Saint-Nazaire (; ;

Gallo Gallo may refer to: *Related to Gaul: **Gallo-Roman culture **Gallo language, a regional language of France **Gallo-Romance, a branch of Romance languages **Gallo-Italic or Gallo-Italian language, a branch spoken in Northern Italy of the Romance ...

: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhôn ...

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

, near the Atlantic Ocean. The town is at the south of the second-largest

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

in France, called "la

Brière Brière ( br, Ar Briwer) is the marsh area to the north of the Loire estuary in France at its mouth on the Atlantic Ocean. The residents of Brière are called ''Briérons''. The Brière marsh area includes a vast area of humid zones stretching ...

". Given its location, Saint-Nazaire has a long tradition of fishing and

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to bef ...

. The

Chantiers de l'Atlantique Chantiers de l'Atlantique is a shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France. It is one of the world's largest shipyards, constructing a wide range of commercial, naval, and passenger ships. It is located near Nantes, at the mouth of the Loire river and ...

, one of the largest shipyards in the world, constructed notable ocean liners such as , , and the cruise ship , the largest passenger ship in the world until 2022. Saint-Nazaire was a small village until the

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

but became a large town in the second half of the 19th century, thanks to the construction of railways and the growth of the seaport. Saint-Nazaire progressively replaced upstream

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

as the main haven on the

estuary. As a major submarine base for the Kriegsmarine, Saint-Nazaire was subject to a successful British raid in 1942 and was heavily bombed by the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

until 1945. Being one of the

Atlantic pockets In World War II, the Atlantic pockets were locations along the coasts of the Netherlands, Belgium and France chosen as strongholds by the occupying German forces, to be defended as long as possible against land attack by the Allies. The lo ...

, Saint-Nazaire was one of the last territories in Europe to be liberated from German occupation, on 11 May 1945. The town was one of the most damaged in France during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

History

Antiquity

Archaeologists believe that Saint-Nazaire is built upon the remnants of Corbilo, an Armorican

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...

city populated by the

Namnetes The Namnetes were a Gallic tribe dwelling near the modern city of Nantes during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Namnitō͂n'' (Ναμνιτῶν) by Polybius (2nd c. BC) and Strabo (early 1st c. AD), ''Namnete ...

tribe, which (according to the Greek navigator Pytheas) was the second-largest Gaulish city, after Massilia (now

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

). Archeology suggests that the area has been inhabited since at least the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

period, as evidenced by the presence of monuments like the

tumulus of Dissignac A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones bu ...

, the dolmen located in the centre of the present-day city, and ancient bronzes found in the vicinity. According to the 15th-century chronicler Alain Bouchart,

Brutus of Troy Brutus, also called Brute of Troy, is a legendary descendant of the Trojan hero Aeneas, known in medieval British history as the eponymous founder and first king of Britain. This legend first appears in the '' Historia Brittonum'', an anony ...

, the mythical ancestor of the Bretons, travelled to Saint-Nazaire to set foot upon the new homeland of his people. Historical accounts note that at the end of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

, some Britons colonized the Loire estuary and later the peninsula containing

Guérande Guérande (; br, Gwenrann, ; french: label= Gallo, Geraundd) is a medieval town located in the department of Loire-Atlantique, and the region of Pays de la Loire, Western France. The inhabitants are referred to as ''Guérandais'' (masculine), a ...

. The farthest extent of the Breton language in the Loire region is Donges, to the east of Saint-Nazaire.

Middle Ages

According to the late-6th-century writer Gregory of Tours, the Roman Church sheltered the remains of the martyr Nazarius in a local basilica. According to legend, the Breton chief

Waroch II Waroch ( br, Gwereg) was an early Breton ruler of the Vannetais ('). Waroch, or his grandfather Waroch I, gave his name to the traditional Breton province of Bro-Waroch ("land of Waroch"). However, it is possible that there were several succes ...

sent an emissary to seize these relics. The plot was foiled when the emissary fractured his skull upon the lintel of the church door. Waroch, interpreting this as a miracle, was deterred and the village thenceforth took the name of Sanctus Nazarius de Sinuario. After this point, the history of Saint-Nazaire, like much of Europe during the Dark Ages, is not well documented. Battles occurred, such as in 1380 when Jehan d'Ust defended the city in the name of

John V, Duke of Brittany John V, sometimes numbered as VI, (24 December 1389 – 29 August 1442) bynamed John the Wise ( br, Yann ar Fur; french: Jean le Sage), was Duke of Brittany and Count of Montfort from 1399 to his death. His rule coincided with the height of ...

