''Totila'' was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

which was sunk during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

on 10 May 1944 near Khersones during the Axis evacuation of the Crimea, killing up to 5,000 German and Romanian soldiers. ''Totila'' was built in 1942 as the Hungarian cargo ship ''Magyar Vitez''. The Germans confiscated her in 1944. In 1944, the

German Army The German Army (, "army") is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German ''Bundeswehr'' together with the ''Marine'' (German Navy) and the ''Luftwaf ...

′s 17th Army was cut off by the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

in the Crimean Peninsula. At first,

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

did not allow the 17th Army's 235,000 German and Romanian troops to be evacuated by sea, but on 11 April 1944 the evacuation began. Together with the ship ''Teja'', ''Totila'' reached Khersones on 10 May 1944 and both ships were immediately loaded with German and Romanian soldiers. They then headed for

Constanța Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. They survived a first attack by a formation of 20 Soviet aircraft, but at 09:30, ''Totila'' was hit by three bombs during a second attack by 21 Soviet planes. The ship, with 3,000 Germans and 2,000 Romanians on board, sank very quickly. ''Teja'' and the escort ships could not stop to help the survivors. At 14:45, a new formation of 11 Soviet

A-20 A20, A 20, A.20 or A-20 may refer to: Vehicles * A-20 Havoc, a U.S.-designed attack aircraft used in World War II * A20 heavy tank, a British tank which did not enter production but of which a downsized version became the A22 Churchill tank * A-20 ...

s appeared and hit ''Teja'', which sank with some 4,000 men on board. The three escort ships saved some 400 men and continued the trip to Constanța. The claim that most soldiers saved themselves by swimming to shore is very unlikely. The exact number of casualties will never be known, but the sinking of these two ships is one of the greatest maritime disasters of all time. In total, some 8,000 men might have lost their lives in this incident.

Divers Diver or divers may refer to: *Diving (sport), the sport of performing acrobatics while jumping or falling into water *Practitioner of underwater diving, including: **scuba diving, **freediving, **surface-supplied diving, **saturation diving, a ...

found the wreck of ''Totila'' in May 2003 near

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

References

;Bibliography *

External links

Operation "60,000" – 1944

Wrecksite Magyar Vitez MV - Totila MV

World War II merchant ships of Hungary World War II merchant ships of Germany Maritime incidents in May 1944 Maritime disasters 1942 ships Ships sunk by Soviet aircraft World War II shipwrecks in the Black Sea Ships built in Hungary Troop ships of Germany World War II auxiliary ships of Germany {{mil-ship-stub