American Merchant Marine Casualties

U.S. Merchant Marine Casualties during World War II

Mariners suffered the highest rate of casualties of any service in World War II, but unfortunately, the U.S. Merchant Marine had no official historians and researchers, thus casualty statistics vary. Revised 08/26/06

Mariners died "direct result of enemy action or as POW on American flag ships" according to U.S. Coast Guard, 1950 (excluded Army Transport and U.S. owned foreign flag ships) 5,662

Mariners died compiled by Captain Arthur Moore ("Careless Word" 1998 edition) 6,847

Mariners died compiled by www.USMM.org 8,421^

^Additional 1,100 died of wounds later according to testimony before Congress.

Comparison of Merchant Marine casualty rate to other services

How many U.S. Merchant Marine and U.S. Army Transport Service casualties were there in World War II? We may never know the exact count, because the U.S. government never kept accurate records as it did for other services. The best previous accounting has been by Captain Arthur R. Moore, an independent researcher, in his great work, A Careless Word -- a Needless Sinking: A History of the Staggering Losses Suffered by the U.S. Merchant Marine, both in Ships and Personnel, during World War II, American Merchant Marine Museum, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, N.Y., 1983 to 1998. Captain Moore's book lists approx. 990 ships. www.usmm.org list includes 1,600 ships.

Service Number serving War Dead Percent Ratio

Merchant Marine 243,000* 9,521** 3.90% 1 in 26

Marines 669,108 19,733 2.94% 1 in 34

Army 11,268,000 234,874 2.08% 1 in 48

Navy 4,183,466 36,958 0.88% 1 in 114

Coast Guard 242,093 574 0.24% 1 in 421

Total 16,576,667 295,790 1.78% 1 in 56

*Number varies by source and ranges from 215,000 to 285,000. War Shipping Administration Press Release 2514, January 1, 1946, lists 243,000
**Total killed at sea, POW killed, plus died from wounds ashore

Mariner Prisoners of War

POWs Died as POW

Prisoners of War, Coast Guard 610 37

Prisoners of War, compiled by Captain Arthur Moore 663 66

Prisoners of War, compiled by www.USMM.org 712 97

Mariners in National Cemeteries Overseas

Mariners buried or commemorated in American Battle Monuments Commission National Cemeteries overseas: 595

Mariners buried ABMC not found on Coast Guard or Capt. Moore lists: 482

Mariners Wounded

Wounded, testimony in Hearings before Congress: 12,000

Wounded, partial list compiled by www.USMM.org: 1,078

Died from their wounds in Public Health Hospitals and Allied military hospitals abroad, testimony in Hearings before Congress (Estimated -- records apparently destroyed): 1,100

Mariner and Armed Guard Casualties by Year

An average merchant ship had a crew of 42 mariners, thus 1,614 ships sunk or damaged involved approx. 68,000 men of a total force of 243,000 of whom 8,400 died immediately and an additional 1,100 died later of their wounds.

Note that 35% of the sinkings/damage to ships and 52% of the mariner deaths occurred in 1942. Graphs showign sinkings by year and month

Late in the war, a typical Armed Guard crew comprised 27 men, but in 1942 there were few guns and few Armed Guard aboard. It took time to train, assign Armed Guard, and to arm the ships. As late as August 1942, some ships had no Armed Guard aboard (California shelled August 13, West Celina torpedoed August 18, Arlyn torpedoed August 27). The number of Armed Guard assigned to a ship during 1942 was quite low - for example, the American Leader (Capt. George Duffy's ship) had 9 Armed Guard aboard in Sept. 1942. Syros, sunk in Convoy PQ 16, had 2 Navy signalmen aboard. The ships of Convoy PQ 17 (July 1942) had 2 to 15 Armed Guard aboard.

