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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aaron Ward (DD-483) | United States Navy | Gleaves | destroyer | 1,630 | 4 March 1942 | Sunk 7 April 1943 [5] |
Aaron Ward (DM-34) | Robert H. Smith | minelayer destroyer | 2,200 | 28 October 1944 | Constructive loss 30 April 1945, scrapped 1946 | |
Abbot | Fletcher | destroyer | 2,050 | 23 April 1943 | Decommissioned 1965, scrapped 1975 [6] | |
Abdiel | Royal Navy | Abdiel | minelayer | 2,650 | 15 April 1941 | Sunk 10 September 1943 [7] |
Abelia | Flower | corvette | 925 | 3 February 1941 | Constructive loss 9 January 1944 [8] | |
Abercrombie | Roberts | monitor | 8,536 | 5 May 1943 | Scrapped 1954 [9] | |
Abercrombie | United States Navy | John C. Butler | destroyer escort | 1,350 | 1 May 1944 | Decommissioned 1946, sunk as target 1968 |
Abner Read | Fletcher | destroyer | 2,050 | 5 February 1943 | Sunk 1 November 1944 | |
Abukuma | Imperial Japanese Navy | Nagara | light cruiser | 5,088 | 26 May 1925 | Sunk 26 October 1944 [10] |
Acasta | Royal Navy | A | destroyer | 1,350 | 11 February 1930 | Sunk 8 June 1940 [11] |
Acavus | Rapana | merchant aircraft carrier | 8,010 | October 1943 | Returned to merchant service post-war | |
Achates | A | destroyer | 1,350 | 27 March 1930 | Sunk 31 December 1942 | |
Acheron | A | destroyer | 1,350 | 13 October 1931 | Sunk 17 December 1940 | |
Achilles | Royal Navy Royal New Zealand Navy | Leander | light cruiser | 7,270 | 6 October 1933 | Sold to India 1948 |
Aconit | French Navy | Flower | corvette | 925 | 23 July 1941 | 30 April 1947 |
Acree | United States Navy | Cannon | destroyer escort | 1,240 | 19 July 1943 | Decommissioned 1946, scrapped 1973 |
Action | Flower modified | corvette | 1,015 | 22 November 1942 | 6 September 1945 | |
Active | Royal Navy | A | destroyer | 1,350 | 9 February 1930 | Scrapped 1947 |
Adams | United States Navy | Robert H. Smith | minelayer destroyer | 2,200 | 10 October 1944 | Decommissioned 1947, scrapped 1971 |
Adelaide | Royal Australian Navy | Birmingham | light cruiser | 5,550 | 5 August 1922 | Scrapped 1949 |
Admiral Graf Spee | Kriegsmarine | Deutschland | cruiser | 12,103 | 6 January 1936 | scuttled 17 December 1939 |
Admiral Hipper | Admiral Hipper | heavy cruiser | 14,000 | 25 April 1939 | Scuttled 2 May 1945 | |
Admiral Scheer | Deutschland | cruiser | 12,100 | 12 November 1934 | Sunk 9 April 1945 | |
Admiralty Islands | United States Navy | Casablanca | escort carrier | 7,800 | 13 June 1944 | Scrapped 1947 |
Adrias | Hellenic Navy | Hunt | destroyer escort | 1,050 | 5 August 1942 | Damaged by mine 22 October 1943, scrapped 1945 |
Adventure | Royal Navy | minelayer cruiser | 6,850 | 4 November 1916 | Landing repair ship 1944; scrapped 1947 | |
Adula | Rapana | merchant aircraft carrier | 16,000 | February 1944 | Returned to merchant service post-war | |
Aetos | Hellenic Navy | Aetos | destroyer | 1,030 | 19 October 1912 | Decommissioned 1946 |
Afridi | Royal Navy | Tribal | destroyer | 2,020 | 3 May 1938 | Sunk 3 May 1940 |
Agano | Imperial Japanese Navy | Agano | light cruiser | 6,650 | 31 October 1942 | Sunk 15 February 1944 |
Agassiz | Royal Canadian Navy | Flower | corvette | 925 | 23 January 1941 | Paid off 14 June 1945 |
Agra | Royal Indian Navy | Basset | minesweeper | 529 | 1941–1944 | 1941–1944 |
