View source for MV Goya

{{Short description|German military transport ship; sank 1945, killing thousands}}
{{About|the German transport ship|the Norwegian refugee ship|SS Goya}}
{| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
| Ship image = 30130 300841 goya.jpg
| Ship caption = ''Goya'' in the [[Akers Mekaniske Verksted|Akers]] shipyard in [[Oslo]], [[Norway]], shortly before her completion
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Ship country = [[Norway]]
| Ship flag = [[File:Flag of Norway.svg|60px]]
| Hide header = 
| Ship name = ''Goya''
| Ship owner = [[Johan Ludwig Mowinckel|Johan Ludwig Mowinckel Rederi]]
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| Ship builder = [[Akers Mekaniske Verksted]], [[Oslo]]
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| Ship laid down = 1939
| Ship launched = 4 April 1940
| Ship completed = 1940
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| Ship identification = 
| Ship fate = Seized by Germany during [[Operation Weserübung|invasion of Norway]]
| Ship notes = 
}}
{{Infobox ship career
| Ship country = [[Nazi Germany]]
| Ship flag = [[File:War Ensign of Germany 1938-1945.svg|60px]]
| Hide header = 
| Ship name = ''Goya''
| Ship owner = 
| Ship operator = [[Kriegsmarine]]
| Ship registry = 
| Ship acquired = 1940
| Ship in service = 
| Ship out of service = 
| Ship identification = 
| Ship fate = Sunk, 16 April 1945
| Ship notes = 
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
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| Ship tonnage = 5,230 [[Gross Register Tons]]
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| Ship length = {{convert|146|m|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam = {{convert|17.4|m|abbr=on}}
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| Ship power = [[Burmeister & Wain]] {{convert|7600|hp|kW}}
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| Ship speed = {{convert|18|kn}}
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|}
'''''Goya''''' was a [[Norway|Norwegian]] [[Motor ship|motor]] [[Cargo ship|freighter]] used as a [[Troopship|troop transport]] by [[Nazi Germany]] and sunk with a massive loss of life near the end of [[World War II]].

Completed in 1940 for the [[Johan Ludwig Mowinckel|Johan Ludwig Mowinckel Rederi]] company, the ship was named after Spanish artist [[Francisco Goya]]. Following Germany's [[Operation Weserübung|invasion of Norway]] that year, she was seized by the ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'' and pressed into service as a troop transport.

Near the end of the war, ''Goya'' took part in [[Operation Hannibal]], the evacuation of German military and civilian personnel from remaining pockets held by the Germans along the [[Baltic Sea]]. Loaded with thousands of refugees, the ship was sunk on 16 April 1945 by the [[Soviet submarine L-3|Soviet submarine ''L-3'']]. Most of the crew and passengers died in the sinking.

The sinking of ''Goya'' was one of the biggest single-incident maritime losses of life of the war, and one of the largest such losses in history, with just 183 survivors out of roughly 6,700 passengers and crew.{{sfn|Arad|pp=102-103}}

== Early service ==
''Goya'' was originally built as a freighter by the [[Akers Mekaniske Verksted]] shipyard in [[Oslo]], [[Norway]], in 1940. The ship was 146 m (475.72&nbsp;feet) long and 17.4 m (57.08&nbsp;feet) wide, had a capacity of 5,230 GRT, and a top speed of 18 knots. Following the [[German occupation of Norway]], the ship was seized by Germany and in 1942 refitted as an auxiliary transport vessel for German [[U-boat]]s.{{sfn|Wnorowski & Jagodziński|p=1}} In 1943, ''Goya'' was turned into a [[depot ship]] (tender), providing support to smaller vessels, but the following year was moved to [[Klaipėda|Memel]] (present-day Klaipėda, [[Lithuania]]), where she was used as a [[target ship]] for [[torpedo]] practice by the [[24th U-boat Flotilla]].{{sfn|Wnorowski & Jagodziński|p=1}}

In 1945, during Operation Hannibal, ''Goya'' was used as an evacuation ship, moving people west from the eastern and southern [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]].{{sfn|Wnorowski & Jagodziński|p=1}} Her commanding officer was Captain Plünnecke.{{sfn|Chinnow|p=25}} ''Goya'' was marked as a hospital ship and carried over 1,000 hospital beds for very seriously wounded and immobile soldiers.

== Sinking ==
On 16 April 1945, ''Goya'' was sailing from [[Hel, Poland|Hel]], around the [[Hel Peninsula]] and across the Baltic Sea to [[Kiel]] in western [[Germany]]. The convoy included ''Goya'', two smaller vessels (''Kronenfels'' and [[steam tug]] ''Aegir''), and two [[minesweeper]] convoy escorts, {{Ship|German minesweeper|M-256||2}} and {{ship|German minesweeper|M-328||2}}.{{sfn|Wnorowski & Jagodziński|p=1}}{{sfn|Chinnow|p=25}} Goya was just one of over 1,000 ships commissioned to participate in the [[Operation Hannibal]] evacuations organised by ''[[Kriegsmarine]]'' Commander-in-Chief [[Karl Dönitz]]. The ship, meant to accommodate 850 crew members, was crowded with over 7,000 evacuees, military personnel and wounded soldiers.

