| The Sinking of the Hansa by Soviet Submarine L - 21 |
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Passenger Steamer "Hansa" - From owners' archives `Gotlandsbolaget'
This article should be read in conjunction with this Map.In the fall of 1944, all Swedish transportation activities to and from Germany had ceased. West of the Gotland, there were no targets left for the Soviet U-boats to aim at at. Yet, they still sent S/s Hansa to the bottom. The Hansa was fully lighted and displayed large Swedish Flags on her hull.
[ click for enlarged photograph ] Passenger Steamer "Hansa" - Showing Wartime Identification
There were only two survivors and they both stated the U-boat had surfaced after the sinking and had searched the area for over one half hour with their searchlight. They surely knew that they had sunk a Swedish passenger liner within Swedish waters and yet, the sinking was not reported to base at all.
[ click for enlarged photograph ] Attack on the Hansa>
For over thirty years, frequent attempts at locating the wreck of the Hansa proved unsuccessful as the data then available pointed to the wrong geographical position. Some years ago, meteological and hydrological data then prevailing at the time of the sinking was assembled. The facts were fed into a computer and the actual location of the wreck was arrived at. A Sea-Owl was then sent down for taking photographs and collecting whatever litter could be found surrounding the wreck. They found sizeable pieces of the torpedoes and thus were able to determine the actual type. This type of torpedo was not used on the large U-Boat of "K" class which was in the area at the time. This type of torpedo was used solely in the Stalinetz Class!
[ click for enlarged photograph ] Deck plan and side view of Hansa" >
In 1998, divers found a Soviet U-boat which had sunk several Swedish merchant ships in 1942. (See this map for details.) Shortly following the find, the Russian government stated they had no interest in the wreck but, the following day, the Mv Volgabalt was seen anchored over the wreck. "Engine troubles" they explained to the enquiring officers of the Swedish Coast Guard who went to the scene to investigate. The Mv Volgabalt shortly thereafter lifted anchored and passed on.
The S/s HANSA Owner: Steam Ship Co Gotland Built: 1899 LOA: 41,9 m Breadth: 7.85 m Sunked by torpedoes from Soviet U-boat at 05.57 hrs Lmt, Nov 24 1944 15 miles off Stenkyrkehuk off Gotaland. 84 drowned and 2 survived.
This sinking `did' make the newspapers, showing the Hansa painted in war suit and headlined "Act of Piracy...hundred dead..!"
S/s Hansa - The last voyage
Source of information:R. Bengtsson & Zweigbergk
Translation: Klas HorndahlThe ship Hansa was a passenger steamship built in Stockholm 1899 for Ångfartygs AB Gotland, Visby.
Her size was 563 Grt, 47,9 m long, beam 7,8 m and 3,9 m draft. The line of her hull reminded about lines of luxury yachts. The interior was made in mahogany, walnut, brass works and several round shaped skylights. With dining room for 40 guests. Her steam engine was still in 1944 as good as new. In 1944 the Hansa was a wellknown silhouette for the people in Visby and Nynäshamn. She also made other ports, such as Danzig, Tallinn and Riga, during the 1930th.
[ click for enlarged photograph ] Passenger Steamer "Hansa" - Smoking Lounge
Departure from NynäshamnThe night of November 23 Hansa left Nynäshamn with Captain Martin Klinberg as master and passed Landsorts lighthouse at 00.55 November 24th. A strong southerly wind on 12 - 14 m/sek met the ship's south easterly course. Most portholes were lit as passengers began to get seasick in their cabins. She had the Swedish flag painted and lighted at each side of the ship's sides.
Half way at 01.17 she passed s/s Gute from same company and Third Officer ArneThuresson sent his light signals to Gute, from his watch on the cold open bridge. Before his watch went off, he inspected each of the 86 names on the passenger list to see that there were no foreigners onboard, as the whole Gotland was a military zone. Than he went into the radio room behind the wheelhouse for a short sleep.
In cabin 11, army Captain Mohlin and his friend, accountant Ragnar Halldén shared some sleeping pills in order to get some sleep while the ship was thundering in to the big waves and speed went down to 8 knots.
The passengers woken up
Something woke the passengers up. "I think we hit a mine - we need to check on the deck" said Halldèn. They heard a glass broken and a woman’s scream. Mohlin thought the situat was not normal. The ship was not rocking anymore, everything was still and quiet. The floor started to tilt.
