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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P222 | ![]() |
S | submarine | 814 | 4 March 1942 | sunk 12 December 1942 |
Pakenham | P | destroyer | 1,690 | 4 February 1942 | constructive loss, scuttled 16 April 1943 | |
Paladin | P | destroyer | 1,690 | December 1941 | paid off June 1961, scrapped 1962 | |
Pandora | Parthian | submarine | 2,070 | 30 June 1930 | sunk 1 April 1942, scrapped 1955 | |
Panthir | ![]() |
Aetos | destroyer | 1,030 | 19 October 1912 | Decommissioned 1946 |
Panther | ![]() |
P | destroyer | 1,690 | 12 December 1941 | sunk 9 October 1943 |
![]() |
Rosario | gunboat | 1,055 | 1909 | Sold 28 August 1958 | |
Paris | ![]() ![]() |
Courbet | dreadnought | 23,475 | 5 June 1913 | captured by Britain 3 July 1940 used as depot ship, scrapped 1956 |
Parker | ![]() |
Benson | destroyer | 1,620 | 31 August 1942 | decommissioned 1947, scrapped 1973 |
Parry Sound | ![]() |
Flower modified | corvette | 1,015 | 30 August 1944 | 10 July 1945 |
Parthian | ![]() |
Parthian | submarine | 2,070 | 30 June 1930 | sunk August 1943 |
Partridge | P | destroyer | 1,690 | 5 July 1941 | paid off 1 January 1946 | |
Pasadena | ![]() |
Cleveland | light cruiser | 11,800 | 8 June 1944 | scrapped 1970 |
Pathan | ![]() |
P | sloop | 623 | 5 August 1921 | sunk 23 June 1940 |
Pathfinder | ![]() |
P | destroyer | 1,690 | 13 April 1942 | paid off 1945, scrapped 1948 |
Patia | fighter catapult ship | 5,355 | 1940 | sunk 27 April 1941 | ||
Patna | ![]() |
Basset | minesweeper | 529 | 1941–1944 | 1941–1944 |
Patria | ![]() |
gunboat | 1,200 | |||
Patroclus | ![]() |
armed merchant cruiser | 11,314 | 12 September 1939 | sunk 4 November 1940 | |
Patroller | Ruler | escort carrier | 11,400 | 22 October 1943 | paid off 7 February 1947, scrapped February 1974 | |
Patterson | ![]() |
Bagley | destroyer | 1,500 | 22 September 1937 | scrapped 1947 |
Peder Skram | ![]() |
Herluf Trolle | coastal defence ship | 3,494 | scuttled 29 August 1943 | |
Pegasus | ![]() |
fighter catapult ship | 7,080 | 10 December 1914 | HMS Ark Royal to 1934, paid off June 1946 | |
Penetang | ![]() |
River | frigate | 1,445 | 19 October 1944 | paid off 2 September 1955 |
Penn | ![]() |
P | destroyer | 1,690 | 10 February 1942 | scrapped 30 October 1950 |
Pennsylvania | ![]() |
Pennsylvania | super dreadnought | 33,000 | 12 June 1916 | Decommissioned 29 August 1946, sunk as target 10 February 1948 |
Pennywort | ![]() |
Flower | corvette | 925 | 5 March 1942 | |
Pensacola | ![]() |
Pensacola | heavy cruiser | 9,100 | 6 February 1930 | sunk as target 1948 |
Pentstemon | ![]() |
Flower | corvette | 925 | 31 July 1941 | |
Penylan | Hunt | destroyer | 1,050 | 25 August 1942 | sunk 3 December 1942 | |
Peony | ![]() ![]() |
Flower | corvette | 925 | 2 August 1940 | to Greece as Sachtouris 1943, scrapped 1952 |
Perkins | ![]() |
Mahan | destroyer | 1,450 | 18 September 1936 | sunk 29 November 1942 |
Periwinkle | ![]() } ![]() |
Flower | corvette | 925 | 8 April 1940 | to USA as Restless 15 March 1942, to UK 26 August 1945 |
Perseus (I) | ![]() |
Colossus | aircraft maintenance carrier | 13,200 | 16 December 1944 | transferred to France 6 August 1946, renamed Arromanches |
Perseus (II) | Parthian | submarine | 2,070 | 15 April 1930 | sunk 6 December 1941. | |
Pert | ![]() |
Flower modified | corvette | 1,015 | 23 July 1943 | 3 October 1945 |
Perth | ![]() |
modified Leander | light cruiser | 6,980 | 29 June 1939 (former HMS Amphion) | sunk 1 March 1942 |
Peshawar | ![]() |
Basset | minesweeper | 529 | 1941–1944 | 1941–1944 |
Petard | ![]() |
P | destroyer | 1,690 | 15 June 1942 | scrapped June 1967 |
Peterborough | ![]() |
Flower modified | corvette | 1,015 | 1 June 1944 | 19 July 1945 |
Petrof Bay | ![]() |
Casablanca | escort carrier | 7,800 | 18 February 1944 | decommissioned 31 July 1955, scrapped 1959 |
