SS Prinses Astrid was a Belgian cross-Channel ferry struck a naval mine off the coast of Dunkirk, France and sank with the loss of five of her 65 crew. All 60 survivors and 218 passengers on board were rescued by (France) and various tugs from Dunkirk.
Construction
SS Prinses Astrid was built in Hoboken, Antwerp, Belgium at the Cockerill shipyard in 1929 as a cross-Channel ferry for the Belgian Government. She was launched on 20 July 1929 and completed in April 1930. She made her maiden voyage from Ostend to Dover on 24 April 1930. The ship was long, with a beam of and a depth of . The ship was assessed at . She had six steam turbines driving two screw propellers and the engine was rated at 2.779 nhp. She could also carry 2,950 tons of cargo as well as 1,400 passengers and 65 crew.
Pre-War career
From 1930 to 1940, Prinses Astrid was a cross-Channel ferry which was operated by the Belgian Government and sailed the Ostend-Dover line.
World War II
When Germany invaded Belgium on 10 May 1940, many Belgian citizens fled their country. On 18 May 1940, Prinses Astrid left Ostend harbor with Belgian refugees en route to Southampton, United Kingdom. From 23 May 1940 forward, Prinses Astrid sailed for the British Ministry of War Transport and she was used for the evacuation of 1,556 English soldiers from France in Operation Aerial from 12 June to 15 June 1940 following Belgium's surrender. She was also used for the evacuation of the Channel Islands Jersey and Guernsey between 20 June and 22 June 1940.
Prinses Astrid sailed with an Ostend crew until 27 September 1940, on 28 September 1940 she was taken over by the British Royal Navy. In January 1941, the ship was taken to the Naval Dockyard in Devonport where she was rebuilt to a Landing Ship Infantry and on 26 May 1941, Prinses Astrid was renamed HMS Prinses Astrid (LSI(S)-4226).
In June 1941, HMS Prinses Astrid sailed to Inveraray to join the fleet which remained stand-by for the landing in the Azores (Operation Truster). As preparation for the operation in August 1941, Prinses Astrid was sent to Scapa Flow for training. Due to electrical problems, the ship was not able to participate in Operation Truster. On 20 September 1941, Prinses Astrid arrived in Inveraray to serve as an accommodation ship for Combined Operations Training Classes.
After other repairs, the ship was ready for Operation Jubilee. The ship left Portsmouth on 18 August 1942 at 20:24 pm as part of group 3 en route to Blue Beach in Dieppe. The ship led her landing crafts with Canadian troops safely down at 2:58 am on 19 August before returning to the Solent.
On 10 June 1943, Prinses Astrid left Falmouth for Gibraltar and the North African ports of Oran, Algiers, Bizerta, and Philippeville, where she arrived on 7 July 1943.
For Operation Husky, Prinses Astrid picked up U.S. Rangers in the Jos Attack-gebied near Licata on 10 July 1943. She joined the Northern Attack Force and left Tripoli on 6 September 1943 for Operation Avalanche for the landing near Salerno on 9 September 1943. The ship left Algiers on 27 October 1943 en route to the UK and became a Submarine Target Ship.
Prinses Astrid left the Solent on 5 June 1944 as part of the Assault Convoy S7. On 6 June 1944 at 05:42 am, the ship lay off Sword beachhead in order to disembark her troops during the invasion of Normandy on D-day. Afterwards, the ship made multiple crossings with new troops for the Eastern and Western Task Force with Newhaven and Southampton as main ports. The ship returned to the Solent and followed the Calais–Southampton line on 26 December 1944. After that, she moved to the Tilbury–Ostend Force Duty. From 17 January 1945 to 12 February 1945, the ship sailed the Harwich-Calais line.
Accidents
Prinses Astrid was involved in a collision on 16 May 1942 with a tank landing ship. She was repaired and was at the same time modified to participate in Operation Rutter, better known as the raid on Dieppe. The raid was planned for July 1942, but was cancelled due to bad weather. On 7 July 1942 at 6:15 am, Prinses Astrid was hit by a bomb while in the Solent. The bomb hit C deck but bounced off the upper structure of a landing craft located on the side of C deck and exploded in the water.