(known in France as Jean IV) against the Castilian fleet during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...

. After this time, Saint-Nazaire became the seat of a parish extending from Penhoët to Pornichet, part of the Viscountcy of Saint-Nazaire. Like the whole of Brittany, Saint-Nazaire formed part of the

Duchy of Brittany The Duchy of Brittany ( br, Dugelezh Breizh, ; french: Duché de Bretagne) was a medieval feudal state that existed between approximately 939 and 1547. Its territory covered the northwestern peninsula of Europe, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean ...

until 1532, when it was annexed by France. In 1756, a fort was built on the order of the governor of Brittany to protect the town, which by then had 600 inhabitants. Until the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, Saint-Nazaire belonged to the province of Brittany.

19th century industrialisation

At the beginning of the 19th century, the port only consisted of one simple harbour. As the town was so far inland, its main economy was not based on commercial fishing but on its strategic location as the lowest possible navigation point for large ships and on supplying pilots for navigation further up the Loire. In 1800, the parish of Saint-Nazaire had 3,216 inhabitants. The modern Saint-Nazaire was created by the administration of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A neph ...

. The population of 3,216 in 1800 shows its battered history, with a mainly local (Brière), of Lower Brittany (of Morbihan in the Finistère-south), and minor representation from most other areas of France. From this point forward the population of Saint-Nazaire experienced exponential growth, which was reflected in its nickname of "Little Breton California", or "

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

of the West". In 1802, a road was built to develop the port, which extended by 1835 to a

breakwater Breakwater may refer to: * Breakwater (structure), a structure for protecting a beach or harbour Places * Breakwater, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia * Breakwater Island, Antarctica * Breakwater Islands, Nunavut, Canada * Br ...

with a navigational lighthouse at its end. The development included new basins for ships to unload to barges that carried goods further up the river. This development moved the town into the area of the city which is now called the district of "Little Morocco". This development made the town the base for the passenger steamships of the Nantes–Saint-Nazaire line, as well as making the town the alternative port for ships which could not access

In 1856, the first wet dock was dug in "Halluard City", making it possible for ships to moor and turn. This led to the construction of the town's first railway connection. In 1857, the Chemin de Fer de Paris à Orléans (railroad company of

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and transatlantic telegraph lines were installed from France to South America, coming ashore at Saint-Nazaire. 1862 also saw the construction of major shipbuilding facilities, including those of Chantier Scott, which launched the first French metal-hulled ships. In 1868, Saint-Nazaire became a sub-prefecture of the town of

Savenay Savenay (; ''Savenneg'' in Breton) is a town (administratively a commune) in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France which is part of the Pays de la Loire region. It is located on the Sillon de Bretagne (a mountain range defining the s ...

. A second dock basin was created at Penhoët in 1881, to allow the handling of larger ships, but a lock gate built to access it cut the town in two, thus creating Old Saint-Nazaire and an artificial island called "Little Morocco". In early 1870, Nantes-born Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau joined the bar in Saint-Nazaire. In September he became, in spite of his youth, secretary to the municipal commission temporarily appointed to carry on the town's business. He organized the National Defense at Saint-Nazaire, and marched out with his contingent, though they saw no active service due to lack of ammunition (their private store having been commandeered by the state). In 1873, he moved to the bar of

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine departme ...

, following the establishment of the Third Republic in 1871. On 30 March 1894, a strike occurred at the forging mills of Trignac in opposition to a reduction of the work force. What had seemed a small dispute escalated after a shooting in Fourmies, resulting in the town getting its national nickname of "Red City". Socialists flocked to the town in defense of the striking workers, joining in the declaration of the "Fusillade de Fourmies". In 1900, the commune of Pornichet was created by separating from the larger commune of Saint-Nazaire.

