The most famous shipwrecks. Loud shipwreck. Where is the line between truth and fiction? Heaviest losses in the British Navy

On April 16, 1945, exactly 117 years after the death of Francisco Goya, the ship Goya was sunk by a torpedo attack by a Soviet submarine. This disaster, which claimed 7,000 lives, became the largest shipwreck in world history.

The Goya was a Norwegian cargo ship requisitioned by the Germans. April 16, 1945, things went wrong in the morning. A gloomy omen of the coming disaster was the bombardment to which the ship was subjected. Despite the defense, during the fourth raid a shell still hit the bow of the Goya. Several people were injured, but the ship remained afloat and they decided not to cancel the flight.

For Goya, this was the fifth evacuation flight from the advancing units of the Red Army. During four previous campaigns, almost 20,000 refugees, wounded and soldiers were evacuated.
In your last flight"Goya" went loaded to capacity. Passengers were in the passages, on the stairs, in the holds. Not everyone had documents, so the exact number of passengers has not yet been established, from 6000 to 7000. They all believed that the war was over for them, they made plans and were full of hope...

The ships (Goya was accompanied by a convoy) were already at sea when at 22:30 surveillance noticed an unidentified silhouette on the right side. Everyone was ordered to put on their resident lifeguards. There were only 1,500 of them on board the Goya. In addition, one of the ships of the group, the Kronenfels, suffered a breakdown in the engine room. While waiting for the completion of repair work, the ships began to drift. An hour later the ships continued their journey.
At 23:45, Goya shuddered from a powerful torpedo attack. The Soviet submarine L-3, which was following the ships, began to operate.
Panic began at Goya. Jochen Hannema, a German tankman who became one of the few survivors, recalled: “Water rushed noisily from the huge holes created by the torpedoes. The ship broke into two parts and began to sink rapidly. All that was heard was the eerie roar of a huge mass of water.”
The huge ship, devoid of partitions, sank in just 20 minutes. Only 178 people survived.

"Wilhelm Gustlow"

On January 30, 1945, at 21:15, the S-13 submarine discovered in the Baltic waters the German transport "Wilhelm Gustlow", accompanied by an escort, on board which, according to modern estimates, was over 10 thousand people, most of whom were refugees from East Prussia : old people, children, women. But there were also German submarine cadets, crew members and other military personnel on the Gustlov.
Submarine captain Alexander Marinesko began the hunt. For almost three hours, the Soviet submarine followed the giant transport ship (the displacement of the Gustlov was over 25 thousand tons. For comparison, the steamship Titanic and the battleship Bismarck had a displacement of about 50 thousand tons).
Having chosen the moment, Marinesko attacked the Gustlov with three torpedoes, each of which hit the target. The fourth torpedo with the inscription “For Stalin” got stuck. The submariners miraculously managed to avoid an explosion on the boat.

While escaping pursuit from a German military escort, the C-13 was bombed by over 200 depth charges.

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

They were called "Ships of Hell." These were Japanese merchant ships used to transport prisoners of war and workers (actually slaves, who were called "romushi") to Japanese-occupied territories during World War II. The “ships of hell” were not officially part of the Japanese navy and had no identification marks, but the Allied forces sank them no less violently. In total, 9 “Ships of Hell” were sunk during the war, on which almost 25 thousand people died.

It is worth saying that the British and Americans could not help but know about the “cargo” that was transported on the ships, since the Japanese codes were deciphered.

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

The conditions in which slaves had to survive on ships were simply terrifying. Many went crazy and died from exhaustion and stuffiness. When the torpedoed ship began to sink, the captives of the ship had no chance of salvation. The boats accompanying the “ship of hell” brought on board only the Japanese and a small part of the prisoners. In total, 680 prisoners of war and 200 romushi remained alive.

This was a case where the living envied the dead. The prisoners who miraculously escaped were sent to their destination - to construction railway to Sumatra. The chances of surviving there were not much greater than on the ill-fated ship.

"Armenia"

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

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

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

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

"Dona Paz"

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

Twice a week, the ferry carried out passenger transportation on the route Manila - Tacloban - Catbalogan - Manila - Catbalogan - Tacloban - Manila. On December 20, 1987, the Doña Paz set sail on its last voyage from Tacloban to Manila. This flight was packed with maximum passengers - Filipinos were rushing to the capital for the New Year.

At ten in the evening of the same day, the ferry collided with the huge tanker Vector. The collision literally broke both ships in half, and thousands of tons of oil spilled across the ocean. The explosion caused a fire. The chances of salvation were reduced to almost zero. The situation was aggravated by the fact that the ocean at the site of the tragedy was swarming with sharks.

One of the survivors, Paquito Osabel, later recalled: " Neither the sailors nor the ship's officers reacted in any way to what was happening. Everyone demanded life jackets and a lifeboat, but there were none. The cabinets in which the vests were stored were locked, and the keys could not be found. The boats were thrown into the water just like that, without any preparation. Panic, chaos, chaos reigned".

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

"Cap Arcona"

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

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

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

"Lancasteria"

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

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

For thousands of years, ships have sunk during war, natural disasters, and in some cases even due to human error. The ten largest and most famous shipwrecks that have ever occurred have been revealed.

The Titanic sailed from Southampton to New York, where it hit an iceberg and sank after 2 hours and 40 minutes. Its hull, divided into two parts, lies on the seabed at a depth of more than 3,700 meters.

Sultana

Almost forgotten, but one of the deadliest disasters. More than 1,800 people died during the sinking of this ship. It was the greatest maritime disaster in all of history. American history. The explosion of four boilers turned the ship into a huge fireball, consuming everyone and everything. The explosion killed 80% of everyone on board. The disaster took a back seat in the press due to the fact that President Lincoln was assassinated just the day before. . The ship was designed for only 85 passengers, but there were approximately 2,400 people on board. Its wreckage lies near Memphis, Tennessee.

L.R. Doty

This ship was launched in 1894 in Michigan, in western Bay City. It was caught in a terrible storm, which caused its sinking, killing all 17 crew members on board. The wreck site was found 111 years after the sinking of the ship. It is located at a depth of 92 meters in Lake Michigan; the cargo of corn is still intact. Due to the murky water, this place is considered one of the most dangerous dive sites.

