The Lancastria

Launched in 1922, the 168-meter-long Lancastria, with a capacity of 2150 passengers (2200 life jackets), links London to New York, before being transformed into a luxury liner and sailing the Mediterranean. When the Second World War broke out, she was requisitioned to transport military troops.

It was attacked by German bombers whensome 9,000 Britishsoldiers and officers had just boarded the ship to be repatriated to England. The aircraft dropped 4 bombs, each weighing 500 kg, one of which gutted one of the fuel tanks, spilling almost 500 tonnes around the building. A second wave of bombers dropped incendiary bombs to ignite the viscous liquid and sink the ship definitively. The Lancastria then tilted sharply and sank in 24 minutes, leaving little chance of survival for her passengers, who were already too numerous for her official capacity. According to estimates, the sinking claimed around 7,000 victims (only 2,443 survived).

Destroyers, trawlers, SNSM patrol boats and port service vessels tried to rescue the survivors, who were covered in burns and fuel oil. Most of the survivors were taken to Saint-Nazaire, where many locals came to the aid of the nurses and rescuers.

The British navy has long concealed this disaster, under cover of military secrecy, and still won’t reveal the exact number of passengers at the time of the sinking (on-board documents kept secret until 2040!).

A buoy now marks the location of the wreck, which is (since 2006) considered a marine cemetery. Despite the high tides here, much of the wreck is still intact.