List of battleships of World War II

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This is a list of battleships of the Second World War. All displacements are at standard load, in metric tonnes, so as to avoid confusion over their relative displacements. [Note: Not all displacements have been adjusted to match this yet]. Ideally displacements will be as they were at either the end of the war, or when the ship was sunk.

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The battleship was a capital ship built in the first half of the 20th century. At the outbreak of war, large fleets of battleships—many inherited from the dreadnought era decades before—were considered one of the decisive forces in naval warfare. There were two engagements between battleships in the Pacific theatre and three in the Atlantic theatre. Battleships were the most heavily protected ships afloat, nonetheless sixteen were sunk or crippled by bombs or torpedoes delivered by aircraft, while three more were sunk by submarine-launched torpedoes. Guided bombs developed during the war made it much easier for aircraft to sink battleships. By the end of the war, battleship construction was all but halted, and almost every existing battleship was retired or scrapped within a few years of its end. The Second World War saw the end of the battleship as the dominant force in the world's navies. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

The List of ships of World War II contains major military vessels of the war, arranged alphabetically and by type. The list includes armed vessels that served during the war and in the immediate aftermath, inclusive of localized ongoing combat operations, garrison surrenders, post-surrender occupation, colony re-occupation, troop and prisoner repatriation, to the end of 1945. For smaller vessels, see also List of World War II ships of less than 1000 tons.