Oriskany

Nicknamed the Mighty O, the ship was one of 24 huge Essex-class ships ordered by the US Navy. The ship has seen many battles in many places, ranging from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba to the Vietnam War. . The ship was converted into an artificial reef in 2004 and has become a very successful home for millions of fish. Today it is considered one of the best places for diving in the world.

Jula

The sinking of this ship is considered the second worst maritime disaster not related to the war. The disaster claimed at least 1,863 lives. The ship was designed to carry 500 passengers, but at the time of the accident it was carrying more than 2,000 passengers. The ship capsized after being caught in a storm. It sank in just five minutes. Rescue teams arrived only the morning after the incident; a huge number of victims died in the water awaiting rescue. The ship is still considered missing.

Vida Galli

This ship has a very interesting story. It was primarily used for the slave trade, but then in late February 1717, a pirate named "Black Sam" Bellamy seized the ship and claimed it as his own. During the year he owned the ship, he used the Vida Galli to capture and plunder more than 50 ships. The ship was caught in a strong storm, as a result of which its main mast collapsed and it capsized, dragging all the pirates under the water. The ship was discovered more than 250 years after it disappeared along with its loot. It was at a depth of only 5 meters. This was the first real Pirates' ship ever discovered.

Rona

This is quite possibly the most beautiful shipwreck in the world. British packet boat wrecked off the coast of Salt Island, British Virgin Islands, October 26, 1867. The ship went straight into a hurricane, which damaged it and caused the death of 123 people. Now this is a place for diving, and, I must say, absolutely stunning in beauty. Wildlife has taken the ship into its possession, and now it is covered with corals, eels live in it, different types fish and even sharks.

Costa Concordia

The most last crash cruise ship. Although the ship only partially sank, the disaster cost the lives of 34 passengers. The crash was widely reported in the press. Captain Schettino tried to make a spectacular maneuver into the port. To do this, he turned off the ship's navigation system, which reported how close the ship was to the rock shoal. The ship hit a large rock and water began to fill the ship, causing it to capsize. The "Costa Concordia" is still located in the area of Giglia Island, Tuscany, and has become a popular tourist attraction; Plans are now being developed to lift and tow it.

Mont Blanc

The Mont Blanc became known as the ship that caused the Halifax explosion. The ship was heading to France from New York and was carrying a huge amount of ammunition and explosives. The ship was not too old, but was very slow due to the weight of the cargo it was carrying. It called at Halifax, Nova Scotia, to rendezvous with a convoy bound for France. While entering the port, the ship crashed into another ship, the Imo. The collision caused a fire and the explosives on board ignited. The force of the explosion was 2.9 kilotons, the largest non-nuclear explosion in history. More than 2,000 people were killed and 9,000 wounded.

Sweepstakes

Sweepstakes is very popular among divers because wildlife and landscapes that emerged from the shipwreck. The ship lies in a large harbor and can be seen at water level. The ship was damaged near Cove Island in August 1885. Luckily, he was brought back to port by the small tug Jessie. The schooner was seriously damaged and could not be repaired, so it sank in the port itself. Fortunately, a huge load of coal was lifted from the side of the sunken ship.

Shipwrecks... Such an incident is always shrouded in an aura of secrets, myths and legends. Famous shipwrecks- these are the black pages of history, which can only be read by looking into depths of the sea. Sadly, majestic giant liners very often become victims of the raging waters of the seas and oceans.

The most famous shipwrecks became public knowledge. Today, there are many unspoken lists that name the most impressive ship disasters in the history of mankind. Below are just a few of those that have gone down in world history.

Wrecked ships

For many, the first thing that comes to mind is a story that shocked the whole world with its tragedy. It dwarfed any other shipwreck. This is the story of the Titanic... Although this story has become overgrown with many guesses and conjectures over time, everyone is still interested in knowing what really happened. The crew was so dazzled by the greatness of their ship and its superiority over other ships that for a time everyone became overconfident.

Possible causes of the tragedy

At that time, many said that a ship had finally been built that could not be sunk. But the reality turned out to be unpredictable. One night, the ship was traveling at full speed along its route, and the sailors were only able to notice the top of a huge block of ice rising above the surface of the water only at the very last moment. Urgent attempts were made to steer the ship away, but it was too late: the ship was wrecked. Almost at full speed, the Titanic hit an iceberg on its starboard side.

The ship breaks in half

Gradually, the lower tiers in the bow compartment of the ship begin to flood. Almost half of the vessel is filled with cold water Atlantic Ocean. A counterweight is created on the ship, causing it to be half submerged in the water. The body cannot withstand the monstrous load and breaks in half. Both parts of the broken ship lose electricity and sink. Eyewitnesses of the tragedy remember that terrible day with trembling, but still some facts remain in the shadows. For example, class discrimination against passengers.

Could more have been saved?

Some witnesses claim that individual lifeboats were only half full of passengers. Only a few people sat in them, and they set sail as quickly as possible, in fear that the boat would overfill and sink. As a result, far fewer passengers were saved than could have been the case. However, we should not forget that heroic deeds also took place that night. Many risked their lives to help others escape. Be that as it may, this disaster has become a symbol of arrogance.

complicated story

Another, no less tragic collision occurred with the ship "Admiral Nakhimov". It became a huge sensation of the twentieth century. A warm August day began with the arrival of a cruise ship at the port. The city of Novorossiysk said goodbye to passengers who were soon to go on an exciting trip. Around the same time, a ship called "Peter Vasev" planned to enter the port. The crews of both ships were warned about each other and had to act carefully; no one had any idea that the ships would soon crash.

Who is guilty and is there any point in finding out now?

As a result of short negotiations, it was decided to disperse at the exit from the port on starboard sides. However, something went wrong, namely the automatic heading system failed. The technology is imperfect, we must never forget this. Shipwrecks are clear evidence of this. When it was noticed that the ship was moving at full speed straight towards the Admiral Nakhimov, the situation almost completely got out of control.