World War I

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the city became an important debarkment port of Allied troops, particularly in the latter stages for the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

. When they entered the war in 1917, they developed the town and port infrastructure, by adding additional

drinking water Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, ...

storage ponds for the town's

water treatment Water treatment is any process that improves the quality of water to make it appropriate for a specific end-use. The end use may be drinking, industrial water supply, irrigation, river flow maintenance, water recreation or many other uses, inc ...

plants, and a refrigeration terminal to the docks for shipment and storage of meat and dairy products to supply their troops. However, the presence of legal brothels (''Maisons Tolérée'') resulted in a diplomatic incident. As a result of strict reformist public health concerns at home, the American Expeditionary Force placed the ''Maisons Tolérée'' off limits, resulting in a dispute between the town's brothel owners backed by the mayor, versus the US Army forces. With the dispute escalating, Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau sent a memo to General John Pershing offering a compromise: American medical authorities would control designated brothels operated solely for American soldiers. Pershing passed the proposal to Raymond Fosdick, who on giving it to Secretary of War

Newton D. Baker Newton Diehl Baker Jr. (December 3, 1871 – December 25, 1937) was an American lawyer, Georgist,Noble, Ransom E. "Henry George and the Progressive Movement." The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, vol. 8, no. 3, 1949, pp. 259–269. w ...

promptly responded: "For God's sake, Raymond, don't show this to the president or he'll stop the war." Only after the signing of the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

in November 1918, when the United States Army could no longer plead military necessity as grounds for curtailing leave, did

venereal disease Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and ora ...

rates among United States Army troops rise quickly.

Inter-war period

The post-war period brought about a period of economic depression for the shipbuilders, who consequently diversified into building

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...

s from 1922. In 1926 the district of

Paimbœuf Paimbœuf (; br, Pembo) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, lying on the south bank of the river Loire upriver from Saint-Nazaire but considerably downriver from Nantes. In the Napoleonic era it was the site of ...

was merged with the district of Saint-Nazaire, thus reinforcing the influence of the city on the south bank of the Loire River. Although having built , between 1913 and 1921, and between 1925 and 1926, as a result of the 1930s

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

the French government commissioned a series of state programs to aid national economic activity. The state-owned shipping company

Compagnie Générale Transatlantique The Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT, and commonly named "Transat"), typically known overseas as the French Line, was a French shipping company. Established in 1855 by the Péreire brothers, brothers Émile and Issac Péreire under the ...

commissioned the ship builders of Saint-Nazaire to construct a new large passenger ship, which as a result between 1928 and 1934 created the Albert Caquot–engineered the Louis Joubert dry dock – at , the largest of its kind in the world at the time – necessary to be able to accommodate the construction of . In 1932, the Saint-Nazaire casino went bankrupt and was resold to the town of Nantes: the site was redeveloped in 1935 as the first home of the current Saint-Louis school. As a result of the national general strike of June 1936, to ensure completion of the nationally prestigious project SS ''Normandie'', the government nationalised the various private shipyards into one state-owned entity, the 1861-founded

World War II

After the invasion of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...

army at the start of

, the combined forces of the

French Army History Early history The first permanent army, paid with regular wages, instead of feudal levies, was established under Charles VII of France, Charles VII in the 1420 to 1430s. The Kings of France needed reliable troops during and after the ...

and the British Expeditionary Force failed to hold the oncoming onslaught. As part of Operation Aerial, Saint-Nazaire, like Dunkirk, became an evacuation point to England for the British, with those embarking including the writer John Renshaw Starr.

Sinking of the ''Lancastria''

On 17 June 1940 an estimated 9,000 British Army soldiers were embarked aboard the Clyde-built cruise liner, later converted to troopship, , which was attacked and sunk by German Junkers Ju 88 bombers, mainly from Kampfgeschwader 30, taking with her around 4,000 victims. This is the worst disaster in British maritime history and the worst loss of life for British forces in the whole of World War II.

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

banned all news coverage of the disaster on learning of it and it remains largely forgotten by history. A ''Lancastria'' memorial is located near the U-boat pens in Saint-Nazaire.

