Editing MV Wilhelm Gustloff (section)

===Sinking===
''Wilhelm Gustloff'' was soon sighted by the {{Ship|Soviet submarine|S-13}}, under the command of Captain [[Alexander Marinesko]]. The submarine sensor on board the escorting torpedo boat had frozen, rendering it inoperable, as had her anti-aircraft guns, leaving the vessels defenseless. Marinesko followed the ships to their [[Port and starboard|starboard]] (seaward) side for two hours before making a daring move, surfacing his submarine and steering it around ''Wilhelm Gustloff''{{'}}s stern, to attack it from the port side closer to shore, from where the attack would be less expected. At around 9:00 pm ([[Central European Time|CET]]), Marinesko ordered his crew to launch four torpedoes at ''Wilhelm Gustloff''{{'}}s port side, about {{convert|30|km|nmi mi|abbr=on}} offshore, between [[Władysławowo|Großendorf]] and [[Łeba|Leba]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-01-30 |title=The Sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff |url=https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/sinking-wilhelm-gustloff |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=The National WWII Museum {{!}} New Orleans |language=en}}</ref>

The three torpedoes that were fired successfully all struck ''Wilhelm Gustloff'' on her port side. The first struck the ship's [[Bow (watercraft)|bow]]; this caused the ship's watertight doors to lock before the sleeping off-duty crew could escape. The second hit the accommodations for the women's naval auxiliary, located in the ship's drained swimming pool. It dislodged the pool tiles at high velocity, which caused high casualties; only three of the 373 women quartered there survived. The third torpedo scored a direct hit on the [[engine room]] located {{nautical term|amidships}}, disabling all power and communications.

Reportedly, only nine lifeboats could be lowered; the rest had frozen in their [[davit]]s and had to be freed with tools. About twenty minutes after the torpedoes' impact, ''Wilhelm Gustloff'' suddenly [[Angle of list|listed]] so dramatically to port that the lifeboats lowered on the high starboard side crashed into the ship's tilting side, sending their occupants into the sea.<ref name="Gustloff" />

Many deaths were caused either directly by the torpedoes or by drowning in the onrushing water. Some fatalities were due to the initial stampede caused by panicked passengers on the stairs and decks, while others were caused by passengers jumping overboard into freezing waters. The water temperature in the Baltic Sea in late January is usually around {{convert|4|°C|°F}}; however, this was a particularly cold night, with an air temperature of {{convert|−10|to|−18|°C|°F}} and [[ice floe]]s covering the surface. The majority of those who died were victims of [[hypothermia]].<ref>Roger Moorhouse (19 June 2013): [http://www.historytoday.com/blog/2013/06/death-baltic Death in the Baltic] ''[[History Today]]'', retrieved 19 June 2013</ref>

Less than forty minutes after being struck, ''Wilhelm Gustloff'' was lying on her side. She sank bow-first ten minutes later, in {{convert|44|m|ft|abbr=on}} of water.

German forces were able to rescue 1,252 people: the torpedo boat {{ship|German torpedo boat|T36||2}} rescued 564; the torpedo boat ''Löwe'', 472; the minesweeper ''M387'', 98; the minesweeper ''M375'', 43; the minesweeper ''M341'', 37; the steamer ''Göttingen'', 28; the torpedo recovery boat (''Torpedofangboot'') ''TF19'', 7; the freighter ''[[MS Gotenland|Gotenland]]'', two; and the patrol boat (''[[Vorpostenboot]]'') ''V1703'', one baby.<ref name="Gustloff"/> Thirteen of the survivors died later. All four captains on ''Wilhelm Gustloff'' survived her sinking; an official naval inquiry was initiated only against Lieutenant Commander Zahn. His degree of responsibility was never resolved, however, because of Nazi Germany's collapse in 1945.<ref>{{cite web|title=Zahn |url=http://www.wilhelmgustloff.com/facts_keyplayers_ind.htm |website=wilhelmgustloff.com |access-date=12 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312195042/http://wilhelmgustloff.com/facts_keyplayers_ind.htm|archive-date=12 March 2016 |url-status=usurped}}</ref>