The cargo ship "Petr Vasev" crashed into passenger airliner and made a hole measuring eight by ten meters in its side. in eight minutes. Some of the circumstances under which the ship crashed raised questions among many. Why did the passenger ship sink like a stone if, according to the rules, it must have sufficient buoyancy to stay on the surface of the water for at least an hour after the crash? In addition, information was received that the captain followed the order of the port dispatcher and changed the route of the vessel. There will be many gaps and white spots in this story.

However, the most inconsolable fact is the death of almost half a thousand people. Perhaps the scale of the disaster would not have been so terrible if it had been possible to launch lifeboats. But what could be done in just eight minutes? It takes at least half an hour to arrange for people to board one boat. And this is under favorable conditions.

In the case when the Nakhimov ship crashed, there was neither time nor factors allowing people to escape in lifeboats. Over time after the disaster, it becomes increasingly difficult to find out the true circumstances of the crash. Surely the true facts lie in the depths of the water, so there is no point in speculating, because time, like human lives, cannot be returned back.

These are just two stories, but they are not the only ones. The following list of the most famous shipwrecks will show that the wrecks largest airliners- is far from uncommon.

SS America.
"Discoverer of the World"
"Mediterranean sky"
M. B. Captayannis.
BOS 400.
"Fort Shevchenko".
"Gospel".
"SS Maheno".
"Santa Maria".
"Dimitrios."
"Olympia".

The ships took years to build, solemnly left their native ports into the wind and eventually sank, ran aground, leaving only fragments and piles of iron in their memory.

No matter how far you walk scientific and technical progress, disasters have happened, are happening and will probably continue to happen for a long time. Some of them could have been avoided, but most of the worst events in the world were inevitable because they happened at the behest of Mother Nature.

The worst plane crash

Collision of two Boeing 747s

Humanity does not know of a more terrible plane crash than the one that occurred on March 27, 1977 on the island of Tenerife, which belongs to the Canary group. On this day, at Los Rodeo airport, a collision occurred between two Boeing 747s, one of which belonged to KLM, the other to Pan American. This terrible tragedy claimed 583 lives. The reasons that led to this disaster are a fatal and paradoxical combination of circumstances.

Los Rodeos airport was seriously overloaded on this ill-fated Sunday. The dispatcher spoke with a strong Spanish accent, and the radio communications suffered from serious interference. Because of this, the Boeing commander, KLM, misinterpreted the command to abort the flight, which became the fatal cause of the collision of two maneuvering aircraft.

Only a few passengers managed to escape through the holes created in the Pan American plane. The wings and tail of another Boeing fell off, which led to a fall one hundred and fifty meters from the accident site, after which it was dragged for another three hundred meters. Both flying cars caught fire.

There were 248 passengers on board the Boeing KLM, none of whom survived. The Pan American plane became the site of the death of 335 people, including the entire crew, as well as the famous model and actress Eve Meyer.

The worst man-made disaster

On July 6, 1988, the worst of all disasters occurred in the North Sea, famous history oil production. It happened on the Piper Alpha oil platform, which was built in 1976. The number of victims was 167 people, the company suffered a loss of about three and a half billion dollars.

The most offensive thing is that the number of victims could have been much lower if not for ordinary human stupidity. There was a large gas leak, followed by an explosion. But instead of stopping the oil supply immediately after the accident began, the maintenance personnel waited for management's command.

The countdown went on for minutes, and soon the entire platform of the Occidental Petroleum Corporation was engulfed in fire, even the living quarters caught fire. Those who could have survived the blast were burned alive. Only those who managed to jump into the water survived.

Worst water accident ever

When the topic of tragedies on the water is raised, one involuntarily recalls the film “Titanic”. Moreover, such a catastrophe really happened. But this shipwreck is not the worst in the history of mankind.

Wilhelm Gustloff

The sinking of the German ship Wilhelm Gustloff is rightfully considered the biggest disaster that occurred on the water. The tragedy occurred on January 30, 1945. The culprit was a submarine Soviet Union, which hit a ship that could accommodate almost 9,000 passengers.

This, at that time, a perfect product of shipbuilding, was made in 1938. It seemed unsinkable and housed 9 decks, restaurants, a winter garden, climate control, gyms, theaters, dance floors, swimming pools, a church and even Hitler’s rooms.

Its length was more than two hundred meters, it could sail half the planet without refueling. The ingenious creation could not sink without outside intervention. And it happened in the person of the crew of the submarine S-13, commanded by A. I. Marinesko. Three torpedoes were fired at the legendary ship. In a matter of minutes he found himself in the abyss of the Baltic Sea. All crew members were killed, including about 8,000 representatives of the German military elite who were evacuated from Danzig.

Wreck of the Wilhelm Gustloff (video)

The greatest environmental tragedy

Shrunken Aral Sea

Among all environmental disasters, the leading place is occupied by the drying out of the Aral Sea. In their better times it was the fourth largest among all the lakes in the world.

The disaster occurred due to the unreasonable use of water used to water gardens and fields. The drying out was due to the ill-considered political ambitions and actions of the leaders of those times.

Gradually, the coastline moved far into the sea, which led to the extinction of most species of flora and fauna. In addition, droughts began to become more frequent, the climate changed significantly, shipping became impossible, and more than sixty people were left without work.

Where did the Aral Sea disappear: strange symbols on the dry bottom (VIDEO)

Nuclear disaster

What could be worse than a nuclear disaster? The lifeless kilometers of the exclusion zone of the Chernobyl region are the embodiment of these fears. The accident occurred in 1986, when one of the power units of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded early on an April morning.

Chernobyl 1986

This tragedy claimed the lives of several hundred tow truck workers, and thousands died over the next ten years. And only God knows how many people were forced to leave their homes...

The children of these people are still born with developmental anomalies. The atmosphere, land and water around the nuclear power plant are contaminated with radioactive substances.

Radiation levels in this region are still thousands of times higher than normal. No one knows how long it will take for people to settle in these places. The scale of this disaster is still not fully known.

