List of shipwrecks of France
This is a list of shipwrecks located in or off the coast of France.

The shipwreck of the Boyne off the Îles Molène, Brittany, 1875
Aquitaine
Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates |
---|---|---|---|---|
U-180 | ![]() |
23 August 1944 | A Type IXD1 U-boat sunk off Soorts-Hossegor. | 44.000°N 2.000°W |
Brittany
Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ajax | ![]() |
25 December 1917 | A cargo ship that was torpedoed by U-104 south of Audierne. | 47°53′N 4°32′W |
HMS Amazon | ![]() |
14 January 1797 | A frigate that ran aground at Audierne. | |
HMS Amfitrite | ![]() |
4 March 1807 | A frigate wrecked off Ushant. | |
Amoco Cadiz | ![]() |
16 March 1978 | A supertanker that ran aground at Portsall, causing an oil spill. | 48.6°N 4.7°W |
HMS Arethusa | ![]() |
19 March 1779 | Royal Navy frigate, wrecked off Ushant after sustaining considerable damage in a battle with the French ship Aigrette. | 48°27′4″N 5°4′4″W |
Asgard II | ![]() |
11 September 2008 | A brigantine that sank off Belle Île. | 47°18′03″N 3°33′02″W |
HMCS Athabaskan | ![]() |
29 April 1944 | A Tribal-class destroyer that was torpedoed by T24 off Plouguerneau. | 48°43′N 4°32′W |
Auguste | ![]() |
29 January 1795 | A ship of the line caught in a tempest off Brest. | |
Böhlen | ![]() |
14 Octobre 1976 | An oil tanker that sank after going aground off the Île de Sein | 48°10′30″N 5°10′48″W |
HMS Charybdis | ![]() |
23 October 1943 | A Dido-class cruiser that was sunk by German torpedo boats off the north coast of Brittany. | 48°59′N 3°39′W |
Droits de l'Homme | ![]() |
1797 | Sunk after going aground off Plozévet. | |
Empire Conyngham | ![]() |
20 June 1949 | A cargo ship that was scuttled off Brest. | 47°52′N 8°51′W |
Erika | ![]() |
12 December 1999 | An oil tanker that sank in the Bay of Biscay, causing an oil spill. | 47°9′N 4°15′W |
HMS Firm | ![]() |
29 June 1811 | A gun-brig wrecked off Cancalle Bay. | |
France | ![]() |
26 August 1922 | A Courbet-class battleship that struck a rock in Quiberon Bay. | 47°27′6″N 3°2′0″W |
USS Gypsum Queen | ![]() |
28 April 1919 | A tugboat that struck a rock off Brest. | |
Hilda | ![]() |
18 December 1905 | A steamship that hit the Pierre de Portes rocks in thick fog and sank off Saint-Malo. | 48°40.49′N 2°5.72′W |
SS London | ![]() |
11 January 1864 | Sunk in a storm in the Bay of Biscay. | |
HMS Magnificent | ![]() |
25 March 1804 | A Ramillies-class ship of the line that struck a reef off Brest. | |
HMS Monkey (1801) | ![]() |
25 December 1810 | A gun-brig wrecked on Belle Île while participating in the blockade of Lorient. | |
Neptune | ![]() |
28 December 1794 | A ship of the line wrecked off Brest during the Croisière du Grand Hiver. | |
HMS Repulse | ![]() |
10 March 1800 | An Intrepid-class ship of the line abandoned in the Glénan islands. | |
Royal Louis | ![]() |
24 December 1794 | A ship of the line that ran aground off Brest. | |
Saint-Esprit | ![]() |
30 January 1795 | A Saint-Esprit-class ship of the line wrecked off Brest during Croisière du Grand Hiver. | |
Séduisant | ![]() |
16 December 1796 | A Séduisant-class ship of the line wrecked off Brest. | |
Superbe | ![]() |
30 January 1795 | A Téméraire-class ship of the line wrecked off Brest during the Croisière du Grand Hiver. | |
U-103 | ![]() |
12 May 1918 | A German submarine that was rammed by RMS Olympic off Brest. | 49°16′N 4°51′W |
U-171 | ![]() |
9 October 1942 | A Type IXC U-boat that was sunk near Lorient. | 47°39′N 03°34′W |
U-441 | ![]() |
8 June 1944 | A Type VIIC U-boat that was sunk off Ushant. | 48°27′N 05°47′W |
U-526 | ![]() |
14 April 1943 | A Type IXC/40 U-boat that was sunk by mines near Lorient. | 47°30′N 03°45′W |
U-767 | ![]() |
18 June 1944 | A Type VIIC U-boat that was sunk by British destroyers north of Tréguier. | 49°03′N 03°13′W |
U-821 | ![]() |
10 June 1944 | A Type VIIC U-boat that was sunk by aircraft off Ushant. | 48°31′N 05°11′W |
UC-36 | ![]() |
21 May 1917 | A German Type UC II U-boat that was rammed by French steamer Molière off Ushant. | 48°42′N 05°14′W |
Channel Islands
Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates |
---|---|---|---|---|
HMS Affray | ![]() |
16 April 1951 | An Amphion-class submarine lost near Hurds Deep. | 49°30′N 3°34′W |
Baden | ![]() |
16 August 1921 | A Bayern-class dreadnought sunk as a target in Hurd Deep. | 49°49′42″N 2°23′21″W |
