List of shipwrecks in 1940

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The list of shipwrecks in 1940 includes all ships sunk, floundered, grounded, or otherwise lost during 1940.

	Operator	Ship	Class	Cause	Location

January 7	Royal Navy	HMS Seahorse	S class submarine	Deptcharged and sunk by ships of the German 1st Minesweeping Flotilla	North-west of Heligoland
January 9	Royal Navy	HMS Starfish	S class submarine	Deptcharged and sunk by German minesweeper M-7	Heligoland Bight
January 19	Royal Navy	HMS Grenville	G class destroyer	Sunk by mine	North Sea
January 21	Royal Navy	HMS Exmouth	E class destroyer	Torpedoed and sunk by U-22	In the Moray Firth, off Inverness
January 30	Kriegsmarine	Unterseeboot 15	Submarine	Collision with torpedo boat Iltis	North Sea, near Hoofden
February 5	Kriegsmarine	Unterseeboot 41	Submarine	Sunk by HMS Antelope	South of Ireland
February 12	Kriegsmarine	Unterseeboot 33	Submarine	Sunk by the minesweeper HMS Gleaner	Firth of Clyde
February 22	Kriegsmarine	Leberecht Maass	Zerstörer 1934 class destroyer	Attacked and hit by a Luftwaffe bomber, lost steering and strayed into a British minefield	Dogger Bank
February 22	Kriegsmarine	Max Schultz	Zerstörer 1934 class destroyer	Hit mine during rescue efforts for Leberecht Maass	Dogger Bank
February 25	Kriegsmarine	Unterseeboot 63	Submarine	Sunk by the destroyers HMS Escort, HMS Inglefield, and HMS Imogen, and the sloop HMS Narwhal	North Sea near the Shetland Islands
March 24	Marine nationale	*La Railleuse*	L'Adroit class destroyer	Sunk by accidental explosion of its own torpedoes	Casablanca, Marocco
March 27	Kriegsmarine	Unterseeboot 22	Submarine	Went missing	North Sea
April 6	Kriegsmarine	Unterseeboot 1	Submarine	Sunk by mine	North Sea
April 6	Kriegsmarine	Unterseeboot 50	Submarine	Sunk by mine	North Sea north of Terschelling
April 9	Royal Navy	HMS Gurkha	Tribal class destroyer	Sunk by Luftwaffe bombers in the initial phase of Operation Weserübung	North Sea south-east of Bergen
April 8	Royal Navy	HMS Glowworm	G class destroyer	Sunk by the German cruiser Admiral Hipper at the beginning of the German invasion of Norway	North-west of Trondheim
April 9	Royal Norwegian Navy	HNoMS Æger	Sleipner class destroyer	Sunk by Luftwaffe bombers during the invasion of Norway	Near Stavanger
April 9	Kriegsmarine	Blücher	Admiral Hipper class heavy cruiser	Sunk by Norwegian coastal artillery during Operation Weserübung	Oslofjord
April 9	Royal Norwegian Navy	HNoMS Eidsvold	Eidsvold class coastal battleship	Torpedoed by the German destroyer Wilhelm Heidkamp during the battle of Narvik	Narvik
April 9	Royal Norwegian Navy	HNoMS Norge	Eidsvold class coastal battleship	Torpedoed by the German destroyer Bernd von Arnim during the battle of Narvik	Narvik
April 9	Kriegsmarine	Karlsruhe	K class light cruiser	Torpedoed and crippled by British submarine Truant off Kristiansand while on her way back to Germany after taking part in Operation Weserübung, then scuttled by German torpedoboat Greif	Skagerrak near Kristiansand
April 10	Kriegsmarine	Albatros	1923 Raubvogel class torpedoboat	Beached and wrecked after battle damage during Operation Weserübung	Oslofjord
April 10	Kriegsmarine	Wilhelm Heidkamp	Zerstörer 1936 class destroyer	Torpedoed by the British destroyer HMS Hardy during first battle of Narvik	Narvik
April 10	Kriegsmarine	Anton Schmitt	Zerstörer 1936 class destroyer	Torpedoed by the British destroyer HMS Hunter during first battle of Narvik	Narvik
April 10	Royal Navy	HMS Hardy	H class destroyer	Sunk by German destroyers during first battle of Narvik	Ofotfjord near Narvik
April 10	Royal Navy	HMS Hunter	H class destroyer	Sunk by German destroyers during first battle of Narvik	Ofotfjord near Narvik
April 10	Kriegsmarine	Königsberg	K class light cruiser	Bombed and sunk by Fleet Air Arm Blackburn Skua dive bombers while in port in Bergen on the second day of Operation Weserübung	Bergen