Chernobyl accident 1986: Chernobyl, Pripyat - liquidation (VIDEO)

Disaster over the Black Sea: Tu-154 of the Russian Ministry of Defense crashed

Crash of Tu-154 of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

Not long ago there was a crash of a Tu-154 aircraft of the Russian Ministry of Defense en route to Syria. It claimed the lives of 64 talented artists of the Alexandrov ensemble, nine famous leading TV channels, the head of a charitable organization - the famous Doctor Lisa, eight military personnel, two civil servants, and all crew members. Total in this terrible plane crash 92 people died.

On this tragic morning in December 2016, the plane refueled in Adler, but unexpectedly crashed just after takeoff. The investigation took a long time, because it was necessary to know what the cause of the Tu-154 crash was.

The commission that investigated the causes of the accident named overloading of the plane, fatigue of the crew and low professional level of training and organization of the flight among the circumstances leading to the disaster.

Results of the investigation into the Tu-154 crash of the Russian Ministry of Defense (VIDEO)

Submarine "Kursk"

The sinking of the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk, in which 118 people on board were killed, occurred in 2000 in the Barents Sea. This is the second largest accident in the history of the Russian submarine fleet after the disaster on the B-37.

On August 12, as planned, preparations for training attacks began. The last written confirmed actions on the boat were recorded at 11.15.

A few hours before the tragedy, the crew commander was informed about the cotton, which he did not pay attention to. Then the boat shook violently, which was attributed to the activation of the radar station antenna. After that, the boat captain no longer contacted us. At 23.00 the situation on the submarine was declared as an emergency, which was reported to the leadership of the fleet and the country. The next morning, as a result of search operations, the Kursk was found at the bottom of the sea at a depth of 108 m.

The official version of the cause of the tragedy is the explosion of a training torpedo, which occurred as a result of a fuel leak.

Submarine Kursk: what really happened? (VIDEO)

Wreck of the ship "Admiral Nakhimov"

The wreck of the passenger ship "Admiral Nakhimov" occurred in August 1981 near Novorossiysk. There were 1,234 people on board the ship, 423 of whom lost their lives on that fateful day. It is known that Vladimir Vinokur and Lev Leshchenko were late for this flight.

At 23:12, the ship collided with the dry cargo ship "Petr Vasev", as a result of which the electric generator was flooded and the light went out on the "Nakhimov". The ship became uncontrollable and continued to move forward by inertia. As a result of the collision, a hole of up to eighty square meters was formed in the starboard side. Panic began among the passengers; many climbed onto the left side and thus descended into the water.

Almost a thousand people ended up in the water, and they were also dirty with fuel oil and paint. Eight minutes after the collision, the ship sank.

Steamship Admiral Nakhimov: shipwreck - Russian Titanic (VIDEO)

Oil platform that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico

The most terrible ecological disasters in the world in 2010, another one was added, which happened in the Gulf of Mexico, eighty km from Louisiana. This is one of the most dangerous man-made accidents for the environment. It happened on April 20 on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform.

As a result of pipe rupture, about five million barrels of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico.

A spot measuring 75,000 square meters formed in the bay. km, which amounted to five percent of its total area. The disaster took the lives of 11 people and injured 17.

Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico (VIDEO)

Concordia crash

On January 14, 2012, the list of the worst incidents in the world was supplemented with one more. Near Italian Tuscany a cruise ship The Costa Concordia ran into a rock ledge, resulting in a hole seventy meters in size. At this time, most of the passengers were in the restaurant.

The right side of the liner began to submerge in the water, then it was thrown onto a sandbank 1 km from the crash site. There were more than 4,000 people on the ship who were evacuated throughout the night, but not everyone was saved: 32 people were still killed and a hundred were injured.

Costa Concordia – the crash through the eyes of eyewitnesses (VIDEO)

Eruption of Krakatoa in 1883

Natural disasters show how insignificant and helpless we are in the face of natural phenomena. But all the worst disasters in the world are nothing compared to the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano, which occurred in 1883.

On May 20, a large smoke column could be seen above the Krakatoa volcano. At that moment, even at a distance of 160 kilometers from him, the windows of houses began to tremble. All the nearby islands were covered with a thick layer of dust and pumice.

Eruptions continued until August 27. The final explosion culminated in sound waves that circled the entire planet several times. At that moment, the compasses on the ships sailing in the Sunda Strait stopped showing correctly.

These explosions led to the submersion of the entire northern part of the island. The seabed rose as a result of the eruptions. Much ash from the volcano remained in the atmosphere for another two to three years.

The tsunami, which was thirty meters high, washed away about three hundred settlements and killed 36,000 people.

The most powerful eruption of Krakatoa Volcano (VIDEO)

Earthquake in Spitak in 1988

On December 7, 1988, the list of “Best Disasters in the World” was replenished with another one that occurred in the Armenian Spitak. On this tragic day, tremors literally “wiped” this city from the face of the earth in just half a minute, destroying Leninakan, Stepanavan and Kirovakan beyond recognition. In total, twenty-one cities and three hundred and fifty villages were affected.

In Spitak itself, the earthquake had a force of ten, Leninakan was struck by a force of nine, and Kirovakan was struck by a force of eight, and almost the rest of Armenia was hit by a force of six. Seismologists have calculated that during this earthquake the energy released corresponded to the force of ten exploded atomic bombs. The wave that this tragedy caused was recorded by scientific laboratories almost all over the world.

This natural disaster deprived 25,000 people of their lives, 140,000 of their health, and 514,000 of their homes. Forty percent of the republic's industry was out of order, schools, hospitals, theaters, museums, cultural centers, roads and railways were destroyed.

Military personnel, doctors, and public figures throughout the country and abroad, both near and far, were called to help. Humanitarian aid was actively collected around the world. Tents, field kitchens and first aid stations were set up throughout the area affected by the tragedy.

The saddest and most instructive thing about this situation is that the scale and casualties of this terrible disaster could have been many times smaller if the seismic activity of the region had been taken into account and all buildings had been built taking these features into account. The lack of preparedness of the rescue services also contributed.

Tragic days: earthquake in Spitak (VIDEO)

2004 Tsunami Indian Ocean - Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka

In December 2004, water struck the coasts of Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India and other countries. destructive tsunami terrible force caused by an underwater earthquake. Huge waves devastated the area and killed 200,000 people. The most offensive thing is that most of the dead are children, since in this region there is a high proportion of children to the population, moreover, children are physically weaker and less able to resist water than an adult.