Ships Sunk-Damaged Mariners Aboard (approx.) Mariners Died Armed Guard
Died

1940 7 294 13 0

1941 96 4,032 331 0

1942 571 23,982 4,363 622

1943 374 15,708 2,053 1,007

1944 332 13,944 929 423

1945 183 7,686 479 141

1946 46 1,932 64 0

1947 5 210 4 0

Year Unk. 185

Total 1,614 67,700 8,421 2193^

^Includes some U.S. Navy passengers.

Mariner Casualties by Month in 1942

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

289

435

570

381

493

624

259

151

338

303

306

214

Armed Guard Casualties by month in 1942 (Total 622)

Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

9 21 8 20 34 52 57 38 104 110 102 67

U.S. Owned or Chartered Ships Attacked Before Pearl Harbor
At least 243 mariners were killed in action before Pearl Harbor.

Date	Ship	Type	Cause	Result	Location	Deaths
10/09/39	SS City of Flint	Hog Island freighter	Capture by pocket battleship Deutchland	Released	NAtlantic	None
06/12/40	Exochorda	Freighter	Shelled	Slight damage	Med-Black Sea	None
11/09/40	City of Rayville	Freighter	German mine	Sunk	Australian coast	Crew 1
12/21/40	Charles Pratt	Tanker (Panama)	Torpedo	Sunk	SAtlantic	Crew 2
05/21/41	Robin Moor	Hog Islander	Torpedo & Shelled	Sunk	Caribbean	None
08/11/41	Iberville	Freighter	Aerial mine from German aircraft	Damaged	Red Sea	None
08/17/41	Longtaker [former Danish Sessa]	Freighter (Panama)	Torpedo & Shelled	Sunk	NAtlantic	Crew 24 (3 survivors)
09/05/41	Steel Seafarer	Freighter	Bombed by German aircraft	Sunk	Gulf of Suez	None
09/11/41	Arkansan	Freighter	Shelled	Damaged	Indian-Red Sea	None
09/11/41	Montana [former Danish Paula]	Freighter (Panama)	Torpedo	Sunk	North Atlantic	Crew 26
09/19/41	Pink Star [former Danish Landby]	Freighter (Panama)	Torpedo	Sunk	North Atlantic	Crew 13
09/27/41	I. C. White	Tanker (Panama)	Torpedo	Sunk	South Atlantic	Crew 3
10/16/41	Bold Venture [former Danish Alssund]	Freighter (Panama)	Torpedo	Sunk	North Atlantic	Crew 17, (17 survivors)
10/19/41	Lehigh	Freighter	Torpedo	Sunk	ApproachMed	None
11/05/41	Montrose	Freighter	Collision	Unknown	North Atlantic	Unknown
11/11/41	Meridian [former Italian Dino]	Freighter (Panama)	Torpedo	Sunk	North Atlantic	Crew approx. 38
11/14/41	Crusader [former Danish Brosund]	Freighter	Torpedo	Sunk	North Atlantic	Crew approx 33; German POW 1
11/16/41	Turecamo Boys	Tug	Unknown	Sunk	North Atlantic	Crew 9
11/19/41	Del Pidio	Unknown (Philippines)	Mine	Unknown	Philippines	Crew 6
11/19/41	Edridio Mindoro	(67 ton)	Mine	Sunk	Philippines	Unknown
12/02/41	Astral	Tanker	Torpedo	Sunk	NAtlantic	Crew 37
12/03/41	Sagadahoc	Freighter	Torpedo	Sunk	ApproachMed	Crew 1
12/07/41	Cynthia Olson	Steam Schooner	Torpedo	Sunk	Pacific	Crew 33; US Army 2

33 United States Flag Merchant Ships That Vanished
(Confirmation of attacks came after World War II from German records)

SS Albert F. Paul	SS Lake Osweya	SS Norlavore^^
SS Astral	SS La Salle	SS Norvana
SS Azalea City	SS Louisiana	SS Robin Goodfellow
SS C. J. Barkdull	SS Louise Lykes	SS Robert Gray
SS Coamo	SS L.J. Drake	SS Samuel Heintzelman
SS Cynthia Olson	SS Major Wheeler	SS Sumner I. Kimball
SS Edward B. Dudley	SS Margaret	SS Sunoil
SS Esso Williamsburg	SS Mariana	SS Tillie Lykes^^
SS Frances Salman	SS Meridian	SS West Ivis
SS James McKay	SS Meriwether Lewis	SS West Portal
SS John Winthrop	SS Muskogee	SS Wichita

^^Not due to enemy action

Names of Mariners killed during World War II

We are extremely grateful to Perry and Barbara Adams of San Carlos, CA who did much of the data entry for the following names of mariners, and who graciously provided their list. Thank you!