Ahmedabad | Basset | minesweeper | 529 | 1941–1944 | 1941–1944 | |
Ahrens | United States Navy | Buckley | destroyer escort | 1,400 | 12 February 1944 | Decommissioned 1946, scrapped 1967 |
Airedale | Royal Navy | Hunt | destroyer escort | 1,050 | Sunk June 1942 | |
Ajax | Leander | light cruiser | 7,220 | 3 June 1935 | Scrapped 1949 | |
Akagi | Imperial Japanese Navy | Amagi | aircraft carrier | 36,500 | 27 March 1927 | Sunk 5 June 1942 |
Akizuki | Akizuki | destroyer | 2,700 | 11 June 1942 | Sunk 25 October 1944 | |
Alabama | United States Navy | South Dakota | battleship | 35,000 | 16 August 1942 | Decommissioned 9 January 1947, museum ship |
Alacrity | Flower modified | corvette | 1,015 | 10 December 1942 | 4 October 1945 | |
Alaska | Alaska | battlecruiser ("large cruiser") | 27,500 | 17 June 1944 | Scrapped 1960 | |
Albatross | Royal Navy | seaplane carrier | 6,350 | 29 September 1938 | Torpedoed 1944, not repaired, scrapped 1954 | |
Albatros | Kriegsmarine | 1923 Raubvogel-class torpedo boat | 1,290 | 5 May 1927 | Beached 10 April 1940 | |
Alberico da Barbiano | Regia Marina | Condottieri | light cruiser | 5,200 | 9 June 1931 | Sunk 13 December 1941 |
Alberni | Royal Canadian Navy | Flower | corvette | 925 | 4 February 1941 | Sunk on 21 August 1944 by U-480 |
Albert T. Harris | United States Navy | John C. Butler | destroyer escort | 1,350 | 29 November 1944 | Sunk as target 1969 |
Albert W. Grant | Fletcher | destroyer | 2,050 | 24 November 1943 | Decommissioned 1971, scrapped 1972 | |
Alberto di Giussano | Regia Marina | Condottieri | light cruiser | 5,200 | 1 January 1931 | Sunk 13 December 1941 |
Albrighton | Royal Navy | Hunt | destroyer escort | 1,050 | 22 February 1942 | Paid off 6 January 1956 |
Alcantara | Armed merchant cruiser | 22,181 | 1927 | Scrapped 1958 | ||
Aldea | Chilean Navy | Serrano | destroyer | 1,090 | 26 July 1929 | Discarded 1957 |
Alden | United States Navy | Clemson | destroyer | 1,250 | 24 November 1919 | Scrapped 30 November 1945 |
Aldenham | Royal Navy | Hunt | destroyer escort | 1,050 | 5 February 1942 | Sunk 14 December 1944 |
Alexander J. Luke | United States Navy | Buckley | destroyer escort | 1,400 | 19 February 1944 | Decommissioned 1947, sunk as target 1970 |
Alexia | Royal Navy | Rapana | merchant aircraft carrier | 8,010 | 1 December 1943 | Returned to merchant service post-war |
Alfred A. Cunningham | United States Navy | Allen M. Sumner | destroyer | 2,200 | 23 November 1944 | Decommissioned 1971, sunk as target 1979 |
Alger | United States Navy Brazilian Navy | Cannon | destroyer escort | 1,240 | 12 November 1943 | To Brazil 10 March 1945 as Babitonga, scrapped 1964 |
Algérie | French Navy | heavy cruiser | 10,000 | 15 September 1934 | scuttled 27 November 1942 | |
Algérien | Free French Naval Forces | Cannon | destroyer escort | 1,240 | 23 January 1944 | To France after war, scrapped November 1965 |
Algoma | Royal Canadian Navy | Flower | corvette | 925 | 11 July 1941 | paid off 6 July 1945 |
Algonquin | V | destroyer | 2,700 | 28 February 1944 | paid off 1 April 1970 | |
Alisma | Royal Navy | Flower | corvette | 925 | 13 February 1941 | [12] |
Allen M. Sumner | United States Navy | Allen M. Sumner | destroyer | 2,200 | 26 January 1944 | Scrapped 1974 |