Aceh province in Indonesia suffered the greatest losses. Almost all buildings there were destroyed, 168,000 people died.

Geographically, this earthquake was simply huge. Up to 1200 kilometers of rock have moved. The shift occurred in two phases with an interval of two to three minutes.

The number of victims turned out to be so high because along the entire coast Indian Ocean did not have common system alerts.

There is nothing worse than disasters and tragedies that deprive people of life, shelter, health, destroy industry and everything that a person has worked on for many years. But it often turns out that the number of casualties and destruction in such situations could have been much less if everyone had been conscientious about their professional responsibilities; in some cases, it was necessary to provide an evacuation plan and a warning system in advance local residents. Let's hope that in the future humanity will find a way to avoid such terrible tragedies or reduce the damage from them.

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Many people mistakenly believe that the Titanic is the worst tragedy that happened on the water. All this is far from true, he is not even in the top ten. So, let's begin..
1. "Goya" (Germany) - 6900 dead.
On April 4, 1945, the ship Goya stood in the Bay of Danzig, awaiting the loading of military personnel and refugees. The bay was under constant shelling from Soviet artillery, one of the shells hit the Goya, slightly wounding the captain of the ship, Plünnecke.
In addition to civilians and wounded military personnel, there were 200 soldiers of the 25th Wehrmacht Tank Regiment on board.
At 19:00, a convoy consisting of three ships: the Goya, the steamer Kronenfels, built in 1944, 2834 gross tons and the sea tug Ägir, left Danzig Bay, accompanied by two minesweepers M- 256 and M-328 to the city of Swinemunde.

At this time, at the exit from Danzig Bay, the Soviet submarine L-3 under the command of Vladimir Konovalov was waiting for German ships. The largest ship in the convoy was chosen for the attack. At about 23:00 the convoy's route was changed, the convoy headed to the city of Copenhagen.
Guards submarine "L-3" ("Frunzevets")

To catch up with the Goya, the Soviet submarine had to go on the surface using diesel engines (in the submerged position, the electric motors could not reach the required speed). L-3 caught up with the Goya and at 23:52 successfully torpedoed the ship with two torpedoes. The Goya sank seven minutes after the torpedo attack, killing between 6,000 and 7,000 people; the exact number of people on board remained unknown. The escort ships managed to save 157 people, and during the day another 28 people were found alive by other ships.
Such a rapid immersion of the ship under water is explained by the fact that the Goya ship was not a passenger ship and did not have partitions between the compartments, as was prescribed for passenger ships.
On July 8, 1945, for the exemplary performance of combat missions of the command, personal courage and heroism shown in battles with the Nazi invaders, Guard Captain 3rd Rank Vladimir Konstantinovich Konovalov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal.
Konovalov Vladimir Konstantinovich
2. Junyo-maru (Japan) - 5620 dead.

The Junyo-maru is a Japanese cargo ship, one of the “ships of hell.” “Hell Ships” is the name given to ships of the Japanese merchant fleet that transported prisoners of war and workers forcibly taken from occupied territories. “Ships of Hell” did not have any special designations. The Americans and the British sank them on a common basis.
On March 18, 1944, the ship was attacked by the British submarine Tradewind and sank. At this moment, on board were 1,377 Dutch, 64 British and Australian, 8 American prisoners of war, as well as 4,200 Javanese workers (Romusha) sent to build the railway in Sumatra. The disaster was the greatest of its time, killing 5,620 people. 723 survivors were rescued only to be sent to work similar in conditions to the construction of the Death Road, where they were also likely to die.
3. Toyama Maru (Japan) - 5600 dead.

Another ship from the list of “ships of hell”. The ship was sunk on June 29, 1944 by the American submarine Sturgeon.
4. “Cap Arcona” (Germany) - 5594 dead- (a terrible tragedy, almost all of them were prisoners of concentration camps).

At the end of the war, Reichsführer Himmler issued a secret order for the evacuation of the concentration camps and the extermination of all prisoners, none of whom were to fall alive into Allied hands. On May 2, 1945, SS troops delivered 1000-2000 concentration camp prisoners on barges to the liner Cap Arcona, the cargo ship Thielbek and the ships Athen and Deutschland, which were stationed in the harbor of Lübeck: from Stutthof near Danzig, Neuengamme near Hamburg and Mittelbau-Dora near Nordhausen. Hundreds of prisoners died along the way. The captains of the ships, however, refused to accept them, since their ships already held 11,000 prisoners, mostly Jews. Therefore, early in the morning of May 3, the barges with prisoners were ordered to be returned to the shore.
As half-dead people began to crawl ashore, the SS, Hitler Jugend and Marines opened fire with machine guns and killed more than 500. 350 people survived. Arrived at the same time English planes and began to bomb ships with white flags raised. "Thielbek" sank in 15-20 minutes. 50 Jews survived. The prisoners on the Athen survived because the ship was ordered to return to Neustadt to pick up additional prisoners from the Stutthof concentration camp by barge. This saved the lives of 1998 people.
The striped camp uniforms of the prisoners were clearly visible to the pilots, but the English order No. 73 read: “destroy all concentrated enemy ships in Lübeck harbor.”
“Suddenly planes appeared. We could clearly see their identification marks. “These are the British!” Look, we are KaTsetniks! We are prisoners of concentration camps!” we shouted and waved our hands at them. We waved our striped camp caps and pointed to our striped clothes, but there was no compassion for us. The British began to throw napalm at the shaking and burning Cap Arcona. On the next approach, the planes descended, now they were at a distance of 15 m from the deck, we clearly saw the pilot’s face and thought that we had nothing to fear. But then bombs fell from the belly of the plane... Some fell on the deck, others into the water... They shot at us and those who jumped into the water from machine guns. The water around the drowning bodies turned red,” wrote Benjamin Jacobs in the book “The Dentist of Auschwitz.”
Burning Cap Arcona shortly after the attack began.
The British continued to shoot at prisoners who launched a boat or simply jumped overboard. 64 shells were fired at Cap Arcona and 15 bombs were dropped on it. It burned for a long time and the people on it burned alive. Most of those who jumped overboard drowned or were killed. 350-500 were saved. In total, 13,000 died, and 1,450 survived. The barges, sea and shore were strewn with corpses.
The next day, May 4, the Germans surrendered to Field Marshal Montgomery.
5. “Wilhelm Gustloff” (Germany) - 5300 dead