List of battleships of World War II
ShipOperatorClassTypeDisplacement (tons)First commissionedEnd of serviceFate
Alabama Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States Navy South Dakota fast battleship 35,98016 August 19429 January 1947Decommissioned 9 January 1947; museum ship
Almirante Latorre Flag of Chile.svg  Chilean Navy Almirante Latorre super-dreadnought 28,5501 August 19201 October 1958Scrapped 1959
Andrea Doria Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg  Regia Marina Andrea Doria fast battleship 25,92013 March 191616 September 1956Scrapped 1956
Anson Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy King George V fast battleship 39,10022 June 19421 November 1951Scrapped 1957
Arizona Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States Navy Pennsylvania super-dreadnought 31,90017 October 19167 December 1941Sunk 7 December 1941; war memorial
Arkansas Wyoming dreadnought 26,10017 September 191225 July 1946Sunk 25 July 1946 in A-bomb test
Asahi Naval ensign of the Empire of Japan.svg  Imperial Japanese Navy pre-dreadnought 11,62528 April 190026 May 1942Sunk 25/26 May 1942
Barham Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy Queen Elizabeth super-dreadnought 31,00019 August 191525 November 1941Sunk 25 November 1941
Bismarck War ensign of Germany (1938-1945).svg  Kriegsmarine Bismarck fast battleship 41,70024 August 194027 May 1941Scuttled 27 May 1941
Bretagne Civil and Naval Ensign of France.svg  French Navy Bretagne super-dreadnought 22,20010 February 19163 July 1940Sunk 3 July 1940
California Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States Navy Tennessee super-dreadnought 32,30010 August 192114 February 1947Decommissioned 14 February 1947, scrapped 1959
Centurion Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy King George V super-dreadnought 25,50022 May 19137 June 1944Scuttled as a Mulberry harbour breakwater off Normandy, 7 June 1944
Colorado Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States Navy Colorado super-dreadnought 33,10030 August 192323 July 1959Sold for scrap, 23 July 1959
Condorcet Civil and Naval Ensign of France.svg  French Navy Danton semi-dreadnought 18,45825 July 1911July 1941Scuttled by Germany August 1944, scrapped 1949
Conte di Cavour Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg  Regia Marina Conte di Cavour fast battleship 26,1401 April 191511 November 1940Deliberately run aground November 1940, scrapped 1946
Courbet Civil and Naval Ensign of France.svg  French Navy
Naval Ensign of Free France.svg  Free French Naval Forces
Courbet dreadnought 23,20019 November 19131 January 1941Scuttled as a "Gooseberry" breakwater 6 June 1944
Duilio Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg  Regia Marina Andrea Doria fast battleship 25,92010 May 191515 September 1956Scrapped 1957
Duke of York Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy King George V fast battleship 39,10028 February 19401 November 1951Scrapped 1957
Dunkerque Civil and Naval Ensign of France.svg  French Navy Dunkerque fast battleship 26,50015 April 19371 March 1942 Scuttled 27 November 1942
Fusō Naval ensign of the Empire of Japan.svg  Imperial Japanese Navy Fusō super-dreadnought 34,70018 November 191525 October 1944Sunk 25 October 1944
Giulio Cesare Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg  Regia Marina Conte di Cavour fast battleship 26,14010 May 191429 October 1955Ceded to Soviet Union 1948, renamed Novorossiysk, sunk by abandoned mine
Gneisenau War ensign of Germany (1938-1945).svg  Kriegsmarine Scharnhorst fast battleship 32,00021 May 19381 July 1942Sunk as block ship March 1945
Haruna Naval ensign of the Empire of Japan.svg  Imperial Japanese Navy Kongō fast battleship 37,18719 April 191528 July 1945Sunk at her moorings on 28 July 1945, raised and scrapped in 1946
Hessen War ensign of Germany (1938-1945).svg  Kriegsmarine Braunschweig pre-dreadnought 13,20819 September 1905Ceded to USSR as Tsel 2 January 1946, scrapped 1960
Hiei Naval ensign of the Empire of Japan.svg  Imperial Japanese Navy Kongō fast battleship 37,18721 November 191213 November 1942Sunk following the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal on 13 November 1942
Howe Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy King George V fast battleship 39,10028 September 19421 January 1951Scrapped 1958
Hyūga Naval ensign of the Empire of Japan.svg  Imperial Japanese Navy Ise super-dreadnought 35,56030 April 191828 July 1945Sunk 28 July 1945
Idaho Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States Navy New Mexico super-dreadnought 32,51424 March 19193 July 1946Broken up at Newark, 1947
Impero Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg  Regia Marina Littorio fast battleship 40,992Launched during war 15 November 1939, broken up at Venice, 1948 to 1950
Indiana Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States Navy South Dakota fast battleship 35,98030 April 194215 November 1945Decommissioned 11 September 1947, scrapped 1963
Iowa Iowa fast battleship 55,77022 February 194326 October 1990Decommissioned 1990; museum ship
Iron Duke Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy Iron Duke super-dreadnought 25,4001 March 191417 October 1939Paid off March 1946