Almirante Brown | Argentine Navy | Veinticinco de Mayo | heavy cruiser | 6,800 | 18 July 1931 | scrapped 1962 |
Almirante Condell | Chilean Navy | Almirante Lynch | destroyer | 1,430 | January 1914 | Decommissioned 1945 |
Almirante Latorre | Almirante Latorre | super dreadnought | 28,550 | 1 August 1920 | Scrapped 1959 | |
Almirante Lynch | Almirante Lynch | destroyer | 1,430 | 1913 | Decommissioned 1945 | |
Almirante Simpson | Capitan O'Brien | submarine | 2,020 | 1929 | Discarded 1957 | |
Altamaha | United States Navy | Bogue | escort carrier | 7,900 | 15 September 1942 | Scrapped 1946 |
Alvin C. Cockrell | John C. Butler | destroyer escort | 1,350 | 7 October 1944 | Sunk as target 1969 | |
Alysse | French Navy | Flower | corvette | 925 | 17 June 1941 | 9 February 1942 |
Amagi | Imperial Japanese Navy | Unryū | aircraft carrier | 17,150 | 10 August 1944 | Sunk 27 July 1945 |
Amaranthus | Royal Navy | Flower | corvette | 925 | 12 February 1941 | |
Amastra | Rapana | merchant aircraft carrier | 16,000 | 1 September 1943 | ||
Amazon | prototype | destroyer | 1,350 | 5 May 1927 | Scrapped 25 October 1948 | |
Ambuscade | prototype | destroyer | 1,173 | 15 March 1927 | Scrapped 1946 | |
Ameer | Ruler | escort carrier | 11,400 | 20 July 1943 | paid off 20 March 1946, scrapped 1969 | |
Amesbury | United States Navy | Buckley | destroyer escort | 1,400 | 31 August 1943 | sold for scrap, sank under tow 1962 |
Amethyst | Royal Navy | Black Swan | Sloop | 1,350 | 2 November 1943 | Scrapped 19 January 1957 |
Amherst | Royal Canadian Navy | Flower | corvette | 925 | 5 August 1941 | paid off 16 July 1945 |
Amick | United States Navy | Cannon | destroyer escort | 1,240 | 26 July 1943 | To Japan 1955, to Philippines 1976, scrapped 1989 |
Amiral Murgescu | Romanian Naval Forces Soviet Navy | Amiral Murgescu | minelayer | 812 | 14 June 1939 | To Romania 1939, to Soviet Union 1944, scrapped 1989 |
Ammen | United States Navy | Fletcher | destroyer | 2,050 | 12 March 1943 | Scrapped 1960 |
Amritsar | Royal Indian Navy | Basset | minesweeper | 529 | 1941–1944 | 1941–1944 |
Amsterdam | United States Navy | Cleveland | light cruiser | 11,800 | 8 January 1945 | Scrapped 1971 |
Anacapa | Q-ship | 7,500 | 31 August 1942 | 21 March 1946 | ||
Anchusa | Royal Navy | Flower | corvette | 925 | 1 March 1941 | |
Ancylus | Rapana | merchant aircraft carrier | 16,000 | October 1943 | ||
Andenes | Royal Norwegian Navy | Flower | corvette | 925 | 1 October 1941 | |
Anderson | United States Navy | Sims | destroyer | 1,570 | 19 May 1939 | Sunk in nuclear bomb test 1946 |
Andrea Doria | Regia Marina | Andrea Doria | battleship | 25,920 | 13 March 1916 | Scrapped 1956 |
Andres | United States Navy | Evarts | destroyer escort | 1,140 | 15 March 1943 | Scrapped 1946 |
Anemone | Royal Navy | Flower | corvette | 925 | 12 August 1940 | [13] |
Annan | Royal Canadian Navy | River | frigate | 1,445 | 13 January 1944 | paid off 20 June 1945 |
Annapolis | Town | destroyer | 1,190 | 24 September 1940 | paid off 4 June 1945 | |
Anson | Royal Navy | King George V | battleship | 35,000 | 22 June 1942 | Scrapped 1957 |
Antelope | A | destroyer | 1,350 | 20 March 1930 | Scrapped 1946 | |
Anthony (H40) | A | destroyer | 1,350 | 14 February 1930 | Scrapped 1948 | |
Anthony (DD-515) | United States Navy | Fletcher | destroyer | 2,050 | 26 February 1943 | To West Germany 1958, sunk as target 1979 |
