Wreck of the icebreaker S/S Hindenburg

We propose to everybody to start Sunday with diving with Sławek Paćko on another wreck of Aland – German icebreaker S/S Hindenburg. The vessel sank during the First World War as a result of hitting a mine.

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S/S Hindenburg was built in 1915 in German Stettin and supported naval operations in the northern part of the Baltic Sea. The end of her service came after 3 years, on 12 March 1918. While clearing the shipping lanes of German ships, the icebreaker ran into a mine frozen in ice and almost immediately plunged into icy and dark waters.

The 51m long and 13m wide vessel required 21 men to operate. The ship was powered by a 3-cylinder engine with a very decent power output for the time, allowing it to develop a speed of 13.5 knots. The Hindenburg’s operational range was 1000 nautical miles.

On that fateful day, the unit was on duty as usual. The weather was good and the morning passed calmly and nothing heralded a tragedy. When the Hindenburg ran into a mine, it was tossed so that it fell down with the bow, momentarily disappearing under water. Most of the crew saved themselves by staying on the hard that day. The deaths were suffered by 3 persons who were on the bridge at the moment of the explosion.

The wreck was found in 1995. Today, it is one of the many diving attractions in the region. It is located at a depth of 35-50m, so the dive is dedicated to people with a lot of experience and appropriate skills. To reach the dive site from the port of Eckero, we will need about 30min.

S/S Hindenburg – wreck of German Icebreaker from Slawek Packo on Vimeo.

Source: abc.se