Miracle of Saint-Nazaire

The ball turret gunner of an American B-17F bomber fell onto the glass roof of the train station, even though his parachute had been destroyed by German flak while still in his plane. The US airman, called

Alan Magee Alan Eugene Magee (January 13, 1919 – December 20, 2003) was an American airman during World War II who survived a 22,000-foot (6,700 m) fall from his damaged B-17 Flying Fortress. He was featured in the 1981 ''Smithsonian Magazine'' as on ...

, survived the fall. A German military surgeon was able to save his nearly severed arm. The airman credits his survival to a prayer to "the Almighty" as he recovered consciousness during his fall.

U-boat pens

Following the surrender of France to German forces later in June 1940, the port immediately became a base of operations for the '' Kriegsmarine'' and was as such the target of Allied operations. A heavily fortified U-boat Saint-Nazaire submarine base was built by Organisation Todt shortly after occupation, with a concrete ceiling capable of withstanding almost any bomb in use at the time. The base provided a home during the war to many of the best-known U-boat staff, including: *

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

Georg-Wilhelm Schulz Georg-Wilhelm Schulz (10 March 1906 – 5 July 1986) was a German U-boat commander of the Second World War. From September 1939 until retiring from front line service in September 1941, he sank 19 ships for a total of . For this he received the ...

– transferred the

6th U-boat Flotilla The 6th U-boat Flotilla ( German ''6. Unterseebootsflottille''), also known as Hundius Flotilla, was a front-line unit of Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' before and during World War II. Formed on 1 October 1938 in Kiel under the command of '' ...

from Danzig to the port in February 1942, where it became a combat flotilla. *

Kapitänleutnant ''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer an ...

Carl Emmermann – took command of 6th U-boat Flotilla over from Schulz in November 1942, until it left Saint-Nazaire for

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

in August 1944. *

Lieutenant Commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding ran ...

Herbert Schultze – second in command of 7th U-boat Flotilla from September 1940. The base still stands today as its extremely sturdy construction makes demolition uneconomical. The base is now used by cafes, a bar and on the roof is an exhibition about Saint-Nazaire.

St Nazaire Raid

The huge Joubert drydock built for SS ''Normandie'' was the only port on the Atlantic capable of servicing the German battleships and . This made the port strategically important to both the

Axis Powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

and the Allies during World War II. After

Operation Rheinübung Operation Rheinübung ("Exercise Rhine") was the sortie into the Atlantic by the new German battleship and heavy cruiser on 18–27 May 1941, during World War II. This operation to block Allied shipping to the United Kingdom culminated ...

on 18–27 May 1941, which resulted in the sinking of and the sinking of ''Bismarck'', the need for the Allies to take the Joubert dry dock out of operation was increased. The ''Bismarck'' and the ''Tirpitz'' were to have ended their raid at Saint-Nazaire. On 28 March 1942, a force of 611

British Commandos The Commandos, also known as the British Commandos, were formed during the Second World War in June 1940, following a request from Winston Churchill, for special forces that could carry out raids against German-occupied Europe. Initially dra ...

and the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

launched the

St Nazaire Raid The St Nazaire Raid or Operation Chariot was a British amphibious attack on the heavily defended Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire in German-occupied France during the Second World War. The operation was undertaken by the Royal Navy (RN) a ...

against the shipyards of Saint-Nazaire, codenamed Operation Chariot. An obsolete American-built

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...

was used as a ram-ship loaded with explosives. It and the Commandos succeeded in destroying the gates and machinery of the Joubert drydock, preventing its further use by the Germans during the war. Of the 600+ navy and commando personnel, 220 returned, half were wounded. Five

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

es and 69 other decorations were awarded. The Joubert dry dock was not brought back into operation until 1948.

