HMT Lancastria
HMT Lancastria was a cruise liner owned by the Cunard Line. It was sunk on June 17 1940 off St Nazaire, France.
The Lancastria had been requisitioned for war use by the British government. She had been converted into a troopship and was being used in the evacuation of both British troops and refugees from France. Several thousand troops (the exact number is known - estimates range between 4000 and 8000 men) from both the British Expeditionary Force and the RAF as well as over 1000 civilians had been loaded aboard, with the Captain determined to get as many people aboard as possible. As the ship prepared to sail 5 bombers of the Luftwaffe overflew the ship and the ship was hit by several bombs, one hitting in one of the holds where RAF officers were stowed. Over 1000 tons of fuel leaked into the sea surrounding the floundering ship which was set alight by incendiary bombs dropped by the bombers. One last bomb went straight down the funnel, finally sinking the ship. Various ships in the area rushed to the survivors aid, with 2,477 eventually being rescued.
Aware of the damage that news of the sinking would have on public morale, Winston Churchill had all news of the disaster supressed. The official report into the sinking is classified under the Official Secrets Act until 2040. The wreck is a War Grave protected by The Protection of Military Remains Act of 1986.
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List of shipwrecks | Ship wreck | Shipwreck | Timeline of World War 2 | Timeline of World War II | Timeline of the Second World War
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