Summary

I created this listing on a whim after reading a post by my friend Tony Williams regarding the lack of data on RN destroyer losses.

This listing includes all RN, RAN and RCN destroyers that were either sunk or declared as a Constructive Total Loss (CTL). Near the end of the war, many damaged ships fell into this latter category as new construction more than outpaced losses.

Losses during 1939

Name Date Cause Gunfire Ship Torpedo Submarine Torpedo Aircraft Torpedo Mine Bombs Accident Other
Blanche 13-Nov-39 Mined Thames Estuary
❌
Gypsy 21-Nov-39 Mined off Harwich
❌
Duchess 12-Dec-39 Collision with HMS Barham in North Channel
❌
Total 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0

Losses during 1940

Name Date Cause Gunfire Ship Torpedo Submarine Torpedo Aircraft Torpedo Mine Bombs Accident Other
Grenville 19-Jan-40 Mined North Sea
❌
Exmouth 27-Jan-40 Torpedoed by U22 off Moray Firth
❌
Daring 3-Feb-40 Torpedoed by U23 off Duncansby Head
❌
Glowworm 8-Apr-40 Gunfire by and collision with German cruiser Admiral Hipper
❌
Gurkha 9-Apr-40 Bombed by Ju.87 and He.111 off Bergen
❌
Hardy 10-Apr-40 Gunfire by German Destroyers Georg Thiele and Bernd von Arnim at Narvik
❌
Hunter 10-Apr-40 a) Gunfire by German Destroyers Georg Thiele and Bernd von Arnim at Narvik
b) Torpedo from Georg Thiele
c) Collision with HMS Hotspur
❌
Afridi 3-May-40 Bombed by Ju.87 off Namsos
❌
Valentine 13-May-40 Bombed by Ju.87, beached Schelde
Salved and scrapped Jan-53
❌
Whitley 19-May-40 Bombed by German aircraft off Belgian coast
❌
Wessex 24-May-40 Bombed by German aircraft off Calais
❌
Wakeful 29-May-40 Torpedoed by S-30 off Nieuport
❌
Grafton 29-May-40 Torpedoed by U62 off Dunkirk
❌
Grenade 29-May-40 Bombed by German aircraft off Dunkirk
❌
Keith 1-Jun-40 Bombed by Ju.87 off Dunkirk
❌
Basilisk 1-Jun-40 Bombed by German aircraft off Dunkirk
❌
Havant 1-Jun-40 Bombed by German aircraft off Dunkirk
❌
Ardent 8-Jun-40 Sunk by gunfire from German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau
❌
Acasta 8-Jun-40 Sunk by gunfire from German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau
❌
Khartoum 22-Jun-40 Gunfire from Italian submarine Torricelli, torpedo flask explosion, beached off Perim Island, Yemen 1
❌
Fraser RCN 25-Jun-40 Collision with HMS Calcutta off Gironde
❌
Whirlwind 5-Jul-40 Torpedoed by U34 off Lands End
❌
Escort 11-Jul-40 Torpedoed by Italian submarine Marconi
Foundered North off Cyprus
❌
Imogen 16-Jul-40 Collision with HMS Glasgow in Pentland Firth
❌
Brazen 20-Jul-40 Bombed by German aircraft off Dover
❌
Codrington 27-Jul-40 Bombed by German aircraft at Dover Harbor
❌
Wren 27-Jul-40 Bombed by German aircraft off Aldeburgh
❌
Delight 29-Jul-40 Bombed by German aircraft off Portland
❌
Hostile 21-Aug-40 Mined off Cape Bon
❌
Esk 30-Aug-40 Mined off Holland
❌
Ivanhoe 1-Sep-40 Mined off Texel
❌
Venetia 19-Oct-40 Mined Thames Estuary
❌
Margaree RCN 22-Oct-40 Collision with MV Port Fairey in North Atlantic
❌
Sturdy 30-Oct-40 Grounding, Island of Tiree, Scotland
❌
Cameron 15-Dec-40 Bombed by German aircraft at Portsmouth
CTL, scrapped Nov-44
❌
Acheron 17-Dec-40 Mined off Isle of Wright
❌
Hyperion 22-Dec-40 Torpedoed by Italian submarine Serpente off Patellaria
❌
Total 6 1 6 0 6 14 4 0

