Capital Ships Lost in WW2 Trivia Quiz

Answer: HMS Courageous

On the outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939, "Courageous" was assigned to anti-submarine patrol duties in the Western Approaches. On 17 September, the ship was struck by two torpedoes fired by the German submarine U-29, resulting in the loss of all electrical power. "Courageous" rolled over and sank within twenty minutes of being hit, with 519 of her crew lost, becoming the first Royal Navy warship to be sunk in the war.

Answer: HMS Royal Oak

On the outbreak of the Second World War, "Royal Oak" was dispatched to the Royal Navy's major fleet base at Scapa Flow. In October 1939, the ship had been one of a number of British vessels sent to undertake an ultimately fruitless search for the German battleship "Gneisenau", for which her poor condition made her unsuited, returning on 12 October.

The ship was at anchor on the night of 14 October when the German submarine U-47 penetrated the defences of Scapa Flow; U-47 fired a total of seven torpedoes at "Royal Oak", with the final three causing catastrophic damage that led to the ship rolling 15 degrees to starboard, which led to water flooding through open portholes. "Royal Oak" eventually rolled over and sank with the loss of 835 of her crew.

Answer: HMS Glorious

HMS "Glorious" began the Second World War as par of the Mediterranean Fleet where she remained until October 1939. "Glorious" was recalled to the Home Fleet in April 1940 and sent to provide air support to British forces serving in Norway. On 2 June, the ship was assigned to evacuate RAF fighter aircraft from Narvik. Six days later, "Glorious" and two accompanying destroyers were intercepted en route back to Scapa Flow by the German battleships "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau".

The two battleships first sunk one of the destroyers, before opening fire on "Glorious". "Glorious" was subjected to an hour of sustained fire, eventually sinking with the loss of more than 1200 of her crew.

Answer: HMS Hood

At the start of the Second World War, HMS "Hood" was initially tasked with sweeps near Iceland and the Faroe Islands, before she was reassigned to the Mediterranean and took part in the attack on the French fleet at Oran. Returning to Scapa Flow in August 1940, she underwent minor refits but was unable to receive the major overhaul that her poor condition required.

In May 1941, in company with the brand new battleship HMS "Prince of Wales", "Hood" was sent to intercept the German battleship "Bismarck"; in the early hours of 24 May, the ships engaged in battle, with a salvo from "Bismarck" eventually penetrating "Hood"'s armour and causing a massive explosion in the ship's magazine that led to her breaking in two and sinking with the loss of all but three of her crew of more than 1400.

Answer: HMS Ark Royal

HMS "Ark Royal" was launched in 1937, and commissioned in December 1938. Planned for use in the Far East, the situation in Europe led to the Royal Navy retain her for use as part of either the Home or Mediterranean Fleets. Upon the outbreak of war, "Ark Royal" was utilised at the centre of one of the so-called 'hunter-killer' groups searching for submarines in the North-West Approaches.

The sinking of HMS "Courageous" led to this use being abandoned and "Ark Royal" returned to fleet duties. The ship was used during the Norwegian campaign before being deployed to the Mediterranean in June 1940, where it was part of the attack on the French fleet at Oran. "Ark Royal" undertook various missions in the Mediterranean against the Italians, as well as deployments hunting commerce raiders in the Atlantic, most notably when her aircraft disabled the German battleship "Bismarck" in May 1941.

In November 1941, "Ark Royal" undertook ferry missions of aircraft to Malta; on 13 November, returning from one such mission, the ship was torpedoed by the German submarine U-81.

This caused a large hole below the waterline that led to the ship taking on a major list. Although the ship appeared to stabilise, which led to efforts to try and save it, she continued to take on water, and was abandoned. "Ark Royal" eventually rolled over and sank the following morning.

Answer: HMS Barham

HMS "Barham" was deployed as part of the Mediterranean Fleet on the outbreak of the Second World War. Three months after the outbreak of the Second World War, "Barham" was transferred back to the Home Fleet - on 28 December she was struck by torpedoes from the German submarine U-30, which led to her requiring three months of repairs. Following her return to service, she was detached from the Home Fleet to take part in the attack on Freetown in Sierra Leone.

In November 1940 she was returned to the Mediterranean, where she was part of the forces escorting transports and sweeping against the Italian forces through the central and western Mediterranean.

In November 1941, while attached to the 1st Battle Squadron on a sweep against Italian convoys, the German submarine U-331 penetrated the screen of escorting destroyers and fired four torpedoes at "Barham", three of which struck her amidships.

The ship quickly capsized and, within four minutes of the torpedoes striking, exploded and sank with the loss of 862 of her crew.

