Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Submarine Pens at St. Nazzaire

After leaving Fouras we stopped for a day at St Nazzaire France. There was once a military RR center nearby where we used to go and visit … when my dad had a few days to relax. We stayed at a Holiday Inn and it was the best accommodations for the price that we had on our entire visit.

Anyway it was from here that the Germans launched their infamous U-Boats during WW2. I have always been fascinated by the sea battles of the period and the submarine war in particular. The movie “Das Boot” made a particularly vivid impression. The scene where the Engineer crabs under a floor grate got to me. It is the part where the boat is resting damaged on the bottom and to reconnect an electrical circuit, this little guy goes under the floor on a gurney. It was a suspenseful and unforgettable scene. I am claustrophobic and just being in a submarine would be bad enough but crawling underneath that grate half filled with water was more than I could take. I had to get up and leave the theater.

These sub pens drafted thousands of French laborers during WW2 and are massive structures of steel reinforced concrete. A large bomb landed on the roof during the war and hardly made a dent.

The hotel owner told us the city wanted to erase all memory of the experience and considered having them removed after the war. Engineers decided the vibrations of the air hammers required to do the job would vibrate the city apart. Reluctantly they have allowed them to remain. We weren’t sure where they were located and imagine our surprise when they were right across the street from the hotel.