Out on the main deck he felt the cold wind and the spray of water from the waves - he got a shock - the whole fore part of the ship was missing, the bridge was almost destroyed, the dark waves were breaking on the lifeboat deck and the tilting of the deck had increased. But some engine was still running and kept the lights on. Mohlin and Halldén grabbed a deck chair and jumped in the sea.
[ click for enlarged photograph ] Survivors thrown at sea
Third mate Thureson who slept in the radio cabin was thrown out in the sea by the explosion and woke up terrified in the water on the remains of the radio cabin.
[ click for enlarged photograph ] Searchlight from nearby ship [ Waria ]
From where comes the lightAll the men noticed a strong search light in the north which was on for 10 minutes. They also heard more voices in the dark. They found a capsized small lifeboat and succeeded to turn it upright. From the life boat they noticed a man sitting on a wooden potato box like a statue. We shouted to come over to the boat but the strange man showed no reaction.
[ click for enlarged photograph ] X shows position of inflatables on aft deck
A big wave suddenly threw all three men back in the water and capsized the boat again. Halldén swam over to the potato box, the other two swam to a nearby raft. All of a sudden a thick fog drifted in from the south. Both lost eye contact with Halldén but shouted to get in the water and swim over to their raft. They understood that no one could survive any longer in the cold if they did not leave the small box. But the wind carried the box away and they never saw Halldén again.Finally on the raft.
Thuresson and Mohlin tried to take cover under a canvas on the raft in order to survive until dawn came. No more voices were heard from the sea.
An hour after first daylight, Mohlin thought he heard an engine above them. Thuresson removed his bandage covering his head wound and was ready to wave. Mohlin lighted the distress rockets and out of the cloud came a DC-3. Mohlin read the Morse signals from cockpit "Yes we have seen you." Half an hour later arrived the two minesweepers LANDSORT and ARHOLMA, which had navigated on the course given to them by the DC-3.
[ click for enlarged photograph ] Schematic of Hansa's wreck>
S/s Hansa was now resting in upright position at a depth of 100 meter without her bow, which was laying 30 meter behind the aft part of the ship.
[ click for enlarged photograph ] The two survivors arriving at Visby.
Several weeks afterwards - Hansas chronometer (clock) was found on an island in Stockholm archipelago with a piece a the wooden wall off the ship's bridge. The clock had stopped at 05.57 and is now at the Police Museum in Stockholm. 05.57 was later considered as the time Hansa had sunk.
[ click for enlarged photograph ] Hansa owner's Express Cable (Distress) radioed to Swedish Navy HQ
In 1988 Commodore Björn Mohlin chief of the Swedish Navy Diving Centre received permission from his superiors to carry out a diving training exercise on the m/s Belos and m/s Altair over the Hansa's estimated wreck site. The expedition finally found Hansa and took very nice photographs of the wreck from the outside. It was considered too risky for the divers, who worked from a diving bell, to enter the inside of the ship.Now the site is considered as a graveyardAfter the Hansa disaster all liners to Gotland had a proper escort of minesweepers and destroyers.
Torpedoes start coming again on the Gotland traffic 1945
After the big German liners M/s Gustloff and S/s Steuben were torpedoed in the Gulf of Danzig in January/February 1945, Soviet submarines attacked the passenger ships between Gotland and the mainland on a daily basis although those ships were sailing under the escort of 5 or 6 Swedish armed naval vessels. Passengers onboard s/s Gute had to wear life jackets at all times despite the fact that Sweden was not at war and the ships were sailing within Swedish territorial waters.
For weeks in February, there were daily headlines in Swedish papers such as "Act of piracy… Why can't nobody stop those deadly piracy attacks on peaceful civilian neutral ships"
Aftermath
It is believed that Russian U-boats coming out from the Gulf of Finland at the end of 1944, enroute to the operational ground in the Danzig area, used a safe route close to the Swedish mainland. Many of those boats were unlucky to find any target or in many cases had to return to base after technical problems. It then was very tempting to torpedo a Swedish ship of 500 tons which then could be reported back home as "sunken large enemy merchant vessel of 20.000 tons west of Gotland." Actually, the sinking of Hansa was reported just in that manner!
