List of ships sunk by Axis warships in Australian waters

This is a list of Allied ships sunk by Axis warships operating in Australian waters during the Second World War.

Fifty four Axis surface raiders and submarines (both German and Japanese) carried out these attacks, sinking 53 merchant ships and three warships within the Australia Station, resulting in the deaths of over 1,751 Allied military personnel, sailors and civilians. A further 88 civilians were killed in air raids.

The definition of "Australian waters" used in this list is the area designated the Australia Station prior to the outbreak of war. This vast area consisted of the waters around Australia and eastern New Guinea, and stretching south to Antarctica. From east to west, it stretched from 170° east in the Pacific Ocean to 80° east in the Indian Ocean, and from north to south it stretched from the Equator to the Antarctic.G. Herman Gill (1957). Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 2 – Navy. Volume I – Royal Australian Navy, 1939–1942 . Australian War Memorial, Canberra. Pages 52–53.

A full account is given in Axis naval activity in Australian waters.

Ships sunk by surface raiders

The six German and three Japanese surface raiders that operated within Australian waters sank 18 ships and killed over 826 sailors.

+ Date Ship Tonnage (GRT) Location Sunk by Remarks 16 Aug 1940 Notou 2,489 Noumea Orion 20 Aug 1940 Turakina 9,691 Tasman Sea 7 Oct 1940 Storstad 8,998 Christmas Island Pinguin captured; converted to auxiliary minelayer 7 Nov 1940 Cambridge 10,846 Bass Strait Passat sunk by mines laid 9 Nov 1940 City of Rayville 5,883 19 Nov 1940 Nowshera 7,920 Indian Ocean Pinguin 20 Nov 1940 Maimoa 10,123 21 Nov 1940 Port Brisbane 8,739 30 Nov 1940 Port Wellington 8,303 5 Dec 1940 Nimbin 1,052 Off Norah Head sunk by mines laid 6 Dec 1940 Triona 4,413 Nauru Orion, Komet 7 Dec 1940 Vinni 5,181 Komuta 3,900 8 Dec 1940 Triadic 6,378 Triaster 6,032 26 Mar 1941 Millimumul 287 33 MILES EAST OF BROKEN BAY, NSWAustralian War memorial record Pinguin sunk by mines laid 26 Jun 1941 Velebit 4,153 Indian Ocean Kormoran Mareeba 3,472 26 Sep 1941 Stamatios G Embirikos 3,941 19 Nov 1941 HMAS Sydney n/a Carnarvon, W Aust both sunk in naval engagement 15 Jun 1943 Hoegh Silverdawn 7,715 W Australia Michel 17 Jun 1943 Ferncastle 9,940 9 Mar 1944 Behar 6,100 Indian Ocean Tone survivors massacred

Ships sunk by submarines The following table has been adapted from Appendix V of A Critical Vulnerability: The impact of the submarine threat on Australia's maritime defence 1915 - 1954 by David Stevens. Stevens' appendix lists all known Axis submarine activity in Australian waters during World War II and includes data on unsuccessful submarine attacks on Allied shipping, attacks made in Papuan and Netherlands East Indies waters and Japanese patrols in Australian waters which did not result in any attacks on Allied ships.

The 28 Japanese and German submarines that operated in Australian waters between 1942 and 1945 sank a total of 30 ships with a combined tonnage of ; 654 people, including 200 Australian merchant seamen, were killed on board the ships attacked by submarines.Jenkins (1992). Pages 286–287.

+ DateSubmarineShipTonnageLocationRemarks20/1/1942I 159Eidsvold4184Christmas Island1/3/1942I 154Modjokerto8806South of Christmas IslandI 2Parigi1172Off Fremantle3/3/1942I 1Siantar8867200 nm NW of Shark Bay4/3/1942I 7Le Maire3271NW of Cocos Islands5/5/1942I 21John Adams7180120 nm SW of Noumea7/5/1942Chloe464135 nm from NouméaA Very Rude Awakening Pg6031/5/1942M 24HMAS Kuttabul448 Sydney HarbourMidget launched from I 243/6/1942I 24Iron Chieftain48127 nm E of Sydney4/6/1942I 27Iron Crown335340 nm SW of Gabo Island12/6/1942I 21Guatemala552740 nm NE of SydneyStraggling from a convoy20/7/1942I 11George S. Livanos488315 nm E of Jervis Bay21/7/1942Coast Farmer329025 nm E of Jervis Bay22/7/1942William Dawes717615 nm E of Tathra Head24/7/1942I 175Murada334585 nm NE of NewcastleTorpedoed/undamaged (Wrongly claimed as sunk by I-175's captain, it was badly damaged, but not sunk, that day).Battle Surface: Japan's Submarine War Against Australia 1942-44 by David Jenkins (pages 254, 256, 257)25/7/1942Cagou2795NE of SydneyI 169Tjinegara922792 nm SE of Nouméa30/8/1942I 175Dureenbee23320 nm off MoruyaTrawler18/1/1943I 21Kalingo2047110 nm E of SydneyMobilube1022260 nm E of SydneyTanker22/1/1943Peter H. Burnett7176420 nm E of Sydney29/1/1943I 10Samuel Gompers7176500 nm NE of Brisbane30/1/1943I 21Giang Ann?30 nm E of Newcastle8/2/1943481221 nm off Montague IslandNational Nine News WWII steamer to get heritage listing . 5 August 2006.Sunk while sailing in an escorted convoy, 36 of complement of 50 lostBattle Surface: Japan's Submarine War Against Australia 1942-44 by David Jenkins (page 268)10/2/1943Starr King7176150 nm E of Sydney11/4/1943I 26Recina473220 nm off Cape HoweSunk while sailing in an escorted convoy24/4/1943Kowarra2125160 nm N of Brisbane26/4/1943I 177Limerick872420 nm SE of Cape Byron27/4/1943I 178Lydia M. Childs717690 nm E of Newcastle29/4/1943I 180Wollongbar IIAustralians at War The sinking of the Wollongbar II2239Off Crescent Head5/5/1943Fingal2137Off Nambucca Heads14/5/1943I 177Australian Hospital Ship Centaur322224 nm ENE of Point LookoutHospital ship16/6/1943I 174Portmar5551250 nm NE of SydneySunk while sailing in an escorted convoy22/6/1943I 17Stanvac Manila10245Off NouméaTwo PT boats also destroyed24/12/1944U 862SS Robert J. Walker7180Off Moruya, two of crew lostBattle Surface: Japan's Submarine War Against Australia 1942-44 by David Jenkins (page 287) The only ship sunk during the war by a German U-boat in the Pacific Ocean. Attack on ship, sinking and rescue of crew described in the Australian Official Histories of the Second World War. (Liberty ship)6/2/1945SS Peter Silvester7176820 nm SW of FremantleIn the Indian Ocean, 32 of crew lostBattle Surface: Japan's Submarine War Against Australia 1942-44 by David Jenkins (page 287) (Liberty ship)

See also Axis naval activity in Australian waters Axis naval activity in New Zealand waters List of Allied ships lost to Italian surface vessels in the Mediterranean (1940-43) List of Royal Australian Navy losses

Notes

Battle Surface: Japan's Submarine War Against Australia 1942-44 by David Jenkins (1992, Random House, NSW Australia)