Losses during 1941

Name Date Cause Gunfire Ship Torpedo Submarine Torpedo Aircraft Torpedo Mine Bombs Accident Other
Gallant 10-Jan-41 Mined off Pantellaria and bombed at Malta
CTL, expended as blockship at Malta, wreck broken up in 1953
❌
Dainty 24-Feb-41 Bombed by Ju.88 off Tobruk
❌
Exmoor 25-Feb-41 Torpedoed by S-30 off Lowestoft
❌
Mohawk 16-Apr-41 Torpedoed by Italian Destroyer Tarigo off Cape Bon
❌
Wryneck 27-Apr-41 Bombed by Ju.87 off Nauplia
❌
Diamond 27-Apr-41 Bombed by Ju.87 off Nauplia
❌
Jersey 27-Apr-41 Mined off Malta
❌
Juno 21-May-41 Bombed by Italian Cant Z.1007 off Crete
❌
Greyhound 22-May-41 Bombed by Ju.87 off Crete
❌
Kelly 23-May-41 Bombed by Ju.87 off Crete
❌
Kashmir 23-May-41 Bombed by Ju.87 off Crete
❌
Mashona 28-May-41 Bombed by He.111 off Ireland
❌
Imperial 29-May-41 Scuttled following a steering failure off Crete
Failure probably caused by near-misses from German aircraft bombs the previous day
❌
Hereward 29-May-41 Bombed by Ju.87 off Crete
❌
Waterhen RAN 29-Jun-41 Bombed by German aircraft off Sollum
❌
Defender 11-Jul-41 Bombed by German and Italian aircraft off Sidi Barani
❌
Fearless 23-Jul-41 Torpedoed by Italian aircraft West Mediterranean
❌
Broadwater 18-Oct-41 Torpedoed by U101 off Ireland
❌
Cossack 23-Oct-41 Torpedoed by U563 in North Atlantic
❌
Stanley 19-Dec-41 Torpedoed by U574 SW of Portugal
❌
Kandahar 20-Dec-41 Mined off Tripoli
❌
Thracian 24-Dec-41 Scuttled after suffering grounding damage at Hong Kong
Salved by the Japanese and commissioned as Patrol Boat No. 101 and later as Training Boat No. 1
Repatriated at the end of the war and scrapped in 1946
❌
Vimiera 9-Jan-42 Mined Thames Estuary
❌
Total 0 2 3 1 4 12 1 0

