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Quiz about World War II Maritime Disasters
Quiz about World War II Maritime Disasters

World War II Maritime Disasters Quiz


Some of the many WWII maritime disasters and near misses.

A multiple-choice quiz by deadmeat. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
deadmeat
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
46,723
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
2230
Last 3 plays: Guest 140 (7/10), Guest 1 (7/10), Guest 96 (8/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. This 13,581 tons, (Cunard) Donaldson liner was sunk on the very first day of the War, west of Scotland by the German submarine U-30. 118 passengers drowned. Also on board were 316 Americans of whom 28 were lost. Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. This oh-so-close thing could have been one of the very worst maritime disasters of the war (October 30, 1939). The German submarine U-56, commanded by Lt. Wilhelm Zahn, found itself in the middle of a contingent of the British Home Fleet sailing just west of the Orkney Islands. Four British capital ships lay at his mercy - HMS Rodney, HMS Hood, HMS Repulse and HMS ________. Zahn fired three torpedoes at the target which was impossible to miss. Two of the torpedoes actually hit the HMS _______, which was the Flagship of the Home Fleet, but did not explode! The U-56 made a quick getaway. What was the flagship? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. This 5,261 ton German passenger liner was transporting troops and horses to the invasion of Norway. While off Lillesund in southern Norway, the ship was torpedoed by the Polish submarine Orzel. Three torpedoes were fired but only two exploded. The third torpedo struck the ship amidships, breaking its back and sending it slowly to the bottom. Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. May 24, 1941, Britain's largest battle cruiser (44,600 tons) was sunk by the German battleship Bismarck commanded by Admiral Lutjens and captained by Captain Ernst Lindemann in an early morning action in the Denmark Strait, between Iceland and Greenland. Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. This was the worst British maritime disaster of the war with losses ranging between 2,000 to 6,000 lives. Bombed 10 miles off St Nazaire on 17th June 1940, what was the name of this ship? The HMT ____ (ex Cunard Liner). Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. On Jan 30th 1945, a German steamer of 25,484 tons was torpedoed by a Russian submarine S-13 about 28 miles NNE of Leba in the Baltic. It is estimated that between 5,900 and 10,000 people were on board the vessel during the evacuation of German troops and personnel from the Baltic ports. Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. This Japanese 5,065 ton steamer was torpedoed by British submarine HMS Tradewind off the coast of Sumatra. The vessel was carrying 2,300 Dutch, British, American and Australian POW's and 4,200 Javanese slave laborers for work on a railway in Sumatra. Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. This hugely powerful 64,000 tons Japanese battleship was sunk by US air attack between Japan and Okinawa on Apr 7th 1945. Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. On July 1, 1942, this vessel was sunk by mistake by the American submarine 'Sturgeon' off Cape Bojidoru, Luzon, in the Philippines. She was heading for Japan from Rabaul, New Britain, carrying 1035 Australian nationals including 845 army prisoners of war, the bulk of the 22 Batalion, Australian 8th. Division (Lark Force). The 7,267 ton passenger ship had left Rabaul on the 22nd of July, unescorted, and at 0225 hrs on July 1st, was hit by two torpedoes from a four torpedo spread from the Sturgeon at a range of 4,000 yards. Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. This heavy cruiser served throughout the Pacific War until its final mission, perhaps the war's most secret mission. On July 30,1945, it was sunk by torpedoes from the Japanese submarine I-58. Hint



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quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. This 13,581 tons, (Cunard) Donaldson liner was sunk on the very first day of the War, west of Scotland by the German submarine U-30. 118 passengers drowned. Also on board were 316 Americans of whom 28 were lost.

Answer: Athenia

Captain Oblt.Fritz-Julius Lemp believed it to be an armed merchant cruiser. The ship was carrying evacuees from Liverpool to Canada. There were 1,103 passengers not including crewmembers. Survivors were rescued by the British destroyers Electra, Escort and Fame and the freighters City of Flint and Southern Cross, but 118 passengers drowned.
2. This oh-so-close thing could have been one of the very worst maritime disasters of the war (October 30, 1939). The German submarine U-56, commanded by Lt. Wilhelm Zahn, found itself in the middle of a contingent of the British Home Fleet sailing just west of the Orkney Islands. Four British capital ships lay at his mercy - HMS Rodney, HMS Hood, HMS Repulse and HMS ________. Zahn fired three torpedoes at the target which was impossible to miss. Two of the torpedoes actually hit the HMS _______, which was the Flagship of the Home Fleet, but did not explode! The U-56 made a quick getaway. What was the flagship?

Answer: Nelson

Had the torpedoes exploded, the V.I.Ps on board the Nelson would have been in great danger. They had gathered for a conference to determine what action had to be taken after the sinking of the Royal Oak at Scapa Flow. The illustrious guests included the C.-in-C., Home Fleet, Admiral Sir Charles Forbes, the First Sea Lord, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Dudley Pound, and the First Lord of the Admiralty, Mr. Winston Churchill!
3. This 5,261 ton German passenger liner was transporting troops and horses to the invasion of Norway. While off Lillesund in southern Norway, the ship was torpedoed by the Polish submarine Orzel. Three torpedoes were fired but only two exploded. The third torpedo struck the ship amidships, breaking its back and sending it slowly to the bottom.

Answer: Rio De Janeiro

This was the first action by a Polish warship in the Second World War. About 150 men including 97 Luftwaffe Flak troops and 80 horses were drowned. There were 183 survivors.
4. May 24, 1941, Britain's largest battle cruiser (44,600 tons) was sunk by the German battleship Bismarck commanded by Admiral Lutjens and captained by Captain Ernst Lindemann in an early morning action in the Denmark Strait, between Iceland and Greenland.