After Operation Chariot

The U-boat threat to supply convoys across the Atlantic made Saint-Nazaire a constant target of Allied air forces, in the face of determined

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

fighter opposition to raids by

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forc ...

bombers. On 3 January 1943 Colonel Curtis LeMay led 85 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses of the 1st Bombardment Wing against the U-boat pens at Saint-Nazaire, on the Eighth Air Force's sixth raid against the facility. LeMay also introduced the

combat box The combat box was a tactical formation used by heavy (strategic) bombers of the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. The combat box was also referred to as a "staggered formation". Its defensive purpose was in massing the firepower of the b ...

defensive formation, echeloning three-plane elements within a squadron, and squadrons within a group, to concentrate defensive firepower against fighter opposition. Only 76 aircraft found and hit the target, and during the mission seven bombers were shot down and 47 damaged. As a result of the raid, on 14 January 1943 under directive (S.46239/?? A.C.A.S. Ops), the Allies implemented incendiary bomb tactics against U-boat pens, under the Area bombing directive. To minimize civilian casualties during air attacks, the Allies devised a plan to force an evacuation of the town. For three days in 1943, British

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

and American aircraft dropped scores of leaflets warning the population of a planned fire-bombing raid. At the end of the third day, the raid came and burned the entire city to the ground. Casualties were light as most of the civilians had heeded the warning and fled to the safety of the countryside but after that point, except for the self-contained U-boat base, Saint-Nazaire remained abandoned until the end of the war. After D-day and the liberation of most of France in 1944, German troops in Saint-Nazaire's submarine base refused to surrender, and they holed up (as did their counterparts in the

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. Wi ...

and Lorient bases). Since the Germans could no longer conduct major submarine operations from the bases without a supply line, the SHAEF commander, U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower decided to simply bypass these ports, and the Allied armies focused their resources on the invasion of Germany. Saint-Nazaire and the other two German "pockets" remained under German control until after the last day of the war in Europe, 8 May 1945.

After World War II

The town of St. Nazaire was rebuilt in the late 1940s in a minimalist functional style. The submarine base was used by the French Navy from 1945 to 1948. It then came under the control of various chemical companies and shipbuilders. , the French diesel submarine ''Espadon'' is moored within the U-boat pens. Tours of the submarine are available to the public. After the construction of in 1961, the last Compagnie Générale Transatlantique liner and the subsequent closure of the Suez Canal, Chantiers de l'Atlantique began building large oil tankers, including , , and . A new dry dock (Basin C) was planned for the construction of tankers over 1,000,000 tonnes but this fell through with the reopening of the Suez Canal. was constructed at Chantiers de l'Atlantique in 2003.

Geography

The town of Saint-Nazaire is located on the north bank of the Loire estuary (its territory includes the tip of Chémoulin which marks the end of the estuary), 50 km west of Nantes. It is near the marshes of Brière, an important regional natural park with many animal and plant species, the second largest wetland in France after the Camargue. According to INSEE, Saint-Nazaire is the commune-center of an urban unit (commonly: agglomeration) which counted 186,760 inhabitants in 2018,Aire d'attraction des villes 2020 de Saint-Nazaire (055), Unité urbaine 2020 de Saint-Nazaire (44601)
INSEE gathering 17 communes of the Loire estuary. This unit is the urban center of the urban area of Saint-Nazaire (24 communes), which had 213,675 inhabitants in 2018 and extending over Brière and almost all of the Guérande peninsula. The eastern part of the town is on the alluvial terrain between the Brière and the Loire estuary. The western part, more extensive, corresponds to the extension of the hillside of Guérande: the relief is hilly and of higher altitude, where one finds a granite and metamorphic base. Geologically, Saint-Nazaire is located in the Armorican massif.

Climate

In close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, the climate of Saint-Nazaire is, as with the rest of the Loire-Atlantique, of temperate oceanic type. This climate is very much influenced by the Loire estuary. The winters are mild (Min 3 °C / Max 10 °C ), and summer is mild too (Min 12 °C / Max 24 °C ). Snowfall is rare, but rain is frequent (113 days a year with precipitation) but not very intense, the annual rainfall being 743.3 mm. Precipitation is however relatively variable from one year to the next. The sunshine is 1,826 hours a year, but there are only 53 days of strong sunshine. Saint-Nazaire receives mainly southwestern sector winds related to the Atlantic depressions and northeastern sector winds when the weather is more stable. The annual average wind of 4.5 m / s and there are 60 days per year of strong wind.

