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World War II at Sea Trivia Quiz

This is a general quiz about some of the main ships of World War 2 (Allied and Axis) and their history.

A multiple-choice quiz by matthewpokemon. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
matthewpokemon

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
307,721

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
15

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
6 / 15

Plays
1246

Last 3 plays: Guest 1 (8/15), Guest 207 (8/15), Guest 72 (10/15).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 15

1. The USS Utah, sunk at Pearl Harbor, was what kind of ship?
Hint

Pennslyvania Class battleship

Florida Class battleship

Nevada Class battleship

New Mexico Class battleship

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Question 2 of 15

2. What class of ship was the HMS Royal Oak? Hint

King George V Class

Queen Elizabeth Class

Revenge Class

Nelson Class

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Question 3 of 15

3. The USS Arizona was an Arizona Class battleship.

True

False

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Question 4 of 15

4. The USS Glorious was the name of an American aircraft carrier.

True

False

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Question 5 of 15

5. The USS Indianapolis was a US Portland class cruiser. When was it sunk? Hint

February 27, 1945

May 29, 1945

July 28, 1945

July 30, 1945

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Question 6 of 15

6. The Yamato and Musashi were the largest battleships of World War 2. How much did they weigh when fully loaded?
Hint

Nearly 80,900 tonnes

Nearly 65,200 tonnes

Nearly 84,300 tonnes

Nearly 72,800 tonnes

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Question 7 of 15

7. Which four Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk during the battle of Midway? Hint

Hiryu, Kaga, Shokaku, and Zuikaku

Hiryu, Soryu, Akagi,and Zuikaku

Hiryu, Soryu, Akagi, and Kaga

Hiryu, Soryu, Shokaku, and Ryujo

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Question 8 of 15

8. The Yamato was sunk during operation Ten-Go, a suicidal operation. What was the point of Ten-Go? Hint

To fight the Allied troops on Okinawa

To destroy the Yamato

To protect the Japanese mainland

Divert the allies from Okinawa and kill them all

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Question 9 of 15

9. May 27, 1941 saw the loss of a German capital ship. Which one?

Hint

Prinz Eugen

Bismarck

Scharnhorst

Tirpitz

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Question 10 of 15

10. The Tirpitz's wreck was broken up and sold for scrap after the war. However, what large part still exists? Hint

The superstructure

The stern

The bow

The armour plated deck

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Question 11 of 15

11. Now to go to the Italians. The Vittorio Veneto was a battleship that was launched in July 1937 and completed in 1940. What happened to her after the Italian-Allied armistice in 1943? Hint

Escaped to Nazi Germany with hundreds of Italian soldiers

Scuttled by the Italians shortly before the armistice

Interned in the Suez canel, taken by the British after the war, eventually dismantled by the Italians in 1948

Blown up by British naval guns

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Question 12 of 15

12. The Littorio was a Vittorio Veneto class and was designed by who? Hint

Pietro Badoglio

Benito Mussolini

Umberto Pugliese

Ugo Cavallero

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Question 13 of 15

13. The Scharnhorst was a German battleship that was commissioned on January 7 1939. How many sister ships did she have? Hint

None of these answers

14. The third USS Yorktown was the lead ship of the Yorktown class aircraft carriers and was built by the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. and was launched in 1936. It as sunk at the Battle of Midway on June 7, 1942. Was her wreck ever found? Hint

Yes

I don't know!

What? There wasn't an aircraft carrier named Yorktown at the battle of Midway!

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Question 15 of 15

15. Now for HMS Hood, Britain's Royal Navy pride. During which battle and by what ship was she sunk? Hint

Battle of the Denmark Strait and by the Bismarck

Battle of North Cape and by the Scharnhorst

Battle of Hel and by the Schlesien

Battle of Westerplatte and by the Schleswig-Holstein

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The USS Utah, sunk at Pearl Harbor, was what kind of ship?

Answer: Florida Class battleship

By the time of Pearl Harbor the Utah had been relegated to target practice by the US Navy. It was left sunk as a memorial, like USS Arizona. The Utah was commissioned by the US Navy on August 31 1911 and was obsolete at the outbreak of World War 2.

2. What class of ship was the HMS Royal Oak?

Answer: Revenge Class

The Royal Oak was ordered in 1914 and was sunk by U-Boat U-47 captained by Gunther Prien in 1939. It was Britain's first naval loss in World War 2. The Royal Oak was commissioned by the British Navy on May 1 1914 and was obsolete by World War 2. The loss of an obsolete ship hardly changed the balance of naval power, but it was a blow to British prestige.

3. The USS Arizona was an Arizona Class battleship.

Answer: False

It was actually a Pennsylvania Class battleship. The Arizona was blown up during the attack on Pearl Harbor and is a memorial to the Pearl Harbor dead. The Arizona was commissioned on October 17, 1916. It was another obsolete ship in World War 2.