Answer: HMS Hood

HMS Hood, commanded by Vice-Admiral Sir Lancelot Holland, went down in about four minutes. Of a crew of 1,417 (94 officers and 1,323 ratings and Royal Marines) there were only three survivors, a death toll of 1,414. From 26,000 yards, the Bismarck opened fire and at 16,500 yards scored a direct hit on the Hood's magazine causing the 112 tons of explosives to blow up.

It remains to this day unexplained why HMS Hood sank so quickly with such loss of life.
5. This was the worst British maritime disaster of the war with losses ranging between 2,000 to 6,000 lives. Bombed 10 miles off St Nazaire on 17th June 1940, what was the name of this ship? The HMT ____ (ex Cunard Liner).

Answer: Lancastria

The 2,477 survivors, including her captain, were picked up by HMS Havelock and other ships. The bomb which actually sank the Lancastria went straight down the funnel. The site of the sinking is now an official War Grave protected by The Protection of Military Remains Act of 1986. The loss of the Lancastria was the fourth largest maritime disaster of the war.
6. On Jan 30th 1945, a German steamer of 25,484 tons was torpedoed by a Russian submarine S-13 about 28 miles NNE of Leba in the Baltic. It is estimated that between 5,900 and 10,000 people were on board the vessel during the evacuation of German troops and personnel from the Baltic ports.

Answer: Wilhelm Gustloff

The Wilhelm Gustloff left Gotenhafen with 6-8,000 passengers, the majority being refugees. According to the ships own records, the list of passengers on the 30th included 918 Naval officers and men, 173 crew, 373 members of the Woman's Naval Auxiliary units, 162 wounded, and 4,424 refugees, for an official total of 6,050 people.

This is according to the official list though, and doesn't take into account the many hundreds of other people that one way or another, were able to make their way onto the seemingly safe decks of the Gustloff. During the night, in blustery icy-cold weather, the Gustloff was sunk (at 2108 01.30.45) in what is and had remained the worst naval disaster in all of history.

The Soviet sub S-13 hit the Gustloff with a spread of 3 torpedos, sinking it within 50 minutes, with the loss of 9,343 lives.
7. This Japanese 5,065 ton steamer was torpedoed by British submarine HMS Tradewind off the coast of Sumatra. The vessel was carrying 2,300 Dutch, British, American and Australian POW's and 4,200 Javanese slave laborers for work on a railway in Sumatra.

Answer: Junyo Maru

Final count of survivors picked up by the Japanese boats was about 680 POWs and 200 romushas. That is a total of 880 of the 6500 men who left Java 5 days before!
8. This hugely powerful 64,000 tons Japanese battleship was sunk by US air attack between Japan and Okinawa on Apr 7th 1945.

Answer: Yamato

In all, Yamato was struck by some ten torpedoes, mainly on the port side, and several bombs. At about 1420 on the afternoon of 7 April, less than two hours after she was first hit, the great battleship capsized to port, exploded and sank, leaving behind a towering 'mushroom' cloud. Fewer than 300 men of Yamato's crew were rescued. Nearly 2500 of her men were lost, plus over a thousand more from Yahagi and the escorting destroyers. U.S. losses totalled ten aircraft and twelve aircrewmen.
9. On July 1, 1942, this vessel was sunk by mistake by the American submarine 'Sturgeon' off Cape Bojidoru, Luzon, in the Philippines. She was heading for Japan from Rabaul, New Britain, carrying 1035 Australian nationals including 845 army prisoners of war, the bulk of the 22 Batalion, Australian 8th. Division (Lark Force). The 7,267 ton passenger ship had left Rabaul on the 22nd of July, unescorted, and at 0225 hrs on July 1st, was hit by two torpedoes from a four torpedo spread from the Sturgeon at a range of 4,000 yards.

Answer: Montevideo Maru

Developing a list to starboard, the ship sank stern first at 0240. Later reports indicated that 845 army personnel, 208 civilian POWs, 71 Japanese crew and 62 naval guards made up the ships complement. Among the 208 civilian prisoners were the 36 crewmembers of the Swedish cargo ship Herstein which was bombed and set on fire while loading copra in Matupi Harbour. From the Allied contingent on board, there were no survivors.
10. This heavy cruiser served throughout the Pacific War until its final mission, perhaps the war's most secret mission. On July 30,1945, it was sunk by torpedoes from the Japanese submarine I-58.

Answer: USS Indianapolis

Halfway between Leyte and Guam, the cruiser was hit by torpedoes from the Japanese submarine I-58 (Captain Hashimoto). The Indianapolis rolled over and sank bow first taking the lives of 883 US sailors. (Position 12 degrees-2 minutes north by 134 degrees-48 minutes east) There were 316 survivors from the 1,199 crew. Most of the men died in the water from exposure and shark attacks. Of the thirty nine Marines on board only nine survived.

The survivors were rescued four days later by the US destroyers Cecil Doyle, Talbot and Dufilho.

After hospital treatment on Guam the survivors were soon on their way home on board the carrier USS Holandia. The captain of the Indianapolis, Charles Butler McVay, was later court-martialed for failing to zig-zag in hostile waters.

His sentence was remitted by the Secretary of the Navy, James Forrestal, and he was restored to duty. He retired as a Rear Admiral in 1949 and in 1968, in Litchfield, Connecticut, he committed suicide by a pistol shot to the head.

The Indianapolis was the last major warship sunk in WW11 and America's greatest disaster at sea.
Source: Author deadmeat

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