mpc@cad.Berkeley.EDU (Morgan Conrad) (11/06/90)
From: biosys!mpc@cad.Berkeley.EDU (Morgan Conrad)
Since there has recently been some discussion about the final fates
of American battleships, I went back through Breyer to compile a list of
the fates of all post-Dreadnought battleships and battlecruisers sunk
during wartime. For some, especially French ships, it is hard
to define "sunk". For this list, that is when they are so badly (IMHO)
damaged that they were not capable of sailing effectively for the rest
of that war. This list is not guaranteed to be perfectly correct.
It is organized by country, then (roughly) by date of commission.
Ship Date Where Why, Notes
U.K.
Invincible 31 May 16 Jutland Lutzow(a)
Vanguard 9 Jul 17 Scapa Flow internal explosion
Indefatigable 31 May 16 Jutland von der Tann(a)
Queen Mary 31 May 16 Jutland Derfflinger & Seydlitz(a)
Audacious 27 Oct 14 N. Irish coast mined
Centurion 9 Jun 44 Normandy used as breakwater(b)
Iron Duke 17 Oct 39 Scapa Flow bombed in harbor(b)
Barham 25 Nov 41 Egypt coast torpedoed by U 331
Royal Oak 14 Oct 39 Scapa Flow torpedoed by U 47
Repulse 10 Dec 41 off Kuantan Japanese air strike
Courageous 17 Sep 39 W of Ireland torpedoed by U 29(c)
Glorious 8 Jun 40 off Norway Scharnhorst & Gneisenau(c)
Hood 24 May 41 S of Greenland Bismark & Prinz Eugen
Prince of Wales 10 Dec 41 off Kuantan Japanese air strike
U.S.A.
Utah 7 Dec 41 Pearl Harbor Japanese air strike
Oklahoma 7 Dec 41 Pearl Harbor Japanese air strike
Arizona 7 Dec 41 Pearl Harbor Japanese air strike
Lexington 8 May 42 Coral Sea Japanese air strike(d)
Germany(e)
Lutzow 31 May 16 Jutland
Scharnhorst 26 Dec 43 N. Cape HMS Duke of York et. al.
Gneisenau 27 Mar 45 Gotenhafen bombs, scuttled(f)
Bismark 27 May 41 Bay of Biscay most of the Royal Navy :-)
Tirpitz 12 Nov 44 Trosmo RAF bombs
Spain
Alfonso XIII 30 Apr 37 Santander mined
Japan
Kongo 21 Nov 44 NW Formosa torpedoed by USS Sealion
Hiei 13 Nov 42 Guadalcanal cruiser shells, torps
Haruna 19 Mar 45 Kure Harbor bombed
Kirishima 15 Nov 42 Savo I USS Washington
Fuso 25 Oct 44 Suriago Strait USS Pennsylvania et. al.
Yamashiro 25 Oct 44 Suriago Strait USS Pennsylvania et. al.
Hyuga 28 Jul 45 Kure Harbor bombed
Ise 28 Jul 45 Kure Harbor bombed
Mutsu 8 Jun 43 Kure Harbor internal explosion
Kaga 5 Jun 42 Midway US air strike
Akagi 6 Jun 42 Midway US air strike
Yamato 7 Apr 45 Okinawa US air strike
Mushashi 24 Oct 44 Luzon US air strike
Shinano 29 Nov 44 Cape Muroto torpedoed by USS Archerfish(e)
Italy
Conte de Cavour 12 Nov 40 Taranto UK air strike
Leon. da Vinci 2 Aug 16 Taranto internal explosion
Roma 9 Sep 43 La Spezia German glider bomb
Soviet Union
Petropavlovsk 23 Sep 41 Kronstadt German air strike(g)
Imp. Maria 20 Oct 16 Sevastapol internal explosion
Ekaterina II 16 Jun 18 Novorossijsk torpedoed by Kertch
Austria-Hungary
Viribus Unitas 1 Nov 18 Pola Italian frogmen(h)
Szent Istvan 11 Jul 18 S. Adriatic torpedoed by MAS 15
France
Courbet 17 Aug 44 Ouistreham German minisub(b)
Jean Bart/Ocean 27 Nov 42 Toulon scuttled(b)
Provence 3 Jul 40 Mers el Kebir HMS Hood et. al.(i)
Bretagne 3 Jul 40 Mers el Kebir HMS Hood et. al.
