Ateliers et Chantiers de Penhoët was a major French shipbuilding company based at Saint-Nazaire. The shipyard existed in several successive forms between 1861 and 1955, beginning with an early yard founded by Scottish engineer John Scott and later developing into one of FranceâÂÂs principal builders of merchant ships and naval vessels. In 1955 the company merged with the Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire to form Chantiers de lâÂÂAtlantique, its modern successor.
Shipbuilding at Penhoët began in 1861, when John Scott, a Scottish engineer, established a yard at SaintâÂÂNazaire under the ownership of the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT). Known informally as the Chantiers Scott, the yard operated until 1866, when financial difficulties forced its closure. Management passed to the Compagnie des Chantiers et Ateliers de lâÂÂOcéan in 1867, but the site closed definitively in 1871.
A shortâÂÂlived revival attempt under the name Chantiers de lâÂÂOcéan operated between 1869 and 1870, but it was unsuccessful and the yard again fell dormant.
The shipyard was permanently revived in 1881 as the Chantiers et Ateliers de Penhoët, again under the aegis of CGT. This revival coincided with major port expansion, including the construction of the Bassin de Penhoët, inaugurated on 8 May 1881. The nearby Forges de Trignac supplied steel and iron plates for hull construction, enabling the yard to expand into large steel shipbuilding.
Between 1881 and 1900, the yard primarily built passenger liners for CGT.
In 1900, the company was reorganised and renamed the Société des Chantiers et Ateliers de SaintâÂÂNazaireâÂÂPenhoët. Under this name, the yard expanded significantly and became one of FranceâÂÂs major shipbuilders.
During the 1920s, the company also operated a second yard at Le Grand-Quevilly, near Rouen.
At SaintâÂÂNazaire, the Penhoët yard produced both merchant ships and naval vessels, including submarines such as Le Conquérant, built between 1930 and 1934.
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During the Second World War, the shipyard and surrounding facilities were heavily bombed. On 9 November 1942, the apprentice school was struck, resulting in the deaths of 134 apprentices aged 14âÂÂ17.
In 1955, the company merged with the Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire to form Chantiers de lâÂÂAtlantique. The successor company later became STX France in 2008 and reverted to the name Chantiers de lâÂÂAtlantique in 2018.
1861âÂÂ1866 â Chantiers Scott (ScottâÂÂoperated yard under CGT)
1867âÂÂ1871 â Managed by Compagnie des Chantiers et Ateliers de lâÂÂOcéan
1869âÂÂ1870 â Chantiers de lâÂÂOcéan (revival attempt)
1881âÂÂ1900 â Chantiers et Ateliers de Penhoët
1900âÂÂ1955 â Société des Chantiers et Ateliers de SaintâÂÂNazaireâÂÂPenhoët
1955âÂÂpresent â Successor: Chantiers de lâÂÂAtlantique
Ateliers et Chantiers de Penhoët operated a small network of shipyards and associated industrial sites during its history. These facilities had distinct roles and capacities, and together they formed the companyâÂÂs wider industrial base. Listing them clearly helps distinguish the shipbuilding company from the physical yards where construction took place.
The original yard, founded in 1861 on the east bank of the Loire estuary, was the companyâÂÂs principal site. It developed from a modest slipway into a major industrial complex with multiple slipways, workshops, boiler shops, and later fittingâÂÂout basins. Most of the companyâÂÂs major merchant ships and naval vessels were built here, including early steamships, interwar naval contracts, and postâÂÂwar reconstruction work. The yardâÂÂs location near deep water made it suitable for increasingly large hulls.
Operated intermittently in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as an auxiliary construction site. It handled smaller or secondary projects, including steel sailing ships and hulls intended for fittingâÂÂout elsewhere. One documented vessel built here was the fourâÂÂmasted barque André Théodore (1902). The yardâÂÂs activity rose and fell with fluctuations in demand, and it never matched the scale of the SaintâÂÂNazaire facilities.
Although not a shipyard, this industrial complex was closely linked to Penhoët. Built in the 1890s, it supplied steel plates, forgings, and heavy components used in ship construction. Its proximity to SaintâÂÂNazaire made it an important part of the companyâÂÂs industrial ecosystem, even though it operated under separate management. The siteâÂÂs blast furnaces and rolling mills supported both Penhoët and other regional industries.
As vessels grew in size during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Penhoët expanded its fittingâÂÂout capacity. The basin handled machinery installation, interior work, armament fitting for naval vessels, and final preparations for sea trials. It became increasingly important as the yard shifted toward larger and more complex ships.
Together, these facilities formed a distributed industrial system that supported PenhoëtâÂÂs evolution from a regional yard into one of FranceâÂÂs major shipbuilding companies.
For the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique:
Primarily passenger liners for CGT (French page lists ÃÂleâÂÂdeâÂÂFrance and Normandie as emblematic products of the Penhoët tradition, though built later under the successor entity).
Notable vessels include:
At Grand-Quevilly