary battalion were, and the last one hit the engine room. The passengers' first thought was that they had hit a mine, but Captain Peterson realized it was a submarine, and his first words were:
Das war's - That's all.

Those passengers who did not die from the three explosions and did not drown in the cabins on the lower decks rushed to the lifeboats in panic. At that moment, it turned out that by ordering the watertight compartments in the lower decks to be closed, according to the instructions, the captain had accidentally blocked part of the team, which was supposed to lower the boats and evacuate passengers. Therefore, in the panic and stampede, not only many children and women died, but also many of those who climbed to the upper deck. They could not lower the lifeboats because they did not know how to do this, besides, many of the davits were iced over, and the ship was already heavily listing. Through the joint efforts of the crew and passengers, some boats were able to be launched, but many people still found themselves in the icy water. Due to the strong roll of the ship, an anti-aircraft gun came off the deck and crushed one of the boats, already full of people.

About an hour after the attack, the Wilhelm Gustloff completely sank.

Dozens of rescue boats and rafts lowered from the decks floated around the sinking ship. Overloaded rafts are surrounded by people frantically clinging to them; one by one they drown in the icy water. Hundreds of dead children's bodies: life jackets keep them afloat, but the children's heads are heavier than their legs, and only their legs stick out of the water.

Captain Peterson was one of the first to leave the ship. A sailor who was in the same rescue boat with him would later say: “Not far from us, a woman was floundering in the water screaming for help. We pulled her into the boat, despite the captain’s cry of “Leave us alone, we are already overloaded!”

More than a thousand people were rescued by the escort ship and seven ships that arrived at the scene of the disaster. 70 minutes after the first torpedo exploded, Gustloff began to sink. At the same time, something incredible happens: during the dive, the lighting that failed during the explosion suddenly turns on, and the howl of sirens is heard. People look in horror at the devilish performance.

S-13 was lucky again: the only escort ship was busy rescuing people, and when it began to throw depth charges, the “For Stalin” torpedo was already neutralized, and the boat was able to leave.

One of the survivors, 18-year-old administrative trainee Heinz Schön, collected materials related to the history of the liner for more than half a century, and became a chronicler of the greatest ship disaster of all time. According to his calculations, on January 30 there were 10,582 people on board Gustlov, 9,343 died. For comparison: the disaster of the Titanic, which ran into an underwater iceberg in 1912, cost the lives of 1,517 passengers and crew members.

All four captains escaped. The youngest of them, by the name of Kohler, committed suicide shortly after the end of the war - he was broken by the fate of Gustloff.

The destroyer "Lion" (a former ship of the Dutch Navy) was the first to arrive at the scene of the tragedy and began rescuing the surviving passengers. Since in January the temperature was already −18 °C, there were only a few minutes left before irreversible hypothermia set in. Despite this, the ship managed to rescue 472 passengers from the lifeboats and from the water.
The guard ships of another convoy, the cruiser Admiral Hipper, which also, in addition to the crew, also had about 1,500 refugees on board, also came to the rescue.
Due to fear of attack from submarines, he did not stop and continued to retire to safe waters. Other ships (by “other ships” we mean the only destroyer T-38 - the sonar system did not work on the Lev, the Hipper left) managed to save another 179 people. A little more than an hour later, new ships that came to the rescue could only fish dead bodies from the icy water. Later, a small messenger ship that arrived at the scene of the tragedy unexpectedly found, seven hours after the sinking of the liner, among hundreds of dead bodies, an unnoticed boat and in it a living baby wrapped in blankets - the last rescued passenger of the Wilhelm Gustloff.

As a result, according to various estimates, from 1200 to 2500 people out of a little less than 11 thousand on board managed to survive. Maximum estimates place losses at 9,985 lives.

In Germany, the reaction to the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff at the time of the tragedy was rather restrained. The Germans did not disclose the scale of losses, so as not to worsen the morale of the population even further. In addition, at that moment the Germans suffered heavy losses in other places. However, after the end of the war, in the minds of many Germans, the simultaneous death of so many civilians and especially thousands of children on board the Wilhelm Gustloff remained a wound that even time did not heal. Along with the bombing of Dresden this tragedy remains one of the most terrible events of the Second World War for the German people.

Some German publicists consider the sinking of Gustlov a crime against civilians, the same as the bombing of Dresden. However, here is the conclusion made by the Institute of Maritime Law in Kiel: “Wilhelm Gustloff was a legitimate military target, there were hundreds of submarine specialists, anti-aircraft guns on it... There were wounded, but there was no status as a floating hospital. The German government on 11/11/44 declared the Baltic Sea an area of ​​​​military operations and ordered the destruction of everything that floats. The Soviet armed forces had the right to respond in kind."

Disaster researcher Heinz Schön concludes that the liner was a military target and its sinking was not a war crime, because:
ships intended for transporting refugees, hospital ships had to be marked with the appropriate signs - a red cross, could not wear camouflage colors, could not travel in the same convoy with military ships. They could not carry any military cargo, stationary or temporarily placed air defense guns, artillery pieces or other similar equipment on board.

"Wilhelm Gustloff" was a warship, being assigned to the navy and armed forces, on which six thousand refugees were allowed to board. The entire responsibility for their lives, from the moment they boarded the warship, lay with the appropriate officials of the German navy. Thus, the Gustloff was a legitimate military target of Soviet submariners, due to the following facts:

"Wilhelm Gustloff" was not an unarmed civilian ship: it had weapons on board that could be used to fight enemy ships and aircraft;
"Wilhelm Gustloff" was a training floating base for the German submarine fleet;
"Wilhelm Gustloff" was accompanied by a warship of the German fleet (destroyer "Lion");
Soviet transports with refugees and wounded during the war repeatedly became targets for German submarines and aircraft (in particular, motor ship "Armenia", sunk in 1941 in the Black Sea, was carrying more than 5 thousand refugees and wounded on board. Only 8 people survived. However, “Armenia”, like "Wilhelm Gustloff", violated the status of a medical ship and was a legitimate military target).

Unlike the lengthy search for the Titanic, finding the Wilhelm Gustloff was easy.
Its coordinates at the time of sinking turned out to be accurate, and the ship was at a relatively shallow depth - only 45 meters.
Mike Boring visited the wreck in 2003 and made a documentary about his expedition.
On Polish navigation maps the place is marked as "Obstacle No. 73"
In 2006, a bell recovered from a shipwreck and then used as decoration in a Polish seafood restaurant was exhibited at the Forced Paths exhibition in Berlin.

On March 2-3, 2008, a new television film was shown on the German channel ZDF called “Die Gustloff”

In 1990, 45 years after the end of the war, Marinesko was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Later recognition came thanks to the activities of the Marinesko Committee, which operated in Moscow, Leningrad, Odessa and Kaliningrad. In Leningrad and Kaliningrad, monuments were erected to the S-13 commander. A small museum of Russian submarine forces in the northern capital bears Marinesko’s name.

The IX-bis series submarine was laid down on October 19, 1938 at plant No. 112 (Krasnoe Sormovo) in Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod) under serial number 263. On April 25, 1939, the submarine was launched and on June 11, 1941, began its transition to the Baltic along the Mariininskaya water system in Leningrad. On June 22, 1941, the submarine met under the command of Senior Lieutenant P.P. Malanchenko as part of the Submarine Training Brigade. The beginning of the war found S-13 in the city of Voznesenye. On June 25, the submarine arrived in Leningrad.

Until July 31, the submarine underwent sea trials, and on August 14, 1941, it became part of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet. On August 30, S-13 was included in the 1st Division of the 1st Submarine Brigade of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet. The submarine was supposed to be relocated to the North, for which purpose the S-13 underwent dry-docking in the first half of September. The submarine was ready to move when the Germans blockaded Leningrad from land, and the S-13 remained in the Baltic.