April 10	Royal Navy	HMS Tarpon	T class submarine	Probably sunk by the German 'Q-ship' Schiff 40 / Schürbek	Skagerak
April 10	Royal Navy	HMS Thistle	T class submarine	Torpedoed and sunk by U-4 during the Operation Weserübung	North Sea off Norway
April 13	Royal Norwegian Navy	HNoMS Frøya	Minelayer	Scuttled by own crew during the Norwegian campaign, then torpedoed and destroyed by U-34	Trondheimsfjord
April 13	Kriegsmarine	Unterseeboot 64	Submarine	Sunk by Fairey Swordfish from HMS Warspite during the Second Battle of Narvik	Near Bjerkvik
April 13	Kriegsmarine	Erich Koellner	Zerstörer 1934A class destroyer	Sunk by HMS Warspite and RN destroyers during the Second Battle of Narvik	Narvik
April 13	Kriegsmarine	Hermann Künne	Zerstörer 1936 class destroyer	Sunk by HMS Eskimo during the Second Battle of Narvik	Narvik
April 13	Kriegsmarine	Diether von Roeder	Zerstörer 1936 class destroyer	Sunk by HMS Warspite and RN destroyers during the Second Battle of Narvik	Narvik
April 13	Kriegsmarine	Erich Giese	Zerstörer 1934A class destroyer	Sunk by HMS Warspite and RN destroyers during the Second Battle of Narvik	Narvik
April 13	Kriegsmarine	Bernd von Arnim	Zerstörer 1934A class destroyer	Scuttled by own crew during the Second Battle of Narvik	Narvik
April 13	Kriegsmarine	Georg Thiele	Zerstörer 1934 class destroyer	Scuttled by own crew during the Second Battle of Narvik	Narvik
April 13	Kriegsmarine	Hans Lüdemann	Zerstörer 1936 class destroyer	Scuttled by own crew during the Second Battle of Narvik	Narvik
April 13	Kriegsmarine	Wolfgang Zenker	Zerstörer 1934A class destroyer	Scuttled by own crew during the Second Battle of Narvik	Narvik
April 15	Kriegsmarine	Brummer	Auxiliary gunnery training ship	Torpedoed by RN submarine HMS Sterlet April 14, sinking early the next morning	Kattegat
April 15	Kriegsmarine	Unterseeboot 49	Submarine	Sunk by British destroyers HMS Fearless and HMS Brazen	Near Harstad
April 18	Royal Navy	HMS Sterlet	S class submarine	Sunk either by German anti submarine trawlers UJ-125, UJ-126 and UJ-128 or mined on her way home to base	Skagerrak south of Larvik
April 20	Royal Norwegian Navy	HNoMS Stegg	Trygg class torpedo boat	Sunk in battle with Kriegsmarine warships during the Norwegian campaign	Hardangerfjord
April 26	Royal Norwegian Navy	HNoMS Garm	Draug class destroyer	Sunk by Luftwaffe bombers during the Norwegian campaign	Sognefjord
April 30	Royal Navy	HMS Bittern	Bittern class sloop	Sunk by German bombers during the Norwegian campaign	Off Namsos
April 30	Royal Navy	HMS Dunoon	Hunt class minesweeper	Mined while sweeping for mines	Off Great Yarmouth
April 30	Marine nationale	*Maillé Brézé*	Vauquelin class destroyer	Sunk by accidental explosion of two of its own torpedoes	Greenock, Scotland
May 1	Kriegsmarine	Uller	Vale class minelayer	Sunk by Royal Norwegian Navy Air Service He 115 seaplane bomber	Sognefjord
May 3	Marine nationale	*Bison*	Guépard class destroyer	Sunk by German aircraft while taking part in the evacuation of Namsos	Off Trondheim
May 3	Royal Navy	HMS Afridi	Tribal class destroyer	Sunk by Stuka dive bombers during the evacuation of troops from the Namsos campaign	Namsos
May 4	Polish Navy	ORP Grom	Grom class destroyer	Sunk by German bombers	Ofotfjord near Narvik
May 9	Marine nationale	*Doris*	Circé class submarine	Torpedoed and sunk by U-9	West of Petten, the Netherlands
May 10	Royal Netherlands Navy	HNLMS Van Galen	Admiralen class destroyer	Severly damaged by German bombers off Waalhaven, sinking later in the day	Merwedehaven
May 12	Royal Netherlands Navy	HNLMS Friso	Gruno class gunboat	Sunk by German aircraft	On the IJsselmeer off Enkhuizen
May 14	Royal Netherlands Navy	HNLMS Brinio	Gruno class gunboat	Scuttled by own crew after suffering damage from German aircraft on May 12	On the IJsselmeer
May 14	Royal Netherlands Navy	*O 11*	O 9 class submarine	Scuttled to prevent capture by the Germans	Den Helder