HMS Dragon | ![]() |
15 March 1712 | A frigate that served in the Anglo-Dutch Wars, and was wrecked near Guernsey. | |
HMS Lady Olive | ![]() |
19 February 1917 | A Q ship that was sunk by SM UC-18 west of Jersey. | 49°15′N 02°34′W |
Stella | ![]() |
30 March 1899 | A passenger ferry that hit a granite reef off the Casquets. | |
UC-18 | ![]() |
19 February 1917 | A German minelaying submarine sunk by Q ship Lady Olive west of Jersey. | 49°15′N 02°34′W |
Corsica
Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates |
---|---|---|---|---|
HMS Fleche | ![]() |
12 November 1795 | A corvette that ran aground and capsized in the bay of Saint-Florent. | |
HMS Saracen | ![]() |
14 August 1943 | An S-class submarine that was attacked by Italian corvettes and scuttled off Bastia. | 42°45′N 9°30′E |
Languedoc-Roussillon
Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates |
---|---|---|---|---|
Wreck of Rochelongue | A shipwreck found west of Cap d'Agde dating to the Iron Age, around 600 BC. |
Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates |
---|---|---|---|---|
Abukir | ![]() |
28 May 1940 | A steamship that was torpedoed by S-34 northeast of Calais, while evacuating soldiers and civilians from Ostend. | 51.20°N 2.16°E |
L'Adroit | ![]() |
25 May 1940 | A L'Adroit-class destroyer that was bombed by German aircraft off Dunkirk. | 51°03′N 2°23′E |
HMS Assistance | ![]() |
29 March 1802 | A fourth-rate ship that hit a sandbank off Dunkirk. | |
Elizabeth | 28 December 1810 | A cargo ship wrecked on the Dunkirk brake, with at least 380 deaths. | ||
HMS Grenade | ![]() |
29 May 1940 | A G-class destroyer that was sunk by German Stuka dive bomber aircraft during the Battle of Dunkirk. | 51°24′28″N 2°49′10″E |
HMS Havant | ![]() |
1 June 1940 | A H-class destroyer that was scuttled after taking damage in the Battle of Dunkirk. | 51°08′00″N 2°15′49″E |
HMS Hermes | ![]() |
31 October 1914 | A Highflyer-class cruiser torpedoed by German submarine U-27. | 51°06′18″N 1°50′18″E |
HMS Keith | ![]() |
1 June 1940 | A B-class destroyer sunk at Dunkirk by enemy aircraft. | 51°04′46″N 02°26′47″E |
HMS Laforey | ![]() |
23 March 1917 | A Laforey-class destroyer that hit a mine off Cap Gris Nez. | |
Huntley | ![]() |
21 November 1915 | A German hospital ship seized by the Royal Navy, and torpedoed by UB-10 off Boulogne. | |
U-109 | ![]() |
26 January 1918 | A German submarine sunk in the English Channel. | 50°53′N 1°31′E |
UC-26 | ![]() |
8 May 1917 | A German minelaying submarine rammed by HMS Milne off Calais. | 51°03′N 01°40′E |
UC-61 | ![]() |
26 July 1917 | A German minelaying submarine stranded and scuttled off Boulogne. | 50°53′N 01°33′E |
UC-79 | ![]() |
1918 | A German minelaying submarine sunk by a mine off Cap Gris Nez. |
Normandy
Pays de la Loire
Poitou-Charentes
Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates |
---|---|---|---|---|
HMS Atalante | ![]() |
12 February 1807 | A brig-sloop wrecked off Île de Ré. | |
U-107 | ![]() |
18 August 1944 | A Type IXB U-boat sunk by depth charges off La Rochelle. | 46°46′N 03°49′W |
U-263 | ![]() |
20 January 1944 | A Type VIIC U-boat that was sunk during a deep dive trial off La Rochelle. | 46°06′N 01°36′W |
U-667 | ![]() |
25 August 1944 | A Type VIIC U-boat that struck a mine off Oléron. | 46°00′N 01°30′W |
Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Ship | Flag | Sunk date | Notes | Coordinates |
---|---|---|---|---|
Espingole | ![]() |
4 February 1903 | A Durandal-class destroyer that struck a rock near Cavalaire-sur-Mer. | 43°09′20″N 06°36′30″E |
Héros | ![]() |
18 December 1793 | A ship of the line that was scuttled by fire at Toulon. | |
L'Indomptable | ![]() |
27 November 1942 | A Le Fantasque-class destroyer that was scuttled at Toulon to avoid capture (see Scuttling of the French fleet in Toulon). | |
Madrague de Giens | 75–60 BCE | A Roman merchantman sunk off the coast of La Madrague de Giens, east of Toulon. | 43°2′N 06°6′E | |
Magenta | ![]() |
31 October 1875 | An ironclad warship that exploded in the military harbour of Toulon. | |
U-303 | ![]() |
21 May 1943 | A Type VIIC U-boat that was torpedoed by HMS Sickle off Toulon. | 42°50′N 06°00′E |
References
- "Le HMS Dafodil ou TF3" (in French). Grieme. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shipwrecks in France.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.