Having safely wintered through the first winter of the siege in Leningrad, the S-13 set out on its first combat campaign to a position in the Gulf of Bothnia on September 2, 1942. This year, Soviet submarines have not yet penetrated this area. The commander of the 1st Submarine Division, Captain 2nd Rank E.G. Yunakov, went to ensure the trip to sea. To the diving point, the S-13 was accompanied by minesweepers and patrol boats. At 02.30 the escort left the submarine and it continued on its own. On the evening of September 3, at the Helsinki lighthouse, when the periscope was raised, the submarine was twice detected by an enemy patrol boat, which dropped seven depth charges on it. On the night of September 8, S-13 completed crossing the Gulf of Finland, and in the evening of the next day it entered the Åland Sea. On the afternoon of September 11, the submarine was in the Gulf of Bothnia, in which the enemy did not expect Soviet submarines to operate in the area. At the end of the current day, C-13 discovered the Finnish steamer "Gera" with a cargo of coal for Finland. The first torpedo passed by, and then the submarine opened artillery fire (thirteen 100 mm shells were fired). The transport stalled and, having received another torpedo, sank. Three hours later, the submarine sank the Finnish transport Ussi X, which was transporting piece cargo to Königsberg. Of the 22 crew members of the ship, only one sailor survived. While patrolling in a given area, the S-13 had several chances to sink enemy ships, but the attacks were thwarted due to personnel errors, and on the morning of September 17, when trying to attack the S-13, it was thrown into shallow water by a wave.

On the evening of September 17, S-13 fired a torpedo at the Dutch motor-sailing schooner Anna B, but the torpedo missed the target, and the ship dodged the second torpedo. The submarine's 100 mm gun fired 24 shells. After the transport caught fire, another torpedo was fired, passing under the bow of the ship. The burning schooner drifted to the shore, where six days later it was discovered completely burned out by the Finns, and was eventually dismantled. Five people on board the ship were killed in the attack by a submarine. Continuing patrols, C-13 repeatedly detected both single ships and enemy convoys, but the attacks were frustrated for various reasons. On October 4, the submarine launched a torpedo attack on the convoy, but was unsuccessful. On the evening of October 10, C-13 began returning to base. Off Vaindlo Island on October 15, the submarine was attacked by Finnish patrol boats VMV13 and VMV15. The submarine received damage from close explosions of depth charges: the gyrocompass and echo sounder were out of order, the vertical rudder was jammed at 28° to the left, several battery tanks were cracked, and sea water began to flow into the submarine through a knocked-out fitting on the depth gauge. S-13 lay down on the ground, where it carried out repairs for six hours at a depth of 60 meters.

It was never possible to put the rudder into operation, and the submarine had to travel the remaining part of its journey, controlled by electric motors. On the evening of October 17, towed by the boat MO-124 and minesweeper No. 34, the submarine was brought to Lavensari. On October 19, S-13 arrived safely in Kronstadt. On October 22, the submarine moved to Leningrad for repairs and wintering. For the successful combat campaign, ten people, including the commander and commander of the Division, were awarded the Order of Lenin, sixteen people - the Red Banner, eighteen - the Red Star and two submariners - the medal "For Courage".

On April 19, 1943, during artillery exercises, the closing of the fender cover of the first shots accidentally hit the capsule of one of the shells. The gunpowder in the cartridge exploded, killing one Red Navy man. The result of the incident "for negligent performance of official duties" responsibilities", was the removal of the S-13 commander P.P. Malanchenko from his position. Captain 3rd Rank A.I. Marinesko, who previously commanded the submarine M-96, was appointed commander of the submarine S-13.

On October 1, 1944, S-13 left Kronstadt and on the morning of October 8 took up a position north of the Hel Peninsula. The next morning, 25 miles northeast of the Riksfest lighthouse, the coaster Zigfrid was discovered, which, due to an unsuccessful torpedo attack, was damaged by artillery (thirty-nine 100-mm and fifteen 45-mm shells were fired) and washed up on a sandbank near the Hel Spit. On October 13, the submarine received orders to redeploy to Cape Brewsteror. On October 11, 15 and 21, the S-13 acoustician recorded the noise of enemy ships three times, but it did not lead to attacks.

On October 21, S-13 moved to Vindava, but four days later an order was received during daylight hours to be on the southwestern approaches to Lyu Bay (Saaremaa Island) - in the area from where Krigsmarine heavy ships bombed Soviet units on October 24 Syrve Peninsula. A.I. Marinesko remained in the bay even in the dark. Taking into account the fact that at this moment the situation on the island had temporarily stabilized, and the enemy cruisers did not appear, not a single target for attack could be found. On November 11, 1944, S-13 moored at the Hanko piers, in early December she was docked in Helsinki, after which she was at Hanko from December 22. Noting the courage of A.I. Marinesko, shown during the Zigfrid artillery attack, the commander of the Submarine Brigade, Verkhovsky, was still dissatisfied with the passivity in detecting noises and improper organization of the search, so he gave only a satisfactory rating for the campaign. A.I. Marinesko was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

Soon, due to the behavior of the commander of S-13, the question of bringing him before a military tribunal arose. The political report stated: “...twice, without the permission of the Division commander, I went to the city of Hanko, where I drank and had relationships with Finnish women...”.

The matter reached the commander of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet, who decided to hold a trial after returning from the next campaign.

The subsequent political report wrote: “...the decision to provide Captain 3rd Rank A.I. Marinesko with the opportunity to go to sea before his case was examined in court, as the result of the Combat Campaign shows, justified itself. The commander of the S-13 submarine at the position acted boldly, calmly, decisively, looked for the enemy boldly and competently.”

The S-13 set out on its third combat mission on January 11, 1945 and was in position between the Riksheft lighthouse and Kolberg from the evening of January 13th. By this time, the enemy had managed to establish anti-submarine defense of their communications, but the activity shown by A.I. Marinesko should have led to success. After several unsuccessful attempts to attack convoys, which failed due to the danger of collision with escort ships or stormy weather. On the evening of January 30, in the area of ​​​​the Hela lighthouse, a meeting took place with a large liner - “Vilgelm Gustlov”. Acoustic foreman 2 articles I.M. Shpantsev caught the noise of the propellers and reported to the central post: “To the left 160 degrees - the noise of the propellers of a large ship!” A.I. Marinesko got his bearings instantly: he assessed the situation and turned the S-13 towards the enemy. Soon the acoustician reported: “The bearing is quickly changing to the bow!” - the target was moving to the west, and quickly; it was impossible to keep up with it in a submerged position.

At the Central Post the commander’s command was heard: “To ascend!” A.I. Marinesko decided to attack the enemy from the surface and from the shore. Pressing close to the shore, S-13 took the same course as the enemy and went after the liner. In addition to the commander of the submarine, the commander of the navigational combat unit, captain-lieutenant N.Ya. Redkoborodov, and senior Red Navy man A.Ya. Vinogradov were on the bridge.

In cold weather and in pitch darkness, the pursuit lasted about 2 hours. There were times when the S-13 reached speeds of more than 16 knots. The commander of the electromechanical combat unit, Lieutenant Commander Ya.S. Kovalenko and his subordinates at these moments squeezed everything out of the main engine, but the distance to the target did not decrease. Then A.I. Marinesko called the commander of the warhead 5 upstairs and ordered to develop an accelerated speed at least for a while. And only when the speed reached 19 knots did the distance begin to shorten.