Ise Naval ensign of the Empire of Japan.svg  Imperial Japanese Navy Ise super-dreadnought 35,56015 December 19171 March 1945Sunk 28 July 1945
Jean Bart Civil and Naval Ensign of France.svg  French Navy Richelieu fast battleship 37,85016 January 19491 August 1957Launched during war 6 March 1940, Scrapped 24 June 1970
Kilkis Naval Ensign of Kingdom of Greece.svg  Hellenic Navy Mississippi pre-dreadnought 13,2091 February 190823 April 1941Sunk 23 April 1941, wreck was refloated and scrapped 1950s
King George V Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy King George V fast battleship 39,10011 December 19401 June 1950Scrapped 1957
Kirishima Naval ensign of the Empire of Japan.svg  Imperial Japanese Navy Kongō fast battleship 37,18719 April 191515 November 1942Sunk 15 November 1942
Kongō fast battleship 37,18718 May 191221 November 1944Sunk by USS Sealion in the Formosa Strait, 21 November 1944
Lemnos Naval Ensign of Kingdom of Greece.svg  Hellenic Navy Mississippi pre-dreadnought 13,2091 April 190823 April 1941Sunk 23 April 1941, wreck was refloated and scrapped 1950s
Littorio Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg  Regia Marina Littorio fast battleship 40,7246 May 19401 June 1948Renamed Italia 30 July 1943, scrapped 1948
Lorraine Civil and Naval Ensign of France.svg  French Navy
Naval Ensign of Free France.svg  Free French Naval Forces
Bretagne super-dreadnought 22,20027 July 191617 February 1953Scrapped January 1954
Malaya Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy Queen Elizabeth super-dreadnought 31,0001 February 19161 December 1944Scrapped 1948
Marat Naval Ensign of the Soviet Union (1950-1991).svg  Soviet Navy Gangut dreadnought 23,0005 January 19154 September 1953Sunk 23 September 1941, later rear part refloated, renamed Petropavlovsk 31 May 1943, scrapped September 1953
Maryland Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States Navy Colorado super-dreadnought 33,10021 July 19213 April 1947Sold for scrap 8 July 1959
Massachusetts South Dakota fast battleship 35,98012 May 194227 March 1947 Museum ship 14 August 1965
Minas Geraes Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg  Brazilian Navy Minas Geraes dreadnought 19,20018 April 191016 May 1952Scrapped 1954
Mississippi Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States Navy New Mexico super-dreadnought 32,51425 January 191717 September 1956Scrapped 1957
Missouri Iowa fast battleship 55,77011 June 194431 March 1992 Museum ship 29 January 1999
Moreno Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentine Navy Rivadavia dreadnought 27,72026 February 19151 October 1956Sold for scrap 11 January 1957
Musashi Naval ensign of the Empire of Japan.svg  Imperial Japanese Navy Yamato fast battleship 65,0005 August 194225 October 1944Sunk 25 October 1944
Mutsu Nagato super-dreadnought 32,72024 October 19218 June 1943Sunk in harbor by internal explosion 8 June 1943
Nagato super-dreadnought 32,72025 November 192015 September 1945Sunk as target 29 July 1946
Nelson Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy Nelson treaty battleship 34,00010 September 192720 October 1947Decommissioned February 1948, scrapped March 1949
Nevada Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States Navy Nevada super-dreadnought 29,00011 March 191629 August 1946Sunk as a target 31 July 1948
New Jersey Iowa fast battleship 55,77023 May 19438 February 1991 Museum ship 15 October 2001
New Mexico New Mexico super-dreadnought 32,51420 May 191819 July 1946Scrapped November 1947
New York New York super-dreadnought 27,00015 May 191429 August 1946Sunk as target 6 July 1948
North Carolina North Carolina fast battleship 37,2009 April 194127 June 1947 Museum ship 29 April 1962
Océan Civil and Naval Ensign of France.svg  French Navy Courbet dreadnought 23,4755 June 1913Captured by Germany 27 November 1942, sunk 1944, scrapped 14 December 1945
Oklahoma Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States Navy Nevada super-dreadnought 29,0002 May 19161 September 1944Sunk 7 December 1941, raised and sunk under tow 1947
Oktyabrskaya Revolutsiya Naval Ensign of the Soviet Union (1950-1991).svg  Soviet Navy Gangut dreadnought 23,0003 June 190917 February 1956Scrapped 1959
Paris Civil and Naval Ensign of France.svg  French Navy
Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy
Courbet dreadnought 23,4755 June 191321 December 1955Captured by Britain 3 July 1940 used as depot ship, scrapped 1956
Parizhskaya Kommuna Naval Ensign of the Soviet Union (1950-1991).svg  Soviet Navy Gangut dreadnought 23,00030 November 191417 February 1956Renamed Sevastopol 31 May 1943, scrapped 1956–1957
Pennsylvania Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States Navy Pennsylvania super-dreadnought 31,90012 June 191629 August 1946Decommissioned 29 August 1946, sunk as target 10 February 1948
Prince of Wales Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy King George V fast battleship 37,30031 March 194110 December 1941Sunk 10 December 1941
Provence Civil and Naval Ensign of France.svg  French Navy Bretagne super-dreadnought 22,2001 March 191627 November 1942Scuttled 27 November 1942