Petropavlovsk | ![]() |
Admiral Hipper | heavy cruiser | 14,680 | fought incomplete in siege of Leningrad, and as Tallinn | |
Petunia | ![]() |
Flower | corvette | 925 | 13 January 1941 | |
Phelps | ![]() |
Porter | destroyer | 1,850 | 26 February 1936 | scrapped 1947 |
Philadelphia | Brooklyn | light cruiser | 10,200 | 23 September 1937 | transferred to Brazil as Almirante Barroso 1951, scrapped 1973 | |
Phlox | ![]() |
Flower | corvette | 925 | May 1942 | |
Phoenix | ![]() |
Brooklyn | light cruiser | 10,200 | 3 October 1938 | transferred to Argentina as General Belgrano 1951, sunk by HMS Conqueror in Falklands War on 2 May 1982 |
Phoenix | ![]() |
Parthian | submarine | 2,070 | 3 February 1931 | sunk 16 July 1940 |
Picotee | Flower | corvette | 925 | 5 September 1940 | sunk on 12 August 1941 by U-568[5] | |
Pictou | ![]() |
Flower | corvette | 925 | 29 April 1941 | paid off 12 July 1945 |
Piet Hein | ![]() |
Admiralen | destroyer | 1,337 | 25 January 1929 | Sunk 19 February 1942 |
Pimpernel | ![]() |
Flower | corvette | 925 | 9 January 1941 | |
Pindos | ![]() |
Hunt | destroyer | 1,050 | 27 June 1942 | paid off 1959, scrapped 1960 |
Ping Hai | ![]() |
light cruiser | 2,200 | 1936 | became Yasoshima (Japan) 1944 | |
Pinguin | ![]() |
Auxiliary cruiser | 17,600 | 6 February 1940 | sunk 8 May 1941 | |
Pink | ![]() |
Flower | corvette | 925 | 2 July 1942 | declared total loss after 27 June 1944 in attack by U-988[6] |
Pioneer | Colossus | aircraft maintenance carrier | 13,200 | 8 February 1945 | scrapped September 1954 | |
Piorun | ![]() |
N | destroyer | 1,690 | 4 November 1940 | to Poland October 1940, to UK August 1946, scrapped 1955 |
Pittsburgh | ![]() |
Baltimore | heavy cruiser | 17,200 | 10 October 1944 | decommissioned 1956, scrapped 1974 |
Plunkett | Gleaves | destroyer | 1,630 | 17 July 1940 | to Taiwan 1959, scrapped 1975 | |
Pluton | ![]() |
minelayer light cruiser | 4,773 | 10 April 1931 | lost 13 September 1939 | |
Pola | ![]() |
Zara | heavy cruiser | 11,730 | 1932 | sunk 28 March 1941 |
Polyanthus | ![]() |
Flower | corvette | 925 | 24 April 1941 | sunk on 21 September 1943 by U-952[7] |
Pompeo Magno | ![]() |
Capitani Romani | light cruiser (also known as exploratori oceanici) | 3,750 | ||
Poona | ![]() |
Basset | minesweeper | 529 | 1941–1944 | 1941–1944 |
Poppy | ![]() |
Flower | corvette | 925 | 12 May 1942 | |
Porcupine | P | destroyer | 1,690 | 31 August 1942 | Strangest vessel of the war? Torpedoed, split almost in half, declared constructive loss March 1943. Towed to harbour, cut into two, rebuilt, and each half was re-commissioned into the Royal Navy; as HMS Pork, and HMS Pine. Paid off 31 August 1946. | |
Port Arthur | ![]() |
Flower | corvette | 925 | 26 May 1942 | paid off 11 July 1945 |
Port Colborne | River | frigate | 1,445 | 15 November 1943 | paid off 7 November 1945 | |
Porter | ![]() |
Porter | destroyer | 1,850 | 25 August 1936 | sunk 26 October 1942 |
Portland | Portland | heavy cruiser | 9,950 | 23 February 1933 | decommissioned 1946, scrapped 1959 | |
Portsmouth | Cleveland | light cruiser | 11,800 | 20 September 1944 | scrapped 1974 | |
Poseidon | ![]() |
Parthian | submarine | 2,070 | 5 May 1930 | sunk in accidental collision with a merchant 9 June 1931 |
Potentilla | ![]() ![]() |
Flower | corvette | 925 | 16 January 1942 | to Norway 16 January 1942, to RN 13 March 1944 |
Poundmaker | ![]() |
River | frigate | 1,445 | 17 September 1944 | paid off 25 November 1945 |
Premier | ![]() |
Ruler | escort carrier | 11,400 | 3 November 1943 | paid off 21 May 1946, scrapped 1976 |
Prescott | ![]() |
Flower | corvette | 925 | 26 June 1941 | paid off 20 July 1945 |
Preston | ![]() |
Mahan | destroyer | 1,450 | 27 October 1936 | sunk 14 November 1942 |
Prestonian | ![]() |