May 14	Royal Netherlands Navy	*O 12*	O 12 class class submarine	Scuttled to prevent capture by the Germans while undergoing maintenance at the Rijkswerf shipyard	Den Helder
May 15	Royal Netherlands Navy	HNLMS Hydra	Hydra class minelayer	Beached and scuttled by her own crew after being damaged by German anti-tank gunfire	Somewhere in Zeeland
May 15	Royal Netherlands Navy	HNLMS Tjerk Hiddes	Gerard Callenburgh class destroyer	Scuttled to prevent capture by the Germans	Nieuwe Waterweg at Rotterdam
May 17	Royal Netherlands Navy	HNLMS Philips Van Almonde	Gerard Callenburgh class destroyer	Scuttled on slipway to prevent capture by the Germans	Vlissingen
May 18	Royal Navy	HMS Effingham	Hawkins class cruiser	Wrecked on a reef near Bodø during the Norwegian campaign, scuttled with gunfire and torpedoes by HMS Matabele 21 May 1940	Bliksvær near Bodø
May 21	Marine nationale	*L'Adroit*	L'Adroit class destroyer	Sunk by German He 111 bomber	Off Dunkerque
May 23	Marine nationale	*Jaguar*	Chacal class destroyer	Sunk by E-boats S-21 and S-23 during Operation Dynamo	Off Dunkerque
May 23	Marine nationale	*Orage*	Bourrasque class destroyer	Sunk by German bombers	Off Boulogne-sur-Mer
May 24	Marine nationale	*Chacal*	Chacal class destroyer	Sunk by German aircraft	Off Boulogne-sur-Mer
May 26	Royal Navy	HMS Curlew	C class light cruiser	Sunk by German bombers	Ofotfjord near Narvik
May 29	Royal Navy	HMS Grafton	G class destroyer	Sunk by the German uboat U-62 during Operation Dynamo	North Sea, off Nieuport, Belgium
May 29	Royal Navy	HMS Grenade	G class destroyer	Sunk by Stukas during Operation Dynamo	English Channel
May 29	Royal Navy	HMS Wakeful	W class destroyer	Torpedoed and sunk by E-boat S-30 during Operation Dynamo	English Channel
May 30	Marine nationale	*Bourrasque*	Bourrasque class destroyer	Heavily damaged by mine, then sunk by artillery fire during Operation Dynamo	North Sea, off Nieuport, Belgium
May 31	Marine nationale	*Sirocco*	Bourrasque class destroyer	Sunk by E-boats S-23 and S-26 during Operation Dynamo	English Channel
May 31	Kriegsmarine	Unterseeboot 13	Submarine	Sunk by Royal Navy sloop HMS Weston
Late May	Polish Navy	ORP Orzeł	Orzeł class submarine	Disappeared while operating against German naval forces off Norway during the Norwegian campaign	Somewhere in the North Sea
June 1	Royal Navy	HMS Basilisk	B class destroyer	Sunk by air attack during Operation Dynamo	English Channel
June 1	Royal Navy	HMS Havant	Havant class destroyer	Damaged by air attack, then sunk by HMS Saltash during Operation Dynamo	English Channel
June 1	Royal Navy	HMS Keith	B class destroyer	Sunk by air attack during Operation Dynamo	English Channel
June 1	Marine nationale	*Le Foudroyant*	L'Adroit class destroyer	Sunk by air attack during Operation Dynamo	English Channel
June 8	Royal Navy	HMS Acasta	A class destroyer	Sunk by the German battlecruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst	North Sea near Norway
June 8	Royal Navy	HMS Ardent	A class destroyer	Sunk by the German battlecruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst	North Sea near Norway
June 8	Royal Navy	HMS Glorious	Aircraft carrier	Sunk by the German battlecruisers Gneisenau and Scharnhorst	North Sea near Norway
June 12	Royal Navy	HMS Calypso	C class light cruiser	Sunk by Italian submarine Bagnolini	Eastern Mediterranean, south of Crete
June 13	Royal Netherlands Navy	*O 13*	O 12 class class submarine	Went missing on patrol, probably lost in German mine field June 13	Near the Great Fisher Bank
June 14	Royal Navy	HMS Odin	Odin class submarine	Sunk by the Italian destroyers Strale and Baleno	In the Gulf of Taranto, off Crotone
June 16	Royal Navy	HMS Grampus	Grampus class submarine	Sunk by four Italian Spica class torpedo boats	East of Sicily
June 17	Royal Navy	HMT Lancastria	Troopship	Sunk by air attack during Operation Ariel	South of Chémoulin Point in the Charpentier roads off St. Nazaire