Four hours after leaving the port of Hel and while close to the southern tip of the Hel Peninsula, the convoy was attacked by Soviet [[bomber]]s. During the air raids, a bomb dropped by the bombers hit ''Goya'', but caused minimal damage.{{sfn|Wnorowski & Jagodziński|p=1}} After rounding the Hel Peninsula and leaving [[Gdansk Bay]], several miles north of Cape Rixhöft ([[Cape Rozewie]]), the convoy was sighted by Soviet [[minelayer]] [[Soviet submarine L-3|submarine L-3]], which also carried [[torpedo]]es.{{sfn|Wnorowski & Jagodziński|p=1}}{{sfn|Steinberg|p=302}} While ''Goya'' was faster than submarines, the convoy was slowed by engine problems on the ''Kronenfels'', which also necessitated a 20-minute stop for repairs.{{sfn|Wnorowski & Jagodziński|p=1}} At exactly four minutes before midnight (local time), ''L-3'' Captain [[Vladimir Konovalov]] gave the order to fire a spread of four torpedoes.{{sfn|Arad|pp=102-103}}{{sfn|Steinberg|p=302}} Two of them hit ''Goya''; one struck [[amidships]], the second exploded in the [[stern]], sending an immense plume of fire and smoke into the sky.{{sfn|Wnorowski & Jagodziński|p=1}} The impact of the torpedoes was so great that the ship's masts collapsed on refugees sleeping on the top deck. Within moments, the ship broke in two, fire consuming its upper portions. Shortly after midnight and less than four minutes after torpedo impact, ''Goya'' sank, drowning thousands in their beds.{{sfn|Arad|pp=102-103}}{{sfn|Wnorowski & Jagodziński|p=1}}{{sfn|Chinnow|p=25}}

== Casualties ==
''Goya'', a freighter not equipped with the safety features of a [[passenger ship]], sank to a depth of approximately {{convert|76|m|ft}}.{{sfn|Wnorowski & Jagodziński|p=1}} Given the speed of the sinking, most passengers went down with her or died of [[hypothermia]] in the cold waters of the Baltic Sea.

The exact death toll is difficult to estimate. Authors cite the total number of passengers as "over 6,000",{{sfn|Tucker|pp=800-801}}{{sfn|Wnorowski & Jagodziński|p=1}} 6,700,{{sfn|Arad|pp=102-103}} or 7,200,{{sfn|Chinnow|p=25}} although the exact number might never be known; evacuated military personnel and civilians fleeing German enclaves in East Prussia and occupied Poland boarded ships in chaotic circumstances and often occupied all available space aboard. In any event, the death toll exceeded 6,000 and most likely reached 7,000, making the sinking one of the worst maritime disasters in history, exceeded only by the January 1945 sinking of the ''[[MV Wilhelm Gustloff|Wilhelm Gustloff]]''.

The exact number of survivors is also a matter of dispute; most estimates place it at approximately 182 people saved (176 soldiers and 6 civilians), of whom nine died shortly afterwards.{{sfn|Wnorowski & Jagodziński|p=1}} However, other figures are also cited, notably 172 and 183.{{sfn|Chinnow|p=25}}{{sfn|Tucker|pp=800-801}}

== Discovery of wreck ==
{{more citations needed|section|date=April 2020}}
The position of the [[Shipwreck|wreck]] had long been known to Polish fishermen but was not identified and referred to as "Wreck No. 88" on [[Polish Navy]] maps. On 26 August 2002, the wreck was discovered by Polish [[Technical diving|technical divers]] Grzegorz Dominik, Michał Porada, and Marek Jagodziński, who also [[Salvage diving|salvaged]] the ship's compass.

Exactly 58 years after the sinking of ''Goya'', the wreck was located on 16 April 2003 by an international expedition under the direction of Ulrich Restemeyer, aided by 3D-[[Sonar]] scanning. The position records of ''Goya''{{'s}} accompanying ships were found to be incorrect, probably made during a hasty escape. During the rediscovery, another, smaller, ship was seen on the surface above the wreck and initially thought to carry fishermen. But when Restemeyer's ship, the ''Fritz Reuter'', approached, the other vessel, seemingly carrying divers, left.

The wreck lies at a depth of 76 meters (249 feet) below the surface of the Baltic Sea and is in remarkably good condition, though covered with nets. The wreck is littered with human remains. Survivors have lain wreaths at the surface to show their condolences for the 6,000 people who lost their lives here.

