Goya

1945

Pomeranian coast, four minutes, six thousand dead Location: Baltic Sea, off Rixhöft · Coordinates: 55.13°N 17.60°E · Casualties: ~6,700 · Survivors: 183 · Depth: 76 m · Cause: submarine torpedo — Torpedoed by the Soviet submarine L-3 (Vladimir Konovalov, commanding) off the Pomeranian coast at 23:52 on 16 April 1945 in Operation Hannibal. Two torpedoes struck amidships; she broke in half. Sank in four minutes in freezing Baltic water. · Fate: protected war grave · Type: refugee transport · former Norwegian freighter · Tonnage: 5,230 tons · Crew: 200 · Flag: Nazi Germany (prize) · Launched: 1940 German transport, evacuating refugees from East Prussia in Operation Hannibal. Torpedoed by the Soviet submarine L-3 off the Pomeranian coast at 23:52 on 16 April 1945; two torpedoes struck and she broke in half in four minutes. ~6,700 dead, 183 rescued. The second-deadliest single-ship loss of life in history, after her fleet-mate Wilhelm Gustloff. The Vessel The Goya was a Norwegian motor cargo-passenger ship, built at the Akers Mekaniske Verksted yard at Oslo in 1940 for the Norwegian shipping company Johan Ludwig Mowinckel. She was 146 metres long, 5,230 gross tons, and powered by twin diesel engines producing approximately 5,500 horsepower. Her original peacetime accommodation was approximately 170 passengers plus a crew of 100; her cargo capacity was approximately 3,500 tonnes. She had been seized by Germany in April 1940 during the German invasion of Norway; she was subsequently placed in Kriegsmarine service as a general cargo and passenger transport for the German Baltic operations. Her wartime name was retained as Goya throughout the war. By April 1945, Goya was conducting evacuation operations for the Operation Hannibal evacuation of East Prussian civilians and military personnel before the Soviet advance. She had already made multiple evacuation voyages between the eastern Baltic ports (primarily Pillau, Gotenhafen, and Hela) and the western Baltic ports (primarily Kiel and Lübeck) during the preceding three months. Her master on her final voyage was Captain Joachim Plünnecke, 45, a Hamburg-based merchant marine officer. Her complement on 16 April 1945 was approximately 6,380 persons: approximately 1,500 German military personnel (including wounded and withdrawing units); approximately 4,500 German civilian refugees (predominantly East Prussian women, children, and elderly); approximately 200 Kriegsmarine personnel; and The Disaster At approximately 23:40 on 16 April 1945, the Soviet submarine L-3 detected the convoy including Goya at approximately 6,000 metres range in the central Baltic at approximately 55 degrees 05 minutes north, 17 degrees 55 minutes east (approximately 50 kilometres north of the Polish coast at Rügenwalde). Konovalov's tactical assessment was immediate. The convoy was substantial; Goya was the largest ship in the formation; the attack approach was favourable. L-3's attack was conducted from approximately 1,400 metres range using her bow torpedo tubes. Two torpedoes were launched at approximately 23:50; both torpedoes struck Goya at approximately 23:52 on 16 April 1945. One torpedo struck the ship's stern; the second torpedo struck amidships. The torpedo damage was catastrophic. The two torpedoes produced a combined hull breach of approximately 20 metres along Goya's port side, opening multiple watertight compartments simultaneously. The ship's stern broke away immediately; she began to settle rapidly; her bow rose substantially as her stern filled with water; her engine room and machinery spaces were compromised within approximately 60 seconds. The specific tragedy of the sinking was the extreme rapidity of the foundering. Goya broke up and sank in approximately four minutes from the initial torpedo impact - substantially faster than the sinking times of comparable Baltic evacuation disasters (Wilhelm Gustloff at approximately 50 minutes; General von Steuben at approximately 25 min