List of sunken aircraft carriers

Amagi, capsized in Kure harbor, 1946

With the advent of heavier-than-air flight, the aircraft carrier has become a decisive weapon at sea.[1] In 1911 aircraft began to be successfully launched and landed on ships with the successful flight of a Curtiss Pusher aboard USS Pennsylvania.[2] The British Royal Navy pioneered the first aircraft carrier with floatplanes, as flying boats under performed compared to traditional land based aircraft.[3] The first true aircraft carrier was HMS Argus,[2][4] launched in late 1917 with a complement of 20 aircraft and a flight deck 550 ft (170 m) long and 68 ft (21 m) wide.[4] The last aircraft carrier sunk in wartime was the Japanese aircraft carrier Amagi, in Kure Harbour in July 1945. The greatest loss of life was the 2,046 killed on Akitsu Maru—a converted passenger liner with a small flight deck, carrying the Imperial Japanese Army's 64th Infantry Regiment.

Submarines were the biggest enemy of aircraft carriers, having sunk eighteen throughout the Second World War. Most notably, the Japanese aircraft carrier Shinano was the largest carrier of the war, and the largest object sunk by a submarine when she was hit by four torpedoes from USS Archerfish.[5] Sixteen carriers were lost to the air groups of enemy aircraft carriers, and five were sunk to land based aircraft. Ten were sunk in non combat zones, six were sunk as target ships, one was scuttled to prevent capture, one was sunk as a block ship, one sank to an internal explosion, and one was scuttled after scrapping was refused.

The rarest way for an aircraft carrier to be sunk was in a surface action against enemy warship gunfire, of which only three (debatably four) were sunk. HMS Glorious was en route ferrying aircraft to Norway in June 1940 when the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau found her within gun range and opened fire. Excellent long range gunnery sank both Glorious and her escorting destroyers.[6] In October 1942, after the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, the Japanese destroyers Akigumo and Makigumo are sometimes credited with finishing off the crippled and abandoned American aircraft carrier USS Hornet, but Hornet was already sinking with a 45 degree list after bomb and torpedo damage from aircraft operating from the carriers Shōkaku and Zuikaku, and it is debatable whether their torpedoes really affected Hornet's fate. In October 1944, USS Gambier Bay was involved at the Battle off Samar, where she was sunk by naval gunfire, primarily from the Japanese battleship Yamato. Meanwhile, the Japanese light carrier Chiyoda was crippled by US dive bomber aircraft, and later finished off by a US cruiser task force.[7][8]

## Brazil

[edit]

Image  | Ship  | Type  | Aircraft component  | Sinking

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Date  | Location  | Casualties  | Conditions
| Foch, later São Paulo | Fleet carrier  | 40 aircraft  | 3 February 2023  | Atlantic Ocean  | —  | Scuttled by the Brazilian Navy after being denied scrapping in Aliaga, Turkey.

## France

[edit]

Image  | Ship  | Type  | Aircraft component  | Sinking

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Date  | Location  | Casualties  | Conditions
| Biter later Dixmude | Escort carrier  | 21 aircraft  | 10 June 1966  | Mediterranean Sea  | —  | Out of service 1953. Sunk by United States Navy as target.

## Germany

[edit]

Image  | Ship  | Type  | Aircraft component  | Sinking

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Date  | Location  | Casualties  | Conditions
| Graf Zeppelin | Fleet carrier  | 42 aircraft  | 16 August 1947  | Baltic Sea 55°31′03″N 18°17′09″E﻿ / ﻿55.51750°N 18.28583°E﻿ / 55.51750; 18.28583 | —  | Never completed during World War II and extensively damaged by retreating Germans. Raised but later sunk by USSR as target.

## Italy

[edit]

Image  | Ship  | Type  | Aircraft component  | Sinking

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Date  | Location  | Casualties  | Conditions
| Aquila | Fleet carrier  | 51 aircraft  | 19 April 1945  | Genova Harbor, Italy  | —  | Never completed. Sunk by Italian divers to prevent use as a blockship by Germans.
| Sparviero | Light carrier  | 34 aircraft  | 5 October 1944  | Genova Harbor, Italy  | —  | Never completed. Sunk by Germans to block Genova Harbor

## Japan

[edit]

