Baltic Fleet celebrates anniversary of World War II sea battle

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Itar Tass
January 30, 2005

KALININGRAD - The Baltic Fleet has been celebrating the 60th anniversary since a historic attack undertaken by Soviet submarine C-13 during World War II.

On January 30, 1945 the Soviet submarine sank the Nazi liner Wilhelm Gustlow with a displacement of around 25,000 tons and 10,000 passengers on board, including 70 submarine crews that Hitler planned to use in a total submarine war and enforce a naval blockade on Great Britain, in particular.

The submarine crew under command of Captain Alexander Marinesco frustrated Hitler's plans.

The Soviet submarine overtook the Nazi ship on the surface and torpedoed the ship.The attack on the Nazi ship went down in history as the "attack of the century." In 1990, the legendary Soviet captain was awarded the Order of Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously.

A commemoration ceremony devoted to the heroic exploit of the Soviet submarine crew will be held at a monument to Captain Marinesco built in Kaliningrad in 2001.


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