At the beginning of 1945, a significant number of people fled in panic from the advancing Red Army. Many of them headed to ports on the Baltic Sea coast. For evacuation huge amount refugees, on the initiative of the German admiral Karl Dönitz, a special operation “Hannibal” was carried out, which went down in history as the largest evacuation of the population by sea in history. During this operation, almost 2 million civilians were evacuated to Germany - to large ships, like "Wilhelm Gustloff", as well as on bulk carriers and tugs.
Thus, as part of Operation Hannibal, on January 22, 1945, the Wilhelm Gustloff began accepting refugees in the port of Gdynia. At first, people were accommodated with special passes - primarily several dozen submarine officers, several hundred women from the naval auxiliary division and almost a thousand wounded soldiers. Later, when tens of thousands of people gathered at the port and the situation became more complicated, they began to let everyone in, giving preference to women and children. Since the planned number of places was only 1,500, refugees began to be placed on decks and in passages. Women soldiers were even accommodated in an empty swimming pool. During the last stages of the evacuation, the panic grew so intense 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. At the end, on 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 division of submarines, 173 crew members, 373 women from the auxiliary naval corps, 162 seriously wounded military personnel, and 8,956 refugees, mostly old men and women and children. When the Wilhelm Gustloff, accompanied by two escort ships, finally departed at 12:30, arguments arose on the captain's bridge between four senior officers. In addition to the commander of the ship, Captain Friedrich Petersen (German: Friedrich Petersen), called up from retirement, there were on board the commander of the 2nd training division of submariners and two captains of the merchant fleet, and there was no agreement between them regarding which fairway to navigate the ship and what precautions to take accept relatively Allied submarines and aircraft. The outer fairway (German designation Zwangsweg 58) was chosen. Contrary to recommendations to go in a zigzag to complicate the attack by submarines, it was decided to go straight at a speed of 12 knots, since the corridor in the minefields was not wide enough and the captains hoped to get out into safe waters faster this way; In addition, the ship lacked fuel. The liner could not reach full speed due to damage received during the bombing. In addition, the torpedo boat TF-19 returned to the port of Gotenhafen, having received damage to its hull in a collision with a stone, and only one destroyer, Löwe, remained in guard. At 18:00, a message was received about a convoy of minesweepers that was supposedly heading towards them, and when it was already dark, it was ordered to turn on the running lights to prevent a collision. In reality, there were no minesweepers, and the circumstances of the appearance of this radiogram have remained unclear to this day. According to other sources, a section of minesweepers was trawling towards the convoy, and appeared later than the time specified in the notification.
When the commander of the Soviet submarine S-13, Alexander Marinesko, saw and was shocked by the brightly lit, contrary to all norms of military practice, Wilhelm Gustloff, he followed it on the surface for two hours, choosing a position for attack. Typically, submarines of the time were unable to catch up with surface ships, but Captain Peterson was moving slower than design speed, given the significant overcrowding of passengers and uncertainty about the condition of the ship after years of inactivity and repairs after the bombing. At 19:30, without waiting for the minesweepers, Peterson gave the command to put out the lights, but it was already too late - Marinesko had developed an attack plan.
Submarine S-13

At about nine o'clock, S-13 came from the shore, where it was least expected, from a distance of less than 1,000 m. At 21:04, it fired the first torpedo with the inscription “For the Motherland,” and then two more - “For the Soviet people” and “For Leningrad". The fourth, already cocked, “For Stalin” torpedo got stuck in the torpedo tube and almost exploded, but they managed to neutralize it, close the tube hatches and dive.
Captain of the third rank A. I. Marinesko
At 21:16 the first torpedo hit the bow of the ship, later the second blew up the empty swimming pool where the women of the naval auxiliary battalion were located, and the last hit the engine room. The passengers' first thought was that they had hit a mine, but Captain Peterson realized that 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 this 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 sank completely.
Two weeks later, on February 10, 1945, the submarine S-13 under the command of Alexander Marinesko sank another large German transport, the General Steuben, more on that below.
6. "Armenia" (USSR) - approximately 5,000 dead.

At about 17:00 on November 6, 1941, the Armenia left the port of Sevastopol, evacuating a military hospital and city residents. According to various estimates, there were from 4.5 to 7 thousand people on board. At 2:00 on November 7, the ship arrived in Yalta, where it took several hundred more people on board. At 8:00 the ship left the port. At 11:25 a.m., the ship was attacked by a single German torpedo bomber Heinkel He-111, belonging to the 1st squadron of air group I/KG28. The plane came in from the shore and dropped two torpedoes from a distance of 600 m. One of them hit the bow of the ship. After 4 minutes, "Armenia" sank. Despite the fact that the transport had the distinctive insignia of a medical ship, the Armenia violated this status, as it was armed with four 21-K anti-aircraft guns. In addition to the wounded and refugees, there were military personnel and NKVD officers on board. The ship was accompanied by two armed boats and two I-153 fighters. In this regard, “Armenia” was a “legitimate” military target from the point of view of international law
German medium bomber Heinkel He-111

There were several thousand wounded soldiers and evacuated citizens on the ship. The personnel of the main hospital of the Black Sea Fleet and a number of other military and civilian hospitals (23 hospitals in total), the leadership of the Artek pioneer camp and part of the party leadership of Crimea were also loaded onto the ship. The loading of evacuees was carried out in a hurry, their exact number is not known (the same as during the evacuation of Germans from Germany at the end of the war - on the ships Wilhelm Gustloff, Goya). Officially in Soviet time It was believed that about 5 thousand people died; at the beginning of the 21st century, estimates were increased to 7-10 thousand people. Only eight were saved.
7. "Ryusei-maru" (Japan) - 4998 dead

