You Sank My Battleship Quiz | War History

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which battleship was the first to be sunk in World War I?

Answer: HMS Audacious

HMS Audacious was sunk as the result of hitting a mine in October 1914. The Royal Navy attempted to cover up her loss throughout the war, a loss which was caused in large part by poor damage control. HMS Irresistible was also sunk by a mine in the Dardenelles in March 1915.

The Bluecher was not a battleship, but a large cruiser and was sunk at the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915, the Pommern, a German pre-Dreadnought battleship, was sunk at the Battle of Jutland 1st June 1916.

2. Which was the first battlecruiser sunk during the battle of Jutland?

Answer: HMS Indefatigable

HMS Indefatigable was sunk by Von der Tann at 4pm on 31st May. Minutes prior to this, HMS Lion had been saved by having her magazines flooded by Major Harvey of the Royal Marine gun crew in A Turret. Invincible was sunk by the Luetzow and Derflinger at 6.30 the same day, but only after she had made hits on Luetzow that would ultimately see the German ship scuttled.

The loss the Invincible and and the Queen Mary and the damage to the Lion led to British Admiral Beatty's comment: "There seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today."

3. HMS Prince of Wales was the first battlecruiser or battleship to be sunk by air attack in open waters.

Answer: False

There's only 45 minutes in it, but HMS Repulse was sunk at 12.23hrs on 10th December 1941, Prince of Wales at 13.18hrs. The destruction of the two ships "Force Z" by Japanese land based aircraft caused a reappraisal of the role of the battleship by all navies, especially given the fact that HMS Prince of Wales was a modern ship with powerful anti-aircraft armament.

4. Which British battleship sank the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst in the Battle of the North Cape in December 1943?

Answer: Duke of York

The Duke of York's highly accurate radar directed gunfire had pounded Scharnhorst until destroyers finally caused the capsize of the German vessel with torpedoes. This was the last battleship to battleship engagement in European waters.

5. Which German battleship was responsible for the sinking of the British battlecruiser HMS Hood?

Answer: Bismarck

The cause of the sinking of "the Mighty Hood" is still not known, however most theories focus on the explosion of Hood's main magazines following hits from Bismarck's 15 inch main battery. Hood's sinking shocked the entire nation and the Royal Navy dedicated all its resources to catching and sinking the German ship.

6. Which British battleship was the flagship of Admiral Tovey, commanding the fleet which caught and destroyed the German battleship Bismarck in May 1941?

Answer: King George V

King George V was originally to have been named King George VI after the monarch reigning at the time of her building, however King George VI requested that she be named after his father instead. To honour the King, an additional battleship was named Duke of York, the King George VI's title before his accession to the throne.

7. Which Italian battleship was damaged beyond repair in the British air attack on the harbour of Taranto in November 1940?

Answer: Conte di Cavour

The Conti di Cavour was struck by a torpedo dropped by Swordfish aircraft flying from the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious. She was badly damaged and it proved impossible to repair her. Caio Duilio and Littorio were both hit but susequently repaired. Vittorio Veneto was not in Taranto harbour at the time of the attack.

The daring nature of the attack greatly influenced the planning of the Japanese Navy in their preparations to attack the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor.

8. No French battleships were destroyed in combat during World War II.

Answer: False

The Bretagne was destroyed by the a British squadron under Admiral Somerville in the attack upon the French Fleet moored at the Algerian port of Mers-el-Kebir in July 1940. The operation was ordered by Prime Minister Winston Churchill to either capture or destroy the French Fleet and prevent it falling into German hands following the fall of France.

The Dunkerque, Strasbourg and Provence were scuttled in Toulon harbour by the French in June 1942 after a failed German attempt to take over the French fleet.

9. Which of these ships was the first Japanese battleship sunk during World War II?

Answer: Hiei

Hiei was sunk on 13th November 1942 at the Battle of Guadalcanal after suffering extensive damage from USN cruisers and destroyers, followed up by air attacks, after which she either sank or was scuttled by her crew. Kirishima was sunk by gunfire from USS South Dakota and USS Washington also during the Battle of Guadalcanal on 15th November 1942. Musashi was sunk by no less than 17 bomb and 20 torpedo hits delivered by US aircraft in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944. Fuso was also destroyed at Leyte Gulf by torpedo fire.

10. Only three battleship sinkings have been recorded on film. Which of the four ships below was sunk WITHOUT a film record being made?

Answer: HMS Prince of Wales

The Austro-Hungarian battleship Szent Istvan was sunk in June 1918 with her sinking being the first ever battleship sinking recorded on video. HMS Barham was sunk by U331 on 25th November 1941 with the loss of 841 of her crew. USS Arizona was sunk in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th Decemmber 1941 with the loss of 1177 crew members.

The wreck of the Arizona was declared a national shrine in May 1962.

Source: Author brisgooner

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

You Sank My Battleship Trivia Quiz

A short quiz about the fate of battleships and battlecruisers from different navies during the 20th Century.

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