Dunkerque 3 Jul 40 Mers el Kebir HMS Hood, Ark Royal et. al.(i)
Strassbourg 27 Nov 42 Toulon scuttled
Jean Bart 8 Nov 42 Casablanca USS Massachusetts(j)
(a) The real reason these sunk is they were British battlecruisers :-)
(b) These ships were not active battle line quality when sunk.
(c) These were conversions from unreal capital ships. :-)
(d) These were conversions from real capital ships.
(e) The following ships were scuttled at Scapa Flow 21 June 1919:
von der Tann, Moltke, Seydlitz, Kaiser, Friedrich der Grosse, Kaiserin,
Prinzregent Leitpold, Konig Albert, Konig, Grosser Kurfurst, Markgraf,
Kronprinz, Derfflinger, Hindenburg, Bayern.
(f) Arguably, this ship "sunk" during the "Channel Dash", since it was
never really in fighting shape afterwards.
(g) The main battery continued to provide ground support fire.
(h) This ship actually belonged to the new country of Yugoslavia, for one day
(i) These ships did make it to Toulon, to be scuttled 27 Nov 1942.
(j) By my standards, this ship almost started the battle "sunk". In any
case, it was raised and recommissioned after the war.
Morgan Conrad "Always keep your bowler on in times of stress
mpc@apldbio.com and beware the diabolical Masterminds."
welty@lewis.crd.ge.com (richard welty) (11/07/90)
From: welty@lewis.crd.ge.com (richard welty)
a couple of notes on Morgan's list
In article <1990Nov6.042753.29732@cbnews.att.com>, Morgan Conrad writes:
*U.S.A.
* Utah 7 Dec 41 Pearl Harbor Japanese air strike
utah was no longer a BB at this time, but a target ship. probably
should have been labeled a `conversion' in this list.
*Japan
* Hiei 13 Nov 42 Guadalcanal cruiser shells, torps
i'm not sure that there were any effective torpedoe hits in this
battle (the first night of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal)
* Kirishima 15 Nov 42 Savo I USS Washington
now, is this intended as a battle name or as a location? Kirishima
was sunk near Savo Island, but not in `The Battle Of Savo Island',
but rather on the last night of the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal.
see Hammel, _Guadalcanal: Decision at Sea_ for a detailed account
of the sinkings of Hiei and Kirishima.
* Kaga 5 Jun 42 Midway US air strike
* Akagi 6 Jun 42 Midway US air strike
these were both carrier conversions from capital ships, and so
should have been marked with (c) or (d) (i'm not sure which.)
* Shinano 29 Nov 44 Cape Muroto torpedoed by USS Archerfish(e)
this should have been note (d), not (e) -- Shinano was to have been
the third japanese super battleship, but was converted to a carrier
on the ways after the losses at Midway.
richard
--
richard welty 518-387-6346, GE R&D, K1-5C39, Niskayuna, New York
welty@lewis.crd.ge.com ...!crdgw1!lewis.crd.ge.com!welty
``We're in a road movie to Berlin, can't drive out the way we drove in''
-- They Might Be GiantsAllan Bourdius <ab3o+@andrew.cmu.edu> (11/07/90)
From: Allan Bourdius <ab3o+@andrew.cmu.edu> >U.S.A. > Lexington 8 May 42 Coral Sea Japanese air strike(d) The USS Lexington (CV-2) was an *aircraft carrier* not a battleship! Allan [mod.note: Correct; but both Lexington and Saratoga were initially laid down as battlecruisers, and coverted to carriers while under construction in keeping with the Washington Naval Treaty. - Bill ]