Education

Schools

The primary schools of Saint-Nazaire (Carnot, Jean-Jaurès, Lamartine, Jules Ferry, Ferdinand Bush, Boncourt, etc.) educate nearly 8,000 pupils in 30 school complexes. The junior schools have nearly 7,000 pupils in 12 colleges: public colleges Albert Vinçon; Pierre Norange; Manon Roland; Jean de Neyman; Jean Moulin, accommodate around 1,350 pupils each. Private colleges include: Saint-Louis (1,000 pupils, boarding school; historically a college for boys), Sainte-Therese (historically a college for girls). The high schools educate 6,000 pupils into 11 colleges, with the technical school Aristide Briand having some 3,500 pupils, one of the largest colleges of France; an experimental college, public lycée managed jointly by the teachers and the pupils; the private college of Saint-Louis mainstream education; the hotel private college Sainte-Anne; the private of mainstream education and technological college Our-Lady-in Espérance. The Cité Scolaire of Saint-Nazaire is one of largest of France, with nearly 4,000 high-school pupils.

University

The University of Saint-Nazaire is a college of the

University of Nantes The University of Nantes (french: Université de Nantes) is a public university located in the city of Nantes, France. In addition to the several campuses scattered in the city of Nantes, there are two satellite campuses located in Saint-Nazair ...

, the second largest university in France with approximately 35,000 students, including nearly 5,000 on the university campus of Saint-Nazaire.

Transport

The

Route nationale A ''route nationale'', or simply ''nationale'', is a class of trunk road in France. They are important roads of national significance which cross broad portions of the French territory, in contrast to departmental or communal roads which serve ...

N165 N165 ("Coronation" rock) is a rock on the surface of Aeolis Palus in Gale Crater on the planet Mars near the landing site ("Bradbury Landing") of the ''Curiosity'' rover. The "approximate" site coordinates are: . On August 19, 2012, the rock w ...

/N161 ( E60 route) connects Saint-Nazaire to Nantes and

via the Pont de Saint-Nazaire, which crosses the Loire. Paris is then accessed via the A10/A11 in Nantes. Valves, Lorient, Quimper and Brest are accessed via the N165. A project to review a second crossing of the Loire between Nantes and Saint Nazaire is being considered, planned to be constructed and operational by 2025.

Railway

Saint-Nazaire railway station is served by both the

TGV The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...

and regional trains and buses of the TER Pays de la Loire.

(high speed train) connection to Paris,

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the No ...

, and

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...

, with trains to Paris via the LGV Atlantique taking just over 2 hours. TER Pays de la Loire provides links to

, Angers,

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

, La Roche sur Yon, and other regional cities and towns.

Air travel

Saint-Nazaire airport is located south-east of Saint-Nazaire, in the ''commune'' of

Montoir-de-Bretagne Montoir-de-Bretagne (, literally ''Montoir of Brittany''; br, Mouster-al-Loc'h) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. Population The population data given in the table below refer to the commune of Montoir-de-Bretag ...

. It has an annual capacity of approximately 150,000 passengers, and is the operational and maintenance base for Eagle Aviation France. International travel is via Nantes Atlantique Airport, the biggest airport in western France, linking with several French and European cities as well as

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

in Canada (seasonally) and some cities in North Africa. A new airport was planned that was to be situated to the north-west of Nantes in the ''commune'' of Notre-Dame-des-Landes. Called Aéroport du Grand Ouest, it was officially cancelled in 2018.

Economy

The economy of the city is founded on the activity of the port, including export of manufactured goods but also on the services, being given sizeable size of the city. Commercial fishing has almost completely disappeared in spite of the existence of a small fleet of fisheries and fishing vessels. Saint-Nazaire suffered heavily from the downsizing of shipbuilding activity in western Europe in the 1960s and 1970s, after the completion of the national passenger liner, SS ''France''. For a long time in the 1980s, Saint-Nazaire remained an economically depressed area with unemployment rates above 20%. Today, the local economy is more diversified and its situation is more in line with that of France as a whole. The major industries are: Ville de Bordeaux

* Shipyard – having previously concentrated on both naval and cargo ship construction,

has completed a successful reconversion to cruise ship building and is now one of the world leaders in this sector. Purchased by

Aker Yards Aker may refer to: Places * Aker, Norway, a geographic area in Oslo and a former municipality in Norway * Vestre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality * Nordre Aker, a district of Oslo within former Aker municipality * Aker Br ...

