On 17 June 1940, while off the coast of Saint Nazaire, a small troopship would face the most fatal disaster in British maritime history. Subject to bombing as a result of a German air raid, HMT Lancastria would sink in just twenty minutes, leading to the loss of up to 7,000 lives. Although the tragedy was the greatest loss of life in British maritime history, her story has become somewhat forgotten about, so this post will seek to uncover her tale, from her beginnings in the River Clyde in 1921, to that fatal day in 1940.
Originally named RMS Tyrrhenia, this ship was launched in 1921 for Anchor Line, a subsidiary of Cunard Line. A modestly sized ship, Tyrrhenia weighed approximately 16,243 gross register tonnes and could carry around 2,200 passengers. Additionally, she operated at a speed of 16.5 knots (31km/h, or 19mph).
Like her sister ship, RMS Cameronia, she would operate on the transatlantic run, between Liverpool and New York, though she ran from Glasgow to Montreal for her maiden voyage in 1922.
However, in 1924, her name was changed to RMS Lancastria, as many passengers found themselves unable to pronounce her name correctly. Yet, she continued to sail the Atlantic as she had done before, crossing 55 times between 1924 and 1930. In 1930, she found herself making the most of a new, emerging market, cruises. Running three-week-long voyages, her passengers would enjoy a number of sights in France, Portugal, Gibraltar and Guinea.
RMS Lancastria sailing into France
Yet, everything would change again in 1939, for the outbreak of the Second World War saw her recommissioned as a troopship, renamed HMT Lancastria. Though initially used to ferry troops from Canada, she would later assist in the evacuation of troops from Norway as part of Operation Alphabet, and would also carry troops during the British invasion of Iceland, which took place due to British fears that Iceland may be used as a strategic base for the Nazis.
In June 1940, Lancastria was sent to Liverpool for a refit, but she was barely docked before being urgently recalled to service to assist in the evacuation of British nationals from France, following the operation at Dunkirk. Originally accompanied by fellow liner Franconia, Lancastria set sail towards Saint Nazaire, but aerial bombing from German planes damaged Franconia, leaving Lancastria to sail towards France alone.
At 4:00am, on 17 June, Lancastria anchored at Charpentier Roads, just south west of Saint Nazaire, to collect troops. Despite only having a capacity of around 2,180, including 330 crew, Lancastria was told to take as many troops as she could, "without regards to the limits of international law." Unfortunately, we do not know how many troops Lancastria actually took; historians have estimated the number to be anywhere between 4,000 and 9,000 troops. Captain Sharp, the captain of Lancastria, estimated the number to be approximately 5,500. What we do know, is that around fourty of those onboard were civilian refugees.
Lancastria was ready to embark home by early-afternoon, but without a destroyer to escort her, Captain Sharp opted to wait for fellow troopship Oronsay, which had been struck by a German bomb earlier that afternoon.
Whilst Lancastria's Captain had opted to protect the ship and its crew from potential submarine attacks, she was still vulnerable to aerial bombing from German aircraft. Later that afternoon, at 15:50, she was struck by multiple German bombs. The ship soon began to list to starboard, so the crew were ordered to move towards the port side in order to rebalance the ship. Unfortunately, this led to an overcorrection which gave the ship an irreversible list to port. Attempts were made to deploy lifeboats, but the first capsized and the third was damaged upon hitting the water too quickly. Many others could not be deployed due to damage from the bombs and the portside list. Lancastria was sinking fast, and those onboard were forced to take their lives into their hands. Many of those who jumped ship were killed upon hitting the hull, and others had their necks broken due to the impact of striking the water in their lifejackets.
At 16:12, just twenty-two minutes after she was struck, Lancastria was submerged, plunging thousands of its passengers and crew into the water. Many of these people drowned, died of hypothermia, or choked on the residual fuel oil.
The sinking of HMT Lancastria at St. Nazaire, 17 June 1940
Surrounding ships bravely entered the water to rescue survivors, despite heavy German gun fire. Among those who took part in the rescue included Charles Lightholler (Titanic's 2nd Officer), on a private boat. Their bravery led to the survival of 2,477 passengers and crew.
However, the death toll was catastrophic, making it the worst disaster in British maritime history for its deaths. Historian John Fenby and The Lancastria Association have estimated the death toll to be at 1,738, but it has also been estimated that the actual death toll was somewhere between 4,000 and 6,500, with some suggesting up to 7,000.
Survivors of the disaster were instructed not to speak about it, and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill placed a D-notice on the event, so-as to not weaken national morale. However, there were some newspaper reports of the disaster, including six individual death notices in local newspapers.
The site of Lancastria's remains is not deemed an official war grave, as the site lies in French jurisdiction. However, the French government has placed an exclusion zone around the wreck, prohibiting activities such as diving.
Unfortunately, there are many things we still do not know about the tragedy. Given the unknown number of those onboard that day remains unknown, we'll never know the true number of lives lost. Additionally, the report on Lancastria's sinking cannot be published until 2040, under the British Secrets Act, so it will be many years before we find out any potentially critical details of what actually happened that day. Perhaps if this blog is still up by such time, I will delve into the report. For now, however, we will only know part of the story, but this doesn't mean that the tragedy of Lancastria doesn't deserve to be remembered; on the contrary, her story has been consigned to a footnote in history for too long. A small, unassuming liner, subject to one of the worst maritime disasters in history, a long career remembered only for that one tragic day.
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