June 18	Marine nationale	*Achille*	Redoutable class submarine	Scuttled while in drydock	Brest
June 18	Marine nationale	*Agosta*	Agosta class submarine	Scuttled	Brest
June 18	Marine nationale	*Cyclone*	Bourrasque class destroyer	Damaged by E-boat S-24 30 May 1940, scuttled June 18, 1940	Brest
June 18	Marine nationale	*Pasteur*	Redoutable class submarine	Scuttled	Brest
June 18	Marine nationale	*Ouessant*	Agosta class submarine	Scuttled	Brest
June 19	Royal Navy	HMS Orpheus	Odin class submarine	Sunk by the Italian Turbine class destroyer Turbine	North of Tobruk
June 23	Regia Marina	Torricelli	Submarine	Sunk in surface gunbattle with the destroyers HMS Kandahar, HMS Kingston, HMS Khartoum and the sloop HMS Shoreham	Red Sea off Perim
June 23	Royal Navy	HMS Khartoum	K class destroyer	Beached after suffering heavy gunfire damage in battle with the Italian submarine Torricelli	Red Sea off Perim
June 25	Royal Canadian Navy	HMCS Fraser	C class destroyer	Accidentally rammed and sunk by anti-aircraft cruiser HMS Calcutta during Operation Ariel	Gironde estuary, off Bordeaux
June 28	Regia Marina	Espero	Turbine class destroyer	Sunk by HMAS Sydney while transporting Black Shirts from Taranto to Tobruk	Off Tobruk
June 29	Regia Marina	Uebi Sciebeli	Adua class submarine	Sunk by five British and Australian destroyers	West of Crete
July 1	Kriegsmarine	Unterseeboot 26	Submarine	Sunk by the corvette HMS Gladiolus and a Royal Australian Air Force Short Sunderland	Atlantic Ocean near Ireland
July 1	Kriegsmarine	Unterseeboot 102	Submarine	Sunk by HMS Vansittart	South-west of Ireland
July 3	Marine nationale	Bretange	Bretagne class battleship	Sunk at the attack on Mers-el-Kébir	Mers-el-Kébir, French North Africa
July 5	Regia Marina	Zeffiro	Turbine class destroyer	Sunk by Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers from HMS Eagle	Tobruk
July 6	Royal Navy	HMS Shark	S class submarine	Sunk under tow by German minesweeping trawlers M-1803, M1806 and M-1807 after capture by German seaplanes the previous day	West-south-west of Egersund
July 9	Royal Navy	HMS Salmon	S class submarine	Lost, probably sunk by a mine	Off Norway
July 11	Royal Navy	HMS Escort	E class destroyer	Torpedoed by the Italian submarine Guglielmo Marconi on July 8, sank under tow July 11
July 16	Royal Navy	HMS Phoenix	Parthian class submarine	Sunk by the Italian torpedo boat Albatros	Off Augusta, Sicily
July 19	Regia Marina	Bartolomeo Colleoni	Condottieri class cruiser	Sunk by RAN and RN ships in the Battle of Cape Spada	Off Cape Spada, Crete
July 20	Royal Navy	HMS Brazen	B class destroyer	Sunk by air attack	Off Dover
July 20	Regia Marina	Nembo	Turbine class destroyer	Sunk by Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers from HMS Eagle	Gulf of Bomba, near Tobruk
July 20	Regia Marina	Ostro	Turbine class destroyer	Sunk by Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers from HMS Eagle	Gulf of Bomba, near Tobruk
July 27	Royal Navy	HMS Codrington	A class destroyer leader	Sunk by air attack	Off Dover
July 30	Royal Navy	HMS Narwal	Grampus class submarine	Sunk by German aircraft	Off Norway
August 1	Royal Navy	HMS Oswald	Odin class submarine	Rammed and sunk by the Italian Navigatori class destroyer Ugolino Vivaldi	South of Cape Spartivento, Strait of Messina
August 1	Royal Navy	HMS Spearfish	S class submarine	Torpedoed and sunk by U-34	North-east of Aberdeen, Scotland
August 1	Kriegsmarine	Unterseeboot 25	Submarine	Sunk by minefield	North Sea near Terchelling
August 20	Kriegsmarine	Unterseeboot 51	Submarine	Sunk by submarine HMS Cachalot	West of St. Nazaire
August 22	Regia Marina	Iride	600-Serie Perla class submarine	Sunk by Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber from HMS Eagle	Gulf of Bomba off Cyrenaica
August 23	Royal Navy	HMS Hostile	H class destroyer	Damaged by mine, scuttled by HMS Hero	Off Cape Bon in the Strait of Sicily