Losses during 1942

Name Date Cause Gunfire Ship Torpedo Submarine Torpedo Aircraft Torpedo Mine Bombs Accident Other
Gurkha 17-Jan-42 Torpedoed by U133 off Sidi Barani
❌
Matabele 17-Jan-42 Torpedoed by U454 Barents Sea
❌
Thanet 27-Jan-42 Gunfire from Japanese destroyers Amagiri, Hatsuyuki and Shirayuki off Malaya
❌
Belmont 31-Jan-42 Torpedoed by U82 off Halifax
❌
Maori 12-Feb-42 Bombed by German aircraft at Grand Harbor, Malta
❌
Electra 27-Feb-42 Gunfire from Japanese destroyer Asagumo at Java Sea
❌
Jupiter 27-Feb-42 Strayed into a Dutch minefield at Java Sea
❌
Encounter 1-Mar-42 Gunfire from Japanese cruisers Myoko and Ashigara at Java Sea
❌
Stronghold 1-Mar-42 Gunfire from Japanese cruiser Maya and destroyers Arashi and Nowaki South of Java
❌
Vortigern 15-Mar-42 Torpedoed by S-104 off Cromer
❌
Heythrop 20-Mar-42 Torpedoed by U652 off Sollum
❌
Southwold 24-Mar-42 Mined off Malta
❌
Jaguar 26-Mar-42 Torpedoed by U652 North of Sollum
❌
Legion 26-Mar-42 Bombed by German aircraft at Malta
CTL, scrapped 1946
❌
Campeltown 28-Mar-42 Expended as a Blockship at St Nazaire
❌
Tenedos 5-Apr-42 Bombed by Japanese aircraft at Columbo Harbor
Salved Feb-1944
❌
Lance 5-Apr-42 Bombed by German aircraft at Malta
CTL, scrapped Jun-44
❌
Havock 6-Apr-42 Grounding off Kelibia, Tunisia
❌
Vampire RAN 9-Apr-42 Bombed by Japanese aircraft East of Ceylon
❌
Kingston 11-Apr-42 Bombed by German aircraft at Malta
CTL, used as a blockship at Malta, scrapped in situ 1950s
❌
Punjabi 1-May-42 Collision with HMS King George V off Iceland
❌
Lively 11-May-42 Bombed by Ju.88 off Sollum
❌
Kipling 11-May-42 Bombed by Ju.88 South of Crete
❌
Jackal 11-May-42 Bombed by Ju.88 South of Crete
❌
Grove 12-Jun-42 Torpedoed by U77 off Sollum
(slowed due to grounding damage)
❌
Bedouin 15-Jun-42 a) Gunfire by Italian cruisers Raimondo Montecuccoli and Eugenio di Savoia
b) Torpedoed by Italian SM.79 aircraft
1/2 ❌
1/2 ❌
Hasty 15-Jun-42 Torpedoed by S-55 in East Mediterranean
❌
Airedale 15-Jun-42 Bombed by Ju.87 in East Mediterranean
❌
Nestor 16-Jun-42 Bombed by Ju.87 in East Mediterranean
❌
Wild Swan 17-Jun-42 Bombed by Ju.88 and collision with Spanish fishing vessel in Bay of Biscay
❌
Foresight 11-Aug-42 Torpedoed by Italian SM.79 aircraft in West Mediterranean
❌
Berkeley 19-Aug-42 Bombed by German aircraft at Dieppe
❌
Eridge 29-Aug-42 Torpedoed by Italian torpedo boat MTSM.228 in East Mediterranean
CTL, scrapped Oct-46
❌
Ottawa RCN 14-Sep-42 Torpedoed by U91 in Gulf of St Lawrence
❌
Sikh 14-Sep-42 Gunfire from German shore batteries at Tobruk
❌
Zulu 14-Sep-42 Bombed by Ju.87 and Ju.88 off Alexandria
❌
Somali 20-Sep-42 Torpedoed by U703 in Artic
❌
Voyager RAN 25-Sep-42 Grounding, Timor Island
Later attacked by Japanese aircraft but wrecked by own crew
❌
Veteran 26-Sep-42 Torpedoed by U404 in North Atlantic
❌
Broke 8-Nov-42 Gunfire by French shore batteries at Algiers
❌
Martin 10-Nov-42 Torpedoed by U431 off Algiers
❌
Saguenay RCN 15-Nov-42 Collision with SS Azara off Newfoundland
CTL, used for training, scrapped in 1946
❌
Ithuriel 28-Nov-42 Bombed by German aircraft off Bone, Algeria
CTL, scrapped in 1944
❌
Quentin 2-Dec-42 Bombed by Ju.88 off Bone, Algeria
❌
Penylan 3-Dec-42 Torpedoed by S-115 off Start Point
❌
Porcupine 9-Dec-42 Torpedoed by U602 in West Mediterranean
CTL, scrapped May-46
❌
Blean 11-Dec-42 Torpedoed by U443 off Oran
❌
Firedrake 17-Dec-42 Torpedoed by U211 in North Atlantic
❌
Partridge 18-Dec-42 Torpedoed by U565 West of Oran
❌
Achates 31-Dec-42 Gunfire from German cruiser Admiral Hipper at Barents Sea
❌
Total 7.5 4 14 1.5 2 16 4 1