The incoming snow charges at times obscured the target. Having caught up with her, the S-13 made a sharp turn to the right and entered the Combat Course. The command followed down: “The first, second, third and fourth torpedo tubes - “Go!”, and at 23 hours 8 minutes the command followed: “Fire!”; there were only five cables to the target. Less than a minute later, three powerful explosions were heard. From the bridge we saw one torpedo explode in the area of ​​the foremast, another in the middle part of the ship, and the third under the mainmast. The fourth torpedo did not exit the apparatus. The liner "Wilhelm Gustlow" with a displacement of more than 25,000 tons, with a trim on the bow and a large list to the left side, began to sink, and a few minutes later sank. Half an hour later, four German patrol ships, a destroyer and two minesweepers appeared and began to rescue the passengers. Two patrol boats and a minesweeper began searching for the submarine; their searchlights, probing the darkness, searched for the S-13. Soon depth charges began to explode. A.I. Marinesko, instead of going out to sea to great depths, turned to the shore and lay down on the ground.

The progress of the attack in the ship's documents is reflected as follows:

The only escort of the liner, the destroyer “Leve,” at the time of the pursuit and attack, was far behind the stern of the liner and immediately began rescuing passengers; the destroyer T-36, which joined later, dropped twelve depth charges to prevent the S-13 from going on the attack again.

Until recently, it was believed that 406 of the 918 sailors and officers of the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Submarine Training Division, 91 of the 173 crew members, 246 of the 373 Grigsmarine women and about 4,600 of the 5,100 refugees and wounded, but after 1997, the leading German researcher of the death of the Vilgelm Gustlov, H. Schön, who was a passenger assistant to the captain of the liner in 1945, once again changed the number of deaths. Referring to the sworn testimony of the former sanitary chief V. Terres, he stated that the liner took not just over 5,000 refugees, as previously thought, but about 9,000, which increases the number of those killed along with the ship from approximately 6,000 to 9,300 , and officially today the Germans provide exactly this data.

S-13 continued cruising and on February 3, while attempting to attack, she was attacked by an enemy patrol boat. On February 6, the C-13 was fired upon by a German submarine.
On February 10, 45 miles north of the Yaroslavets lighthouse, A.I. Marinesko discovered the large transport “General Shtoiben”, which was escorting a destroyer and a torpedo boat with its running lights extinguished.

Its escort consisted of the T-196 destroyer and TF-10 torpedo boats. For four hours, A.I. Marinesko maneuvered, knowing about the presence of the enemy thanks to the acoustic station, and observed him only for the last forty minutes. It was necessary to pursue “General Steuben” at speeds from 12 to 18 knots. Due to interference from the guards, the salvo was fired from a distance of 12 cables from the stern torpedo tubes, and, nevertheless, both torpedoes hit the target.

The progress of this attack is reflected in the documents as follows:

At the time of the torpedoing, the General Shtoiben was carrying 2,680 Wehrmacht troops, one hundred soldiers, about 900 refugees, 270 Krigsmarine medical personnel and 285 crew members (of which 125 were military personnel). 659 people were saved.

On February 15, the C-13 arrived in Turku. Five days later, the Red Banner Baltic Fleet command knew for sure about the sinking of the submarine Vilgelm Gustlov, since the description of the torpedoed liner exactly coincided with its photograph published in the Finnish newspaper. As a result of the successful conduct of two attacks, A.I. Marinesko became the most effective submariner of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Navy. In the conclusion drawn up on the Combat Campaign, the Division commander, Captain 1st Rank A.E. Orel, wrote: “1. In position he acted boldly, calmly and decisively, looking for the enemy actively and competently. 2. At 21.10. On January 30, he discovered a liner with a displacement of 18-20 thousand tons, attacked at 23.08 and sank it with a three-torpedo salvo. 3. On February 9 at 22.15, the ShP detected the noise of a large twin-screw ship. Skillfully using acoustics, he determined the enemy’s direction of movement and approached him at high speed. Having approached, I visually clearly established that a light cruiser of the Emden type was moving, guarding three destroyers in a night order. At 2.50 on February 10, he attacked astern, fired two torpedoes at intervals, and observed torpedo hits...” In his conclusions regarding the results of this campaign, the Division commander noted the following: “The submarine commander, Captain 3rd Rank Marinesko, for the sinking of the Vilgelm Gustlov liner with a large number of German submariners and the sinking of the Emden-class light cruiser deserves the highest government award - the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.”

But the command of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet demanded confirmation of the reconnaissance, and without it, the sinking of the liner and transport resulted in the following: captain 3rd rank A.I. Marinesko, captain-lieutenants L.P. Efremenkov, N.Ya. Redkoborodov, K.E. Vasilenko, engineer Lieutenant Ya.S. Kovalenko, midshipmen P.N. Nabolov and N.S. Toropov were awarded the Order of the Red Banner. The Order of the Patriotic War, 1st degree, was awarded to lieutenant engineer P.A. Kravtsov, midshipman V.I. Pospelov, foremen of the 2nd article A.N. Volkov, V.A. Kurochkin, A.G. Pikhur, Order of the Patriotic War 2nd degree - senior Red Navy men I.M. Antipov, A.Ya. Vinogradov. On April 20, 1945, the S-13 submarine became Red Banner.

The S-13 went on its last combat mission on April 20, 1945. It occupied a position south of Gotland, on the Libau-Swinemünde communication line, then north of Stolpemünde, and starting on the night of May 8, northwest of Libau. It was never possible to launch an attack; the S-13 itself became the target of attack by German submarines and aircraft four times.

On May 23, 1945, the S-13 returned to base. After the war, the submarine S-13 served in the Baltic. On September 7, 1954, the S-13 was withdrawn from combat service, disarmed and converted into a floating Combat Training Room of the 2nd Higher Naval School (October 6, 1954 it received the name “KBP-38”). On March 23, 1956, KBP-38 was transferred to the group of floating craft of the Navy Research Institute No. 11.

On December 17, 1956, the submarine S-13 was excluded from the lists of ships of the USSR Navy and was handed over for dismantling. The S-13 submarine made 4 combat cruises: 09/02/1942 – 10/19/1942; 01.10.1944 – 11.11.1944; 01/11/1945 – 02/15/1945; 04/20/1945 – 05/23/1945. Sank 5 transports (44,138 GRT), damaged 1 (563 GRT): 09/11/1942 TR "Gera" (1,379 GRT); 09/11/1942 TR “Ussi X” (2.325 GRT); 09/17/1942 TR “Anna B” (290 GRT); 01/30/1945 TR “Vilgelm Gustlov” (25.484 GRT) 02/10/1945; TR "General Shtoiben" (14.660 GRT), damaged the trawler "Zigfrid" (563 GRT).

Tactiko -TtechnicalDdata

submarine

WITH-13 :

Displacement: surface/underwater - 837/1084.5 tons. Dimensions: length 77.7 meters, width 6.4 meters, draft 4.35 meters. Speed: surface/underwater - 19.8/8.9 knots. Cruising range: above water 8170 miles at 9.7 knots, under water 140 miles at 2.9 knots. Powerplant: 2 diesel engines of 2000 hp each, 2 electric motors of 550 hp each. Armament: 4 bow + 2 stern 533 mm torpedo tubes (12 torpedoes), one 100 mm, one 45 mm gun. Immersion depth: up to 100 meters. Crew: 46 people.

Baltic Sea, Bay of Danzig, evening of January 30, 1945. Storm. Temperature - 18C, snow flurries, fierce gusts of wind.

From the Nazi liner Wilhelm Gustloff, a minesweeper is spotted walking between the ship and the shore. In response to the semaphore request “Who are you?” in response they signaled with a salty word... On the liner they realized that they were theirs! Obviously, the minesweeper or boat decided to take refuge from the storm behind the bulk of the Gustloff...