The Ryusei Maru was a Japanese ship that was torpedoed by the American submarine USS Rasher on February 25, 1944, killing 4,998 people. Another ship from the list of “ships of hell”.
8. Dona Paz (Philippines) - 4375 dead

Until the time of the collision, Doña Paz carried out passenger transportation twice a week on the route Manila-Tacloban-Catbalogan-Manila-Catbalogan-Tacloban-Manila. The ship departed on its last voyage on December 20, 1987. At about 22 o'clock on the same day, near the island of Marinduque, the ferry collided with the Vector tanker. This disaster is considered the largest among those that occurred in peacetime.
9. Lancastria (UK) - approximately 4,000 dead

Until 1932, Lancastria made regular flights from Liverpool to New York, then was used as a cruise ship sailing around Mediterranean Sea and along the coast of northern Europe.
On October 10, 1932, Lancastria rescued the crew of the Belgian ship Scheldestad, which was sinking in the Bay of Biscay.
In April 1940, it was requisitioned by the Admiralty and converted into a troop transport. It was first used in a new capacity during the evacuation of Allied troops from Norway. On June 17, 1940, she was sunk by German aircraft off the coast of France, killing more than 4,000 people, which exceeded the total number of victims of the sinkings of the Titanic and Lusitania.
10. General Steuben (Germany) - 3608 dead

During World War II, until 1944, the liner was used as a hotel for senior Kriegsmarine command staff in Kiel and Danzig; after 1944, the ship was converted into a hospital ship and participated in the evacuation of people (mainly wounded military personnel and refugees) from East Prussia from the advancing Red Army.
On February 9, 1945, the Steuben liner left the port of Pillau (now Baltiysk) and headed to Kiel; there were more than 4,000 people on board the liner - 2,680 wounded military personnel, 100 soldiers, about 900 refugees, 270 military medical personnel and 285 crew members. The ship was accompanied by the destroyer T-196 and the minesweeper TF-10.
The German liner was discovered on the evening of February 9 by the Soviet submarine S-13 under the command of Alexander Marinesko. For four and a half hours, the Soviet submarine pursued the Steuben and finally, on the night of February 10 at 00:55, torpedoed the liner with two torpedoes. The liner sank 15 minutes later, killing more than 3,600 people (the following numbers are given: 3,608 killed, 659 people saved).
When the liner was torpedoed, the commander of the submarine, Alexander Marinesko, was convinced that in front of him was not a passenger liner, but the military cruiser Emden.
Cruiser "Emden" for comparison.

Marinesko learned that this was not so after returning to his base in Turku, Finland, from local newspapers.
Until December 1944, Steuben made 18 voyages, evacuating a total of 26,445 wounded and 6,694 refugees.
11. Tilbeck (Germany) - approximately 2800 dead

Died near Cap Arcona (see point 4)
12. "Salzburg" (Germany) - approximately 2000 dead

On September 22, 1942, the submarine M-118 (commander - Lieutenant Commander Sergei Stepanovich Savin) headed to position No. 42 (Cape Burnas area) from Poti. The boat's task was to obstruct enemy navigation and sink his ships.
On October 1, 1942, the Salzburg transport was part of the Yuzhny convoy, which left Ochakov for the Romanian port of Sulina. The convoy also included the Bulgarian steamer Tsar Ferdinand (which two years later, on October 2, 1944, was sunk by the French submarine FS Curie). After the convoy passed the traverse of Odessa, it was taken under the protection of the Romanian gunboats “Lokotenent-Commander Stihi Eugen”, “Sublokotenent Giculescu Ion” and the minesweeper “MR-7”. Aerial surveillance of the situation was carried out by an Arado Ar 196 seaplane (some sources mention Cant-501z) of the Romanian Air Force.
“Salzburg” was carrying a cargo of 810 tons of scrap metal (according to other sources, it was carrying coal). In addition, there were from 2,000 to 2,300 Soviet prisoners of war on board.
Due to the danger of being attacked by Soviet submarines, which were constantly on duty in the area, the convoy sailed close to the coast, and escort ships covered it further out to sea.
Submarine M-118

At 13.57, an explosion was heard near the starboard side of the second Salzburg and a column of water shot up above the superstructure and masts.
Covering ships began searching for the boat seaward of the convoy, but to no avail. At this time, the captain of the Salzburg received the command to throw the ship aground. However, already 13 minutes after the explosion the ship lands with its hull on the ground. Only the masts and the chimney remain above the water.
“Lokotenent-komandor Poetry Eugen” continued to accompany the Bulgarian transport, and “Sublokotenent Giculescu Ion” and the minesweeper approached the distressed “Salzburg”.
At this time, the M-118, which was between the shore and the convoy during the attack, began to move, and the muddy trail stirred up by the propellers was noticed by the pilots of the patrol aircraft. When the headquarters received a signal about the discovery of a submarine, the minesweeper received an order to catch up with the convoy and protect it from a possible new attack, and the Sublokotenent Giculescu Ion headed to the place where the boat was discovered. A German seaplane BV-138 from the 3rd squadron of the 125th reconnaissance air group was hunting for the boat from the air. After dropping a series of depth charges from a Romanian gunboat, they reported oil stains appearing on the water and floating wooden debris.
Seaplane BV-138

At 15.45, the convoy commander from the gunboat "Lokotenent-Kommander Stiehi Eugen" sent another radiogram to headquarters, in which he reported that the "Salzburg" sank in shallow water, only masts and superstructures remained above the water, and bad weather, strong winds and waves at sea, as well as the lack of life-saving equipment, greatly complicate rescue operations. Only after this message, at 16.45, the German minesweepers “FR-1”, “FR-3”, “FR-9” and “FR-10” were sent from Bugaz to the site of the death of the ship, and at 17.32 they reported that “. ..70 Russians are hanging on the masts.”
The Romanian command of the naval forces of the region turned to the help of local fishermen, who were alerted and sent to sea. Fishermen rescued 42 prisoners of war from the water.
At 20.00, the Bulgarian steamer Tsar Ferdinand and escort ships entered the port of Sulina, delivering part of the rescued, including 13 crew members of the Salzburg, 5 German artillerymen from the anti-aircraft installation of the dead ship, 16 guards and 133 prisoners of war.
The boat minesweepers "FR-1", "FR-3", "FR-9" and "FR-10" rescued another 75 prisoners of war.
In total, 6 Germans and 2080 Soviet prisoners of war died on the Salzburg transport.
M-118 never went on the air again and never returned to base.
13. Titanic (Great Britain) - 1514 dead.
We told readers about it in detail in the following articles:

14. "Hood" (Great Britain) - 1415 dead.