, the Cunard Line's new flagship, RMS ''Queen Mary 2'', was built in Saint-Nazaire. *Airbus – Saint-Nazaire is one of the European centers of

Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...

, responsible for the fitting out of aircraft fuselage sections. Originally a factory built for SNCASO, it is located at Penhoët, immediate north of the sites of Chantiers de l'Atlantique. An additional facility was built in Gron in 1980. For the

Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...

, the Airbus

Roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...

(RORO) ship brings fuselage sections from

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

, (Germany) for larger, assembled sections, some of which include the nose. The ship then unloads these sections plus wings from Filton, Bristol and Broughton in North

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectu ...

. From there, the A380 parts are transported by barge to

Langon, Gironde Langon (; oc, Lengon) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Langon serves as the seat of its district, canton and subprefecture. Its inhabitants are called ''Langonnais''. Geography Langon is in ...

, and by oversize road convoys to the assembly hall in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and fr ...

. New wider roads, canal systems and barges were developed to deliver the A380 parts. After assembly, the aircraft are flown to Hamburg, XFW to be furnished and painted. *Aeronautical engineering – Famat, a joint-venture company between Snecma and

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ene ...

, has a factory in Saint-Nazaire. Employing approximately 450 people, Famat specializes in the manufacture of structural elements for

turbojet The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, a ...

s. *Mechanical engineering – SEMT Pielstick, a manufacturer of diesel engines intended for naval and railway applications and for electrical production. Now part of

MAN B&W Diesel MAN Diesel SE was a German manufacturer of large-bore diesel engines for marine propulsion systems and power plant applications. In 2010 it was merged with MAN Turbo to form MAN Diesel & Turbo. History * In 1980, MAN acquired the Burmeister & W ...

, the SEMT Pielstick factory employed in 2006 670 people in Saint-Nazaire. *Port – the primary French port on the Atlantic coast. Now busier than its rival Nantes, it is managed by the Port Authority of Nantes-Saint-Nazaire. The port terminal handles high volumes of food products, and methane, and oil company Elf de Donges and many other industries. Saint Nazaire hosts the first French

offshore wind farm Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea. There are higher wind speeds offshore than on land, so offshore farms generate more electricity per amount of ...

with 80 wind turbines that will produce enough power to cover consumptions of around 700,000 people. AMYNTAS_Donges_1_by_NS

International relations

Twin towns - sister cities

Saint-Nazaire is twinned with: *

Avilés Avilés (; ) is a town in Asturias, Spain. Avilés is, along with Oviedo and Gijón, one of the main cities in the Principality of Asturias. The town occupies the flattest land in the municipality, partially in a land that belonged to the sea, s ...

, Spain * Saarlouis, Germany, since 1969 * Sunderland, England, United Kingdom, since 1953

Cooperation agreements

Kribi Kribi is a beach resort and sea port in Cameroon. Location The coastal town of Kribi lies on the Gulf of Guinea, in Océan Department, South Province, at the mouth of the Kienké River. This location, lies approximately , by road, south o ...

, Cameroon * Mahdia, Tunisia

Cultural references

*1943 British film '' Tomorrow We Live'', directed by

George King George King may refer to: Politics * George King (Australian politician) (1814–1894), New South Wales and Queensland politician * George King, 3rd Earl of Kingston (1771–1839), Irish nobleman and MP for County Roscommon * George Clift King (184 ...

