Saint-Nazaire is a port town at the mouth of the Loire, near Nantes in western France.

Understand

The town has a fine port and shipbuilding has long been an important industry.

During World War II, the drydock at Saint-Nazaire was the only one on the Atlantic coast of German-held France that could repair large vessels such as battleships. British raiders put it out of commission in 1942 by ramming it with a destroyer packed with explosives; it was not repaired until 1947.