SS Albert Ballin

German ocean liner built in 1923

"SS Soviet Union" and "SS Hansa (1923)" redirect here. For other ships, see Soviet Union (disambiguation) and Hansa (disambiguation).

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SS Albert Ballin pulling in to port on September 27th 1923

History
Weimar Republic
Name| Albert Ballin
Namesake| Albert Ballin
Owner| Hamburg-America Line
Builder| Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Launched| 16 December 1922
Maiden voyage| 5 July 1923
Fate| Requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine, 1940
Nazi Germany
Name| Hansa
Operator| Hamburg-America Line
In service| 31 October 1935
Fate| Sunk 6 March 1945, Warnemünde
Soviet Union
Name| Sovetskiy Soyuz (translate as "Soviet Union")
Acquired| By salvage, 1949
In service| 1953–1982
Renamed| 1980, Tobolsk
Fate| Scrapped, 1982
General characteristics (1923)
Type| Ocean liner
Tonnage| 20,815 GRT
Length| 183.61m
Beam| 22.18m
Speed| 16 knots
Capacity| 1650 passengers
Notes| Sister ship Deustchland

SS Albert Ballin was an ocean liner of the Hamburg-America Line launched in 1923 and named after Albert Ballin, the visionary director of the Hamburg-America line, who had committed suicide several years earlier. In 1935, the ship was renamed Hansa on orders from the German government. Towards the end of World War II, she was employed to evacuate civilians during Operation Hannibal, and sank after hitting a mine. She was later raised and refitted by the Soviet Union and was finally scrapped in 1982.

## History

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Passenger manifest for the SS Albert Ballin, September 27, 1923. 1923 Commemorative Porcelain Medal for the Maiden Voyage of the SS Albert Ballin from Hamburg to New York via Southampton. Soviet passenger cargo ship Sovetskiy Soyuz in the Soviet Union (Golden Horn Bay, Vladivostok) in 1957

### Hamburg America Line

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Albert Ballin was built by Blohm & Voss in Hamburg, and served on the Hamburg-New York City route. In 1928, a tourist class was added. Originally built as a 16 knot ship, the engines were replaced in 1929, resulting in a speed of 19 knots. In 1934, she was lengthened by 50 feet, and speed increased again, this time to 21.5 knots.

In 1935, the new Nazi government ordered the ship be renamed Hansa (Ballin having been Jewish). Hansa's last Atlantic crossing was in 1939.

In 1945, she was employed to evacuate civilians from Gotenhafen during Operation Hannibal, and was due to accompany the overloaded MV Wilhelm Gustloff leaving midday on 30 January, but suffered mechanical problems before the ships had left the Bay of Danzig and had to anchor. Later, on 6 March during a further evacuation, she hit a mine off Warnemünde and slowly sank.

### Soviet Union

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The wreck was raised and rebuilt by the Soviet Union around 1949, and renamed  Sovetskiy Soyuz (Russian: Советский Союз; meaning Soviet Union), becoming the largest passenger ship operating under the Soviet flag. From 1955, she operated between Vladivostok and points in the Far East. Renamed  Tobolsk (Russian: Тобольск[1]) in 1980, she sailed under that name for almost two years before being scrapped.

## See also

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* Stanislav Kurilov

## References

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1. ^ "Тобольск". FleetPhoto.ru. 2010.

* Bonsor, N.R.P. (1975), North Atlantic seaway : an illustrated history of the passenger services linking the Old World with the New in four volumes, New York: Arco, ISBN 978-0-7153-6401-7, OCLC 1891992
* Haws, Duncan (1980), The ships of the Hamburg America, Adler and Carr lines, Merchant fleets in profile, vol. 4, Cambridge: Stephens, OCLC 60073185
* Swiggum, S.; Kohli, M., TheShipsList, retrieved 2013-01-18

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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in March 1945

Shipwrecks|

* 1 Mar: USS Hannibal
* 2 Mar: U-3519
* 3 Mar: HMT Southern Flower, HMAS Steady Hour
* 4 Mar: U-3508
* 5 Mar: Nagara Maru
* 6 Mar: Albert Ballin, Z28
* 7 Mar: U-1302
* 10 Mar: Amiral Charner, U-275, U-681
* 11 Mar: U-682
* 12 Mar: Sperrbrecher 18, USS Bass, U-260, V 315 Bris
* 13 Mar: HMS Sealion
* 13 Mar. Taber Park
* 14 Mar: Hugo Zeye, U-714, U-1021
* 15 Mar: USS Lancetfish
* 16 Mar: U-367
* 17 Mar: HMCS Guysborough
* 18 Mar: U-866, TA24
* 19 Mar: Empire Blessing, Suma, Samselbu
* 20 Mar: M18, Hakuyo Maru, HMS Lapwing
* 21 Mar: James Eagan Layne
* 23 Mar: Gneisenau, Ro-41, USS S-21
* 24 Mar: Tomozuru
* 26 Mar: HMAS Terka, U-399, U-1003, Zähringen
* 27 Mar: U-722, U-905
* 28 Mar: USS Skylark, USS Trigger
* 29 Mar: Cha-156, Kommandøren, U-1106, U-1169
* 30 Mar: Köln, U-96, U-348, U-350, U-429, U-430, U-870, U-884, U-965, U-1131, U-1167, U-2340, U-3508
* 31 Mar: Ha-60, I-8
* Unknown date: Ha-69, USS Kete, U-296

Other incidents|

* 1 Mar: USS Guitarro
* 6 Mar: Greenhill Park
* 11 Mar: USS Piranha, U-1201
* 16 Mar: I-47
* 18 Mar: Brünhilde
* 19 Mar: USS Franklin, Ryūhō
* 20 Mar: USS Piranha
* 21 Mar: USS Spadefish
* 23 Mar: U-1003
* 26 Mar: USS Halligan, HMS Puffin
* 29 Mar: HMCS Teme
* 30 Mar: U-1197
* 31 Mar: USS Case, USS Coos Bay, USS Spot
* Unknown date: U-758

1944 1945 1946
February 1945 April 1945

## External links

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* SS Albert Ballin - History, Accommodations, & Ephemera Collection GG Archives

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