, and starring John Clements, Godfrey Tearle, Greta Gynt, Hugh Sinclair and Yvonne Arnaud. *In the book of '' Das Boot'' Saint-Nazaire was the base used in the novel. The film changed the location to

because its appearance had not changed to such a large degree in the years following World War II. *Saint-Nazaire, under the Arabicized name "Nsara," is the setting for Book Nine in Kim Stanley Robinson's 2002 alternate-history novel '' The Years of Rice and Salt''. *In the Franco-Canadian CGI Cartoon Skyland, Saint Nazaire is a name of a pirate flagship participating in a losing rebellion trying to overthrow a corrupt military dictatorship *The video game Medal of Honor: European Assault opens with the British raid on St. Nazaire. *Cyllage City from the Game Pokémon X & Y is based on Saint-Nazaire. *Saint-Nazaire is the title of a song from American alternative rock band Pixies on the album

Beneath the Eyrie ''Beneath the Eyrie'' is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band Pixies, released on September 13, 2019, by BMG/Infectious. Produced by Tom Dalgety, and preceded by the singles "On Graveyard Hill" and "Catfish Kate", the albu ...

. *The song, " Mademoiselle from Armentières," has the lines, "Mademoiselle from Saint-Nazaire:/She never heard of underwear."

People from Saint-Nazaire

René-Yves Creston René-Yves Creston (25 October 1898 – 30 May 1964), born René Pierre Joseph Creston, was a Breton artist, designer and ethnographer who founded the Breton nationalist art movement Seiz Breur. During World War II he was active in the French Res ...

(1898–1964), artist, ethnologist, resister and Breton nationalist, founder of the artistic movement and social Art Seiz Breur * Odette du Puigaudeau (1894–1991), ethnologist * Fernand Guériff (1914–1994), scholar, type-setter, historian, journalist devoted mainly to the soil of the peninsula guérandaise 5 * Yann Goulet (1914–1999), sculptor, Breton nationalist and war-time collaborationist with Nazi Germany who headed the Breton ''Bagadou Stourm'' militia. He later took Irish citizenship and became professor of sculpture at the Royal Hibernian Academy * Marie Léra (1864-1958), journalist, novelist, translator * Roger Lévêque, (5 December 1920 – 30 June 2002), a professional road racing cyclist from 1946 to 1953 * Colonel Moutarde (born 1968), illustrator * Stéphane Hoffmann, (born 1958), writer *

Tony Heurtebis Tony Heurtebis (born 15 January 1975) is a French football goalkeeper who played for Stade Rennais, Troyes AC, Stade Brestois and FC Nantes Atlantique. He has been capped for the France under-21 squad. Statistics Honours Troyes AC *UEFA Inte ...

, (15 January 1975), football goalkeeper who played for FC Nantes Atlantique. * Sandra Gomis (born 1983), athlete *

Bryan Coquard Bryan Coquard (born 25 April 1992) is a French cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He was a silver medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Omnium. Career Youth and amateur career Coquard began cycling in 1999 at the age of seve ...

(born 1992), Professional Cyclist for Team Europcar – 2012 Olympic Silver medalist *

Serge Serge may refer to: *Serge (fabric), a type of twill fabric *Serge (llama) (born 2005), a llama in the Cirque Franco-Italien and internet meme *Serge (name), a masculine given name (includes a list of people with this name) *Serge (post), a hitchi ...

(born 2005), llama that became an

internet meme An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

after being kidnapped by five drunk students in November 2013

Demographics

Breton language

In 2008, 0.41% of the children attended bilingual primary schools. ''Ofis ar Brezhoneg''
''Enseignement bilingue''
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References

*Perrett, Bryan (2003). ''For Valour: Victoria Cross and Medal of Honor Battles''. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London. *Braeuer, Luc, ''L’incroyable histoire de la poche de Saint-Nazaire'', Batz-Sur-Mer 2003. *Guériff, Fernand. ''Saint-Nazaire sous l'occupation allemande: le Commando, la Poche''. Éditions du Paludier (In French) *Moret Henri, Histoire de Saint-Nazaire et de la région environnante, Bruxelles, 1977 (In French) *Barbance Marthe, Saint-Nazaire : la Ville, le Port, le Travail, Marseille, 1979 (In French)

External links

Website (English)Lancastria Association of Scotland (English)Official website (French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saintnazaire Communes of Loire-Atlantique Subprefectures in France German Navy submarine bases Port cities and towns on the French Atlantic coast