Queen Elizabeth Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy Queen Elizabeth super-dreadnought 31,00022 December 191415 May 1948Decommissioned and scrapped 1948
Ramillies Revenge super-dreadnought 29,1501 September 191731 August 1945Decommissioned 31 August 1945, scrapped 1949
Resolution super-dreadnought 29,1507 December 1916February 1948Scrapped 1949
Revenge super-dreadnought 29,1501 February 1916March 1948Scrapped 1948
Richelieu Civil and Naval Ensign of France.svg  French Navy
Naval Ensign of Free France.svg  Free French Naval Forces
Richelieu fast battleship 37,85015 July 194030 September 1967Scrapped 1968
Rivadavia Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentine Navy Rivadavia dreadnought 27,72027 August 19141 February 1957Sold for scrap 30 May 1957
Rodney Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy Nelson treaty battleship 34,00010 November 1927Scrapped 1948
Roma Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg  Regia Marina Littorio fast battleship 40,99214 June 19429 September 1943Sunk 9 September 1943
Royal Oak Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy Revenge super-dreadnought 29,1501 May 191614 October 1939Sunk 14 October 1939
Royal Sovereign Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy
Naval Ensign of the Soviet Union (1950-1991).svg  Soviet Navy
super-dreadnought 29,1501 February 191618 May 1949Transferred to USSR as Arkhangelsk 30 May 1944, returned to UK 4 February 1949, scrapped 18 May 1949
São Paulo Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg  Brazilian Navy Minas Geraes dreadnought 19,20012 July 19102 August 1947Sunk while under tow 4 November 1951
Scharnhorst War ensign of Germany (1938-1945).svg  Kriegsmarine Scharnhorst fast battleship 32,0007 January 193926 December 1943Sunk 26 December 1943
Schlesien Deutschland pre-dreadnought 14,2185 May 19084 May 1945Blown up 4 May 1945
Schleswig-Holstein pre-dreadnought 14,2186 July 190825 January 1945According to Polish sources expended as target in 1948 by Soviets; according to other sources: scrapped after 1946
Settsu Naval ensign of the Empire of Japan.svg  Imperial Japanese Navy Kawachi dreadnought 16,3901 July 191229 July 1945Scrapped 1946–1947
South Dakota Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States Navy South Dakota fast battleship 35,98020 March 194231 January 1947Decommissioned 31 January 1947, scrapped 1962
Sovetskaya Rossiya Naval Ensign of the Soviet Union (1950-1991).svg  Soviet Navy Sovetsky Soyuz fast battleship 65,150Laid down 22 July 1940, 0.97% complete by the end of the war, scrapped 27 March 1947
Sovetskaya Ukraina fast battleship 65,150Laid down 31 October 1938, 17.98% complete by the start of the war, scrapped 27 March 1947
Sovetsky Soyuz fast battleship 65,150Laid down 15 July 1938, 21.19% complete by the start of the war, scrapped 29 May 1948
Strasbourg Civil and Naval Ensign of France.svg  French Navy Dunkerque fast battleship 26,50015 March 193827 November 1942 Scuttled 27 November 1942
Tennessee Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States Navy Tennessee super-dreadnought 32,3003 June 192014 February 1947Decommissioned 14 February 1947, scrapped 1959
Texas New York super-dreadnought 27,00012 March 191421 April 1948Decommissioned 21 April 1948; museum ship
Tirpitz War ensign of Germany (1938-1945).svg  Kriegsmarine Bismarck fast battleship 42,90025 February 194112 November 1944Sunk 12 November 1944
Turgut Reis Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkish Navy Brandenburg pre-dreadnought 10,01314 October 1894Scrapped 1950–1957
Utah Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States Navy Florida dreadnought 22,17531 August 19115 September 1944Sunk 7 December 1941; war memorial
Valiant Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy Queen Elizabeth super-dreadnought 31,00013 January 19161 July 1946Scrapped 1950
Vanguard fast battleship 45,20015 October 19469 October 1959launch during war 30 November 1944, paid off 7 June 1960
Vittorio Veneto Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg  Regia Marina Littorio fast battleship 40,51728 April 194010 September 1943Scrapped 1948
Warspite Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg  Royal Navy Queen Elizabeth super-dreadnought 31,0008 March 19151 February 1945Scrapped 1950
Washington Flag of the United States (1912-1959).svg  United States Navy North Carolina fast battleship 37,20015 May 194127 June 1947Decommissioned 27 June 1947, scrapped 1960
West Virginia Colorado super-dreadnought 33,1001 December 19239 January 1947Decommissioned 9 January 1947, scrapped 1959
Wisconsin Iowa fast battleship 55,77016 April 194430 September 1991Decommissioned 30 September 1991; museum ship
Wyoming Wyoming dreadnought 26,00025 September 19121 August 1947Sold for scrap 30 October 1947
Yamashiro Naval ensign of the Empire of Japan.svg  Imperial Japanese Navy Fusō super-dreadnought 34,70031 March 191725 October 1944Sunk 25 October 1944
Yamato Yamato fast battleship 65,00016 December 19417 April 1945Sunk 7 April 1945
Zähringen War ensign of Germany (1938-1945).svg  Kriegsmarine Wittelsbach pre-dreadnought 11,80025 October 190218 December 1944Scuttled 26 March 1945, scrapped 1949–1950