4. The USS Glorious was the name of an American aircraft carrier.

Answer: False

However, there was HMS Glorious which was a British Glorious class aircraft carrier of World War 2 and originally was a light cruiser of World War 1. It was commissioned in January 1917, but was converted to an aircraft carrier between February 1924 and March 1930. It was sunk in 1940.

5. The USS Indianapolis was a US Portland class cruiser. When was it sunk?

Answer: July 30, 1945

When the Indianapolis was sunk only 317 sailors survived. It was one of the last US ships sunk in World War 2. It was commissioned on November 15, 1932. It was also the ship that carried parts and the uranium that was destined for the atomic bomb, Little Boy.

6. The Yamato and Musashi were the largest battleships of World War 2. How much did they weigh when fully loaded?

Answer: Nearly 72,800 tonnes

These two were the heaviest battleships ever built. They had nine 18.1 inch main guns. The Yamato was sunk on the 7 of April, 1945 and the Musashi on the 24 October of 1944. The Yamato was commissioned on December 16, 1941 and the Musashi on August 5, 1942, both for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Yamato only sunk after being hit by 10 torpedoes and 7 bombs and 2,498 out of the 2,700 people on board died. Musashi took 19 torpedo hits and 17 bomb hits before sinking and 1,023 out of the 2,399 people on board died.

The loss of Yamato and Musashi dealt a crippling blow to the already weakened Imperial Japanese Navy.

7. Which four Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk during the battle of Midway?

Answer: Hiryu, Soryu, Akagi, and Kaga

After Midway, the Japanese never enjoyed carrier superiority again in World War II. Midway was the turning point of the Pacific War. The Hiryu was commissioned on July 5 1939, the Soryu on December 29, 1937, the Kaga on November 1, 1929, and the Akagi on March 27, 1927.

8. The Yamato was sunk during operation Ten-Go, a suicidal operation. What was the point of Ten-Go?

Answer: To fight the Allied troops on Okinawa

The Yamato was doing operation Ten-Go as a suicidal last ditch attack against the Americans. It only carried enough fuel for a one way trip and consequently was doomed anyway.

9. May 27, 1941 saw the loss of a German capital ship. Which one?

Answer: Bismarck

The Bismarck was pounded by the British into submission but that did not sink it. The crew scuttled it. The Prinz Eugen was damaged at the Bikini atoll atomic bomb test in the 1940s, the Scharnhorst was sunk at the battle of North Cape in 1943, and the Tirpitz was sunk by RAF 617 (Dambusters) Squadron in 1944.

10. The Tirpitz's wreck was broken up and sold for scrap after the war. However, what large part still exists?

Answer: The bow

Large parts of the Tirpitz armour exist, including a piece in the Royal Navy "Explosion!" museum in Hampshire, England. The Norwegians also have a few chunks of the armour. The Tirpitz was commissioned on February 25, 1941.

11. Now to go to the Italians. The Vittorio Veneto was a battleship that was launched in July 1937 and completed in 1940. What happened to her after the Italian-Allied armistice in 1943?

Answer: Interned in the Suez canel, taken by the British after the war, eventually dismantled by the Italians in 1948

The Vittorio Venito was a ship that was feared by the British. Its biggest guns were rated at 381mm/50 calibre and she had 3 of them.

12. The Littorio was a Vittorio Veneto class and was designed by who?

Answer: Umberto Pugliese

The Littorio's keel was laid down in Genoa. She had similar armour to the Vittorio Veneto. The Littorio suffered a fate similar to the Vittorio Veneto, being scrapped in 1948.

13. The Scharnhorst was a German battleship that was commissioned on January 7 1939. How many sister ships did she have?

Answer: None of these answers

The Scharnhorst had only 1 sister and her name was Gneisenau. The Scharnhorst was sunk by Royal Navy ships including the cruiser HMS Jamaica and the destroyers Musketeer, Matchless, Opportune, and Virago. Apparently the British fired 55 torpedoes and 2,195 shells at it.

Answer: Yes

The wreck of USS Yorktown was found 3 miles (5km) under the surface of the Pacific Ocean on May 19 1998 by renowned explorer Dr Robert Ballard. The photographs that he took of Yorktown's wreck show that after being underwater for 56 years quite a lot of her paint and equipment was still visible.

15. Now for HMS Hood, Britain's Royal Navy pride. During which battle and by what ship was she sunk?

Answer: Battle of the Denmark Strait and by the Bismarck

She was hit by a shell fired from the Bismarck in her forward magazine and she exploded with such force that only 3 men survived. The Scharnhorst was sunk at the Battle of North Cape with 36 survivors. The Schlesien was mined and scuttled by her own crew at the end of World War 2 and used as a target by the Soviets postwar and broken up between 1949-1956.

The Schleswig-Holstein was struck by three British bombs in December 1944 and sank in 12 metres of water. After World War 2 her wreck was raised by the Soviets and towed to Tallinn and was possibly renamed the Borodino, scuttled in 1948 and then used as a target until the 1960s.

Source: Author matthewpokemon

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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