THE ASSASSIN: Russian U-boat L-21 - Captain S. Mogilevskij
Source of information:Colonel Igor Venkov and Captain Sjestopanov,
Leningrad Naval Command
1992 origins from report given to Commodore Orel at Åbo 1944
Translation of L-21 war diary: (Klas Horndahl)
[ click for enlarged photograph ] Capt Drosdov of submarine K-51 wrongly blamed for 50 years.... He died in 1965" >
Read before proceeding with storyBefore proceeding with this story, you should read about how it was obtained. Simply incredible (but true). Click here
Mine laying mission
L-21 was operating along the Polish coast on November 13 1944. Several torpedo attacks were carried out against the German Cruiser Nürnberg but all torpedoes missed. The L-21 answered with 2 torpedoes - all missed the target. New order was received on November 22 to lay out 20 mines in the area. Technical problems again, mine number 17 was stucked in the mine tube. Operation was cancelled and L-21 was going back to base for repair. Note: The L-21 was later bombed by German patrol boat MT-1.
[ click for enlarged photograph ] Soviet Submarine L-21 - Capt S. Mogilevskis Commander." >
Return to baseMidnight November 23 - 24 the boat was passing along the western shore of Gotland island in the Baltic. Radio message to base at Hoburgen lighthouse: "Not possible to repair at sea - going home." The coast of Gotland was offering a safe retreat back to Åbo, Finland. The boat had then been at sea for almost 2 weeks.
Hansa is sighted
04.00 Moscow time Nov 24, 1944. Mogilevskij is taking sights. A large merchant transport is sighted on convergent course. This course was normal for all traders with iron ore cargo for Germany. The ship has all lights on. The U-boat goes on 'alert one' for torpedo attack at the surface. Mogilevskij estimates the size of the vessel to 5.000 tons.
06.00 distance to target 8-9 cables. - Mogilevskij does not find it wise to come closer than 1 - 2 km from the ship. After shooting 3 torpedoes, the U-boat makes a turn and he sees that a flag of some kind is painted on the white hull.
Two torpedoes miss the target but the third hits the bow just under the fore mast. He feels the explosion and notices a fireball rising together with different kind of objects in the dark sky. Mogilevskij notes in his logbook [ see logbook below ] "Target hit by torpedo at 08.00 Moscow time - now changing to new course north for Åbo."
[ click for enlarged photograph ] Copy of L-21 Logbook." >
M/s Waria on the scene6 minutes later Mogilevskij noticed strong search light from the north. Escort coming in - crash diving! 20 minutes later he writes in the logbook at 27 m depth 'escort vessel crosses the surface'. The U-boat listening to the fast vessel with the powerful engine forgets any idea of further attacks and continues the voyage to Åbo in underwater position.
[ click for enlarged photograph ] The cruiser 'WARIA'" >
Was Cruiser Waria an escort cruiser?Secret mission
The Waria was a newly built merchant motor vessel the navy had acquired from Sveabolaget Stockholm. The ship was rebuilt and armed with sea-to-sea as well anti aircraft heavy guns and equipped with mine rails and dept charges. The powerful diesel motor was capable of making 17 - 18 knots in emergency.
The Latvian gold
In fact, the Waria was not an escort for Hansa or any other ship. The official mission was to collect 300 refugees at Gotland and bring them to the mainland of Sweden. The secret mission however was to transport the Latvian National Bank's gold reserve to Sweden. The one which been buried in secret during the Soviet occupation 1940.
The Waria was only half an hour behind the s/s Hansa but that was only a coincidence. None onboard Hansa had sighted the Waria or had any knowledge of the motor vessel's presence behind them.
Captain with secret mission
The Captain on the Waria was Erik Beronius, Naval Reserve. He was a reliable agent for Carl Petersén's C-Bureau. Another agent for C-Bureau was Allan Jansson who had a reservation on the Hansa but instead had taken an earlier plane to Visby. Jansson was in charge and responsible for the Latvian gold and was responsible for its safe delivery to Oxelösund.
Bernonius' secret orders were strictly not to engage Waria in any struggle with eventual U-boats as long as the valuable cargo was onboard.
Obviously the crew onboard had noticed the explosion a few kilometres ahead and set out the search light and sped out of the area as fast as possible, to protect their orders and mission. The crew had stated to the inquiry commission that nothing had been seen nor heard from the Waria's bridge. The commission then did not believe their statement but, at the time, could not find any other reason either.
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