Losses during 1943

Name Date Cause Gunfire Ship Torpedo Submarine Torpedo Aircraft Torpedo Mine Bombs Accident Other
Harvester 11-Mar-43 Torpedoed by U444 in North Atlantic
❌
Lightning 12-Mar-43 Torpedoed by S-55 and S-158 in Sicilian Channel
❌
Derwent 19-Mar-43 Torpedoed by Italian aircraft off Tripoli
❌
Beverley 11-Apr-43 Torpedoed by U188 South of Greenland
❌
Pakenham 16-Apr-43 Scuttled following gunfire damage from Italian torpedo boat Cigno off Marsala
❌
Puckeridge 6-Sep-43 Torpedoed by U617 off Gibraltar
❌
St. Croix RCN 20-Sep-43 Torpedoed by U305 South of Ireland
❌
Intrepid 27-Sep-43 Bombed by German aircraft off Leros
❌
Panther 3-Oct-43 Bombed by Ju.87 off Rhodes
❌
Hurworth 22-Oct-43 Mined off Cos, Aegean Sea
❌
Limbourne 22-Oct-43 Torpedoed by German T22 or T26 off Brittany
❌
Eclipse 24-Oct-43 Mined East of Kalymnos
❌
Rockwood 11-Nov-43 Hit by Hs.293A glider bomb in Agean Sea
❌
Dulverton 11-Nov-43 Hit by Hs.293A glider bomb off Cos, Aegean Sea
❌
Quail 15-Nov-43 Mined off Bari
❌
Tynedale 12-Dec-43 Torpedoed by U593 off Bougie
❌
Holcombe 12-Dec-43 Torpedoed by U593 off Bougie
❌
Worcester 23-Dec-43 Mined in North Sea
❌
Hurricane 24-Dec-43 Torpedoed by U415 in North Atlantic
❌
Total 1 2 7 1 4 4 0 0

Losses during 1944

Name Date Cause Gunfire Ship Torpedo Submarine Torpedo Aircraft Torpedo Mine Bombs Accident Other
Janus 23-Jan-44 Probably aircraft torpedo, but possibly Hs.293A glider bomb off Anzio
❌
Hardy 30-Jan-44 Torpedoed by U278 in Arctic Ocean
❌
Warwick 20-Feb-44 Torpedoed by U413 off North Cornwall
❌
Inglefield 25-Feb-44 Hit by Hs.293A glider bomb off Anzio
❌
Maharatta 25-Feb-44 Torpedoed by U990 in Barents Sea
❌
Laforey 30-Mar-44 Torpedoed by U223 North of Sicily
❌
Athabaskan RCN 29-Apr-44 Torpedoed by German T24 off Normandy
❌
Wrestler 6-Jun-44 Mined off Normandy
CTL, scrapped 15-Aug-44
❌
Boadicea 13-Jun-44 Torpedoed by Ju.88 off Portland
❌
Fury 21-Jun-44 Mined off Normandy
CTL, scrapped Sep-44
❌
Swift 24-Jun-44 Mined off Normandy
❌
Isis 20-Jul-44 Probably mined, but could have been torpedoed by midget sub off Normandy
❌
Goathland 24-Jul-44 Mined off Normandy
CTL, scrapped Feb-46
❌
Quorn 3-Aug-44 Human torpedo off Normandy
❌
Rockingham 27-Sep-44 Mined off Aberdeen
❌
Loyal 12-Oct-44 Mined off North East coast of Italy
CTL, scrapped Aug-48
❌
Skeena RCN 25-Oct-44 Grounding at Reykjavík, Iceland
Salved and scrapped 1946
❌
Wensleydale 21-Nov-44 Collision with HM LST-367
CTL, scrapped Feb-46
❌
Aldenham 14-Dec-44 Mined off Pola
❌
Total 0 1 5 2 8 1 2 0

