WRECKDIVING
Seeking clarity
Torpedoed by a Russian submarine , the German steamer Otto Cords sank one summer ’ s day in the Second World War . Today it lies in pieces on the sandy seafloor shaped by the surface waves .
This photo shows the wreck ’ s stern , with Niklas kneeling on the propeller and rudder . The auxiliary ship ’ s wheel is on the aft deck . Many people we ’ ve shown this photo to have asked “ Where ’ d the water go ? Is visibility really this good in the Baltic ?” The answer is no , not always . All the photos in this book were taken when conditions were at their best . Sometimes we had to return upwards of 10 times to get a decent photo .
Baltic tragedy
In the final months of the Second World War , millions of people fled from the Soviets ’ advancing Red Army . Germany evacuated more than two million people across the Baltic , bundling them on board whatever ships were available .
For reasons unknown , the Cap Guir ’ s captain chose a western course , as far from the eastern Baltic course as possible . He might have been trying to avoid Soviet submarines . Instead , on 16 April 1945 , the Cap Guir was sunk by Soviet planes . It was hit by at least one aerial torpedo and sank south of Gotland after being engulfed in flames . Between 700 and 800 people perished .
Here , the engine telegraph is in the foreground , while diver Johan approaches an air defence gun platform in the background .
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