The List of ships of the Second World War 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. Some uncompleted Axis ships are included, out of historic interest. Ships are designated to the country under which they operated for the longest period of the Second World War, regardless of where they were built or previous service history. Submarines show submerged displacement. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Click on headers to sort column alphabetically.
Ship | Country or organization | Class | Type | Displacement (tons) | First commissioned | Fate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
L23 | ![]() | L | submarine | 1,106 | 31 October 1924 | paid off May 1946 |
L26 | L | submarine | 1,106 | 11 October 1926 | sunk as target 1 November 1946 | |
L27 | L | training submarine | 1,106 | scrapped 1944 | ||
La Argentina | ![]() | training light cruiser | 6,500 | April 1939 | discarded 1974 | |
La Bastiaise | ![]() | Flower | corvette | 925 | 22 June 1940 | sunk 22 June 1940 |
La Galissonnière | La Galissonnière | light cruiser | 7,600 | 1 January 1936 | scuttled 27 November 1942 | |
La Hulloise | ![]() | River | frigate | 1,445 | 6 December 1945 | paid off 16 July 1965 |
La Malbaie | Flower | corvette | 925 | 28 April 1942 | paid off 28 June 1945 | |
La Malouine | ![]() | Flower | corvette | 925 | 29 July 1940 | |
La Rioja | ![]() | Mendoza | destroyer | 1,570 | 23 July 1929 | 30 April 1962 |
Lachute | ![]() | Flower modified | corvette | 1,015 | 26 October 1944 | 10 July 1945 |
Laffey (I) | ![]() | Benson | destroyer | 1,620 | 31 March 1942 | sunk 13 November 1942 |
Laffey (II) | Sumner | destroyer | 2,200 | 8 February 1944 | decommissioned 1975, memorial at Charleston, SC | |
Laforey | ![]() | L | destroyer | 1,920 | 26 August 1941 | sunk 30 March 1944 by U-223 |
Lagos | Battle | destroyer | 2,325 | 2 November 1945 [5] | paid off 1960, scrapped 1967 | |
Lahore | ![]() | Basset | minesweeper | 529 | 1941–1944 | 1941–1944 |
Lake Champlain | ![]() | Ticonderoga | aircraft carrier | 27,100 | 3 June 1945 | decommissioned 2 May 1966, scrapped 1972 |
Lamberton | Wickes | minesweeper destroyer | 1,090 | 22 August 1918 | scrapped 9 May 1947 | |
Lambridge | ![]() | Special Service Ship | 5,119 | paid off March 1941 | ||
Lamerton | Hunt | destroyer | 1,000 | 16 August 1941 | scrapped 1975 | |
Lamotte-Piquet | ![]() | Duguay-Trouin | light cruiser | 7,249 | 5 March 1927 | sunk 12 January 1945 |
Lamson | ![]() | Mahan | destroyer | 1,450 | 21 October 1936 | sunk in A-bomb test, 1946 |
Lanark | ![]() | River | frigate | 1,445 | 6 July 1944 | paid off 19 March 1965 |
Lance | ![]() | L | destroyer | 1,920 | 13 May 1941 | constructive loss and scrapped April 1942 |
Lang | ![]() | Benham | destroyer | 1,500 | 30 March 1939 | scrapped 1947 |
Langley | Seaplane carrier | 11,500 | 7 April 1913 | sunk 27 February 1942 | ||
Langley | Independence | light aircraft carrier | 11,000 | 31 August 1943 | decommissioned 11 February 1947, scrapped 1964 | |
Lansdale | Benson | destroyer | 1,620 | 17 September 1940 | sunk 20 April 1944 | |
Lansdowne | Gleaves | destroyer | 1,630 | 29 April 1942 | to Turkey 1949, scrapped 1973 | |