The names of about 300 mariners are listed as "Unknown" at this time. We know only that a certain number of persons were lost when ships such as the Cieba, or Olympic when down. This is particularly true for Panamanian flag ships which were U.S. owned and controlled by the War Shipping Administration to carry supplies and raw material for the war effort.

Thank you all who have written with corrections and additions.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I J

K

L

M

N

O

P Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X Y Z

Sources:

A Careless Word - A Needless Sinking: A History of the Staggering Losses Suffered by the U.S. Merchant Marine, both in Ships and Personnel, during World War II, Captain Arthur R. Moore, American Merchant Marine Museum, Kings Point, NY: 1998
Summary of Merchant Marine Personnel Casualties in World War II, US Coast Guard, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1 July 1950
U.S. Merchant Vessel War Casualties of World War II, Robert M. Browning, Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1996
The World's Merchant Fleets 1939: The Particulars and Wartime Fates of 6,000 Ships, Roger Jordan, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1999
The Years of Peril, Cdr. Arthur Gordon, New York: Socony-Vacuum Oil Co. (Mobil Shipping and Transportation Company), 1954, 1994
Captain George Duffy
Sjomennes Minnehallen i Stavern - Norwegian Seamen's Memorial
Newark Evening News September 29, 1942
New York Times 1941-1946
Washington Post 1941-1946
Los Angeles Times 1941-1946
Christian Science Monitor 1941-1946
Neptune, Alameda CA, U.S. Maritime Service Officers School 1944-1945
Heaving Line, Sheepshead Bay, NY, U.S. Maritime Service Training School 1942-1946
American Battle Monuments Commission, List of mariners buried or commemorated at National Cemeteries abroad
Personal correspondence from family members and other researchers
War Shipping Administration and Office of War Information, Press Releases
PR 2111 December 18, 1944
PR 2139(W) January 24, 1945
PR-2177(W) February 23, 1945
PR-2197(W) March 16, 1945
PR-2233(W) April 20, 1945
PR -2281(W) May 24, 1945
PR-2312(W) June 22, 1945
PR-2343 July 17, 1945
PR-2365 August 20, 1945
PR-2390 September 24, 1945
PR-2415 October 19, 1945
PR-2461 November 26, 1945
PR-2500 December 31, 1945
PR-2351(W) January 30, 1946
PR-2559 February 21, 1946
PR-2615 March 21, 1946
PR-2681 April 22 1946
PR-2725 May 26, 1946
PR-2771 June 27, 1946
PR-2843 July 28, 1946
PR-2911 August 23, 1946
PR-3011 October 14, 1946
PR- November 27, 1946
PR-2212
Canadian Merchant Navy Database
Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC)
Netherlands War Graves Foundation
Civil and Merchant Vessel Encounters with United States Navy Ships: 1800-2000, Greg H. Williams, Jefferson NC: McFarland & Company, Inc. 2002
Merchant Ships 1949-1950, E. C. Talbot-Booth, New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1949
Over Seas: U. S. Army Maritime Operations, 1898 Through the Fall of the Philippines, Charles Dana Gibson with E. Kay Gibson, Camden, ME: Ensign Press, PO Box 638, Camden, ME 04843, 2002
Shipwrecks of Florida, Steven D. Singer, Sarasota, FL: Pineapple Press, Inc. PO Box 3899, Sarasota, FL 34230, 1992
The Official Chronology of the U. S. Navy in World War II, Robert J. Cressman, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 2000
The Last Voyage of the Henry Bacon, Donald R. Foxvog and Robert I. Alotta, St. Paul, MN: Paragon House, 2001
The Last Voyage, Maritime Heroes of World War II, Leonard E. Amborski, Orlando FL: FirstPublish, 2001 [SS Stone Street]
The Liberty Ships; The history of the"emergency" type cargo ships constructed in the United States during World War II, L. A. Sawyer and W. H. Mitchell, Cambridge, Maryland: Cornell Maritime Press, 1970
Victory Ships and Tankers; the history of the "Victory" type cargo ships and of the tankers built in the United States of America during World War II, L. A. Sawyer and W. H. Mitchell. Cambridge, Maryland: Cornell Maritime Press, 1974
MAST Magazine January 1948
Troopships of World War II, Roland W. Charles, Washington, DC: The Army Transportation Association, 1947
Defense Manpower Data Center 02/14/1996. Listing of Personnel Present in Harbor at Bari, Italy on Dec. 2, 1943.
Alan Davis, Island of Colonsay, United Kingdom
The United States Merchant Marine At War, Report of the War Shipping Administrator to the President. Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, January 15, 1946
Ships of the Esso Fleet in World War II. Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey, 1946
SS Raceland
American Merchant Marine Veterans, AMMV News, Winter 2002
In freedom's cause; a record of the men of Hawaii who died in the Second World War. Hawaii War Records Depository. Lloyd L. Lee, editor. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1949
Gold star honor roll of Virginians in the Second World War. W. Edwin Hemphill, Editor. Charlottesville: Virginia World War II History Commission, 1947
Delaware's role in World War II, 1940-1946. William H. Conner and Leon deValinger, Jr., Editors. Dover: Delaware Public Archives Commission, 1955
Center for Research Allied POWS Under the Japanese
Crew and Armed Guard of the SS Samuel Heintzelman

