When the GDR dream ship sailed by way of the Cuban Missile Disaster – Muricas News

Rostock/Havanna – Because the GDR dream ship sails west in direction of the setting Atlantic solar, the passengers on deck benefit from the mild wind at 20 levels. You haven't any concept that the then US President John F. Kennedy was addressing the nation on October 22, 1962 at 7 p.m. US time.

JFK cites proof of Soviet nuclear missiles stationed in Cuba and imposes a “quarantine” on ships doubtlessly carrying weapons throughout the Atlantic. The blockade is to be enforced with a whole bunch of warships.

Gerd Peters (88), later captain of the “Friendship of Nations”, evaluated u. the logbook entries of the explosive days. Peters to BILD: “I solely came upon what the story actually was like again then after I was engaged on the ebook ‘From Vacation Ship to Luxurious Liner’.”

The previous sea officer: “When issues actually received going, with 183 warships within the space, the Friendship of Nations knew nothing. After all, they noticed that one thing was occurring and so they might assume: One thing stinks right here. However by the point official notification got here from house of the battle, all the things was already in full swing.”

Shut contact was established on October twenty fifth. The US destroyer “USS John R. Pierce” (3000 tons) instantly drove subsequent to the 160 meter lengthy Friendship of Nations.

Peters: “Captain Heiden stopped the engines and communicated with the Individuals. On the time, the crew and passengers nonetheless thought they'd unintentionally received caught up in a serious American fleet maneuver. They didn’t guess the size.”

Kennedy himself is claimed to have given the order that the socialist luxurious liner was allowed to proceed its journey to Havana.

Peters: “When the ship left Havana, the GDR embassy workers had additionally been relocated to the Friendship of Nations and despatched house. Cuba had stated they might not assure their security.” Friendship of peoples returned to Europe unmolested.

At present, 76 years after it was launched, it's thought-about the “longest serving transatlantic ship on the planet” after a number of adjustments of possession beneath the present identify “Astoria”.