Lardner | Gleaves | destroyer | 1,630 | 13 May 1942 | to Turkey 1949, sunk as target 1982 | |
Larkspur | ![]() ![]() | Flower | corvette | 925 | 4 June 1940 | to USA as Fury 17 March 1942, to UK on 22 August 1945 |
Lasalle | ![]() | River | frigate | 1,445 | 29 June 1944 | paid off 17 December 1945 |
Latona | ![]() | Abdiel | minelayer | 2,650 | 4 May 1941 | lost 25 October 1941 |
Laub | ![]() | Benson | destroyer | 1,620 | 24 October 1942 | decommissioned 1946, scrapped 1975 |
Lauderdale | ![]() | Hunt | destroyer | 1,050 | August 1942 | paid off 1946, scrapped 1960 |
Lauzon | ![]() | River | frigate | 1,445 | 30 August 1944 | paid off 24 May 1963 |
Lavender | ![]() | Flower | corvette | 925 | 16 May 1941 | |
Lawford | Captain | frigate | 1,140 | 3 November 1943 | sunk 8 June 1944 | |
Lawrence | ![]() | sloop | 1,245 | 27 December 1919 | 1947 | |
Leamington | ![]() ![]() ![]() | Town | destroyer | 1,327 | 23 October 1940 | to Canada October 1942, to USSR 16 July 1944 |
Leander | ![]() | Leander | light cruiser | 6,985 | 23 July 1931 | former HMS Leander, to NZ April 1937, returned to UK May 1944, scrapped 1950 |
Ledbury | ![]() | Hunt | destroyer | 1,050 | scrapped April 1958 | |
Leeds | Town | destroyer | 1,125 | 12 January 1918 | paid off April 1945 | |
Legion | L | destroyer | 1,920 | 19 December 1940 | sunk 26 March 1942 | |
Leipzig | ![]() | Leipzig | light cruiser | 6,515 | 8 October 1931 | scuttled 11 July 1946 |
Leningrad | ![]() | Leningrad | destroyer | 2,150 | December 1936 | scrapped in 1960 |
Leon | ![]() | Aetos | destroyer | 1,030 | 19 October 1912 | sunk 15 May 1941 |
Leopard | ![]() | Raubtier | torpedo boat | 1,320 | 1 June 1928 | sunk on 30 April 1940 |
Léopard | ![]() | Chacal | destroyer | 2,126 | 31 August 1940 | sunk 27 May 1943 |
Lethbridge | ![]() | Flower | corvette | 925 | 25 June 1941 | paid off 23 July 1945 |
Levis (I) | Flower | corvette | 925 | 16 May 1941 | sunk 19 September 1941 by U-74 | |
Levis (II) | River | frigate | 1,445 | 21 July 1944 | paid off 21 February 1946 | |
Lewes | ![]() | Town | destroyer | 1,125 | 23 October 1940 | scuttled 25 May 1946 |
Lexington (I) | ![]() | Lexington | aircraft carrier | 33,000 | 14 December 1927 | sunk 8 May 1942 |
Lexington (II) | Essex | aircraft carrier | 27,100 | 17 February 1943 | decommissioned 8 November 1991; museum ship | |
ARA Libertad | ![]() | Libertad | riverine battleship | 2,336 | 26 November 1892 | paid off 1947 |
Liddesdale | ![]() | Hunt | destroyer | 1,000 | 28 February 1941 | Scrapped 1948 |
Lightning | L | destroyer | 1,920 | 28 May 1941 | sunk 12 March 1943 | |
Limbourne | Hunt | destroyer | 1,050 | 24 October 1942 | sunk 23 October 1943 | |
Linaria | Flower modified | corvette | 1,015 | 19 June 1943 | paid off 15 January 1948 | |
Lincoln | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Town | destroyer | 1,190 | 20 October 1940 | to Norway February 1942, Canada July 1942-December 1943, Soviet Union August 1944, scrapped 1952 |
Lindsay | ![]() | Flower modified | corvette | 1,015 | 15 November 1943 | 18 July 1945 |
Ling | ![]() | Flower | corvette | 925 | cancelled 23 January 1941 | |