U.S. Naval Armed Guard Casualties During World War II

The Most Dangerous Positions for Mariners during WWII
Analysis of casualties by position.

Where Deceased Mariners Made their Homes during WWII
Analysis of State or Country of next of kin of mariners

Merchant Marine Casualties WSA Press Release 2293 (W) June 13,1945

Ships Sunk or Damaged in World War II

Allied Merchant Ship Losses 1939 to 1943

Battle of the Atlantic Statistics

Merchant Marine in WWII

FAQ

Lists of Ships

Home

02/12/07

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Mariners died "direct result of enemy action or as POW on American flag ships" according to U.S. Coast Guard, 1950 (excluded Army Transport and U.S. owned foreign flag ships)	5,662
Mariners died compiled by Captain Arthur Moore ("Careless Word" 1998 edition)	6,847
Mariners died compiled by www.USMM.org	8,421^

Service	Number serving	War Dead	Percent	Ratio
Merchant Marine	243,000*	9,521**	3.90%	1 in 26
Marines	669,108	19,733	2.94%	1 in 34
Army	11,268,000	234,874	2.08%	1 in 48
Navy	4,183,466	36,958	0.88%	1 in 114
Coast Guard	242,093	574	0.24%	1 in 421
Total	16,576,667	295,790	1.78%	1 in 56

	POWs	Died as POW
Prisoners of War, Coast Guard	610	37
Prisoners of War, compiled by Captain Arthur Moore	663	66
Prisoners of War, compiled by www.USMM.org	712	97

	Ships Sunk-Damaged	Mariners Aboard (approx.)	Mariners Died	Armed Guard Died
1940	7	294	13	0
1941	96	4,032	331	0
1942	571	23,982	4,363	622
1943	374	15,708	2,053	1,007
1944	332	13,944	929	423
1945	183	7,686	479	141
1946	46	1,932	64	0
1947	5	210	4	0
Year Unk.			185
Total	1,614	67,700	8,421	2193^

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
9	21	8	20	34	52	57	38	104	110	102	67