The Submariners’ Museum in Lorient Bretagne Sud

  • By the sea
  • Must see

Dive into
the Lorient Submariners’ Museum without getting wet !

In the oldest submarine rescue centre in the world, built in 1942, the Submariners’ Museum in Lorient La Base displays the history of the Battle of the Atlantic through the wrecks in Lorient, using underwater images, audio-visual archives and testimonials from sailors.

Caisson dans une des salles du musée sous-marin à Lorient La Base.

You too can explore the wrecks and the seabed! The Kerguelen Sports Ocean in Larmor-Plage (formerly Centre Nautique de Kerguelen) offers supervised but fun underwater exploration trips. Discover the Flake Sperrbrecher 134 (20-24 meters), Cyrano (17-20 meters) or the mythical German submarine U-171 (39 meters) sunk in 1942, around the island of Groix.

Borne interactive et films sur les épaves, à Lorient
© MSMPL - Tous droits réservés. Borne interactive et diffusion de films sous-marins sur les épaves.

Virtual Dive

Several rooms allow you to discover, without getting wet (!), the contemporary wrecks in the bay…

Through projections of films and archive images of the Battle of the Atlantic, testimonies), you will relive these dark hours of history. The underwater images and films take you on a virtual visit of the sunken wrecks of the Second World War.

Beneath the surface...

Underwater life

Divers from the Mediterranean can’t believe it. The seabed in Lorient Bretagne Sud is very rich in fauna and flora. Anemones, soft corals, wrasse, octopus and cuttlefish, ocean sunfish, crabs, velvet crabs, porpoises, pollock, whiting-pout, lobster… All the coastal fish are easy to observe. Not forgetting basking sharks (harmless) and even dolphins, who come to play in the area during the summer…

Plongeurs à Ile de Groix avec le Centre Nautique de Kerguelen
©MSMPL. Plongeurs à Ile de Groix avec le Centre Nautique de Kerguelen
Musée sous-marin à Lorient La Base. Plongeurs sous l'eau, éclairant une épave.
©MSMPL. Musée sous-marin à Lorient La Base. Plongeurs sous l'eau, éclairant une épave.

Wrecks

Underwater wrecks mark the diving in Lorient Bretagne Sud. “These wrecks are the remains of the maritime activity”, says Christophe Cerino, President of the Submariners’ Museum.

Wrecks from the Second World War, such as the U-boat 171 which lies off Groix 40 meters deep, or from the First World War, such as the Thüringuen in front of Gâvres… Not forgetting trawlers such as the Kerolay in front of Kerpape or the transporter Isère in front of Locmiquélic. Famous because it brought the Statue of Liberty to New York in 1885…

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