Answer: HMS Repulse

HMS "Repulse" began the Second World War attached to the Home Fleet, initially as part of the blockade of the North Sea, before transferring to Halifax in Canada as convoy protection. "Repulse" returned to the UK in December 1939, from where she took part in the Norwegian campaign in April 1940.

In the summer, the ship returned to the North Atlantic to hunt for German surface raiders and protect convoys, duties that she was retained on until May 1941 when she underwent a brief refit. Between August and October "Repulse" escorted a convoy to the Indian Ocean, after which she officially transferred to the East Indies Command.

In late 1941, as part of Winston Churchill's plan to dispatch a small force of capital ships as a deterrent to the Japanese, "Repulse" was attached to what became 'Force Z'. Alongside the battleship "Prince of Wales", the ship departed Singapore on 8 December 1941 to sortie into the South China Sea.

The following day, the two ships and their escorts were spotted by a Japanese submarine, before being located by reconnaissance aircraft from Japanese warships. On 10 December, bombers of the Japanese air force launched an attack on the two ships - although "Repulse" initially evaded multiple bomb and torpedo attacks, she was eventually hit by five torpedoes that caused the ship to list and eventually sink with the loss of 508 of her crew.

Answer: HMS Prince of Wales

"Prince of Wales" started the Second World War still being fitted out, having only been launched in May 1939. In August 1940, she came under attack and suffered damage while still in the fitting out basin in Birkenhead, which required the ship to be dry-docked for repairs. "Prince of Wales" was eventually commissioned in May 1941; during her period of trials and defect rectification, she was pressed into service alongside the battlecruiser HMS "Hood" against the German battleship "Bismarck". Suffering damage during the action that saw "Hood" sunk, the ship, alongside a pair of cruisers, maintained watch on the Germans until "Prince of Wales" was forced to proceed to Iceland for repairs.

In August, the ship took Winston Churchill across the Atlantic for the Atlantic Charter meeting with President Roosevelt, before being assigned to the Mediterranean where she remained until October.

She then sailed for duty in the Far East, where she became the flagship of 'Force Z'. With her consort HMS "Repulse", the ship departed Singapore on 8 December 1941 to sortie into the South China Sea.

However, the force was discovered by the Japanese, who launched an air attack on 10 December. "Prince of Wales" was struck in one of her propeller shafts that, caused the shut down of the ship's entire electrical system, preventing any effective damage control, and causing a severe list. Unable to manoeuvre, "Prince of Wales" was eventually struck multiple times by bombs and torpedoes, leading her to roll over and sink approximately 50 minutes after "Repulse" with the loss of 327 of her crew.

Answer: HMS Hermes

HMS "Hermes" had just finished a brief refit and was working up when the Second World War began in September 1939. The ship was utilised on anti-submarine patrols during September before another brief refit in October to make her ready for service in West Africa alongside a French battleship.

The ship had two periods of duty from Africa up to June 1940, when Senegal was declared part of Vichy France. Following a collision with another British ship, the ship sailed for South Africa in August for repairs, which were completed by November 1940. "Hermes" then proceeded to undertake search missions for commerce raiders in the South Atlantic for 12 months until November 1941, where she again began a refit in South Africa that was completed in January 1942, after which the ship was reassigned to the Eastern Fleet for service in the Indian Ocean.

In April, "Hermes" was assigned as part of the force to take part in the invasion of Madagascar. Alongside her escort, the destroyer HMS "Vampire", the carrier sailed from Trincomalee in Ceylon before the Japanese could launch an air attack.

However, the ships were spotted while at sea and attacked by a large force of Japanese bombers, which quickly led to "Hermes" being sunk with 307 of her crew killed.

Answer: HMS Eagle

When the Second World War began, HMS "Eagle" was in refit in Singapore having served in the China Station since 1934. With the work completed, the ship set out to begin searching for German merchant ships, after which she was part of the force intended to search for the German commerce raider "Admiral Graf Spee". "Eagle" remained in the Far East until May 1940, when she was dispatched to the Mediterranean.

She was utilised on convoy escort and defence until November, when she it was discovered that her aviation fuel system was damaged, which meant that she was unable to take part in the attack on the Italian fleet at Taranto. By mid-January, "Eagle" was the only carrier in the Central Mediterranean until the arrival of HMS "Formidable" in March. "Eagle" then returned to the Indian Ocean to resume searching for commerce raiders, which continued on the other side of Africa in the South Atlantic until the ship was ordered back to Britain in October 1941 for refit. "Eagle" returned to the fleet in January 1942, and was ordered to Gibraltar.

The ship undertook a number of ferrying missions of land-based aircraft around the Mediterranean throughout 1942. In August, as one of three carriers covering the Operation Pedestal convoy to Malta, "Eagle" was torpedoed by the German submarine U-73, sinking within four minutes with 131 of her crew lost.