Image  | Ship  | Type  | Aircraft component  | Sinking

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|
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Date  | Location  | Casualties  | Conditions
| Akagi | Fleet carrier  | 66 aircraft  | 5 June 1942  | 30°30′N 178°40′W﻿ / ﻿30.500°N 178.667°W﻿ / 30.500; -178.667 | 267  | Scuttled following bomb damage from the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise at the Battle of Midway
| Akitsu Maru | Escort carrier / landing craft depot ship  | 8 aircraft  | 15 November 1944  | East China Sea | 2,046  | Torpedoed by USS Queenfish
| Amagi | Fleet carrier  | 66 aircraft  | 27 July 1945  | Kure Harbor | "Light"  | Sunk during the attack on Kure Harbour 24–27 July
| Chitose | Light carrier  | 30 aircraft  | 25 October 1944  | 19°20′N 126°20′E﻿ / ﻿19.333°N 126.333°E﻿ / 19.333; 126.333 | 903  | Sunk by torpedo bombers during the Battle of Leyte Gulf
| Chiyoda | Light carrier  | 30 aircraft  | 25 October 1944  | 18°37′N 126°45′E﻿ / ﻿18.617°N 126.750°E﻿ / 18.617; 126.750 | 1,470  | Crippled by dive bombers. Later sunk by cruisers USS Santa Fe, USS Mobile, USS Wichita, and USS New Orleans during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
| Chūyō | Escort carrier  | 27 aircraft  | 4 December 1943  | 32°37′N 143°39′E﻿ / ﻿32.617°N 143.650°E﻿ / 32.617; 143.650 | 1,250  | Torpedoed by submarine USS Sailfish
| Hiyō | Fleet carrier  | 53 aircraft  | 20 June 1944  | 16°20′N 132°32′E﻿ / ﻿16.333°N 132.533°E﻿ / 16.333; 132.533 | 247  | Sunk by torpedo bombers from USS Belleau Wood during the Battle of the Philippine Sea
| Hiryū | Fleet carrier  | 53 aircraft  | 5 June 1942  | Midway Atoll | 385  | Scuttled after damage from USS Enterprise dive bombers at the Battle of Midway
| Kaga | Fleet carrier  | 72 aircraft  | 5 June 1942  | Midway Atoll | 811  | Scuttled following damage from USS Enterprise dive bombers during the Battle of Midway,
| Nigitsu Maru | Escort carrier / landing craft depot ship  | 8 aircraft  | 12 January 1944  | off Okino-Daito Island  | 574  | Torpedoed by USS Hake
| Ryūjō | Light carrier  | 48 aircraft  | 24 August 1942  | Solomon Islands | 120  | Sunk by torpedo bombers and dive bombers during the Battle of the Eastern Solomons
| Shinano | Fleet carrier  | 47 aircraft  | 29 November 1944  | 32°0′N 137°0′E﻿ / ﻿32.000°N 137.000°E﻿ / 32.000; 137.000 | 1,435  | Torpedoed by submarine USS Archerfish
| Shin'yō | Escort carrier  | 27 aircraft  | 17 November 1944  | East China Sea | 1,130  | Torpedoed by submarine USS Spadefish
| Shōhō | Light carrier  | 30 aircraft  | 6 May 1942  | 16°07′S 151°54′E﻿ / ﻿16.117°S 151.900°E﻿ / -16.117; 151.900 | 834  | Sunk by dive bombers during the Battle of the Coral Sea.
| Shōkaku | Fleet carrier  | 72 aircraft  | 19 June 1944  | 11°40′N 137°40′E﻿ / ﻿11.667°N 137.667°E﻿ / 11.667; 137.667 | 1,272  | Torpedoed by submarine USS Cavalla during the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
| Sōryū | Fleet carrier  | 57 aircraft  | 4 June 1942  | 30°38′N 179°13′W﻿ / ﻿30.633°N 179.217°W﻿ / 30.633; -179.217 | 711  | Scuttled following bomb damage from the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown at the Battle of Midway
| Taihō | Fleet carrier  | 65 aircraft  | 19 June 1944  | 12°05′N 138°12′E﻿ / ﻿12.083°N 138.200°E﻿ / 12.083; 138.200 | 1,650  | Torpedoed by submarine USS Albacore during the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
| Taiyō | Escort carrier  | 23 aircraft  | 18 August 1944  | 18°10′N 120°22′E﻿ / ﻿18.167°N 120.367°E﻿ / 18.167; 120.367 | ~790  | Torpedoed by submarine USS Rasher off Cape Bolinao, Luzon.
| Unryū | Fleet carrier  | 57 aircraft  | 19 December 1944  | 29°59′N 124°03′E﻿ / ﻿29.983°N 124.050°E﻿ / 29.983; 124.050 | 1,238  | Torpedoed by submarine USS Redfish
| Unyō | Escort carrier  | 27 aircraft  | 17 September 1944  | 19°8′N 116°36′E﻿ / ﻿19.133°N 116.600°E﻿ / 19.133; 116.600 | 239  | Torpedoed by submarine USS Barb
| Zuihō | Light carrier  | 30 aircraft  | 25 October 1944  | 19°20′N 125°15′E﻿ / ﻿19.333°N 125.250°E﻿ / 19.333; 125.250 | 215  | Sunk by aircraft from US Navy Task Force 38 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
| Zuikaku | Fleet carrier  | 72 aircraft  | 25 October 1944  | 19°20′N 125°51′E﻿ / ﻿19.333°N 125.850°E﻿ / 19.333; 125.850 | 843  | Sunk by aircraft from US Navy Task Force 38 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf

