Turkey was neutral during World War II. But Turkish cargo ships were frequently sunk or damaged by the warring nations. In the following list those ships which were sunk or damaged during the war by the warring nations are shown.Ekşisözlük DateName of the shipSeaAntagonistSubmarine23 June 1941RefahMediterranean SeaItalyOndina 3 November 1941KaynakdereBlack SeaSoviet UnionShch-214 18 November 1941YeniceBlack SeaSoviet UnionShch-215 1 January 1942KoraltepeBlack SeaSoviet UnionShch-214 23 February 1942ÇankayaBlack SeaSoviet UnionShch-213 3 March 1942AdanaBlack SeaSoviet UnionShch-213 18 May 1942DuatepeBlack SeaSoviet UnionShch-205 18 May 1942Mahbube-CihanBlack SeaSoviet UnionShch-205 25 May 1942ŞafakBlack SeaSoviet UnionShch-205 12 July 1942AntaresMediterranean seaItalyAlagi 24 February 1942Struma Black SeaSoviet Union5 August 1942MefkureBlack SeaSoviet UnionShch-2058 December 1942BeycikBlack SeaSoviet UnionD-5 22 July 1943Tayyare BahriBlack SeaSoviet UnionL-4 22 August 1943DervişBlack SeaSoviet UnionShch-209 23 August 1943GürpınarBlack SeaSoviet UnionL-4 25 August 1943YılmazBlack SeaSoviet UnionShch-209 20 July 1944Şemsi BahriBlack Sea Soviet UnionShch-205 26 August 1944HüdakerimBlack SeaSoviet UnionShch-209 Except for Adana, Duatepe and Antares all of these ships were sunk. Usually the crew were taken prisoner. But the human casualty was heavy in Refah and Mefkure cases. In Refah, 168 people on way for training and in Mefkure 301 Jewish refugees were lost.
On 14 July 1942 Turkish submarine TCG Atılay was sunk as a result of a naval mine explosion in the strait of Dardanelles. 38 sailors were drowned. But the mine was probably a World War I mine.
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