RMS Lancastria: The Ghost of St. Nazaire

[prudenceislandboy]

Despite the tragedy, it is good to see the German Navy personnel giving the Lancastrias dead a proper burial at 2:15.

[Electricca2]

thanks you for a beautifultribute and who sings the tribute song???

[Redrosewitch]

I have ancestors who were amongst the crew on this ship. Thanks for this tribute.

[40bluedevils41]

@nazrat1st i see what ur saying

[40bluedevils41]

@nazrat1st its just like the germans sinking the lusitania they were told not to sink civilian ships and yet they still did. If you ask me i think the germans have a grudge against the cunard in the world wars

[Ultimaton100]

@40bluedevils41 I am in no way defending what Germany did to the british liners, but Lusitania was listed as an armed cruiser by the british admiralty and was carrying weapons for the war. That does not excuse what happened, not at all, but the British certainly did not take steps to prevent her sinking either. I also remind you and others of the Wilhelm Gustloff. In war, innocence is the first casualty.

[SuperTitanicfreak]

I can't believe that Lancastria was total before she made it out. How can people be so cold?

[RubiStah]

My grandad was on that ship the day it was bombed, but he was one of the lucky ones that lived to tell the story. He jumped overboard and he couldnt swim, but a priest that was onboard gave him a cross and mum still has that cross X

[1947Gentleman]

One last observation - one still shows General Sir Alan Brooke and colleagues - but I think he was not evacuated on this ship but on the trawler Cambridgeshire.

I wrote Wilhelm Gustaf but believe should have written Wilhelm Gustloff.

[1947Gentleman]

Other issues: Death toll impossible to quantify as nobody counted accurately who came on board, perhaps 10,000 in total so over 5,000 deaths. People were machine-gunned in the water; shame on those fliers. The sinking story came out in the then neutral USA press, and made public in the UK in the autumn by which time the Battle of Britain was being fought. Dunkirk drew a line on the first stage of the war and Lancastria didn't quite fit in with the 'wars are not won by evacuations' line.

[1947Gentleman]

Some posts here are quite extraordinary, from people practically denying Hitler and his gang were evil. Of course the airmen who dropped bombs on this were doing their duty as the ship was carrying troops, as was the Wilhelm Gustaf torpedoed towards the war end but when Berlin was still holding out and 1/4million Russians dying trying to capture it.. To quote General Sherman from an earlier conflict, all war is hell.

Piffle to say Britain was deserting France, this time beaten.

[hungarygator]

@1947Gentleman Sherman is not one I would look to in order to make the point you are trying to make as he was an infamous war criminal.

[snakes3425]

@hungarygator

It's a quote Sherman made after his March to the Sea, also in 1864 the terms War Criminal or Geneva Convention had yet to come into existance 

[hungarygator]

@snakes3425 true about the geneva convention part. Still, the things he did were clearly in violation of the rules of war that had been in force in the western world for centuries at that point and had he found himself on the losing side of any war at that time, he would have been executed. He even admitted as much himself.

[cliveatvagg]

I visited a cemetary south of St Nazaire which contained graves of many of the Lancastria fatalities. I was told at this village that the sinking was kept from the British public because, as the ship contained mostly civilians it was shamefully unprotected as they were not as valued as troops.

[SOKBenny]

@cliveatvagg

The ship did not contain mostly civilians. It was a troop ship, carrying the remaining members of the BEF. If a great number of civilians had been on board the British press would have circulated the story to turn neutral countries against Germany. As with the case of the Lusitania. The story was kept from the British public because it was a military disaster (more soldiers died on the Lancastria than in the Battle for France) and because of the timing of the sinking.

[christophertritton]

When will all this be finally be declassified? Its so sad.