Antietam | Essex | aircraft carrier | 30,800 | 28 January 1945 | Decommissioned 8 May 1963, scrapped 1974 | |
Antigonish | Royal Canadian Navy | River | frigate | 1,445 | 4 July 1944 | paid off 30 November 1966 |
Antiquois | Colombian National Navy | Guadiana | destroyer | 1,219 | former Douro (Portugal) | |
Antoine | Royal Navy | Special Service Ship | 1,030 | paid off March 1941 | ||
Aoba | Imperial Japanese Navy | Aoba | heavy cruiser | 5,088 | 20 September 1927 | Sunk 28 July 1945 |
Apollo | Royal Navy | Abdiel | minelayer | 2,650 | 9 October 1943 | Scrapped 1962 |
Aquila | Regia Marina | aircraft carrier | 23,500 | not completed | Scrapped 1952 | |
Arabis (I) | Royal Navy United States Navy | Flower | corvette | 925 | 5 April 1940 | to US 30 April 1942, to UK 26 August 1945 |
Arabis (II) | Royal New Zealand Navy | Flower modified | corvette | 1,015 | 16 March 1944 | paid off 1948 |
Äran | Swedish Navy | Äran | coastal defence ship | 3,650 | 7 September 1902 | paid off 16 June 1947, scrapped 1961 |
Arbiter | Royal Navy | Ruler | escort carrier | 7,800 | 31 December 1943 | paid off 12 April 1946, scrapped 1972 |
Arbutus (I) | Flower | corvette | 925 | 12 October 1940 | sunk on 5 February 1942 by U-136 [13] | |
Arbutus (II) | Royal New Zealand Navy | Flower modified | corvette | 1,015 | 5 July 1944 | paid off 1948 |
Archer | Royal Navy | Avenger | escort carrier | 8,200 | 17 November 1941 | paid off 6 November 1943, scrapped 1962 |
Arcona | Kriegsmarine | Floating anti-aircraft battery | 2,657 | 18 May 1901 | Scrapped 1948/1949 | |
Ardent | Royal Navy | A | destroyer | 1,350 | 14 April 1930 | Sunk 8 June 1940 [11] |
Argus | aircraft carrier | 14,860 | September 1918 | Scrapped 1946 | ||
Ariadne | Abdiel | minelayer | 2,650 | 12 February 1944 | Scrapped 1965 | |
Ariguani | fighter catapult ship | 1940 | 1943 | |||
Arizona | United States Navy | Pennsylvania | super dreadnought | 32,600 | 17 October 1916 | Sunk 7 December 1941, war memorial |
Arkansas | Wyoming | battleship | 26,100 | 17 September 1912 | Sunk 25 July 1946 in A-bomb test | |
Ark Royal | Royal Navy | aircraft carrier | 22,000 | 16 December 1938 | Sunk 14 November 1941 | |
Armada | Battle | destroyer | 2,325 | 2 July 1945 | paid off 1960, scrapped 1965 | |
Armando Diaz | Regia Marina | Condottieri | light cruiser | 5,316 | 29 April 1933 | Sunk 25 February 1941 |
Armeria | Royal Navy | Flower | corvette | 925 | 28 March 1941 | |
Arrow | A | destroyer | 1,350 | 14 April 1930 | Irreparably damaged, 1944 | |
Arrowhead | Royal Navy Royal Canadian Navy | Flower | corvette | 925 | 22 November 1940 | to Canada 15 May 1941, paid off 27 June 1945 |
Arteveld | Belgian Navy | patrol boat | 1,640 | Commissioned as Lorelei (Germany) | ||
Arunta | Royal Australian Navy | Tribal | destroyer | 2,020 | 30 March 1942 | Scrapped 1968 |
Arvida | Royal Canadian Navy | Flower | corvette | 925 | 22 May 1941 | paid off 14 June 1945 |
Asbestos | Flower modified | corvette | 1,015 | 16 June 1944 | 8 July 1945 | |
Ashanti | Royal Navy | Tribal | destroyer | 2,020 | 21 December 1938 | Scrapped 1949 |
Ashigara | Imperial Japanese Navy | Myōkō | heavy cruiser | 13,300 | 20 August 1929 | Sunk 8 June 1945 |
Asphodel | Royal Navy | Flower | corvette | 925 | 11 September 1940 [13] | sunk 10 March 1944 by U-575 [14] |