Losses during 1945

Name Date Cause Gunfire Ship Torpedo Submarine Torpedo Aircraft Torpedo Mine Bombs Accident Other
Walpole 6-Jan-45 Mined in North Sea
❌
Pathfinder 11-Feb-45 Bombed by Japanese Army aircraft off Ramree Island
CTL, scrapped 1948
❌
Total 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0

Total Losses

Cause Number
Gunfire 14.5
Ship Torpedo 10
Submarine Torpedo 35
Aircraft Torpedo 5.5
Mine 27 2
Bombs 48
Accident 12
Other 1
Total 153 3

Notes

  • ^
    The Admiralty report on the loss of Khartoum includes a theory that the torpedo air flask explosion that led to her loss could have been the result of corrosion or a manufacturing flaw and that similar air flask explosions had previously been reported in other ships. However, inspections of other destroyers failed to find corrosion problems of this nature and the exact cause of her loss probably cannot be determined.
  • ^
    The total of losses caused by mining includes those destroyers sunk by mines laid by aircraft and those laid by submarines as well as those laid by surface ships. The breakdown is unavailable at this time.
  • ^
    The following warships are sometimes noted, but in my opinion they were not RN war losses.

    HMS Bruce - I had a chuckle about this one as she is listed as being "Lost" on 22 November 1939 in "Warships of World War II" yet I could not find her listed anywhere else as a war loss. Some references I consulted did not even include her as a World War II warship. I finally found that she had been decommissioned, designated as a target and then sunk during exercises off Hong Kong. The date of her sinking is, of course, after the start of the European War but prior to the start of the Pacific War. Having been sunk as a target, she cannot be considered as a war loss.

    Branlebas - Ex-French torpedo boat, 600 tonnes class. Foundered in bad weather on 14 December 1940 while under RN control. This was a TB, not a destroyer, and was more the size of a corvette.

    RNN Bath (ex-HMS Bath/ex-USS Hopewell) - A Town/Wickes class destroyer transferred to Norwegian control. Torpedoed by U-204 on 19 August 1941. Not an RN warship at the time of her loss.

    RNN Eskdale (ex-HMS Eskdale) - A Hunt class destroyer transferred to Norwegian control. Hit by two torpedoes fired by S-90 and sunk on 14 April 1943. Not a RN warship at the time of her loss.

    ORP Orkan (ex-HMS Myrmidon) - An M-class destroyer transferred to Polish control. Torpedoed and sunk by U-378 on 8 October 1943. Not an RN warship at the time of her loss.

    RHN Adrias (ex-HMS Border) - A Hunt class destroyer transferred to Greek control. Declared CTL after being mined on 22 October 1943. Not a RN warship at the time she was damaged.

    USSR Deiatelnyi (ex-HMS Churchill/ex-USS Herndon) - A Town/Clemson class destroyer transferred to USSR control. Torpedoed and sunk by U-956 on 16 January 1945. Not an RN warship at the time of her loss.

    HMS Saumarez - Declared CTL after striking a mine on 22 October 1945 while transiting the Corfu Straits in Albanian waters. Note the date, this was a post-war loss.

Sources

"S-Boote: German E-boats in action" by Jean-Philippe Dallies-Labourdette
"The Admiralty Regrets: British Warship Losses of the 20th Century" by Paul Kemp
"Warships of World War II" by H.T. Lenton & J.J. Colledge (Ian Allen Series)
"Struggle for the Middle Sea: The Great Navies at War in the Mediterranean Theater, 1940-1945" by Vincent P. O'Hara
"Destroyers at War" by Gregory Haines
"Crete 1941: The Battle at Sea" by David A. Thomas
"German Destroyers of World War Two (Second Edition)" and "Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia" both by M.J. Whitley
Naval History Net entry for HMS Wensleydale

Page History

14 December 2014 - New datapage
24 May 2016 - Minor corrections, converted to HTML 5 format
12 July 2016 - Minor corrections, updated template
26 May 2018 - Minor formatting changes
09 March 2019 - Added notes regarding ORP Orkan, RNN Bath and USSR Deiatelnyi
25 May 2019 - Added location information
09 December 2024 - Added mining total note