[SOKBenny]

@christophertritton

The Scottish Parliament have tried to make the Ship a War grave and get official recognition of the disaster. But the British government has refused this request. This is because the ship was overloaded...9,000 on board at the time of the sinking for a ship half the size of the Titanic. Moreover, the fact that Britain tried to hide this from the public, was rather shameful, and release of these documents will show evidence of this. None of the families were contacted...

[flamedrake24]

my great grandfather was on the ship when it was bombed. he lost his life in the sinking.

[nazrat1st]

--Are you sure that germans sunk this ship??.....It is known that germans, by Hitler`s orders, were not allowed to attack english retiring troops, and much less ships loaded with civilians!! It`s hard to believe that germans, in the first stage of the war could done that. Its simply unbelievable!! WHY is still kept secret??...Sealed until 2040?? Is not logical, mostly because after the bombing raids over England people was used with loses and suffering....is not logical, is FAKE!

[snakes3425]

@nazrat1st

Survivors, and German Records all seem to confirm it was indeed the Luftwaffe. It was kept sealed due to the belief that the news would damage British Moral even further, Dunkirk had occured two weeks prior and France was on the verge of collaspe so moral wa at an all time low. Hitler had also recinded the restricutions on the Wermarcht as they marched through France

[Northseafool]

@nazrat1st Of course we are sure you clown....

[SOKBenny]

@nazrat1st

Yes the Germans did sink the ship. The story of the Lancastria was sealed by the British Government not because it sank in mysterious circumstances but because the ship sank two weeks after the Dunkirk evacuations. Winston Churchill stated he did not wish the news to reach the public because it would be a huge blow to British morale - being that Churchill had already claimed that the entire BEF had been rescued (which was not true) and France was about to surrender.

[Unterscharfuhrer]

Mu Uncle was a survivor from the Lancastria. The British authorities hushed the whole incident up and transferred most of the survivors to North Africa so that word couldn't spread. It was at that point, the worst maritime disaster in history and would have severely damaged British morale if publicised. The sinking severley affected my Uncle throughout his entire life. He died 2 years ago aged 91.

[egl9sun]

I have read official records stated 2000 military, and 1000, refugees, but this is the first time I have read that actually it was far higher. I was researching ships that had been struck during this time. The official records make it seem like few were lost, but if this ship had between 6000, to 9000 people, then it was completely different. Did eye witness accounts state the numbers were that high?

[minipo48]

my father in law was killed on this ship,he was 38 years old at the time. His body was washed up at St.nazairer 6 weeks later.My husband was born 6 days before his dads body was found.

[revrunnertech2772]

WHY DO GERMANS SINK ALL SHIPS???

[nazrat1st]

@revrunnertech2772

are you sure that germans did that??.....

[Jutisan]

To be blunt about this I think Germany would have created hell on earth if they had won the war and I am sure the person who had released the bombs on the unsuspecting ship probably committed suicide once he had learned of his miss dead or was probably awarded a medal by the fuhrer either way it would have resulted in a Dante's Inferno type existence for the bastard.

[ultradumbass]

are there any survivors alive from this?

[valleyshrew]

Did the person who dropped the bombs ever come forward after the war, or are they presumed to have died?

[snakes3425]

@valleyshrew

Since there were numerous bombers attacking St. Nazire at the time, it's unknown which plane or planes struck the Lancastria, let alone if the four man crew came forward after the war or if they were killed in action. The only thing known about the plane which sank Lancastria is that it was a Junkers Ju-88 belonging to Kampfgeschwader 30, a Medium Bomber Wing that was operating out of Chievres Air Base at the time

[leonidas58]

My Father was one of the survivors. he said they were packed in like sardines, and there were lots of civilians on board too. he never got over it.

[stefansmom]

well it's only 12 days until the 70th anniversary i think that all sinkings that were caused by war should be declassified so they won't be forgotten..  god bless the fallen and the survivors.