Assam | Royal Indian Navy | Flower modified | corvette | 1,015 | 19 February 1945 | paid off 1947 |
Assiniboine | Royal Canadian Navy | C | destroyer | 1,390 | 30 May 1932 | transferred to RCN 19 October 1939, paid off 8 August 1945 |
Aster | Royal Navy | Flower | corvette | 925 | 9 April 1941 | |
Asterion | United States Navy | Q-ship | 6,610 | March 1942 | transferred to Coast Guard 16 December 1943 converted to weather ship | |
Astoria (CA-34) | New Orleans | heavy cruiser | 9,950 | 28 April 1934 | Sunk 9 August 1942 Battle of Savo Island | |
Astoria (CL-90) | Cleveland | light cruiser | 11,800 | 17 May 1944 | Scrapped 1971 | |
Atago | Imperial Japanese Navy | Takao | heavy cruiser | 14,616 | 30 March 1932 | Sunk 23 October 1944 |
Athabaskan | Royal Canadian Navy | Tribal | destroyer | 2,020 | 3 February 1943 | Sunk 29 April 1944 |
Atheling | Royal Navy | Ruler | escort carrier | 7,800 | 28 October 1943 | paid off 6 December 1946, scrapped 1967 |
Atherstone | Hunt | destroyer escort | 1,000 | 23 March 1940 | paid off 23 September 1945, scrapped 1957 | |
Atherton | United States Navy | Cannon | destroyer escort | 1,240 | 29 August 1943 | To Japan 1955, to Philippines 1976, active as of 2012 |
Atholl | Royal Canadian Navy | Flower modified | corvette | 1,015 | 14 October 1943 | 17 July 1945 |
Atik | United States Navy | Q-ship | 6,610 | 5 March 1942 | sunk 26 March 1942 | |
Atlanta (CL-51) | Atlanta | light cruiser | 6,000 | 24 December 1941 | Sunk 13 November 1942 Guadalcanal | |
Atlanta (CL-104) | Cleveland | light cruiser | 11,800 | 3 December 1944 | Sunk as target 1970 | |
Atlantis | Kriegsmarine | auxiliary cruiser | 7,862 | 19 December 1939 | Sunk 21 November 1941 | |
Attacker | Royal Navy | Attacker | escort carrier | 11,400 | 30 September 1942 | paid off 5 January 1946, scrapped 24 May 1980 |
Attilio Regolo | Regia Marina | Capitani Romani | light cruiser | 3,750 | August 1942 | ceded to France 1948 |
Attu | United States Navy | Casablanca | escort carrier | 7,800 | 30 June 1944 | Scrapped 1947 |
Aubrietia | Royal Navy | Flower | corvette | 925 | 23 December 1940 | [13] |
Augusta | United States Navy | Northampton | heavy cruiser | 9,200 | 30 January 1931 | Scrapped 1960 |
Aulick | Fletcher | destroyer | 2,050 | 27 October 1942 | To Greece 1959, scrapped 1997 | |
Ault | Allen M. Sumner | destroyer | 2,200 | 31 May 1944 | Scrapped 1974 | |
Auricula | Royal Navy | Flower | corvette | 925 | 5 March 1941 | 6 May 1942 [13] |
Aurora | Soviet Navy | Protected cruiser | 6,731 | 29 July 1903 | In 1957 became a museum ship. | |
Austin | United States Navy | Evarts | destroyer escort | 1,140 | 13 February 1943 | Scrapped 1947 |
Australia | Royal Australian Navy | County | heavy cruiser | 9,850 | 24 April 1928 | Scrapped 1955 |
Avenger | Royal Navy | Avenger | escort carrier | 8,200 | 2 March 1942 | Sunk 15 November 1942 |
Avon Vale | Hunt | destroyer escort | 1,050 | 17 February 1941 | scrapped 1958 | |
Ayanami | Imperial Japanese Navy | Fubuki | destroyer | 2,090 | 30 April 1930 | Sunk 15 November 1942 |
Aylwin | United States Navy | Farragut | destroyer | 1,365 | 1 March 1935 | Scrapped 1947 |
Azalea | Royal Navy | Flower | corvette | 925 | 27 January 1941 |
Officered & crewed by Royal Australian Navy Volunteer Reserve personnel from May 1941 to June 1945.