Ships hit by U-boats in WWII
Greatest loss of life
The British Troop transport Laconia. She was hit by U-156 (Werner Hartenstein) on 12 Sep 1942.
25 ships with the greatest loss of life during WWII (lost to U-boats)
| Loss date | Type | Name of ship | Tons | Dead | Nat. | U-boat | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Sep 1942 | Troop transport |  | Laconia | 19,695 | 1,658 |  | U-156 |
| 25 Nov 1941 | Battleship | | HMS Barham (04) | 31,100 | 862 | | U-331 |
| 28 Nov 1942 | Troop transport | | Nova Scotia | 6,796 | 858 | | U-177 |
| 14 Oct 1939 | Battleship | | HMS Royal Oak (08) | 29,150 | 835 | | U-47 |
| 24 Dec 1944 | Troop transport | | Leopoldville | 11,509 | 819 |  | U-486 |
| 2 Jul 1940 | Steam passenger ship | | Arandora Star | 15,501 | 805 | | U-47 |
| 23 Dec 1941 | Steam passenger ship | Shuntien | 3,059 | 700 | | U-559 | |
| 3 Feb 1943 | Troop transport | | Dorchester | 5,649 | 675 |  | U-223 |
| 7 Dec 1942 | Steam passenger ship | | Ceramic | 18,713 | 654 | | U-515 |
| 20 Apr 1943 | Troop transport | | Sidi-Bel-Abbès | 4,392 | 611 |  | U-565 |
| 17 Sep 1939 | Aircraft carrier | | HMS Courageous (50) | 22,500 | 518 | | U-29 |
| 15 Nov 1942 | Escort carrier | | HMS Avenger (D 14) | 13,785 | 514 | | U-155 |
| 17 Jun 1943 | Troop transport | | Yoma | 8,131 | 484 | | U-81 |
| 15 Dec 1941 | Light cruiser | | HMS Galatea (71) | 5,220 | 470 | | U-557 |
| 24 Nov 1941 | Light cruiser | | HMS Dunedin (D 93) | 4,850 | 419 | | U-124 |
| 18 Feb 1944 | Light cruiser | | HMS Penelope (97) | 5,270 | 417 | | U-410 |
| 28 May 1940 | Motor passenger ship | | Brazza | 10,387 | 379 | | U-37 |
| 12 Aug 1944 | Steam merchant | | Marina Raskova | 7,540 | 373 |  | U-365 |
| 30 Dec 1942 | Special service vessel | | HMS Fidelity (D 57) | 2,456 | 368 | | U-435 |
| 3 Mar 1943 | Motor merchant | | Doggerbank | 5,154 | 364 |  | U-43 |
| 29 Oct 1942 | Motor passenger ship | | Abosso | 11,330 | 362 | | U-575 |
| 8 Dec 1940 | Steam passenger ship | | Calabria | 9,515 | 360 | | U-103 |
| 17 Jan 1941 | Steam passenger ship | | Almeda Star | 14,936 | 360 | | U-96 |
| 17 Aug 1942 | Barge | P-4 | 500 | 294 | | U-209 | |
| 12 Nov 1942 | Destroyer tender | | HMS Hecla (F 20) | 10,850 | 279 | | U-515 |
Comparison to German losses to submarines
From Jan to May 1945 the Germans ran Operation Hannibal to evacuate by sea troops and civilians from Courland, East Prussia and the Polish Corridor taking the people to Western areas of Germany, usually Kiel. The operation would become huge in scale, rescuing about 900,000 evacuees and 350,000 soldiers.
During these operations 3 of the largest naval disasters in history took place. The large liner Wilhelm Gustloff was sunk on 30 Jan 1945 in the worst tragedy at sea ever. Loss of life was possibly as high as 9,400 with 1,230 survivors. General von Steuben was sunk 2 weeks later on 10 Feb with loss of about 3,500. Goya was sunk on 16 April 1945 with about 6,000 losses.