On the liner and in a bad dream, they could not imagine that it was the Soviet submarine "S-13" under the command of third-rank captain A.I. Marinesko. In the night, in the foamy breakers, looking like a German minesweeper or boat, heading out on the combat course of the “Attack of the Century”...

"Wilhelm Gusloff" - a symbol of the greatness of the Third Reich

In 1933, the National Socialist German Workers' Party NSDAP came to power in Germany with Fuhrer Adolf Hitler. The party was slyly called "socialist workers", which emphasized the "classless character" of the Nazi regime. One of the areas of its activity was the creation of a broad system of social security and services for the common people, which would make it possible to increase the base of support for Nazi policies among the German population. To spread the influence of Nazi ideas and organize leisure activities for the working class, an organization such as “Strength through Joy” was created, which was part of the German Labor Front. The main goal of this organization was to create a system of recreation and travel for German workers. To realize this goal, among other things, a whole flotilla of passenger ships was built to provide cheap travel and cruises. The flagship of this fleet was to be a new comfortable airliner, which the authors of the project planned to name after the Fuhrer - “Adolf Hitler”.

When in 1937 the cruise liner, ordered from the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg, was ready for launch, on Hitler’s initiative, the Nazi leadership decided to name the liner after the “hero of the National Socialist cause and suffering for the German people” Wilhelm Gustloff - "Wilhelm Gustloff" The background is as follows: at the beginning of February 1936, in Davos, the previously little-known Swiss NSDAP activist Wilhelm Gustloff, a little-known but very frenzied Nazi and admirer of Hitler, was killed by a Jewish anti-fascist medical student, David Frankfurter. He said: “If for the sake of Hitler it is necessary to kill my wife, then I will do it without delay.” The story of his death gained scandalous publicity, especially in Germany, given the nationality of the killer. In the light of the propaganda of the ideas of National Socialism, the murder of a German, moreover, the leader of the National Socialists of Switzerland, became an ideal confirmation of the Nazi conspiracy theory of world Jewry against the German people. From one of the ordinary leaders of foreign Nazis, Wilhelm Gustloff turned into a “symbol of suffering.” He was buried with state honors, in his honor numerous rallies were held throughout Germany, which were skillfully exploited by state propaganda, and they decided to name the liner after him. At the ceremonial launching of the liner in Hamburg on May 5, 1937, in addition to the main leaders of the Nazi regime, Adolf Hitler, Gustloff’s widow also arrived, and at the ceremony, according to tradition, “for good luck,” she broke a bottle of champagne on the side of the liner. The liner was “baptized” by Hitler personally and at the banquet raised a toast: “To a great Germany.” Thousands and thousands of people listened in fascination and applauded, exploding with cries of delight, when the Fuhrer spoke hysterically, sometimes falling silent, sometimes breaking into a squeal, against the backdrop of a snow-white airliner from a podium covered with red material in a white circle, where a swastika was ominously writhing. “It will be a paradise for fighters for Greater Germany!” said Hitler. And then the sounds of a march rushed from many loudspeakers: “Germany, Germany above all! From the Elbe to Memel, from the Meuse to the Adige”!..

High party officials, representatives of the SS, SA, SD - security assault detachments of the Nazi party - went on the first voyage to the Canary Islands.

It was a nine-deck modern tourist liner with a displacement of 25,484 tons, a length of 208 meters with theaters, restaurants, winter gardens, cinemas, a swimming pool, a gym, with 1,500 identical comfortable cabins and personal apartments for Adolf Hitler.

In addition to her cruise activities, the Wilhelm Gustloff remained a state-owned ship and was involved in various activities carried out by the German government. So on May 20, 1939, "Wilhelm Gustloff" for the first time transported troops - German volunteers of the Condor Legion, who took part in the Spanish Civil War on the side of Franco and distinguished themselves by the massacres of the civilian population of Spain. The arrival of the ship in Hamburg with “war heroes” on board caused a great stir throughout Germany. A special welcoming ceremony was held at the port with the participation of state leaders.

During the war, "Gustloff" became a hospital, and then a training base for a higher school of submariners. The German naval flag was raised on it, anti-aircraft guns were installed, and the liner was repainted in the colors of the Navy. Since 1940, it has been converted into a floating barracks. Used as a training vessel for the 2nd Submarine Training Division in the port of Gotenhafen (Gdynia) Poland.

In the second half of 1944, the front approached East Prussia, the lair of German militarism. The Germans had certain reasons to fear revenge from the Red Army - for the murder of millions of Soviet civilians, the gigantic destruction in the occupied territories of the Soviet Union, the incalculable suffering that German fascism brought to our country.

In October 1944, the Red Army entered the territory of East Prussia. The first German city captured by Soviet troops was Nemmersdorf (now the village of Mayakovskoye, Kaliningrad region). A few days later, the Germans managed to recapture the city for a while, and the Nazi propaganda of the shrunken Aryan Goebbels poured gasoline on the fire - depicted the “horrors of the Soviet offensive”, began a wide campaign to “expose Soviet atrocities”, accusing Soviet soldiers of the massacres of children, women, and the elderly , rape, destruction - which was, naturally, absolute nonsense. In fact, the Nazis used special SS units, groups of traitors from Soviet prisoners of war, Bandera punitive forces, who attacked German farms, killing the local population. Then representatives of the Red Cross and journalists from neutral countries were called in to testify to the world community about the “horrors” allegedly committed by the Red Army. By spreading such propaganda, the Nazis achieved their goal - the number of volunteers in the Volkssturm militia increased, the desperate resistance of Wehrmacht soldiers to the advancing units of the Red Army increased significantly. However, the propaganda also led to increased hysteria and panic among the civilian population. As the front approached, millions of people became refugees, leaving their homes and rushing to the West. At the beginning of the second ten days of January, the Red Army launched a powerful offensive along the entire Central Front two weeks earlier than scheduled (in response to W. Churchill’s request). As a result of the offensive in the Danzig-Konigsberg area, a powerful group of German troops was pressed to the sea, which included up to 580 thousand soldiers and officers, up to 200 thousand Volkssturmists. It was armed with 8,200 guns and mortars, about 700 tanks and assault guns, and 515 aircraft. Troops under the command of Marshals of the Soviet Union A.M. Vasilevsky, K.K. Rokosovsky (3rd and 2nd Belorussian Fronts) under the 43rd Army of the 1st Belorussian Front I.Kh. Bagramyan and the Baltic Fleet Admiral V.F. .Tributsa squeezed this group from all sides.

At Headquarters, Hitler convenes a meeting on January 20, 1945, at which a decision is made to evacuate everything possible from Danzig by sea. Thus began the special operation "Hannibal", proposed by the commander of the German Navy, Grand Admiral K. Dennitz, which went down in history as the largest evacuation by sea in history. During this operation, almost 2 million people were evacuated to Germany - on large ships like the Wilhelm Gustloff, as well as on bulk carriers, tugs, and warships.

At the meeting, K. Dennitz was given the task of concentrating as many marine transport vehicles as possible in Danzing Bay. The Wehrmacht SS units will ensure the loading of the most “valuable personnel” found in Danzig, secret documentation, secret samples of weapons, equipment, and parts for them. Hitler issues an order that clearly defines who should be evacuated from Danzig first: submarine crews who have completed a full course of training, “civilians” of the naval base garrison, family members of the leadership. Simultaneously with the Wilhelm Gustloff, several more heavy-duty ships were supposed to go to sea, loaded to capacity, since the German transport fleet in the Baltic suffered heavy losses from attacks by Soviet aviation, submariners, and boats.

