The tragic loss of an estimated 6,500 men, women and children on the Lancastria was covered up for more than seventy years. It was the greatest loss of life in the sinking of a single British ship, claiming more lives than the combined losses of the RMS Titanic and RMS Lusitania (1,200 passengers). Here is a repost from 2011, in honor of those lost on this day seventy five years ago. First posted October 2, 2011:
The evacuation of British troops and civilians from France in 1940 did not end with Dunkirk. Several weeks later, on June 17, 1940, the British Cunard liner Lancastria was loaded to capacity with troops and civilians off the French port of St. Nazaire, when she was struck by three direct hits from a German Junkers Ju 88 bomber. As many as 6,500 men, women, and children were lost when the ship sank. News of the disaster was covered up. Churchill said, “The newspapers have got quite enough disaster for today, at least.”
Today’s “Google Doodle,” the changing graphic that appears at the top of the Google search page, is a whimsical memorial to 
Happy 
If you are near New York harbor, the 
Recently, 
Was MV Dong Fang Zhi Xing (Oriental Star) unsafe and unstable or was she just at the wrong place at the wrong time? Should the captain have anchored, as did several other ships on the river, when he received warning of bad weather, or would the ship have capsized at anchor or underway when hit by the tornado? As the Chinese come to terms with the greatest nautical tragedy in decades, there are far more questions than answers.
If you are in the area tomorrow night, June 4th, be sure to stop by the 
Last night, around 9:28 p.m, the river cruise vessel,