''La Bastiaise'' was a of the

French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...

(''Marine nationale''). The ship was built by the British shipyard Smiths Dock in their

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

shipyard, and was completed in June 1940, just before the French Armistice with Germany. She was sunk by a

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

on 22 June 1940 during

sea trial A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a " shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and ...

s. The name ''La Bastiaise'' was in honour of the inhabitants of the city of Bastia, Corsica.

War service

At the outbreak of World War II the ''Marine nationale'' (French Navy) needed urgently ships for

anti-submarine warfare Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...

(ASW) convoy escort and placed orders from Smiths Dock in South Bank, Middlesbrough for four Flower-class corvettes. Following this the ''Marine nationale'' ordered a further 18 ships, to be built both in British and French shipyards. These French Flower-class ships were identical to the British "Flowers" except that French and 13.2 mm AA guns were to be fitted. On 22 June 1940, the day of France's capitulation, ''La Bastiase'' was undergoing

s in the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

when she struck a mine off

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

and sank. The night before Luftwaffe planes had been dropping magnetic mines into the shallow coastal waters. Forty-three French sailors died, along with at least 18 British shipyard workers. ''La Bastiase'' was not part of FFL Navy as she was serving under the ''Marine nationale'' flag but France surrendered on the day of her loss. Her commander, Lieutenant de Vaisseau Georges Albert Lacombe, died in the sinking.

Legacy

A memorial obelisk, with the names of all those who died when La Bastiaise hit a mine whilst on trials off the River Tees was dedicated at a service in Smiths Dock Park on Saturday 7 November 2015. The crew members that died are remembered among the Forces Navales Françaises Libres members that died in the war.http://www.memoiresdeshommes.sga.defense.gouv.fr

Notes

Sources

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External links

uboat.net

Corvette LA BASTIAISE
{{DEFAULTSORT:La Bastiase Flower-class corvettes of the Free French Naval Forces World War II corvettes of France Companions of the Liberation 1940 ships Ships built on the River Clyde Ships sunk by mines

War service

Legacy

See also

Notes

Sources

External links