Catastrophes of the sea. Sunken passenger ships and submarines

Often, water offers ships typical non-standard situations such as fire, water, deterioration of visibility or the situation as a whole. Well-coordinated crews, guided by experienced captains, cope with problems quickly. Otherwise, marine accidents occur that take human lives with them and leave their black trace in history.

There are many similar disasters and tragedies. However, some of them deserve special attention.

The torpedoing of the mysterious motor ship "Armenia"

The largest marine catastrophes happened in the 20th century, mainly during the war years. The most large-scale tragedy in the history of the Russian fleet is the loss of the motor ship "Armenia". The ship was used to transport the wounded from the Crimea during the offensive of German soldiers. After the shiploaded thousands of wounded in Sevastopol, the ship arrived in Yalta. It was believed that this city was doomed, so the NKVD officers placed several heavy boxes on the ship. There were rumors that there was gold in them. This attracted many adventurers afterwards.

November 7, 1941 torpedo carrier Heinkel He-111 attacked the ship, after which the ship quickly sank. It is still unknown how many people it carried. Only an approximate estimate of the number of victims (7-10 thousand people) is given.

It should also be noted that the vessel has not yet been found. As from the shores of Yalta it sailed at the time when the Germans had already entered the city, the captain of the ship did not inform anyone about his future route. Therefore, it is not known which way "Armenia" was moving.

The tragedy on the Baltic Sea

In the Baltic Sea, sunken ships are often found in divers and divers. But the wreck of the liner "Cap Arcon" and the cargo ship "Tilbek" - a tragedy that claimed almost 8000 lives. It is considered one of the largest marine disasters.

Both ships were attacked by the British Air Force. They transported prisoners from concentration camps. Also on board were SS soldiers and a German crew. By the way, the latter managed to escape. All the rest, mostly those who were dressed in a striped robe, were shot by German ships.

So the British aviation admitted a large-scale catastrophe, which did not bring any usefulness in the war. In their defense, the British Air Force said that the bombing occurred accidentally, erroneously.

The legendary "Titanic"

Everyone who studies sunken ships or heard something about them, will invariably connect the story with the Titanic. However, there is nothing mysterious or unique about it. The ship's captain was informed of the threat of icebergs, but decided to ignore this data. Soon he received a message that there was a huge ice block ahead. There was no time to change the course. So the captain decided to put his right side under attack.

The ship was nicknamed "unsinkable" even in the port. I must say that he corresponded to him a little. Despite the large damage received, the vessel was kept on water for a long time. During this period, the nearest ship "Carpathia" managed to come to the rescue. That's why more than 700 passengers were rescued. There were about 1000 dead.

Thus, if we consider the most "untwisted" sea catastrophes of the 20th century, the death of the Titanic will come first. This is due not to the number of human casualties and touching stories of salvation, but to what the ship traveled to know.

Lusitania liner

In 1915, the catastrophe of the sea enriched its list with the crash of a British passenger liner. May 7, "Lusitania" was attacked by a German submarine. The torpedo hit the starboard side, causing a series of explosions. As a result, the ship went to the bottom in a few moments.

The catastrophe occurred near Kinsale (Ireland), 13 kilometers from it. Probably, such proximity to the mainland allowed to save enough people.

Full wreck of the liner occurred in 18 minutes. On board there were about 2000 people, more than 700 of which managed to escape. 1198 passengers and crew members went to the bottom along with the wreckage of the former large liner.

By the way, it is with this tragedy that the Anglo-German confrontation begins on the water expanses. Both countries are trying to cause damage, sometimes even "accidentally," to each other regarding the navy.

The nuclear-powered vessel "Kursk"

The most recent catastrophe in the memories of Russians is the death of the Kursk. This tragedy brought misfortune and grief to many families who did not expect to part with their loved ones forever. After all, the nuclear-powered ship did just a training swim.

Wrecked submarines have always been of interest. August 12, 2000 their list was added to the "Kursk". At the moment there are 2 reasons for what happened. In the first case, it is believed that a projectile exploded in the torpedo compartment. However, no one can say why this happened. In the second case, an attack from the US Navy, specifically, the Memphis submarine. As for the concealment of the real cause of the death of the Kursk, the government decided to avoid an international conflict. Anyway, at the moment there is no precise information as to why the nuclear ship was sunk.

Victims of the tragedy were 118 people. It was impossible to help the perishing people on the bottom of the Barents Sea. Therefore, no one could survive.

The most paradoxical death

The largest marine disasters are not only large-scale human casualties, but also their uniqueness. Many of them happen under such conditions, which at first sight seem completely impossible. A paradoxical catastrophe is the death of the Don Paz ferry and the oil tanker that took place in late 1987.

The fact is that the captain of the ferry sat in his cabin and watched TV, while the ship was managed by an inexperienced sailor. He was met by an oil tanker, which collided a few minutes later. As a result, almost all the passengers were burnt alive, as a global fire began. From the arisen fire trap it was impossible to get out. More than 80 tons of oil spilled into the sea, after which it immediately ignited. Who would have thought that you could perish from the fire on the water?

Both ships went completely under the water in less than half an hour. Survivors were not there, the elements took 4375 people.

Conclusion

All sea accidents are tragedies that plunge into grief and break the destinies of people. The physical damage to the fleet is inflicted, especially if the warship is lost. But there is also moral damage, because nobody wants to lose colleagues and brothers in the specialty.

But any catastrophe at sea is also a kind of experiment, only unplanned. After the incident, the fleet needs to analyze the situation from all sides, identify the circumstances and causes. Further, development of measures should be carried out to prevent the recurrence of a specific catastrophe.