[loup9003]

My grandfather (who is now dead) had deserted the Second world war and even hid his identity, because Canada passed a (aguainst Quebecers willing btw). Later, he learnt that the boat he was supposed to take to go in Europe sanked. Maybe it was this one. Btw, St. Nazaire, is it the city in Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean, in the province of Quebec?

[loup9003]

@loup9003 After check up, no it was'nt this one sorry. Awful tragedy nonetheless.

[TheRabbid101]

I don't know but I only like 3-4 funnel ships.

[Tundraboy05]

Ok, I've noticed something.

The first picture depicts a ship with blacktop funnel.

I also noticed that her deck paint extends all the way to the bow.

Are you sure this is Lancastria?

[snakes3425]

I'm sure, ships like Lusitania had four funnels, Lancastria only had one, the photo is actually a pre-war photograph of Lancastria.

[SCANDIN3]

there's a book called captain of the queens it's the life of harry grattage the former commodore of the cunard line he was on board lancastria when this happened and on board the grey ghost (queen mary) when it hit the curocao he was also an adviser on the film a night to remember it's well worth a read for anyone interested in her

[nachtjager77]

Thanks for posting your vids, very well done. I have a 1938 dated deckplan from the Lancastria and some menus from the same voyage. This is a terribly forgotten disaster, as is the Gustloff and Von Steuben. Danke.

[SkielahunCJ]

Beautiful tribute. My late grandfather was also aboard as a soldier and survived. I remember hearing the story of him diving off into burning water after the ship was hit (burning with the fuel floating on the surface from the wreckage). And something about him swimming underwater, looking up to see the surface on fire above him, trying to find a safe spot to resurface. My parents also said that he talked about how the German planes kept coming back to fire on survivors struggling in the water.

[redelbmek]

Most of those actually killed were by strafing from the german bomber who returned and machine gunned those in the water, killing hundreds. Death toll is estimated to be something OVER 9000.

[Scioneer]

Was this a sister ship to the Carpathia? She looks alot like her.

[mohicannoir]

Sleeping sun, the perfect song for this... I lived there in St Nazaire, just in front of the "Lancastria" beacon, up to the memory stele.

I will never forget what happened...

[Tundraboy05]

how could she have been carrying 9000 people then?

[snakes3425]

She was taking part in Operation: Ariel, the evacuation of all Allied Nationals and Military personel from Western France following the collapse of the French military. As a result the passengers were crammed into every avalable space.

[Tundraboy05]

really? she was carrying 9000 refugees?

she was larger than titanic?

[snakes3425]

She was actually smaller then Titanic,

[soulshinz]

@Tundraboy05 her capacity was only 2500...but the loaded her with refugees....much like the CAP ARCONA...which was overloaded with app 5000 prisoners

[Jimmerjammers]

Lovely tribute. I lost my grandfather at the sinking of the Lancastria. 70 years ago next year. Lest we forget....

[Ussondupoitou]

This is the biggest marine tragedy. Between 4000 and 9000 people died on 17 June 1940. More than the famous Titanic ! We never talked about this tragedy since 1940. It's only today that we begin to talk about. What a shame !

There's a very beautiful song written in 2007 by the French Celtic Band Tri Yann which recount the sinking of the RMS Lancastria. Listen, it's very poignant !

[Unterscharfuhrer]

My Uncle also told me that the 'bastards' (German bombers) weren't happy with sinking the ship they also machine gunned the survivors in the water.

[mikemanners11]

Why would the Government keep classified a shipwreck that happened 60 years ago?

[daviewave]

becasue by the time the records get released all those soldiers and their families will have passed on.

The government decided to lock the records away to keep fromgetting sued

[Unterscharfuhrer]

My uncle was a soldier on that ship. He survived the sinking but was immediately dspatched off to north Africa along with other survivors. He passed away last year aged 91 - the whole experience had a profound effect on him throughout the rest of his life.