River | frigate | 1,445 | 13 September 1944 | paid off 24 April 1956 |
Pretoria Castle | ![]() |
armed merchant cruiser | 23,450 | 28 November 1939 | training merchant aircraft carrier from July 1943, reconverted to passenger liner | |
Primauguet | ![]() |
Duguay-Trouin | light cruiser | 7,249 | 1 April 1927 | scuttled 8 November 1942 |
Primrose | ![]() |
Flower | corvette | 925 | 15 July 1940 | |
Primula | Flower | corvette | 925 | 27 August 1940 | ||
Prudent | ![]() |
Flower modified | corvette | 1,015 | 16 August 1943 | 11 October 1945 |
Prince David | ![]() |
armed merchant cruiser | 5,736 | 28 December 1940 | Broken up 1951 | |
Prince Henry | armed merchant cruiser | 6,893 | 3 November 1940 | paid off July 1946 | ||
Prince of Wales | ![]() |
King George V | battleship | 35,000 | 31 March 1941 | sunk 10 December 1941 |
Prince Robert | ![]() |
armed merchant cruiser | 6,892 | December 1940 | paid off 10 December 1945 | |
Prince Rupert | River | frigate | 1,445 | 30 August 1943 | paid off 15 January 1946 | |
Princeton | ![]() |
Independence | light aircraft carrier | 11,000 | 25 February 1943 | sunk 24 October 1944 |
Prins van Oranje | ![]() |
Prins van Oranje | minelayer | 1,291 | 2 February 1932 | sunk 12 January 1942 |
Prinz Eugen | ![]() |
enlarged Admiral Hipper | heavy cruiser | 14,680 | 1 August 1940 | sunk after A-bomb test at Bikini in 1946 |
Proteus | ![]() |
Parthian | submarine | 2,070 | 5 May 1930 | Scrapped in March 1946 at Troon |
Provence | ![]() |
Bretagne | super dreadnought | 22,200 | 1 March 1916 | scuttled 27 November 1942, |
Providence | ![]() |
Cleveland | light cruiser | 11,800 | 15 May 1945 | converted to missile cruiser 1959, scrapped 1980 |
Prunella | ![]() |
Special Service Ship | 4,443 | sunk 21 June 1940 | ||
Psara | ![]() |
Kountouriotis | destroyer | 1,350 | 1933 | sunk 20 April 1941 |
Puckeridge | ![]() |
Hunt | destroyer | 1,000 | sunk 6 September 1943 by U-617 | |
Puget Sound | ![]() |
Commencement Bay | escort carrier | 10,900 | 18 June 1945 | scrapped January 1962 |
Puncher | ![]() ![]() |
Ruler | escort carrier | 11,400 | 5 February 1944 | Crewed by RCN, paid off 16 February 1946, scrapped 1973 |
Punjab | ![]() |
Bathurst | corvette | 1,025 | 20 March 1942 | Decommissioned 1949 |
Punjabi | ![]() |
Tribal | destroyer | 2,020 | 29 March 1939 | sunk 1 May 1942 |
Pursuer | Attacker | escort carrier | 11,400 | 14 June 1943 | Returned to USN 12 February 1946, sold for scrap May 1946 | |
Pytchley | Hunt | destroyer | 1,050 | 23 October 1940 | paid off 1946, scrapped 1956 |
References
edit- ^ "Hulls Listed by Name". Naval Vessel Register. Archived from the original on 30 June 2007.
- ^ "US Navy Inactive Classification Symbols". Naval Vessel Register. NAVSEA Shipbuilding Support Office. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
- ^ "Index". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships.
- ^ "Royal Navy operations in the Second World War". The National Archives. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "HMS Picotee (K 63) (British Corvette)". Uboat.net.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "HMS Pink (K 137) (British Corvette)". Uboat.net.
- ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "HMS Polyanthus (K 47) (British Corvette)". Uboat.net.
Bibliography
edit- Colledge, J. J.; Warlow, Ben (2006) [1969]. Ships of the Royal Navy: The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy (Rev. ed.). London: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-86176-281-8.
- "NavSource Naval History".
- Whitley, M. J. (2000). Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 1-85409-521-8.
- Whitley, M. J. (1995). Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 1-85409-225-1.
- Helgason, Guðmundur (1995–2007). "Allied Warships". Uboat.net.
- "Battleships-Cruisers.co.uk". Cranston Fine Arts. 2001–2007.