Shortly after the discovery, the wreck was officially declared a [[war grave]] by the Polish Maritime Office in [[Gdynia]].{{sfn|DUWP|p=4243}} In 2006, the decision was published in an official government gazette of the [[Pomeranian Voivodeship]], making it illegal to dive within 500 metres of the wreck.{{sfn|DUWP|p=4243}}

== See also ==
{{commons category|Goya (ship, 1940)}}
* ''[[SS Cap Arcona|Cap Arcona]]''
* ''[[Wilhelm Gustloff (ship)|Wilhelm Gustloff]]''
* ''[[SS General von Steuben|Steuben]]''
* [[List by death toll of ships sunk by submarines]]
* ''[[Armenia (ship)|Armenia]]''
* ''[[Iosif Stalin class passenger ship|Iosif Stalin]]''

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

== Sources ==
* {{in lang|en}} {{cite book|author=Yitzhak Arad|title=In the Shadow of the Red Banner: Soviet Jews in the War Against Nazi Germany|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NH0K92ZcNN0C&pg=PA102|year=2010|publisher=Gefen Publishing House Ltd|isbn=978-965-229-487-6| ref={{sfnRef|Arad}}}}
* {{in lang|en}} {{cite book|author=Heinz Chinnow|title=Pomerania: 1945 Echoes of the Past|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uAx_ZKExF3AC&pg=PA25|date=1 February 2004|publisher=iUniverse|isbn=978-0-595-30624-4| ref={{sfnRef|Chinnow}}}}
* {{in lang|pl}} {{cite journal | year =2006 | title =Zarządzenie porządkowe Nr 9 dyrektora Urzędu Morskiego w Gdyni w sprawie zakazu nurkowania na wrakach statków-mogił wojennych | journal =Dziennik Urzędowy Województwa Pomorskiego | publisher =Wojewoda Pomorski | location =Gdańsk | volume =62 | page =4243 | issn =1508-4779 | url =http://www.beta.uw.iq.pl/du/2006/Nr_62.pdf | access-date =5 September 2014 | ref ={{sfnRef|DUWP}} }}{{Dead link|date=March 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* {{in lang|ru}} {{cite book |author1=Mark Steinberg |title=Евреи в войнах тысячелетий |trans-title=Jews in 1000 years of warfare |year=2005  |publisher=[[Gesharim]] |location=Moscow-Jerusalem |isbn=5-93273-154-0 |pages=587 | ref={{sfnRef|Steinberg}}}}
* {{in lang|en}} {{cite encyclopedia|author1=Spencer Tucker|title=Sinking of Wilhelm Gustloff, General von Steuben and Goya | encyclopedia=World War II at Sea: An Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N0nrSWUHx6sC&pg=PA800|date=30 November 2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-59884-457-3|pages=800–801 | ref={{sfnRef|Tucker}}}}
* {{in lang|pl}} {{cite web | author1=Krzysztof Wnorowski | author2=Marek Jagodziński | title=Goya | year=2014 | work=Baltic Sea Wrecks | url=http://www.balticseawrecks.com/pl/wraki/51,goya-51.html | access-date=5 September 2014 | ref={{sfnRef|Wnorowski & Jagodziński}} }}

=== Further reading ===

* Fritz Brustat-Naval: ''Unternehmen Rettung'', Koehlers Verlagsgesellschaft, Hamburg, 2001, {{ISBN|3-7822-0829-3}}.
* Ernst Fredmann: ''Sie kamen übers Meer - Die größte Rettungsaktion der Geschichte'', Pfälzische Verlagsges, {{ISBN|3-88527-040-4}}.
* Heinz Schön: ''Ostsee '45'', Motorbuch Verlag Stuttgart, 1995, {{ISBN|3-87943-856-0}}.
* Williams, David, ''Wartime Disasters at Sea.'' Near [[Yeovil]]: Patrick Stephens Limited, 1997.

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070315223624/http://www.wracktauchen-ostsee.de/seiten/goya.html The expedition searching for the wreck of the Goya] 12 – 22 April 2003 with the MS Fritz Reuter and an MDR-Team (in [[German language|German]])
* [http://www.warsailors.com/norships/goya.jpg Photograph of SS ''Goya'']

{{April 1945 shipwrecks}}
{{Coord|55|12|02|N|18|18|36|E|display=title|source:cswiki}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goya, MV}}
[[Category:Troop ships]]
[[Category:World War II merchant ships of Germany]]
[[Category:World War II merchant ships of Norway]]
[[Category:World War II passenger ships of Germany]]
[[Category:World War II shipwrecks in the Baltic Sea]]
[[Category:Ships sunk by Soviet submarines]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in April 1945]]
[[Category:Germany–Soviet Union military relations]]
[[Category:1940 ships]]
[[Category:Ships built in Oslo]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of Poland]]