Warspite 'blast from the past' - RN warship losses in WW2
Jun 4, 2020 10:14:34 GMT
Theaetetus and luke4202 like this
Post by warspite1 on Jun 4, 2020 10:14:34 GMT
First published on Forumini August 2007 - edited and expanded June 2020, with extra links
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ANALYSIS OF RN WARSHIP LOSSES BY CAUSE:
These figures are from D.K. Brown's book on naval construction, "Nelson to Vanguard" page 158. The notes are my own.
Figures are for. LOST/SERIOUSLY DAMAGED/SLIGHTLY DAMAGED. in that order.
LOSSES DUE TO SHELLFIRE:
Capital ships: 1/2/3
Aircraft Carriers: 1/-/-
Cruisers: 3/9/22
Destroyers: 13/40/70
Sloops and escorts: 2/2/0
Notes: the capital ship lost is HMS Hood. The aircraft carrier lost is HMS Glorious. Note how few escort vessels were involved in gun actions.
LOSSES DUE TO AIR DROPPED BOMBS:
Capital ships: -/6/11
Aircraft Carriers: 1/10/7
Cruisers: 10/42/45
Destroyers: 44/81/118
Sloops and escorts: 16/28/33
Notes: capital ships appear immune to being sunk by bombs but note how many destroyers were damaged. The aerial bomb was a major threat to them in WW2. The single aircraft carrier lost is the small and obsolete HMS Hermes which was overwhelmed by expert Japanese dive bombers in the Indian Ocean and which suffered an estimated 80% hits.
Note also the high numbers of ships hit and damaged overall. D.K. Brown notes that the same happened in the 1982 Falklands Conflict. Nearly every ship in the combat zone was actually hit, the only ones not to be hit being late arrivals after the Argentine Air Force was spent.
LOSSES DUE TO MINES:
Capital ships: -/5/-
Aircraft Carriers: -/1/-
Cruisers: 1/8/2
Destroyers: 18/35/4
Sloops and escorts: 17/39/10
Notes: contrary to popular opinion mines rarely kill warships. The single cruiser lost was HMS Neptune which ran into an Italian minefield off Tripoli and set off at least three mines in quick succession. HMS Belfast is one mine casualty and she was nearly scrapped as her back was broken by a powerful ground mine. Her repairs took nearly two years.
Mine hits on merchant vessels would probably be more fatal.
LOSSES DUE TO TORPEDOES:
Capital ships: 4/5/-
Aircraft Carriers: 5/3/-
Cruisers: 13/24/-
Destroyers: 52/15/2
Sloops and escorts: 50/19/2
Notes: the capital ships lost are HMS Royal Oak, HMS Prince of Wales, HMS Repulse, HMS Barham. The aircraft carrier losses include HMS Ark Royal, HMS Eagle and HMS Couragious.
Note also that this is the first weapon type where ships lost begin to excede those ships seriously damaged. This goes some way to confirming the famous quote: "If you want to let in air, drop bombs. If you want to let in water, use torpedoes..."
Except for four ships in the last two groups [probably Gnat homing torpedoes striking ships in their extreme stern] there is nothing 'slight' about a torpedo hit.
None of these figure trends would necessarily hold good for merchant ships which are more vulnerable in most areas. Merchant ships are probably more vulnerable to mines as well as to gunfire/bombs. I would suggest that merchantmen hit by shells and bombs had as much chance of burning out due to internal fires, if they did not sink first due to hits on the waterline. Merchant crews were smaller and were rarely trained in damage control. As an example, even the KM Kormoran (a converted German mercantile raider) was quickly set on fire by HMAS Sydney, leading to her destruction.
The tanker San Demetrio was a rarity in that she was set ablaze by KM Scheer, her crew abandoned her and took to the boats. A couple of days later they sighted her still afloat but burned out, re-boarded and got her home using a boats' compass as the bridge had been wrecked by fire. She was later the subject of a movie: "San Demetrio - London".
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_San_Demetrio
Tankers are thought to be harder to sink than other merchant vessels. The US-built 'Ohio' was part of a critcial convoy run to Malta. She suffered a torpedo hit on a kerosene tank which burned but did not explode, she was hit by or crashed upon by at least two German aircraft shot down while attacking her and she suffered numerous bomb near misses which mined her hull and wrecked machinery. Still afloat she was steered and towed into Malta with an RN destroyer tied alongside as a 'splint' to prevent her breaking in half and also providing engine power. Ohio finally sank as the much-needed fuel was being pumped ashore. Nearly all the fuel was recovered.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Ohio
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Pedestal
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
ANALYSIS OF RN WARSHIP LOSSES BY CAUSE:
These figures are from D.K. Brown's book on naval construction, "Nelson to Vanguard" page 158. The notes are my own.
