Back in 1925 the passenger liner Berlin III was launched - she served the Bremen - Southampton - Cherbourg - New York route in the days when you had to cross the Atlantic by sea. After being chartered by the Nazis as a workers cruising ship and then service in World War 2 as a hospital vessel, she was sunk by a mine in 1943.
The Soviet Union refloated her in 1949 , renovated her and renamed her Admiral Nakhimov after one of Russia's greatest naval commanders.
She ended up on the Black Sea, taking Soviet holidaymakers for 6 -day cruises along the beautiful coast.
And then 20 years ago today - August 31st 1986 - she was hit by the cargo ship Pyotr Vasev, and sank in a few minutes. 423 people perished. It was with a sense of disbelief that Russians heard the rumours that she had sunk - no official announcement was made for days.
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