Liscome Bay | ![]() | Casablanca | escort carrier | 7,800 | 7 August 1943 | lost in action 24 November 1943 |
Littorio | ![]() | Littorio | battleship | 43,835 | 6 May 1940 | renamed Italia, scrapped 1948 |
Lively | ![]() | L | destroyer | 1,920 | 20 July 1941 | sunk 11 May 1942 |
Livermore | ![]() | Gleaves | destroyer | 1,630 | 7 October 1940 | Sold 3 March 1961 for scrapping |
Lobelia | ![]() | Flower | corvette | 925 | 16 July 1941 | April 1947 |
Loch Achanalt | ![]() | Loch | frigate | 1,435 | 31 July 1944 | paid off July 1945, transferred to the Royal New Zealand Navy in 1945, scrapped in 1965 |
Loch Alvie | Loch | frigate | 1,435 | 10 August 1944 | paid off June 1945, transferred to the Royal Navy in 1945, scrapped in 1965 | |
Loch Insh | ![]() | Loch | frigate | 1,435 | 20 October 1944 | scrapped in 1977 |
Loch Morlich | ![]() | Loch | frigate | 1,435 | 17 July 1944 | paid off June 1945, scrapped in 1966 |
London | ![]() | County | heavy cruiser | 9,850 | 31 January 1929 | scrapped 1950 |
Long Branch | ![]() | Flower modified | corvette | 1,015 | 5 January 1944 | 17 June 1945 |
Long Island | ![]() | Long Island | escort carrier | 13,500 | 2 June 1941 | decommissioned 26 March 1946 |
Longueuil | ![]() | River | frigate | 1,445 | 18 May 1944 | paid off 31 December 1946 |
Looe | ![]() | Special Service Ship | 1,030 | paid off March 1941 | ||
Lookout | L | destroyer | 1,920 | 30 January 1942 | paid off 19 October 1945, scrapped February 1948 | |
Loosestrife | Flower | corvette | 925 | 25 November 1941 | Sold, 7 October 1946 | |
Lorelei | ![]() | patrol boat | 1,640 | 25 April 1943 | former Artevelde (Belgium), later K4, scrapped 1954 | |
Lorraine | ![]() ![]() | Bretagne | super dreadnought | 22,200 | 27 July 1916 | Decommissioned 17 February 1953 |
Los Angeles | ![]() | Baltimore | heavy cruiser | 17,200 | 22 July 1945 | scrapped 1974 |
Lothringen | ![]() | minelayer | 1,975 | December 1941 | sold to merchant service post-war | |
Lotus | ![]() | Flower | corvette | 925 | 23 May 1942 | |
Louisburg (I) | ![]() | Flower | corvette | 925 | 2 October 1941 | sunk on 6 February 1943 by Luftwaffe aircraft |
Louisburg (II) | ![]() | Flower modified | corvette | 1,015 | 13 December 1943 | 25 June 1945 |
Louisville | ![]() | Northampton | heavy cruiser | 9,200 | 15 January 1931 | scrapped 1959 |
Loyal | ![]() | L | destroyer | 1,920 | 31 October 1942 | constructive loss 12 October 1944, scrapped 1948 |
Luchs | ![]() | Raubtier | torpedo boat | 1,320 | 15 April 1929 | sunk 26 July 1940 |
Lucknow | ![]() | Basset | minesweeper | 529 | 1941–1944 | 1941–1944 |
Ludlow | ![]() | Gleaves | destroyer | 1,630 | 5 March 1941 | to Greece 1951, scrapped 1972 |
Luigi Cadorna | ![]() | Condottieri | light cruiser | 5,316 | 11 August 1933 | scrapped 1951 |
Luigi Di Savoia Duca Degli Abruzzi | Condottieri | light cruiser | 9,952 | 1 December 1937 | scrapped 1972 | |
Lunenburg | ![]() | Flower | corvette | 925 | 4 December 1941 | paid off 23 July 1945 |
Lunga Point | ![]() | Casablanca | escort carrier | 7,800 | 14 May 1944 | decommissioned 24 October 1946, scrapped 1960 |
Lützow | ![]() | enlarged Admiral Hipper | heavy cruiser | 14,680 | not completed | sold to USSR 1940 became Petropavlovsk, then Tallinn |