Major Warships Sunk in World War 1

Major Warships Sunk - Svobodnaya Rossiya

The Russian Dreadnought battleship Imporatritsa Ekaterina Velikaga was renamed Svobodnaya Rossiya in 1917 as a result of the Russian Revolution. She was sunk by torpedoes from the destroyer Kerch to prevent her being captured when the Germans captured Novorossik.

Here is a summary of major warships lost in World War 1. The list includes warships of destroyer/torpedo boat size and above, but nothing smaller. The German ships scuttled at Scapa Flow are not included but other vessels scuttled during the war are listed. Where I use the term explosion I am referring to accidental explosions, not the result of enemy action. The difference between a destroyer and torpedo boat is often a little arbitrary as is the lower end of torpedo boats so I've tried to include sea going vessels rather than coastal types.

Loss Summary

	BB	BC	PDN	C	CV	M	DD/TB
Gunfire	-	4	-	19	1	3	34
Ship Torps	1	-	3	3	-	-	8
Sub Torps	-	-	9	20	1	1	20
Mines	1	-	8	10	-	1	62
Accident	2	-	3	10	1	3	102
Other	3	-	2	4	-	-	23
Total	6	4	24	67	3	8	248

BB = Dreadnought Battleship, BC = Battlecruiser, PDN = Pre-dreadnought Battleship, C = Cruiser, CV = Seaplane Carrier, M = Monitor, DD/TB = Destroyer/Torpedo Boat

Viribus Unitis was sunk in Pola harbour by a 375lb warhead limpet mine laid by Italian frogmen. She was Austria Hungary's first and last class of Dreadnought battleships and the first in world completed with triple 12in gun turrets. The class had poor underwater protection with limited compartmentation and the anti-torpedo bulkhead only protecting the machinery.