At a meeting of representatives of the fleet and civilian authorities on January 27, the captain of the Wilhelm Gustloff announced Hitler's order for loading. This is what V.S. Gemanov, who did a lot of research work on the history of the C-13, writes in his book “Feat C13”. “The first to be loaded into the cabins were the “birds” of a special flight: officers in black uniforms and caps with skulls on high crowns. From the concentration camps - Stutthof, Majdanek, Auschwitz. Every now and then the brakes of passenger cars stopping in front of the ramp squeal. local Fuhrers and Gauleiters from East Prussia and Pomerania, generals in gray-blue greatcoats with red satin lapels and fur collars. Behind each of them, orderlies and adjutants carry suitcases, boxes, bales. Surely they contain “battle trophies” - paintings and gold watches , rings and precious stones, priceless museum lace and furs, the finest porcelain sets.

Heeled boots rattled rhythmically on the stones of the embankment. The wind blew open the skirts of their black greatcoats. Silver chevrons on the sleeves and twisted cords hanging from the shoulders sparkled. Well-fed, red-cheeked, strong guys clearly kept alignment in the ranks; there were the favorites of Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz - the submariners!"

This was the color of the fascist German submarine fleet (Kriegsmarine) - 3,700 people, crews for 100 of the latest submarines. Submarines with new hydro- and acoustic devices, new self-launching torpedoes, ready for a complete blockade of England.

“Legends circulated about submariners - incorrigible bullies and revelers. What legends are there! Dry reports from the commandant’s office quite colorfully described the fairly frequent “meetings” of submariners with Wehrmacht soldiers, usually ending in grandiose massacres. Most often, such brawls broke out in nightclubs over girls. The police and patrol officers were always on the side of the submariners. Everything was allowed to them! The Fuhrer favored them. It was not for nothing that the tradition introduced during the First World War took root again: when submariners entered theaters and cinemas, restaurants and bars, all those present had to stand up."

400 women from the auxiliary naval battalion "CC" tapped their heels on the pier towards the gangplanks. Women's CC units from concentration camps. As the liner was loading, cars with red crosses drove up to it. According to intelligence data, bandaged dummies were loaded onto the liner. Boxes with loot. Everyone who witnessed the loading claimed that among those who arrived on the liner there were an absolute minority of people in civilian clothes. And there are only a few civilian refugees: women, children, old people. Every single one of them was allowed onto the liner through the cordon of SS men and machine gunners only with special passes. The panic and commotion in the port was unimaginable, refugees - women with children, old people - everyone was trying to get on ships going to Germany. To divert attention from the nobility, a number of wounded, refugees, and women and children were also loaded onto the Gustloff. There were over 7 thousand people on the ship.

Already at the exit from the port of Gdynia, when on January 30, four tugboats began to take the liner out to sea, it was surrounded by small ships with refugees, and some of the people were taken on board. Distraught women, terrified by Nazi Goebbels propaganda, gave their children to the liner. There were about 10,000 people on board. According to other sources, up to 11,000.

The captain of the "Wilhelm Gustloff" was the most experienced "sea wolf" - sea captain Friedrich Peterson. However, despite the experience of the captain and his senior mate, the commander of the naval forces in the Baltic sent two more experienced captains to the ship. In January 1945, Corvetten-Captain Wilhelm Zahn, one of the leaders of the submarine training division, an experienced submarine commander, who accounted for several tens of thousands of tons of sunk ships, was appointed commander of the convoy and military captain of the liner. (It was V. Zahn who, on Hitler’s orders, would be shot after the sinking of the S-13 Wilhelm Gustloff.)

During the transition between the highest ranks on the liner, a conflict broke out. Some suggested going in zigzags, constantly changing course, throwing Soviet submarines off the scent. Others believed that there was no need to be afraid of boats - the Baltic was filled with mines, hundreds of German ships were cruising at sea, and one should be afraid of airplanes. Therefore, they suggested going directly, at full speed, in order to quickly avoid the danger zone. The weather was consistent with the decision made.

Storm 6 points. Periodically whipping snow whirlwinds. Complete darkness. Occasionally the moon peeks through the clouds, the temperature is -18C degrees. The liner was able to reach speeds of up to 15 knots.

Submariner from God. "C-13"

At that moment, the Soviet submarine S-13 was cruising at a position near Danzig Bay in search of a target. A radiogram was received from the Main Command: “To submarine captains at sea. The rapid advance of the Red Army, which has Danzig as one of its operational directions, is forcing the enemy to begin evacuating the Königsberg area in the coming days. In this regard, we must expect a sharp increase in traffic in the Danzig Bay area.” .

The submarine was commanded by captain 3rd rank Alexander Ivanovich Marinesko.

Born in Odessa. Father, Iona Marinescu, Romanian, served in the Romanian Royal Navy. Once he beat an officer for humiliation, after which he had to flee to Russia. He changed his last name in the Ukrainian manner and became Marinesko. He married an Odessa woman. Alexander Ivanovich himself was an excellent swimmer. He began going to sea at the age of thirteen as a sailor's apprentice.

At the school of cabin boys, as the best, his training period was shortened and, without exams, he was transferred to the Odessa naval ship. He sailed on the ships of the Black Sea Shipping Company "Ilyich" and "Red Fleet" as a sailor, then became the 2nd mate. In the USSR Navy since 1933. Komsomolets. In 1934, he completed special courses for Navy command personnel, after which he was appointed commander of the warhead-1 on the submarine Shch-306. In 1938, a graduate of the Underwater Diving Training Unit named after S.M. Kirov. Since November 1938, VRID assistant commander on the submarine "L-1" ("Leninets"). In May 1939, he was appointed commander of the M-96, a Malyutka-class submarine that had not yet been commissioned. Member of the CPSU(B) since 1944. At sea, he acted contrary to all the laws of underwater warfare and even logic. He acted boldly, assertively, inventively, on the verge of risk, moving away from templates. This illogicality contained the highest logic of his victories.

“My father was full of character, very independent, he did not offend himself or his subordinates,” said Marinesko’s daughter, Leonora Marinesko. “As a child, I remember he was very strict. But also kind. If he punished, it was to the point!”

The sailors of all the crews he had to command called him Batya.

Back in 1940, the Malyutka, under the command of Marinesko, set a diving speed record, carried out torpedo firing more successfully than anyone else, and was recognized as the best in the Baltic.

On the "Malyutka" Marinesko sinks a German transport with a displacement of 7,000 tons and is awarded the Order of Lenin. Lands reconnaissance groups from submarines on the enemy coast. There would have been much more victories, but from the autumn of 1941 to 1944, Soviet submarines were blocked by minefields, network obstacles, in besieged Kronstadt and Leningrad. Attempts to break the underwater blockade led to large losses of submarines. At this time, the participation of submarines in the war in the Baltic was greatly limited.

In 1944, Marinesko was appointed to command the more powerful submarine S-13, which was almost twice as large and powerful as the Malyutka. RKKF class "C" (Medium) submarines take their history from 1932, when Soviet submarine specialists in the Dutch Hague at the design bureau "Ingeneer Kontor Vor Shiffbau" of the German company "Deschimag Weser", which was engaged in the design and supervision of the construction of the submarine, ordered design a submarine according to our tactical and technical order. Germany, according to the Treaty of Versailles, did not have the right to engage in the production of submarines on its territory and therefore designed and built submarines for the fleets of other states abroad. The most experienced and talented design engineers in Germany worked in the bureau.

In terms of their performance characteristics, class "C" submarines were modern for their time.

Surface displacement - 837 tons, underwater - 1090 tons. Length - 777m.