## United Kingdom

[edit]

Image  | Ship  | Type  | Aircraft component  | Sinking

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Date  | Location  | Casualties  | Conditions
| Ark Royal | Fleet carrier  | 60 aircraft  | 14 November 1941  | Western Mediterranean 36°3′N 4°45′W﻿ / ﻿36.050°N 4.750°W﻿ / 36.050; -4.750 | 1  | Torpedoed by German submarine U-81 on 13 November 1941. Sank next day while under tow to Gibraltar.
| Audacity | Escort carrier  | 8 aircraft  | 21 December 1941  | North Atlantic 43°45′N 19°54′W﻿ / ﻿43.750°N 19.900°W﻿ / 43.750; -19.900 | 73  | Torpedoed by German submarine U-751
| Avenger | Escort carrier  | 15 aircraft  | 15 November 1942  | 36°15′N 07°45′W﻿ / ﻿36.250°N 7.750°W﻿ / 36.250; -7.750 | 516  | Torpedoed by German submarine U-151 en route to Gibraltar
| Courageous | Fleet carrier  | 48 aircraft  | 17 September 1939  | North Atlantic 50°10′N 14°45′W﻿ / ﻿50.167°N 14.750°W﻿ / 50.167; -14.750 | 519  | Torpedoed by German submarine U-29
| Dasher | Escort carrier  | 15 aircraft  | 27 March 1943  | Firth of Clyde
55°36′N 5°00′W﻿ / ﻿55.600°N 5.000°W﻿ / 55.600; -5.000 | 379  | Sunk from internal explosion of unknown cause.
| Eagle | Fleet carrier  | 30 aircraft  | 11 August 1942  | Western Mediterranean 38°3′N 3°1′E﻿ / ﻿38.050°N 3.017°E﻿ / 38.050; 3.017 | 131  | Torpedoed by German submarine U-73 while escorting convoy to resupply Malta
| Glorious | Fleet carrier  | 48 aircraft  | 8 June 1940  | Norwegian Sea
68°38′N 03°50′E﻿ / ﻿68.633°N 3.833°E﻿ / 68.633; 3.833 | 1,207  | Sunk by gunfire from German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau.
| Hermes | Light carrier  | 20 aircraft  | 9 April 1942  | Indian Ocean east of Batticaloa, Sri Lanka  | 307  | Sunk by Imperial Japanese aircraft.

## United States

[edit]