[tedman1973]

My late grandfather (1919 - 1966) was on this ship when it was bombed and sunk on 17th June 1940. He managed to get off the ship and swim away until he was rescued. This event deeply affected him for the rest of his life (he was only 21 at the time)

[1992bwalker]

my great grandfather was also on that ship he was on it when it sank and escaped in much the same way i beleive one of the bombs went down one of the funnels he deid a couple of years ago but it also affected him for the rest of his life.

[daviewave]

My grandfather was also on this ship during it's sinking, likewise he was also deeply effected for the rest of his days. He was never able to listen to a few songs after that fateful day, song such as roll out the barrel,

[daviewave]

That was not even the beginning of it i'm sure, he passed before i was born and he never willingly discussed it with my mom

[mileyooxx]

never heard of this ship before, how many people died? thanks 4 posting

[yaknbo]

Look Germany got what it deserved. Germans are good people. They fucked up from 1914 to 1945. Kaiser Wilhelm was a dastardly cur and so was Hitler. It is a good thing Germany is healed and whole again.

[snorky500]

Very thoughtful posting, and great pictures. The ship sank only a mile or so off the coast of France in about 100 feet of water. Unlike the Lusitania, it is easy for any morbid treasure hunters to dive on with out expensive equipment. I believe that is the reason why they keep it secret. Many sunken German Uboats have had human remains (skulls) removed by souviner hunter. Keeping it secret will help the dead rest in peace.

[robinhood48]

Very true.

[robinhood48]

0.17 The "Nazi war machine" is the German Wehrmacht, and they were advancing after Franc and Great Britain had declared war against Germany and British bombers had just begun to bomb German cities. The "Nazi air force" is the German Luftwaffe and they did their duty as their adversaries did. And the passengers of the Lancastria were not refugees but British military who fled instead of helping their French allies.

[shathriel]

yet france and GB declared war because of german aggression.

they invaded the czech's and then poland with no just cause.

they were told to leave poland or they would be at war with the allie's.

they refused.

they then advanced through denmark , norway , the netherlands and belguim to get at france so please do not make out that nazi germany was the injured party in this war.

[turdburb]

You should learn the facts before making stupid statements.

The BEF took many thousands of French troops with them to safety at the cost of British troops.

If they had remained in France the german forces would have destroyed the only remaining military force which stood against them in Europe.

It is a fact that the Lancastria did carry a large number of civilians as well as troops. .

[turdburb]

Finally, I think you will struggle to find many examples of the RAF straffing survivors of a shipwreck whilst they struggled to remain alive in open water.

robinhood48 you are a complete tool and should learn both some respect and some history before you make pathetic points

[robinhood48]

turdburb I don´t see why we should insult each other. The facts are the Lancastria was a legal military target as it was the Wilhelm Gustloff (10000 dead) or the Goya (7000 dead) or the Steuben (7000 dead) and other ships being used to transport troops and civilians. And only because you asked: The RAF killed more than 10000 civilians when they sank "Cap Arcona" and "Wilhelm Thielbeck" murdering deliberately thousands of refugees who tried to escape. I don´t need lessons in history.

[cajoby]

I never thought that a ship that small could house 9,000 people!

[HUNDLEYGUY95]

a ship can hold vast numbers of people if needed, just as a example i will use USS Nimitz, totally off topic but that ship carries a normal crew of 8000 people, if needed whe could probably carry as many as 20,000-25,000 people and up if she was needed as a large fast transport ship

[robinhood48]

Depends how long they have to stay aboard.

[HUNDLEYGUY95]

Nimitz with at sea re-supply can carry many 10s of thousands of people for months at a time, but, as a closer too this time example, Queen Mary, was capable of carrying 10,000 men across the Atlantic at speeds which outran any U-Boat on the surface or below the water

[robinhood48]

The Leviathan ex Vaterland transported 14500 Passengers from Great Britain to USA in 1919. Was the greatest number ever.

