"The RMS ""Lancastria"" was the subject of the worst single loss of life in British maritime history and the bloodiest single engagement for UK forces in World War II; she was sunk by German bombers on 17 June 1940 when taking part in an operation to evacuate 150,000 troops from where?"
RMS Lancastria Northern Europe. On 10 October 1932 "Lancastria" rescued the crew of the Belgian cargo ship SS "Scheldestad", which had been abandoned in a sinking condition in the Bay of Biscay. In 1934 the Catholic Boy Scouts of Ireland chartered "Lancastria" for a pilgrimage to Rome. With the outbreak of the Second World War she carried cargo, and was then requisitioned in April 1940 as a troopship, becoming HMT "Lancastria". She was first used to assist in the evacuation of troops from Norway. The "Lancastria" was sunk on 17 June 1940 off the French port of St. Nazaire while taking part
RMS Lancastria RMS Lancastria RMS "Lancastria (later HMT "Lancastria) was a British Cunard liner requisitioned by the UK Government during World War II. She was sunk on 17 June 1940 during Operation Ariel. Having received an emergency order to evacuate British nationals and troops in excess of its capacity of 1,300 passengers, modern estimates range between fatalities—the largest single-ship loss of life in British maritime history. The sinking of HMT "Lancastria" claimed more lives than the combined losses of the (1,517 passengers and crew) and (1,198 passengers). The ship was launched in 1920 as "Tyrrhenia" by William Beardmore and Company of Dalmuir