He died heroically in the Battle of the Denmark Strait - a naval battle of World War II between ships of the Royal Navy of Great Britain and the Kriegsmarine (naval forces of the Third Reich). The British battleship Prince of Wales and the battle cruiser Hood tried to prevent the famous German battleship Bismarck and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen from breaking through the Denmark Strait into the North Atlantic.
At 0535 on May 24, patrolmen from the Prince of Wales spotted a German squadron at a distance of 17 miles (28 km). The Germans knew about the enemy's presence from hydrophone readings and soon also noticed the masts of British ships on the horizon. Vice Admiral Holland had a choice: either continue to escort the Bismarck, awaiting the arrival of the battleships of Admiral Tovey's squadron, or attack on his own. Holland decided to attack and at 05:37 he gave the order to approach the enemy. at 0552, the Hood opened fire from a distance of approximately 13 miles (24 km). The Hood continued to approach the enemy at full speed, trying to reduce the time it took to come under overhead fire. Meanwhile, the German ships took aim at the cruiser: the first 203-mm shell from the Prinz Eugen hit the middle part of the Hood, next to the aft 102-mm installation and caused a strong fire in the stock of shells and missiles. At 05:55, Holland ordered a 20-degree turn to port to allow the rear turrets to fire on the Bismarck.
At approximately 06:00, before completing the turn, the cruiser was hit by a salvo from the Bismarck from a distance of 8 to 9.5 miles (15 - 18 km). Almost immediately, a gigantic fountain of fire appeared in the area of the mainmast, after which a powerful explosion occurred, tearing the cruiser in half.
German battleship Bismarck

The stern of the Huda quickly sank. The bow section rose and swayed in the air for some time, after which it sank (at the last moment, the doomed crew of the bow tower fired another salvo). The Prince of Wales, half a mile away, was buried under the wreckage of the Hood.
The cruiser sank in three minutes, taking with it 1,415 people, including Vice Admiral Holland. Only three sailors were saved, who were picked up by the destroyer HMS Electra, which arrived two hours later.
15. "Lusitania" (UK) - 1198 dead

The Lusitania left Pier 54 in New York City at noon on Saturday, May 1, 1915.
On May 5 and 6, the German submarine U-20 sank three ships, and the Royal Navy sent out British ships warning: “Submarines are active near south coast Ireland." Captain Turner received this message twice on May 6 and took all precautions: the watertight doors were closed, all portholes were battened down, the number of observers was doubled, all boats were uncovered and dumped overboard to speed up the evacuation of passengers in case of danger.
On Friday 7 May at 11:00 the Admiralty transmitted another message and Turner adjusted course. He probably thought that the submarines should be on the open sea and would not approach from the shore, and the Lusitania would be protected by its proximity to land.
At 13:00, one of the sailors of the German submarine U-20 noticed a large four-pipe ship ahead. He reported to Captain Walter Schwieger that he had spotted a large four-tube ship traveling at about 18 knots. The boat had little fuel and only one torpedo; the captain was about to return to base when the boat noticed that the ship was slowly turning starboard towards the boat.
Captain U-20 Walter Schwieger (will die 2.5 years later along with the submarine U-88 off the coast of Denmark)
The Lusitania was approximately 30 miles (48 km) from the Irish coast when it encountered fog and reduced speed to 18 knots. She was sailing to the port of Queenstown - now Cobh - in Ireland, which was 43 miles (70 km) away.
At 14:10 the lookout noticed an approaching torpedo from the starboard side. A moment later, a torpedo hit the starboard side under the bridge. The explosion threw a column of steel plating debris and water upward, followed by a second, more powerful explosion, due to which the Lusitania began to list heavily to starboard.
The Lusitania's radio operator sent out a distress signal non-stop. Captain Turner ordered the ship to be abandoned. Water flooded the longitudinal compartments of the starboard side, causing a 15-degree list to starboard. The captain tried to turn the Lusitania towards the Irish coast in the hope of running it aground, but the ship did not obey the rudder, since the torpedo explosion had broken the steering steam lines. Meanwhile, the ship continued to move at a speed of 18 knots, causing water to enter faster.
After about six minutes, the Lusitania's forecastle began to sink. The list to starboard greatly complicated the launching of lifeboats.
U-20 on the Danish coast in 1916. Torpedoes exploded in the bow, destroying the ship

A large number of rescue boats capsized while loading or were capsized by the movement of the ship as they touched the water. The Lusitania carried 48 lifeboats - more than enough for the entire crew and all passengers - but only six boats could be lowered safely - all on the starboard side. Several folding lifeboats were washed off the deck as the liner sank into the water.
Despite the measures taken by Captain Turner, the liner did not reach the shore. There was panic on board. By 14:25 Captain Schwieger lowered the periscope and went to sea.
Captain Turner remained on the bridge until he was washed overboard. Being an excellent swimmer, he lasted three hours in the water. From the movement of the ship, water entered the boiler rooms, some boilers exploded, including those under the third pipe, which caused it to collapse, while the remaining pipes collapsed a little later. The ship traveled about two miles (3 km) from the site of the torpedo attack to the site of the sinking, leaving a trail of wreckage and people in its wake. At 14:28, the Lusitania capsized, keel up, and sank.
Comparison of the Lusitania and the submarine that destroyed it. Drawing from the magazine “Nature and People”, 1915

The liner sank in 18 minutes 8 miles (13 km) from Kinsale. 1,198 people died, including almost a hundred children. The bodies of many of the victims were buried in Queenstown in Kinsale, a town near the site of the sinking of the Lusitania.
On January 11, 2011, Audrey Pearl, the last surviving passenger on the liner, who was only three months old at the time of her death, died at the age of 95.