[HUNDLEYGUY95]

hmh, never knew of that ship, but i agree even a small ship can carry thousands of people if needed

[robinhood48]

It belonged to the Big Three:

Leviathan ex Vaterland

Berengaria ex Imperator

Majestic ex Bismarck all over 55 000 ts.

[amickeson]

Good video and well done found ot very chilling my Dad survived that boat.I think i right in saying that a bomb went straight down the funnel of the ship.

[WhereEaglesDareUK]

tamesidecitizen.blogspot

[02Tony]

I never knew about this and i am so ashamed that i didn't know, the dunkirk retreat must have blocked it out from the history books and i bet no ones visits the memorial.

[Zebonka]

Why does every video about a sunk ship use this shitty fucking song?

I mean EVERY video. I'm sick of hearing it.

[02Tony]

It's better than to listen to shit rnb music.

[Zebonka]

Not really. It's crap, and it's on every video about a sunken ship.

Seriously, it's on the "Youtube Shipwreck Video" Checklist. Every bastard uses it. Why not use a song with some pedigree, some class??

[02Tony]

what music do you recommend than?

[SjurM]

This song is really good, it is the hmm.. sunken ship song!

[poperpants]

I never new this song egsisted it's sad and suits ship sinking videos cause of all the people dead and the ship itself

Now i now it it's grown on me

[bobtul]

me as well. hearing this song in me sleep

[coptoak]

There was an article in the local press about the sinking of the Lancastria. I had a phone call from an elderly lady, who at the time was a nurse at a hospital thet received some of the survivors. They were told not to discuss it. There is a plaque at St Nazaire to remember the victims.

[ninty99nine]

Whoa, thats kinda weird. Where was the sinking?? Was it in California?? I've seen something like that floating in the water..

[ronnyaardvark]

There's a poignant moment in this sinking. As she turned over, the survivors climbed onto the upturned hull. They knew they couldn't get off and so they started singing 'there'll always be an England' and 'no place like home' as she went down under them. The death toll was so enormous that the sinking was listed as 'classified' by Churchill.

[grazyarnie]

she took part in Operation Ariel I think, she was used as a troop transport but I am not sure...

[BCraven04]

Why isn't she a war grave?

[saorsa1314]

The MoD have refused to make her a war grave saying it "would not be appropriate" and bring "undue attention" to the disaster.

[snowsk82]

how deep of water did she sink in???

[safetychoice]

@snowsk82 72 feet

[sailclan]

my dad with the tea wacker payne

[phna5]

the so called "Nazi Air Force" is the "Luftwaffe"

[snakes3425]

I know I couldn't remember how to spell it.

[snakes3425]

The British refuse to make Lancastria a war grave dispite documents showing it can be done. It's off limits because of divers who have stolen items, including human remains, from the wreck for bragging rights or to sell on an auction site for money.

[mohecan1987]

this is really interesting as my grandad was onboard when the bombing occurred.

[tegid699]

Thank you for posting, I never knew there were photographs. My Uncle was on board and killed in that sinking. My mother (his Sister) visited his grave in St Nazaire before she died and I hope to go one day. It was a terrible disaster.

[Tundraboy05]

Anyway. Iv'e never seen a passenger ship with one funnel. It shocks me to see it.

[ultradumbass]

they sank the vessel? back than there was a geneva that said they cannot sink transport ships when retreating or if the soldiers fired back which i am sure they were not.

[coreyteen13]

well those nazis, i guess they thought it was a passenger ship.

[shipwreckfilms1]

Good video, well done.

The Lancastria would make a good filming project but I guess permission to dive her would be very difficult.

[slushies123]

can it really fit 9OOO people o_o

i think the real reason why people think titanic was the worse maritime diaster is b.c they said it was unsinkable but the Lancastria was not<~(guessing)

[Celticswynd]

the Titanic was considered the worst cause, if they had enough lifeboats, and better placement of lifeboats, it could have been prevented. (the third class wern't locked into the holds, they simply got lsot in second and first class looking for the boats.)