Width - 64m. The main mechanisms are 2 diesel engines with a total power of 4000 l/s and 2 electric motors with a total power of 1100 l/s. Two screws. The full fuel supply is 40 tons. Surface speed up to 19.5 knots, underwater speed up to 8.7 knots. Cruising range up to 8200 miles. Submerged up to 139 miles. Immersion depth - 100 meters. Immersion time - 40 seconds. Armament - 4 533 mm bow torpedo tubes, two stern. A total of 12 torpedoes. One 100 mm gun, 200 rounds. One 45 mm gun - 500 rounds.

Time spent under water is 72 hours. Maximum autonomy up to 45 days. Crew - 6 officers, 16 foremen, 21 ordinary sailors.

The submarine "S-13" was laid down on October 19, 1938 at the Krasnoye Sormovo plant in Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod), entered service on August 14, 1941, and the naval flag was raised on it. Joined the KBF. Operated on enemy communications in the Baltic Sea. Made 4 military campaigns. Made 12 attacks with the release of 19 torpedoes. Having sunk the Finnish transport "HERA" (1379 GRT) on 09/11/1942, the Finnish steamer "Jussi H" (2325 GRT) on 09/12/1942, the liner "Wilhelm Gustlov" (25484 GRT) on 01/30/1945, 02/10/1945 transport "General Steuben" (1466 brt), damaging the Dutch steamship "Anna W" (290 brt) on 09/18/1942 and the transport "Siegfried" (563 brt) on 10/09/1944. 04/20/1945 awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

Let the noble rage...

But let's return to what happened on January 30, 1945. On the Gustloff they receive a radiogram that minesweepers are coming to meet him, clearing the fairway of mines. So that the minesweepers could determine the location of the liner, they decided to turn on the lights on it for a few minutes.

When the commander of the Soviet submarine "S-13", an experienced naval "wolfhound" A.I. Marinesko, who was on the surface, saw the "Wilhelm Gustloff", he realized that this goal should not be missed under any circumstances. It was clear that those who were running on it were those under whom the earth was burning, who were up to the very top in the blood of the peoples of the USSR and Poland. He ordered the dive and the command to attack. Acoustic foreman 2 articles I.M. Shpantsev, picking up the noise of the propellers, reported to the central post: “The bearing is quickly changing to the bow!” The target was moving to the west. It was impossible to attack from a very acute angle. Marinesko developed a daring plan of attack, bordering on madness. While submerged, the boat crossed the liner's course behind its stern, surfaced and went between the shore and the Gustloff, catching up with transport. Usually submarines of that time were unable to catch up with surface ships, but Captain Petersen was sailing 15 knots slower than the design speed, given the significant overcrowding of passengers and uncertainty regarding the condition of the ship after many years of inactivity and repairs after the bombing damaged the hull. At first glance, indeed, only a suicide could have pursued the liner on the surface, between the shore with its coastal batteries, minefields, in shallow water, where the depth did not exceed 30 meters on a 77-meter-long submarine, cut off from the sea by convoy ships.

But no - the cold mind, the clear calculation of the experienced submariner Wolfhound Marinesko. He clearly understood that if the Germans were expecting danger, it would only be from the sea or from the sky. Who among them would think that a Soviet submarine would attack from the shore? A feeling of revenge and excitement captured the entire crew. A winged rumor flew from compartment to compartment: “We have found a large airliner! We are going on the attack! Tell the commander: “Ready for any test!” Ready to take risks! Ready to die!" Enormous tension reigned on the S-13. In order to catch up with the liner and take a position for a torpedo salvo, it was necessary to squeeze maximum power out of the diesel engines in forced mode. The mechanics and mechanical engineer Ya.S. Kovalenko worked in hellish conditions . At the limit of human physical capabilities. In a terrible roar, temperatures above 60C, in the soot of exhaust gases, burnt oil, their naked torsos in sweat were instantly covered with soot. Those who fainted were immediately replaced by sailors from other warheads of the boat. The crew provided the submarine with maximum speed in 19 knots. The risk was huge, the diesel engines could fail, the waves could overwhelm and capsize the boat. But the commander relied on his subordinates, and they relied on him and believed in him. The chase lasted two hours.

The Germans were not new to the sea, we must pay tribute: their watch observers saw the boat, but in the foamy breakers in a submerged position it looked quite like a minesweeper or a boat whose captain decided to hide from the storm behind a powerful liner. In response to a semaphore request - “Who are you?” Marinesko, without being confused, ordered the signalman Ivan Antipov, an experienced sailor and fighter who had fought both on land and at sea, near Riga and Libau, to respond to the request in any word. He immediately responded with a salty swear word... From the liner - a long “dash”, which meant “Got it!” As already mentioned, the Germans mistook the submarine for their minesweeper.

By 21.00 "C-13" caught up with the airliner. From the surface position at a distance of less than 1000 m at 21:04 she fired the first torpedo with the inscription “For the Motherland”, then “For the Soviet people” and “For Leningrad”. The fourth, already cocked, torpedo got stuck in the torpedo tube and almost exploded, but it was neutralized.

At 21:16 the first torpedo hit the bow of the ship, later the second blew up the swimming pool where the women of the CC naval auxiliary battalion were located, and the last hit the engine room. The first thought of the passengers was that they had run into a mine, but Captain Peterson realized from the roar of one explosion after another that it was a submarine, and his first words were “Das war’s” (That’s all).

The noble rage of the Soviet people, accumulated in torpedoes collected in factories by women and children, for destroyed and burned cities and villages, for mass murder and torture, incalculable suffering, tore the Krupp steel of the side of the liner to shreds. Thousands of tons of icy Baltic water roared, furiously boiling, seething foam, poured into the transport, filling the compartments, sweeping away everything in its path. The booming explosions of torpedoes and the roar of water rushing inside, clearly audible in the submarine compartments, were a rewarding musical victory march for Soviet submariners. Those passengers who did not die from the three explosions and did not drown in the cabins on the lower decks rushed to the lifeboats in panic. At that moment, it turned out that by ordering the watertight compartments in the lower decks to be closed, according to the instructions, the captain had accidentally blocked part of the team, which was supposed to lower the boats and evacuate passengers. Therefore, in the panic and stampede, not only many children and women died, but also many of those who climbed to the upper deck. Furious senior officers broke through to the top, splitting the skulls of their subordinates with the handles of their pistols. Some shot their families, shot themselves, realizing that there would be no salvation in the icy water. Those who were stronger climbed up in a merciless crush, pushed away, crushed the weaker ones, exposing the rabid bestial essence of German Nazism. They couldn’t lower the lifeboats on the upper deck because they didn’t know how to do it, and besides, many of the boats were iced over, and the ship was already listing heavily. Those who found themselves on the icy deck rolled into the sea, frantically clinging to each other. Through the joint efforts of the crew and passengers, some boats were able to be launched, but many people still found themselves in the icy water. Due to the strong roll of the ship, an anti-aircraft gun came off the deck and crushed one of the boats, already full of people. For unknown reasons, all the lights on the liner turned on, and the ship's siren howled. It is possible that this is exactly what “Dante’s Inferno” looked like in what was happening on the symbol of the German Reich “Wilhelm Gutsloff” going under the water. So, under the wild roar of the siren, full of illumination, the liner sank under the water.

The convoy ships opened heavy anti-aircraft fire, deciding that the ships were being attacked by planes.

The destroyer Lowe was the first to arrive at the scene of the tragedy and began rescuing the surviving passengers. Later, coast guard ships joined him... Since the temperature in January was already 18 °C, there were only a few minutes left before irreversible hypothermia set in. Despite this, the ship managed to rescue 472 passengers from the lifeboats and from the water. The guard ships of another convoy, the cruiser Admiral Hipper, also came to the rescue, which, in addition to the crew, also had about 1,500 refugees on board. Due to fear of attack from submarines, he did not stop and continued to retire to safe waters. The T-38 destroyer saved another 179 people. A little more than an hour later, new ships that came to the rescue could only fish dead bodies from the icy water.