Figures are for. LOST/SERIOUSLY DAMAGED/SLIGHTLY DAMAGED. in that order.
LOSSES DUE TO SHELLFIRE:
Capital ships: 1/2/3
Aircraft Carriers: 1/-/-
Cruisers: 3/9/22
Destroyers: 13/40/70
Sloops and escorts: 2/2/0
Notes: the capital ship lost is HMS Hood. The aircraft carrier lost is HMS Glorious. Note how few escort vessels were involved in gun actions.
LOSSES DUE TO AIR DROPPED BOMBS:
Capital ships: -/6/11
Aircraft Carriers: 1/10/7
Cruisers: 10/42/45
Destroyers: 44/81/118
Sloops and escorts: 16/28/33
Notes: capital ships appear immune to being sunk by bombs but note how many destroyers were damaged. The aerial bomb was a major threat to them in WW2. The single aircraft carrier lost is the small and obsolete HMS Hermes which was overwhelmed by expert Japanese dive bombers in the Indian Ocean and which suffered an estimated 80% hits.
Note also the high numbers of ships hit and damaged overall. D.K. Brown notes that the same happened in the 1982 Falklands Conflict. Nearly every ship in the combat zone was actually hit, the only ones not to be hit being late arrivals after the Argentine Air Force was spent.
LOSSES DUE TO MINES:
Capital ships: -/5/-
Aircraft Carriers: -/1/-
Cruisers: 1/8/2
Destroyers: 18/35/4
Sloops and escorts: 17/39/10
Notes: contrary to popular opinion mines rarely kill warships. The single cruiser lost was HMS Neptune which ran into an Italian minefield off Tripoli and set off at least three mines in quick succession. HMS Belfast is one mine casualty and she was nearly scrapped as her back was broken by a powerful ground mine. Her repairs took nearly two years.
Mine hits on merchant vessels would probably be more fatal.
LOSSES DUE TO TORPEDOES:
Capital ships: 4/5/-
Aircraft Carriers: 5/3/-
Cruisers: 13/24/-
Destroyers: 52/15/2
Sloops and escorts: 50/19/2
Notes: the capital ships lost are HMS Royal Oak, HMS Prince of Wales, HMS Repulse, HMS Barham. The aircraft carrier losses include HMS Ark Royal, HMS Eagle and HMS Couragious.
Note also that this is the first weapon type where ships lost begin to excede those ships seriously damaged. This goes some way to confirming the famous quote: "If you want to let in air, drop bombs. If you want to let in water, use torpedoes..."
Except for four ships in the last two groups [probably Gnat homing torpedoes striking ships in their extreme stern] there is nothing 'slight' about a torpedo hit.
None of these figure trends would necessarily hold good for merchant ships which are more vulnerable in most areas. Merchant ships are probably more vulnerable to mines as well as to gunfire/bombs. I would suggest that merchantmen hit by shells and bombs had as much chance of burning out due to internal fires, if they did not sink first due to hits on the waterline. Merchant crews were smaller and were rarely trained in damage control. As an example, even the KM Kormoran (a converted German mercantile raider) was quickly set on fire by HMAS Sydney, leading to her destruction.
The tanker San Demetrio was a rarity in that she was set ablaze by KM Scheer, her crew abandoned her and took to the boats. A couple of days later they sighted her still afloat but burned out, re-boarded and got her home using a boats' compass as the bridge had been wrecked by fire. She was later the subject of a movie: "San Demetrio - London".
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_San_Demetrio
Tankers are thought to be harder to sink than other merchant vessels. The US-built 'Ohio' was part of a critcial convoy run to Malta. She suffered a torpedo hit on a kerosene tank which burned but did not explode, she was hit by or crashed upon by at least two German aircraft shot down while attacking her and she suffered numerous bomb near misses which mined her hull and wrecked machinery. Still afloat she was steered and towed into Malta with an RN destroyer tied alongside as a 'splint' to prevent her breaking in half and also providing engine power. Ohio finally sank as the much-needed fuel was being pumped ashore. Nearly all the fuel was recovered.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Ohio
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Pedestal