[ultradumbass]

lol slushies, it surely can, he wilhelm gustloff is the worst of all, january 1945, russian submarine sent all but 550 of 12,000 to a watery grave.

[myships]

did the ship capsizeed

[saorsa1314]

She was struck by three bombs and one on her port side and although keeled over on her port side ended up more or less upright on the bottom.

[Spaanietis111]

The bigest sea disaster in history was in 1945, when fucking bastards of russian red army torpeeded german ship Wilhelm Gustloff with 10 000 peoples abroad, mostly woman and children and almost all of them died,,,

[snakes3425]

I already did the Gustloff

[guppypartz]

The Army, huh. It was the Soviet Navy. Anywayz you don't have an account anymore, and I can guess why Adolph.

[ztarfiz]

it's sad. i feel sorry for the people on board on that ship at that very moment.

[Tundraboy05]

THAT BOAT HAS 1 FUNNEL?!

[Celticswynd]

Think you can make a vidio on the Llandovery Castle?

[ultradumbass]

@Celticswynd llandovery castle is interesting because if it had not happened canadian soldiers would probably have taken a more minimal role in the august 1918 offensive. but as a revenge they decided to take full part in the main offensive.

[snakes3425]

Lancastria's wreck is only off limits because people were stealing items, including human remains, and selling them on E-bay

[Celticswynd]

Thats sad. They've been doing that to Britannic too. (despite Britannic being a war grave) Putting t he stuff up as "TITANIC SISTERSHIP ARTIFACT" which is a bigger insult. Britannic is in her own sister's shadow. Lancastria, at least she dosnt have a sister with fame or it could of been worse.

[shipwreckfilms1]

I'm surprised that people have been selling britannic artifacts. The Britannic is a very difficult wreck to dive, due to the depth (120m), the logistics and the difficulty of getting permission from the Greek government. I dived her in 2003, see my shipwreckfilms website. I suspect they were artifacts from other wrecks being sold as Britannic items.

[Reichenbach2]

The first name of the Lancastria was the Thyrrenia, wasn't it?

[TK42100]

Yes. It was changed because passengers had a hard time pronouncing the original name.

[saorsa1314]

The Lancastria Association of Scotland have launched a petition to try and get MSPs to commission a Lancastria medal as a formal recognition for all those who were aboard Lancastria that day. You can sign the petition at 3ws dot lancastria dot org dot uk which is also the world's largest online archive of Lancastria material, with videos and other material on it.

[vidpop]

I agree with tedman1973, its the 17th tomorrow and the anniversary wont even get a mention on the news, disgraceful.

[tedman1973]

My grandfather was one of the few survivors and my Dad told me that he never spoke of the disaster ever. I think it is shameful that the British government has never been completely forthcoming about the true facts surrounding the disaster. This is a nice tribute to those who lost their lives and may they never be forgotten, good on you for posting this.

[vidpop]

A relative of mine survived this in one piece,he never talked about the experience,to answer Sammyoak I believe there are questions regarding the overloading of the ship which have not had a realistic explanation and I understand that some documents regarding this are classified until 2040.

[KiwiSentinel]

There are many secrets coming up for revelation as the bans are coming up for expiry. Interesting stuff on the abdicated King Eward VIII has already come out relating to his wartime movements.

[ArturAxmann]

One must wonder what they are hiding by classifying such documents. Same with information re: Hess.

[Sammyoak]

why in the hell is it classified for? Nice video anyhow.

[TK42100]

Churchill did not want to lower the Morale of the British population further after the defeat in France, so he placed a "D notice" on it, thereby forbidding British newspapers from making the story public. In fact the only newspaper to publish a story was the New York Times. Most of the information regarding the disaster has been kept hidden in the files of the MOD until 2040.

[Squamata2468]

Another good video. It's actually almost the 103rd anniversary of the General Slocum disaster as well, isn't it?