Aircraft Carriers, Cruisers and Destroyers Quiz

Answer: USS Intrepid

USS Intrepid was often called "Unlucky I" or "Decrepid" by the crews of other carriers because of several accidents and heavy damages during her service.

Answer: Bismarck & Cossack & Ark Royal

The story of Oscar, a lucky black cat, seems unbelievable, but it is true. After the Bismarck was sunk on 27 May 1941 the British destroyer HMS Cossack entered the battle area a few hours later. Between dead bodies and floating debris they found a freezing black cat on a piece of wood.

They rescued the cat and named it Oscar. Oscar remained on board and became their mascot. But the cat was really not a talisman and five months later HMS Cossack was torpedoed and sank. Oscar was again one of the survivors. Oscar was then taken to the crew of the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and became their mascot.

But only three weeks later HMS Ark Royal was also torpedoed and sunk by another German submarine. And again, Oscar survived but after this event the British sailors never allowed the cat to be a mascot for any other ship again and Oscar was brought to the office of the port commander of Gibraltar. According to the Royal Navy records: "Oscar, the Bismarck's cat, finished his days at the Home for Sailors in Belfast in 1955."

Answer: Acasta & Ardent

HMS Glorious was ordered to return to Scapa Flow after being in action at the Norwegian coast in June 1940. She was escorted by the A class destroyers HMS Acasta and HMS Ardent when they were intercepted by the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. HMS Glorious had no planes ready for action and was not able to defend herself. HMS Ardent and Acasta attacked the German battleships but were soon sunk by their superior gunfire.

But before she was sunk HMS Acasta managed to hit Scharnhorst by torpedo which resulted heavy damage and heavy losses on the German battleship.

Answer: Sheffield

HMS Sheffield a light cruiser of the Southhampton class was nick named Shiny Sheff because of the multitude of stainless steel parts supplied by the city.

Answer: False

USS Enterprise received twenty battle stars. The USS Saratoga only received eight.

Answer: J, K and N class

The J, K and N class was one destroyer class. This class consisted of 24 units, 13 of them were lost during the war.
The Tribal class consisted of 16 units, of which 12 were lost.
The S class consisted of 8 units, 2 were sunk in the war.
The H class also consisted of 8 units, of which 6 were lost.

Answer: Akagi

Akagi was the flagship of Admiral Nagumo in both battles. She was hit in the battle of Midway by Dauntless dive-bombers of USS Enterprise. She was left by her crew and burned out during the night but did not sink. The next morning she was finally scuttled by torpedoes from the Japanese destroyers Arashio, Hagikaze, Maikaze and Nowaki.

Answer: HMS Curacoa

HMS Curacoa was a cruiser of the Ceres class built in World War I. In 1940 she was rebuilt as an anti-aircraft cruiser and served as a convoy escort for the much of World War II. She was heavily damaged during the Norway campaign in 1940 by German Stuka dive-bombers and finally sunk on 2 October 1942 near Bloody Foreland off the coast of Ireland when she collided with the passenger liner Queen Mary. 338 men lost their lives.

Answer: Fletcher class

The Gearing class consisted of 35 units. Altogether this class had also more than hundred units but only 35 of them were completed before the end of the war.
The Sumner class consisted of 56 units.
The Fletcher consisted of 175 units.
The Bristol consisted of 72 units.

Answer: Prinz Eugen

The Bluecher was sunk during the Norway campaign in 1940.
The Admiral Hipper was scuttled in May 1945.
The Seydlitz was never finished.
The Luetzow was sold to Russia in 1940 and like the Seydlitz was never finished.

Answer: Mogami class

The Mogami class cruisers were designed as light cruisers only because of the building limits caused by the Washington Treaty. They were armed with fifteen 6in guns, and in 1939 they were rebuilt as heavy cruisers armed now with ten 8in guns and the feared Long Lance torpedoes.

Answer: Type 36a class

Only the Type 36a class destroyers were armed with 5.9 inch guns. Type 36b, Type 36 and Type 34 were armed with 5in guns.

Answer: Portland

USS Portland survived the war and was sold for scrap in 1959. She was in action at the Solomon Islands, in the battles at the Marshall Islands, the Leyte Gulf and at Okinawa.

Answer: HMS Victorious

On 24 May 1941 the Victorious launched nine of her biplane Fairey Swordfish torpedo bomber aircraft and two Fairy Fulmar fighters to attack the Bismarck. The result of the attack was one torpedo hit in the armoured belt of Bismarck which didn't harm the ship very much. No plane was shot down although the Bismarck "welcomed" them with heavy AA fire.

But later the two Fulmar fighters ran out of fuel and ditched down in the ocean.

Answer: False

The USS Helena was sunk in the battle of Kula Gulf. The USS Juneau was sunk in the battle of Guadalcanal on 13 November 1942.