August 31	Royal Navy	HMS Esk	E class destroyer	Sunk by mine	Off Texel, the Netherlands
September 1	Royal Navy	HMS Ivanhoe	I class destroyer	Sunk by mine	North Sea, off the Frisian Islands
September 17	Regia Marina	Aquilone	Turbine class destroyer	Sunk by Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers from HMS Illustrious	Benghazi harbor
September 17	Regia Marina	Borea	Turbine class destroyer	Sunk by Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers from HMS Illustrious	Benghazi harbor
September 23	Marine nationale	L'Audacieux	Destroyer	Beached after being attacked by HMAS Australia during the Battle of Dakar	Dakar, French West Africa
September 23	Marine nationale	*Persée*	Redoutable class submarine	Sunk during by HMS Foresight and HMS Inglefield during the Battle of Dakar	Off Dakar
September 24	Marine nationale	*Ajax*	Redoutable class submarine	Sunk during by HMS Fortune during the Battle of Dakar	Off Dakar
September 24	Kriegsmarine	Ostmark	Light seaplane tender	Sunk by the Royal Navy submarine HMS Tuna	Bay of Biscay south-west of St. Nazaire
September 30	Regia Marina	Gondar	Adua class submarine	Sunk by HMAS Stuart and a Short Sunderland flying boat	Off Alexandria
October 12	Regia Marina	Artigliere	Soldati class destroyer	Sunk by HMS York after having been heavily damaged by HMS Ajax	Ionian Sea
October 15	Royal Navy	HMS Triad	T class submarine	Sunk in surface gunbattle with the Italian submarine Enrico Toti	Gulf of Taranto
October 17	Royal Navy	HMS Dundalk	Hunt class minesweeper	Struck mine October 16, foundered the next day while under tow	Off Harwich
October 18	Regia Marina	Durbo	Adua class submarine	Sunk by HMS Firedrake, HMS Wrestler and two Saunders-Roe London flying boats of No. 202 Squadron RAF	East of Gibraltar
October 20	Regia Marina	Lafolè	Adua class submarine	Sunk by HMS Gallant, HMS Griffin and HMS Hotspur	North of Melilla
October 20	Regia Marina	Francesco Nullo	Sauro class destroyer	Beached following surface action with HMS Kimberley, wreck destroyed by three RAF Bristol Blenheim bombers the following day	Near Massawa
October 30	Kriegsmarine	Unterseeboot 32	Submarine	Sunk by HMS Harvester and HMS Highlander	Northwest of Ireland
October 31	Regia Marina	Faà di Bruno	Marcello class Submarine	Lost to unknown reasons	Atlantic
November 2	Kriegsmarine	Unterseeboot 31	Submarine	Sunk by HMS Antelope	North-west of Ireland
November 5	Royal Navy	HMS Jervis Bay	Armed merchant cruiser	Sunk by German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer	Mid-Atlantic
November 7	Royal Navy	HMS Swordfish	S class submarine	Sunk by mine	South of St. Catherine’s Head, Isle of Wight
November 8	Royal Norwegian Navy	HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen	Offshore Patrol Vessel	Ran aground on an unmarked shallow and sank	Off Jan Mayen
November 8	Marine nationale	Poncelet	Submarine	Sunk by HMS Milford during the Battle of Gabon	Gabon, French Equatorial Africa
November 9	Marine nationale	Bougainville	Cruiser	Sunk by Free French naval forces during the Battle of Gabon	Gabon, French Equatorial Africa
November 19	Royal Netherlands Navy	*O 22*	O 21 class submarine	Sunk, probably by mine	South-west of Norway
December 18	Royal Navy	HMS Triton	T class submarine	Lost to either mines or Italian torpedo boats	Strait of Otranto
December 19	Marine nationale	*Sfax*	Agosta class submarine	Torpedoed and sunk by U-37	Off Cape Juby, Morrocco
December 22	Royal Navy	HMS Hyperion	H class destroyer	Sunk by mine	Off Pantelleria east of Cape Bon in the Strait of Sicily

[edit] See also

Ship launches:	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Ship commissionings:	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Ship decommissionings:	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Shipwrecks:	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009