Browse the seabed and let yourself be guided through the history of the different wrecks of the French coasts!
The seabeds are full of ship wrecks, submarines, aircraft and many more... Between abandonment, failure, sinking and collision, the reasons for their presence are varied. And to help you discover them, here is our top 10 of the most beautiful wrecks to see on the French coast!
1. The Donator, Var
Photo credit: Facebook – Mio Palmo Diving – Hyères
The Algerian ship engaged in the Second World War, the Donator is responsible for transporting soldiers and equipment to the liberated areas. On 10 November, on its path between Marseille and Nice , the mistral forces him to walk the coast near Porquerolles.
This is when the catastrophe occurs. It hits a drifting and dark mine at all speeds...
2. The Chariot, Bassin d’Arcachon
Between 1968 and 1971, submarine work was undertaken in the Arcachon Basin to create a pipeline and combat pollution.
It is therefore not the wreck of a boat, a submarine or even a plane, but rather that of the gear in charge of digging and burying the pipes.
Indeed, the German company responsible for the work went bankrupt, the Chariot was left behind.
3. The B17, Corse
Photo credit: Wikimedia – Arnaud Abadie
Aerial bomber allied from Italy, it was on February 14, 1944 that the B17 was attacked by the Germans, leaving him no other choice but to land.
2 of the 10 crew members died during the assault, and another remained stuck in the aircraft’s tail, whose location is still unknown.
4. Lebanon, Marseille
The boat was on the way back between Marseille and Corsica, with passengers and mail on board to and from the Metropolis. On June 7, 1903, Lebanon faces face to face with another ship.
As a result of an incomprehension error in the avoidance manoeuvre, the two ships percute. Coupled in two, the ship flows and carries with it many passengers, trapped by the canvas supposed to protect them from the sun.
5. The Rubis, Var
Photo credit: Flickr – Eric Burgers
Rubis is the only survivor of the Second World War Sapphire submarine series. After leaving 683 mines and sunk about 15 ships, he was retired in 1946. He was finally approached on 31 July 1958 between Cavalaire and Saint-Tropez.
6. The U171, Brittany
It was in 1941 that this German submarine began its career. After his only and unique mission in the Gulf of Mexico , he takes the way back to Lorient.
It was October 9, 1941 that he touched a mine by going back to the surface and dark in just a few minutes. If 30 sailors went out indemnified, 22 others unfortunately remained prisoners.
7. L’Amoco Cadiz, Bretagne
Photo credit: Flickr – NOAA Photo Library
In March 1978, then towards Rotterdam with a cargo of 220,000 tons of crude oil on board, a bar damage occurs. It then becomes impossible to direct the boat. The Amoco Cadiz was then obliged to ask for the assistance of tugs but the sea was unleashed.
After several attempts, the vessel eventually struck rocks and failed, smiling the Breton coasts. Fortunately, the crew is evacuated, but this shipwreck remains one of the worst black tides in Breton history.
8. Le Chaouen, Marseille
It is from Casablanca and in the direction of Marseille, the clays full of citrus, which the vessel’s front plantes on the rock, letting the water infiltrate on board and thus sink the back of the boat. Fortunately, the crew had time to evacuate the vessel.
If the front of the Chaouen has long remained out of the water, it ended up falling after the many weathers.
9. L’Alice-Robert, Occitania
Originally used for the transport of bananas from the French colonies to the Hexagon, the Alice-Robert was finally armed in 1939, then requisitioned by the Germans and transformed into an escort.
In June 1944, it was cut in two by an English submarine and flows off Port-Vendres on the ribbon .
10. The USS Susan B Anthony, Normandy
American steam cargo assigned to the US Navy, the USS Susan B Anthony is responsible for carrying troops and equipment to England.
It was in June 1944, following the Captain’s decision to approach Omaha Beach that the ship hits a mine and flows. However, all men on board (over 2000) had time to evacuate the vessel before it was dark.
So, which of those wrecks on the French coast impressed you most?
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