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battleship</span> Large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns

A battleship is a large, heavily armored warship with a main battery consisting of large-caliber guns, designed to serve as capital ships with the most intense firepower. Before the rise of supercarriers, battleships were among the largest and most formidable weapon systems ever built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battlecruiser</span> Large capital warship, typically faster than battleships

The battlecruiser was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attributes. Battlecruisers typically had thinner armour and a somewhat lighter main gun battery than contemporary battleships, installed on a longer hull with much higher engine power in order to attain greater speeds. The first battlecruisers were designed in the United Kingdom, as a development of the armoured cruiser, at the same time as the dreadnought succeeded the pre-dreadnought battleship. The goal of the design was to outrun any ship with similar armament, and chase down any ship with lesser armament; they were intended to hunt down slower, older armoured cruisers and destroy them with heavy gunfire while avoiding combat with the more powerful but slower battleships. However, as more and more battlecruisers were built, they were increasingly used alongside the better-protected battleships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pre-dreadnought battleship</span> Battleships built from the 1880s to 1905

Pre-dreadnought battleships were sea-going battleships built from the mid- to late- 1880s to the early 1900s. Their designs were conceived before the appearance of HMS Dreadnought in 1906 and their classification as "pre-dreadnought" is retrospectively applied. In their day, they were simply known as "battleships" or else more rank-specific terms such as "first-class battleship" and so forth. The pre-dreadnought battleships were the pre-eminent warships of their time and replaced the ironclad battleships of the 1870s and 1880s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dreadnought</span> Early 20th century battleship type

The dreadnought was the predominant type of battleship in the early 20th century. The first of the kind, the Royal Navy's HMS Dreadnought, had such an effect when launched in 1906 that similar battleships built after her were referred to as "dreadnoughts", and earlier battleships became known as pre-dreadnoughts. Her design had two revolutionary features: an "all-big-gun" armament scheme, with an unprecedented number of heavy-calibre guns, and steam turbine propulsion. As dreadnoughts became a crucial symbol of national power, the arrival of these new warships renewed the naval arms race between the United Kingdom and Germany. Dreadnought races sprang up around the world, including in South America, lasting up to the beginning of World War I. Successive designs increased rapidly in size and made use of improvements in armament, armour, and propulsion throughout the dreadnought era. Within five years, new battleships outclassed Dreadnought herself. These more powerful vessels were known as "super-dreadnoughts". Most of the original dreadnoughts were scrapped after the end of World War I under the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty, but many of the newer super-dreadnoughts continued serving throughout World War II.

References

  1. Sondhaus (2001).
  2. Gardiner (1980).
  3. Parkes (1990).
  4. Stilwell (2001).
  5. "Hulls Listed by Name". Naval Vessel Register . Archived from the original on 30 June 2007.
  6. "Royal Navy operations in the Second World War". The National Archives . Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  7. "US Navy Inactive Classification Symbols". Naval Vessel Register. NAVSEA Shipbuilding Support Office. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  8. "Index". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships .

Bibliography