The death of the English Lancaster military transport vessel (RMS Lancaster) in June 17, 1940.
On June 17, 1940, the English Lancaster vessel, a troop carrier (before the war, a passenger liner cruising the Mediterranean) with a displacement of 16,243 tons, was sunk by German Junkers Ju-88 bombers off the coast of France.
RMS Lancaster evacuated British military units defeated by the Nazis to the UK from France. There were also a large number of civilians on board, including women and children.
The RMS Lancaster was sunk during a twenty-minute attack shortly after leaving the French port of Saint-Nazaire. As a result, about four thousand passengers died – drowned, killed by bomb blasts, shelling, suffocating in oil polluted water. Managed to save 2477 people.
Source of Lancaster transport vessel photo information:
Location: English Channel
Date: June 17, 1940