As a result, according to various estimates, from 1000 to 2000 people out of 11 thousand on board survived. Maximum estimates place losses at 9,985 lives.

The death of the liner alarmed the entire Nazi Reich. Three days of national mourning were declared in the country. Hitler included Marinesko on the list of his personal enemies.

A special commission was hastily created to investigate the circumstances of the ship's sinking. The Fuhrer had something to lament. More than six thousand members of the military elite and submarine crews who evacuated from Danzig died on the liner.

For some time after the torpedoes hit the liner, those on the bridge of the C-13 observed the agony of the transport. Marinesko ordered the dive, heading for the torpedoed ship, believing that the German ships would not bomb the boat among the sinking fascists scattered around the ship. The destroyers, having arrived at the supposed location of the boat, slowed down, some of them stopped moving and began listening to the noise of the boat with sonar devices in passive mode, trying to detect it in the active operation mode of sonar stations.

Marinesko, with his head in his hands, listened attentively to acoustician foreman 2 articles I.M. Shpantseva. The life of the submariners now depended on his hearing. The commander gave clear commands to the crew.

Acousticist report: “Left 170 - noise of propellers. Destroyer! Right 100 - noise of propellers. Patrol ship! Left 150 - noise of propellers. Destroyer! Right 140 - patrol ship! Directly ahead - sonar transmissions"... It seemed that everything - the boat was taken in pincers! You can’t escape maneuverable, high-speed ASW ships: shallow water, on one side the shore, on the other - a semi-ring of enemy ships. The semi-ring shrinks and closes, turning into a ring of about ten ASW ships. In this seemingly hopeless situation, Marinesko, who perfectly knows the tactics of German anti-aircraft submarines, finds a way out - he directs the boat to where the explosions of depth charges occurred. The water stirred up by explosions, mixed with mud, silt, sand from the bottom of the sea, and air bubbles, formed a powerful “protective curtain” - a wall impenetrable to ultrasonic waves of sonars. And through the many “walls” that had formed, the boat again went at low speed towards the sunken liner.

The boat either froze and slowly crept like a tiger on the hunt, then, like an arrow, it took off from its place, onto which depth charges immediately rained down.

So, maneuvering with speed, course, depth, under furious bombing for 4 hours, the “S-13” managed to break away from its pursuers, reach depth and lie down on the ground.

"21 hours 55 minutes. An airliner was detected on a parallel course.

22 hours 55 minutes. Elements of target movement have been established: course 280, speed 15 knots, displacement 18-20 thousand tons.

23 h.04 min. We went on combat course 15.

23 h.08 min. A three-torpedo salvo to the left side (from the shore) from bow torpedo tubes No. 1,2,4 from a distance of 2.5-3 kbt.

23h.09 min. A minute later - explosions of three torpedoes. The liner began to sink.

23 hours 26 minutes The acoustician hears the operation of the SPD.

23 hours 45 minutes The pursuit began.

In total, the PLO ships dropped 250 depth charges. The squares of the sea where the boat was located were literally plowed.

On this trip the crew won another victory. Persistently continuing the hunt, on the night of February 10, the submarine sank the large-capacity transport "General von Steuben" (14,660 tons). Together with him, about three and a half thousand officers and soldiers of the German tank forces went to the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

After the submarine returned to base, the commander of the RKKF submarine division, A. Orel, signed an award sheet on February 20 with a petition to award Marinesko the Gold Star of the Hero. This submission states, in particular: “Captain 3rd Rank A.I. Marinesko has been a submarine commander since 1939. Since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he has been participating in military campaigns...

In 1941, commanding the submarine "M-96", he made two military campaigns in the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Riga, during which he acted courageously and decisively, carrying out command assignments to combat the Nazi invaders at sea.

In 1942... in the Gulf of Finland he sank an enemy transport with a displacement of 7 thousand tons, for which he was awarded the Order of Lenin.

In 1944, commanding the submarine "S-13", he pursued and sank with artillery one transport with a displacement of 5 thousand tons in the immediate vicinity of the enemy fleet base.

But the command awards Marinesko only with the Order of the Red Banner. Afterwards, there was a lot of speculation about why Marinesko was not awarded the Hero Star. I will express the most plausible, in my opinion, version. Often in conversations with veterans of the Great Patriotic War, I heard a simple truth. They said: “The hatred of the enemy for the devastated cities, villages, the death of comrades, the blood of women, children, for the atrocities that the USSR suffered from German fascism was so great that we dreamed that, having come to Germany, we would do the same with the Germans the very thing that they did on our land, we will repay them in kind. But the Russian people are surprisingly quick-witted. Having entered Germany, we saw the same unfortunate, hungry women, children, old people who suffered from the Nazis. We are not fascists, we are not fighting against the people ". The Soviet Army entered Europe not for revenge, but to liberate the peoples of Europe from the brown plague. The order from Headquarters stated: for looting in relation to the local population, they would be brought to court by a military tribunal, up to and including execution, and there were such cases that cooled too hot heads.

On New Year's Day 1945 in Turku, in fascist Finland, which emerged from the war, a base of Soviet submarines was located in the port, among which was the S-13. While in the city, Marinesko spent two nights visiting the owner of a local restaurant, where, previously, in response to the verbal attacks of local fascists against Soviet officers, he forced the orchestra to play “The Internationale”, but did not arrive at the base, which disrupted the military campaign. If at sea Marinesko was prudent and cunning, then on the shore he sometimes knew neither moderation nor caution. The Special Department was greatly concerned about his absence - kidnapped? Recruited? A captain who knows the operational situation, maps... In addition to everything, those who studied the history of the S-13 write that the crew also “distinguished themselves.” While the commander was “visiting”, part of the crew, apparently taking to their chests, became for some time in the former fascist Turku “Schwarze Tod” - “black death”, “three times communists” - that’s what the Germans called the Soviet marines, and took up fists, a showdown with the local Schutzmanns - policemen wearing the uniform worn by Wehrmacht soldiers, who came running from all over the city to hear the noise, and the Finns passing by also got it... The battle cry of the Soviet sailors sounded over the city: “Polundra!” The sailors were somehow calmed down...

So, with bruises under their eyes, in torn vests, but a proud, friendly, invincible crew, they appeared before the command of the division A. Orel, special officers, and the military commandant of Turku.

As one of our journalists later wrote, “then, many years later, in civilian life, sailors told their children how famously, like sailors, they turned up the noses of former fascists.”

A disrupted military campaign, an agitated local population. Such an offense could bring Marinesko to the tribunal. But there weren't enough submarines. A new commander was appointed to the boat with orders to go to sea. But here the crew again showed character and maritime brotherhood, declaring that they would go on a campaign only with Marinesko. The story was noisy and reached Kuznetsov and Zhdanov. Zhdanov perfectly understood the sailors - three years of exhausting war, hungry besieged Leningrad, hundreds of thousands of deaths, a game of cat and mouse with death under water. 13 submarines - "esoks" - fought in the Baltic. The only one who survived, under the unlucky number 13. The first days in a well-fed, prosperous city not devastated by the war... Zhdanov asked the command to release Marinesko.

Giving farewell to the crew, A. Orel strictly ordered that they return only with victory! Atone for guilt as fines.

So “S-13” with captain Marinesko became the first and only penalty submarine in the USSR Navy. And the sailors atoned for their guilt by sending the Wilhelm Gustloff to the bottom.

The reward for the fines in the Red Army was the removal of criminal records and full restoration of their rights as full citizens of the USSR.

