Re: HMT Lancastria

Basically the Bay Man report is directly from,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Lancastria

"Bay Man" <xyxbaymanxyx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:hc19sj$jan$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"William Black" <william.black@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:hbvj9l$qh1$2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Bay Man wrote:

Winston Churchill, who had proclaimed only days before that the entire
British Expeditionary Force in France had been withdrawn through
Dunkirk, when confronted with the reports of the loss of life in
St-Nazaire, ordered that the event be kept secret.

Or possibly not...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/letters/article4174143.ece

The 100 year gag is still in place I believe.

No. The official report seems to be locked away until 2040, the
rest is in the public domain.

The story leaked out in the US press then the UK had to follow.

The loss of life was not published during the war and articles
appeared at the same time in the UK and US press it seems.

This is probably the largest loss of life a sea ever,

No, for example,

http://members.iinet.net.au/~gduncan/maritime-1.html

Rates it as number 4 in marine loss of life incidents in WWII.

yet few know of it.

So who has heard of the major losses at sea apart from Titanic?
Given the above can you tell us numbers 1, 2 and 3 in WWII?

How about all time?

They should be right at hand.

On third of all British deaths in the BEF were in this ship.

The ship had plenty of civilians on board.

http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/macslog/LossofHMTLancastriaatStNa.html

Puts the death toll below that of the Bay Man claims.

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/worldwar2/theatres-of-war/western-europe/investigation/invasion/sources/docs/1/enlarge.htm

Has 4,206 killed and 37,959 missing, BEF only, the missing including
the men taken prisoner.

RAF casualties are put at 1,526, RN casualties directly related to the
campaign are part of the general RN casualties reported.

Did you see a clip about in the World at War series, or any other? How
many war books mention this sinking? Few and far between aren't they.

So again tell us the ready to hand list of loss of life by incident at sea
in WWII. And how many people can name them.

Many questions need answering. Why was a ship so vulnerable, stopped in
open water with enemy planes around, allowed so many men on board?

It needed to stop to pick up passengers, then wait for an escort.

It needed to overload as there was not enough shipping for the
people wanting to evacuate.

It decided to wait, rating the chance of a submarine attack a
greater risk than an air attack.

A CAP over St. Nazaire could have been in place from English airfields.

No. Distance from the closest point in England (Salcombe or
Start Point in Cornwall) to St Nazaire around 205 to 210 miles.

If you want to use the airfields in Plymouth add around another
15 miles.

Hurricane I range at optimal cruising 525 miles maximum, 440
miles with 20 minute reserve.

Spitfire I range at optimum cruising 575 miles, range with combat
allowance 395 miles.

On 5 June Fighter Command reported it had 466 serviceable
aircraft of which Spitfires and Hurricanes, with 36 of these types
in reserve. By June 22 it had 565 operational aircraft.

On 18 June, the day after the Lancastria loss the Germans took
Caen, Cherbourg, Rennes, Briare and Le Mans. So only bases
in Cornwall could fly a basic direct route.

The last RAF fighter squadron based in France, number 73, left
Bagneux/Saumur for Castle Camps on 18 June, the airfield is
around 100 miles from St Nazaire.

The CAP could have followed the ships over the Channel.

No, since there was no procedure to do this with fighters, in
any case a quick night passage was possible.

Geoffrey Sinclair
Remove the nb for email.

.

Relevant Pages

  • of mice and men
    ... Another bogus report that essentially acts like free advertising for ... "Level of Cholesterol in Blood Linked to Speed of Growth of Prostate ... Muscle, Skeletal: Muscle cramps, aches, pain, and weakness; joint pain; ... Dizziness, headache, insomnia, tingling, memory loss, ...
    (sci.med.cardiology)
  • Re: OT-: Military deaths by year
    ... Clinton years: 14,000 deaths ... These figures mean that the loss from the two latest conflicts in the ... information on which they report. ... shows the following FACTS about the distribution of American citizens, ...
    (rec.outdoors.rv-travel)
  • Re: Just push the blue button!
    ... "Another pilot had flown from Bar Harbor, Maine, to Long Island, New ... He also stated that the lowest visibility was ... One, his report ... I could easily pick our land marks at least five [miles] away." ...
    (rec.aviation.piloting)
  • Re: mixing serious and frivilos news Re: Only in India - bombs go off and whiskey is stolen
    ... The loss of perspective and proportions. ... The news was not on the security detail. ... Panel probing case submits report 3-4 persons are prime suspects ... employees who form the on-board crew for any VVIP flights. ...
    (soc.culture.indian)
  • Re: A 60 mile traffic jam???
    ... Cars and trucks have been piling up since August 14 on the National ... the report said ... 60 miles. ... Gridlock, a phenomenon of intersections, wouldn't even occur ...
    (misc.transport.road)