Twelve aircraft carriers were sunk by the enemy during World War II -- five fleet carriers, a seaplane tender and six escort carriers. The loss of the
On May 29, 1944, German U-boat, U-549, torpedoed and sank USS Block Island (CVE-21) west-northwest of the Canary Islands. USS Barr (DE-576) was also damaged in this attack. Block Island was the only U.S. carrier lost in the Atlantic during World War II.
Many of these ships were repaired and fought in later battles, and, crucially all three of the Pacific Fleet's aircraft carriers were not at Pearl Harbor during the attack and so escaped damage. They were to prove vital in the coming Pacific Campaign.
Gambier Bay was the only US Navy aircraft carrier to be sunk by surface naval gunfire during WWII. She lost 147 of her crew.
The Imperial Japanese Navy never truly recovered from Midway, and would possess a total of 18 aircraft carriers throughout the war, but 14 of these were ultimately lost - the majority of which fell around the Philippines, with three sunk during the Battle of the Philippine Sea.
Yamato – The largest battleship ever built, she was sunk on 7 April by torpedo planes from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet and others. 280 of Yamato's 2,778 crew were rescued. This was the greatest loss of life in a single warship in World War II.
Royal Navy losses in World War 2 - Aircraft Carriers. 14. Courageous class, 2 ships - 22,500 tons, 30 knots, 48 aircraft, 1,200 crew, 1928/30, both lost: COURAGEOUS (Capt W T Makeig-Jones+), 17th September 1939, North Atlantic, south west of Ireland (50.10N, 14.45W) - torpedoed by German 'U.
The Allies lost 9 aircraft carriers during the war, 3 of the 4 Royal Navy losses were to German U-boats. Aircraft carriers, both during the British attack on Taranto in Nov 1940 and of course Pearl Harbor in Dec 1941, proved to be the future of naval warfare, along with submarines.
Italy: Total losses were 5,272 aircraft, of which 3,269 were lost in combat. Japan: Estimates vary from 35,000 to 50,000 total losses, with about 20,000 lost operationally. Netherlands: Total losses were 81 aircraft during the May 1940 campaign.
The three other heavily damaged ships— Oklahoma, Arizona and the capsized target ship Utah—would not return to service.
A missed opportunity
The Japanese were aware that the American carriers were not at Pearl Harbor.
The Pearl Harbor attack killed 2,403 people, most of them American servicemen, and wounded 1,104. Four of the pilots lost their lives but were credited with shooting down 10 of the 29 Japanese warplanes lost to all causes that day.
The loss of the Bismarck Sea was the last time that a U.S. carrier went down due to enemy action.
Since the appearance of this type of ship in 1916, with the launching of HMS Furious, a total of 51 aircraft carriers have ended up at the bottom of the sea, of which 44 were sunk during World War II ( 2 Italian aircraft carriers, 22 Japanese aircraft carriers, 8 British aircraft carriers and 12 American aircraft ...
Shinano (信濃) was an aircraft carrier built by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II, the largest such built up to that time.
The principle reason for Nazi Germany never completing an aircraft carrier was constant changes in priority. One had, in fact, been ordered on November 16, 1935, was laid out in Kiel on December 26, 1936, and launched as Graf Zeppelin on December 8, 1938. The ship was never completed, however.
Enterprise was the most decorated warship of World War II earning 20 Battle Stars—three more than any other ship. In addition, Enterprise was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and the Navy Unit Commendation becoming the only carrier awarded both the PUC and NUC for service in WWII.
Two hours after the dual kamikaze attacks, at 21:15, Bismarck Sea sank with the loss of 318 men, and was the last US Navy aircraft carrier to be lost during World War II.
The Argentines couldn't afford to wait and called off their attack. At midnight, a British Sea Harrier found Veinticinco de Mayo and its escorts. A few hours later, the Belgrano was sunk.
From October 1942 until the end of the Pacific war, America commissioned 26 new fleet and light carriers. Japan commissioned eight. Over the entire war, the Allies commissioned a total of 181 carriers of all types compared to Japan's total of 19.
The simple answer is that Germany didn't have the industrial capacity to build aircraft carriers during World War II. The country was already stretched thin trying to build enough ships, submarines, and planes for the war effort. Plus, Germany didn't have any suitable ports for basing aircraft carriers.
With 33 ships sunk, the USS Tang sank the most tonnage of shipping in World War II for the United States.
After the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Luftwaffe was disbanded in 1946. During World War II, German pilots claimed roughly 70,000 aerial victories, while over 75,000 Luftwaffe aircraft were destroyed or significantly damaged. Of these, nearly 40,000 were lost entirely.
During the European Campaign, the Division had some 648 Shermans completely destroyed in combat and we had another 700 knocked out, repaired, and put back into operation.