Therefore, the proposal to the Hero’s Star did not find understanding among the command. Taking into account Marineko’s previous “some merits,” on February 27, the acting brigade commander L. Kurnikov lowered the status of the award by two levels. As a result, on March 13, an Order was issued to award Marineko the Order of the Red Banner. Together with the commander, the status of awards was lowered for the crew members of the C-13, which greatly upset Marinesko, although the boat became Red Banner on April 20, 1945. As you can see, Marinesko came out of a difficult situation for him unscathed, and even with an order. For excellent performance of command assignments, all members of the boat's crew were awarded government awards. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on April 20, 1945, the submarine "C-13" was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

Having completed four combat cruises and spent 140 days at sea, the C-13 won six brilliant victories, bringing the total tonnage of enemy ships sunk to 47 thousand tons, which was the highest figure among the RKKF submarines. Marinesko holds the record among all Soviet submariners for the tonnage of ships sunk.

The fact that Marinesko was not awarded the Star may have been played by envious people, whisperers, and rear rats, of which there were always plenty in the rear. It must be said that Stalin severely punished honored Heroes who violated discipline, and did not allow anyone to indulge in delusions of grandeur.

The fate of Alexander Ivanovich Marineko was not easy in the future - the nature of the sea independent free wolfhound affected it. In addition, all sorts of spiteful critics in the USSR and abroad tried to discredit his name. He died in Leningrad on November 25, 1963, after a serious long illness. He was buried at the Bogoslovskoye cemetery in the northern capital. The title of Hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Ivanovich Marinesko was posthumously awarded on May 5, 1990.

About A.I. Marinesko, the commander of the legendary "C-13" and his world-famous "Attack of the Century", the largest disaster at sea in the history of mankind, in comparison with which the death of the "Titanic" looks very pale, it seemed that everything had already been written, analyzed in detail , how veteran submariners and thousands of other honest people in our country and abroad fought for justice to prevail and a national hero to receive official recognition. I thought that everything was behind me. Moreover, our allies in the war - the British, who were never particularly fond of Russia, officially recognized the significance of the "Attack of the Century" for the salvation of thousands and thousands of their compatriots, since the attack sent to the bottom more than a hundred crews of the Kriegsmarine submarine, which would could use the latest submarines to unleash thousands of homing torpedoes on allied ships and ships. As a symbol of recognition, gratitude and deep respect, a bust of A.I. was erected in the maritime center of England - Portsmouth. Marinesko. Portsmouth for the British is the same as Krondstadt or Sevastopol, the city of valor and glory of Great Britain, for Russia. English veterans of the Royal Navy, in particular of the northern convoys, raised the question of erecting a monument to the commander of the "C-13" in England, rightly believing that his name should appear in the Book of Heroes who have served the great naval power, the former "mistress of seas", on a par with such legendary figures as Admiral Nelson. The fact that more than 3 thousand submariners and 100 submarine commanders sank to the bottom of the Baltic was also recognized by authoritative Kriegsmarine historians K. Becker and Yu. Rover. About the importance of the “Attack of the Century” - the sinking of the “Wilhelm Gustloff” for the fate of England and the approaching victory of the Allies in the Second World War back in 1945, the First Lord of the Admiralty, Admiral of the Fleet E. Cuningham, said.

Immediately after the Great Patriotic War, the fascist remnants who fed the Third Reich, the imperialists of the USA, England, and Europe, adopted the methods of the shrunken “Aryan” Goebbels, the propaganda machine for whitening Nazism and its crimes against humanity began working at full power, accusing the USSR and, as its heir, Russia of the outbreak of the Second World War. Consider the completely false statement of Ukrainian Prime Minister Yatsenyuk that “Russia attacked Germany and Ukraine in 1941.” Such figures want a revision of the results of World War II. They are trying to turn the USSR from a victim of aggression into an “aggressor”.

In the West, revanchists began to make “truthful” feature films and documentaries, and publish articles about how “Russian barbarians” allegedly drowned 10,000 thousand wounded and refugees on the Gustloff.

They want to turn our submariners from avengers into murderers of “civilians,” which is completely untrue.

But why don’t these unfortunate scribblers and film scribblers make films about how the “Wolf Packs of the Kriegsmarine”, the wolf packs of Doenitz, acted with an all-out submarine war, indiscriminately sinking commercial, military, and hospital ships? Neutrals also got it. Those who escaped on boats were killed by German submariners with machine guns and machine guns.

Or about the Heroic campaign of the ships of the Baltic Fleet of the RKKF in 1941 from Tallinn to Leningrad. Then 52 ships were lost from mines, torpedoes, and bombings, most of which carried refugees and hospitals. Up to 8 thousand people died. But the West is silent about this.

In 1941, in the Black Sea, the Germans sunk the Soviet hospital-liner "Armenia", which had 5,000 wounded and was sailing under the red crosses. Only 8 people were saved...

Even under Goebbels, German propaganda turned trains bombed by Soviet aviation with troops into trains with wounded and refugees, sunken ships - again with wounded, broken ammunition warehouses - into German farms, and depicted the “horrors” perpetrated by the Soviet Army against the civilian population of Vaterland. ..

We are now seeing something similar in the work of propaganda in “independent Ukraine,” where the laurels of the shrunken “Aryan” Goebbels clearly haunt someone. A.I. Marinesko could not even imagine that in his hometown-hero Odessa, seventy years later, the Nazis would march around and burn those who did not kneel before the brown plague alive...

Crazed, biased scribblers-ghouls jumped out of moldy caches in crowds with “new modern data” about the Great Patriotic War and the feat of “C-13”. The feat of the 28 Panfilov men is a fiction, Nikolai Gastello, on a plane engulfed in flames, together with the crew, did not ram a tank column of the Nazis, and Alexander Matrosov, under the threat of execution, was forced to cover the embrasure of the pillbox with his chest by the special officer who was going on the attack next to him......

If we consider the death of the airliner from a moral, ethical, legal point of view, which pervert scribblers love to press on, then the commander of the S-13 did not commit any war crimes. As already mentioned, the Gustloff was officially transferred to the German Navy, the Navy flag was raised on it, and anti-aircraft guns were installed. He was a legitimate military target. The refugees, women and children who died on the liner became hostages of the Nazi regime.

Monuments to A.I. Marinesko, memorial plaques, installed in Kaliningrad, Kronstadt, St. Petersburg, Odessa.

The sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff is described in the novel The Trajectory of the Crab by Nobel laureate Günter Grass.

An embankment in Kaliningrad and a street in Sevastopol are named after A.I. Marinesko.

Stroiteley Street in Leningrad, where Marinesko also lived, was renamed in 1990 to Marinesko Street. There is a memorial plaque on it.

The flag of the submarine “C-13” is on display at the Central Museum of the Armed Forces.

In St. Petersburg there is the Museum of Russian Submarine Forces named after. A. I. Marinesko.

A stone block with a memorial plaque was installed in Vanino.

A memorial plaque was installed on the building of the Odessa Naval School, on Sofievskaya Street, in house No. 11, where Marinesko lived as a child.

The Odessa Naval School is named after A.I. Marinesko.

Also, a memorial plaque is installed on the building of the labor school where he studied. The electric train of the Odessa Railway is named after him.

In 1983, with the help of students from Odessa school No. 105 (search group “Memory of the Heart”), a museum named after A. I. Marinesko was created.

There is a descent called Marinesko (formerly Sofievsky descent).

The feature films “Forget About Returning” and “First After God” are dedicated to Marinesko.

Revanchists of all stripes strive to revise the results of the Second World War, the holy war of the Soviet people against the brown plague, and try to discredit our heroes, our memory.

A.I. Marinesko and his crew are heroes! And the “Attack of the Century” was definitely!

Andrey Shachenkov