Dinard and St Briac

Dinard and St Briac

Dinard at Binic to collect seasonal workers

Dinard and St Briac were built built by Denny of Dumbarton in 1924 for Southern Railway, being sister ships of 2,291 tons, 325 feet in length, 41 feet beam, twin screw, steam turbines, with a speed of 19 knots. Built mainly for the Southampton-St Malo service, St Briac came to Jersey at peak periods and both ships were also used for cruises

The Dinard before conversion leaves Granville en route to Jersey

Dinard

Dinard once came to the Channel Islands, for the benefit of Southern Railway directors on a tour of inspection. She also operated between the island and Granville and St Malo, either on a relief basis or carrying cruise passengers.

She served as a hospital ship in World War II in the Mediterranean, returning to Britain for D-Day operations. She struck a mine the following day but limped into port. She was then converted to a troopship, but the work was not finished before the end of the war.

In 1947 she was converted to a car ferry, enabling her to carry 300 passengers and 80 cars on the Dover-Boulogne route. She was withdrawnn in October 1958, and sold to Finland in 1959 and renamed Viking.

St Briac

St Briac was launched in February 1924 and ran on the Southampton to Le Havre and St Malo routes. She was also used for cruises, being able to carry 1,300 passengers, and calling at Le Havre, Rouen, Cherbourg, St Malo, Jersey and Guernsey, in the days before UK cruise aficianados became more adventurous and ventured further afield.

On 13 March 1942 she struck a mine off Aberdeen and was lost.