German Liner, Torpedoed in 1945, Suffered Worst Loss--7,700 Lives

History’s worst maritime disaster in war or peace, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, claimed 7,700 lives. It occurred Jan. 30, 1945--a little more than three months before the end of World War II in Europe--when a Soviet submarine torpedoed the German passenger ship Wilhelm Gustoff, loaded with refugees, off Danzig, Germany (now Gdansk, Poland).

A sinking reported to have cost 6,000 lives occurred in early November, 1948, as Chinese Nationalist troops fled the Communist revolution. A merchant ship evacuating Nationalist troops sank off the Manchurian coast, apparently when ammunition was touched off by an exploding boiler. Nationalist officials in Nanking reported the disaster a month after it occurred without giving its exact date or the name of the vessel.

Other record maritime disasters of this century, each claiming more than 1,000 lives:

Feb. 26, 1916--French cruiser Provence sank in the Mediterranean; 3,100 dead.

Dec. 6, 1917--French munitions ship Mont Blanc and Belgian steamer Imo collided in the harbor at Halifax, Nova Scotia; 1,600 dead.

April 14-15, 1912--British steamer Titanic hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic; 1,503 dead.

May 7, 1915--British steamer Lusitania was torpedoed by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland; 1,198 dead.

Sept. 26, 1954--Japanese ferry Toya Maru sank in Tsugaru Strait, Japan; 1,172 dead.

Dec. 3, 1948--Chinese refugee ship Kiangya wrecked south of Shanghai; estimated 1,100 dead.