Image  | Ship  | Type  | Aircraft component  | Sinking

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Date  | Location  | Casualties  | Conditions
| America | Fleet carrier  | 79 aircraft  | 14 May 2005  | Cape Hatteras | —  | Scuttled after being used as target
| Bismarck Sea | Escort carrier  | 27 aircraft  | 21 February 1945  | Off Iwo Jima | 318  | Sunk by two Japanese kamikaze aircraft during the Battle of Iwo Jima
| Block Island | Escort carrier  | 24 aircraft  | 29 May 1944  | Off the Canary Islands | 6  | Torpedoed by German submarine U-549
| Gambier Bay | Escort carrier  | 28 aircraft  | 25 October 1944  | Off Samar Island in the Philippines  | 147  | Sunk by surface ships of the Japanese Center Force during the Battle off Samar
| Hornet | Fleet carrier  | 90 aircraft  | 27 October 1942  | Off the Santa Cruz Islands | 140  | Crippled by torpedo bombers and dive bombers from Japanese fast carriers, finished by torpedoes from the Japanese destroyers Makigumo and Akigumo after failed attempt to scuttle during the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands.
| Independence | Light carrier  | 30 aircraft  | 29 September 1951  | Farallon Islands | —  | Used as target during Operation Crossroads and later scuttled after decontamination tests
| Langley | Seaplane tender (ex fleet carrier)  | 34 aircraft  | 27 February 1942  | about 75 mi south of Tjilatjap harbor (Java)  | 319[a] | Scuttled following bomb hits from Japanese land based bombers
| Lexington | Fleet carrier  | 91 aircraft  | 8 May 1942  | Coral Sea | 216  | Scuttled after damage from the aircraft carriers Shōkaku and Zuikaku at the Battle of the Coral Sea.
| Liscome Bay | Escort carrier  | 28 aircraft  | 24 November 1943  | off Butaritari Island | 702  | Torpedoed by Japanese submarine I-175 during the Battle of Makin
| Ommaney Bay | Escort carrier  | 28 aircraft  | 4 January 1945  | Sulu Sea | 95  | Scuttled after hit by a land based Japanese kamikaze
| Oriskany | Fleet carrier  | 91 aircraft  | 17 May 2006  | off Pensacola, Florida | —  | Sunk to become an artificial reef
| Princeton | Light carrier  | 45 aircraft  | 24 October 1944  | Leyte Gulf | 108  | Sunk by land-based Japanese bomber during the Battle of Leyte Gulf
| St. Lo | Escort carrier  | 28 aircraft  | 25 October 1944  | Leyte Gulf | 143  | Sunk by Japanese kamikaze aircraft during the Battle off Samar
| Saratoga | Fleet carrier  | 91 aircraft  | 25 July 1946  | Bikini Atoll | —  | Sunk as target during Operation Crossroads
| Wasp | Fleet carrier  | 76 aircraft  | 15 September 1942  | Southeast of San Cristobal Island | 193  | Sunk by the Japanese submarine I-19 during the Guadalcanal campaign.
| Yorktown | Fleet carrier  | 90 aircraft  | 7 June 1942  | North of Midway Island | 141  | Crippled by Japanese dive bombers and torpedo bombers from the carrier Hiryū during the Battle of Midway later finished off by Japanese submarine I-168 while under tow.

## See also

[edit]

* List of sunken battleships
* List of sunken battlecruisers
* List of sunken nuclear submarines
* List of aircraft carriers
* Timeline for aircraft carrier service
* List of aircraft carriers by country

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ According to the Bureau of Naval Personnel a total of 288 U.S. Navy officers and crewmen from Langley were missing in action and later declared dead following the sinking of Langley and the two ships (Pecos and Edsall) that rescued survivors but were also sunk shortly afterwards. Including the 31 United States Army Air Forces pilots that were originally on Langley that also died in a subsequent sinking, a total of 319 from Langley were killed.[9]

## Footnotes

[edit]

1. ^ Bishop & Chant, p. 1
2. ^ a b Bishop & Chant, p. 8
3. ^ Bishop & Chant, p. 9
4. ^ a b Polmar, p. 30
5. ^ "Imperial Flattops". www.combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
6. ^ "Scharnhorst - The History - Operation "Juno"". 23 February 2020. Archived from the original on 23 February 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2024.[better source needed]
7. ^ "Yamato and Musashi Internet Photo Archive". 30 March 2022. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2024.[better source needed]
8. ^ "Imperial Flattops". www.combinedfleet.com. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
9. ^ "Bureau of Personnel Entries by Date - US Navy". naval-history.net. Retrieved 25 August 2023.[better source needed]

## References

[edit]

* Bishop, Chris; Chant, Chris (2004). Aircraft Carriers The world's greatest naval vessels and their aircraft. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing Company. ISBN 0760320055.
* Fontenoy, Paul E. (2006). Aircraft Carriers: an illustrated history of their impact. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 185109573X.
* Polmar, Norman (2006). Aircraft Carriers: a history of carrier aviation and its influence on world events. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books Inc. ISBN 1574886630.

## External links

[edit]

* British escort carriers in WW2
* German carrier "Graf Zeppelin"
* Italian carriers in WW2
* Japanese carriers in WW2
* US carriers in WW2

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