During their September expedition, a team of divers from Batlictech led by Tomasz Stachura found the German steamer Karlsruhe. The Steamer was involved in Operation Hannibal, the largest marine evacuation in history, which saw the Nazis transport approximately two million refugees from East Prussia to the West as they fled the red army in early 1945. Karlsruhe was the last ship leaving Piława, the port at Koenigsberg.

This discovery may provide ground-breaking insights into the disappearance of the legendary Amber Room because it was in Königsberg that the Amber Room was seen for the last time. From there, the Karlsruhe steamboat sailed out on her last big-loaded cruise.

“Karlsruhe was a small, old ship, but in those days, every unit capable of evacuating people to the west was important. We had been looking for the wreck for over a year to realize that it could be the most interesting, undiscovered history from the bottom of the Baltic Sea.

Karlsruhe set off on her last voyage under extreme tight security quite heavily loaded as for this ship. The wreck rests several dozen kilometers north of Ustka at a depth of 88 meters. It is virtually untouched. In its cargo holds we discovered military vehicles, porcelain and many chests with so far unknown contents”, says Tomasz Stachura.

SS Karlsruhe was constructed in G.Seebeck Bremerhaven shipyard in 1905. Her dimensions: Length – 66.3 m / Width – 10.1 m / Draught – 3.6 m / Load displacement – 897 tons.

On the last voyage she set off from Piława (the port of Koenigsberg) on April 12, 1945. There were 150 soldiers of the “Herman Gornig” regiment, 25 railroad workers and 888 refugees on board. Together with the crew there was a total of 1083 people. The ship also took 360 tons of “returnable goods” in uneven chests; and military vehicles.

A convoy consisting of four Freighters and three Minesweepers was formed right before the Hel Peninsula. This convoy left the roadstead of Hel on 12th April in the evening. In the morning of 13th April, she was detected by Soviet planes that attacked Karlsruhe and then sank the ship. The ship sank within three minutes with its entire cargo. About 100 people were saved. The position of the attack was imprecise, and the resting place of the wreck was unknown until recently.

“The history and available documentation indicate that the German steamer Karlsruhe was leaving the port in a great hurry and with a large cargo after the Germans had to evacuate Koenigsberg. All of this, when put together, stimulates people’s imagination. Finding a German steamer and a chest with unknown contents resting at the bottom of the Baltic Sea can be significant to the entire history”, says diver Tomasz Zwara, member of the Baltictech team who finally identified the wreck.

The Amber Room was a golden, jewel-encrusted room, which was made of several tons of gemstones and was a gift to Peter the Great in 1716 to celebrate peace between Russia and Prussia. It was stolen by the Nazis during World War 2 and the amber panels were placed into crates which disappeared in the final months of the war.

Baltictech

Baltictech is a diving group from Tri-City, Poland which is involved in the study of Baltic wrecks and promotes the Baltic as one of the most interesting dive sites in the world. Find out more here:

www.batictech.com

Tomasz Stachura

Renowned Baltic Sea wreck diver, Tomasz Stachura, specialises in taking underwater photos of wrecks at great depth. He is Founder of SANTI Diving and Co-founder of Baltictech – international conference. Find out more at:

www.stachuraphoto.com

www.santiodnalezcorla.pl

www.santidiving.com