Martin Antonenko
A Fixture
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2008
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On June 17, 1940, bombers of the German Luftwaffe sank the British passenger steamer RMS "Lancastria" off the French coast near Saint-Nazaire ...:
The ship is used to evacuate soldiers of the British Expeditionary Force from the mainland to the islands after the military collapse of France as part of the hastily improvised "Operation Dynamo" ...
The "Lancastria" is dangerously overloaded and almost crammed with more than 9,000 British soldiers and civilians as well as countless Frenchmen who had also managed to get on board while fleeing from the Germans ...:
The ship's command under Captain Rudolph Sharp...
...given the circumstances, the good weather and the expected short crossing, the ship's command under Captain Rudolph Sharp believes that the risk of overloading could be taken - actually the "Lancastria" should not have taken more than 3,000 people on board!
But good weather also means: good visibility - and this is fatal to the ship shortly after it leaves Saint Nazaire!
Around 4:00 p.m., the "Lancastria" will be launched by four Junkers Ju 88 bombers ...
... of the German Kampfgeschwader 30 identified and immediately attacked ...:
Three bomb hits bring the ship to sink instantly - and subsequent gunfire by the German Junkers bombers ignite oil spills around the ship!
After 20 minutes RMS "Lancastria" has disappeared from the water surface ...
The crew of the rushing British steamer S.S. "Oronsay" ...
... who is also full to the brim with evacuated British soldiers, 2477 survivors managed to be rescued from the sea!
The German fighter planes also attack the "Oronsay" and seriously damage it! This scene shows the next picture - on the right the sinking "Lancastria" is to be seen...:
Over 6,000 people drown, suffocate in oil, burn or are killed in the shelling. It is a third of all the deaths suffered by the British Expeditionary Force throughout the French campaign.
By order of Winston Churchill personally, the "Lancastria" disaster is kept secret until the end of the war ...
The ship is used to evacuate soldiers of the British Expeditionary Force from the mainland to the islands after the military collapse of France as part of the hastily improvised "Operation Dynamo" ...
The "Lancastria" is dangerously overloaded and almost crammed with more than 9,000 British soldiers and civilians as well as countless Frenchmen who had also managed to get on board while fleeing from the Germans ...:
The ship's command under Captain Rudolph Sharp...
...given the circumstances, the good weather and the expected short crossing, the ship's command under Captain Rudolph Sharp believes that the risk of overloading could be taken - actually the "Lancastria" should not have taken more than 3,000 people on board!
But good weather also means: good visibility - and this is fatal to the ship shortly after it leaves Saint Nazaire!
Around 4:00 p.m., the "Lancastria" will be launched by four Junkers Ju 88 bombers ...
... of the German Kampfgeschwader 30 identified and immediately attacked ...:
Three bomb hits bring the ship to sink instantly - and subsequent gunfire by the German Junkers bombers ignite oil spills around the ship!
After 20 minutes RMS "Lancastria" has disappeared from the water surface ...
The crew of the rushing British steamer S.S. "Oronsay" ...
... who is also full to the brim with evacuated British soldiers, 2477 survivors managed to be rescued from the sea!
The German fighter planes also attack the "Oronsay" and seriously damage it! This scene shows the next picture - on the right the sinking "Lancastria" is to be seen...:
Over 6,000 people drown, suffocate in oil, burn or are killed in the shelling. It is a third of all the deaths suffered by the British Expeditionary Force throughout the French campaign.
By order of Winston Churchill personally, the "Lancastria" disaster is kept secret until the end of the war ...
