During WW2 did all of those aboard a battle ship die when the ship sank?

Question

During WW2 did all of those aboard a battle ship die when the ship sank? When a ship was sinking was there efforts to resuce the sailors and if so how successful were they.

Answer 1

No not all aboard died most times.

Yes many did, but not all. Even the two big German battleships sunk did not lose all their crew just many of them.

At sea especially in the Atlantic the war was slightly differant than that of the air and land.

the codes of war were different also. After an enemy ship was sunk it was common for either victor to rescue survivors of the ship they just sank and take them prisoner back to their perspective countries.

IN the case of SUBS esp the wolf packs, they did not stay to rescue those they sank and unless you were travelling in a convoy then you were in a very bad situation. At least in a convoy you have a chance of being rescued and not imprisoned. The Subs did not have the space or way to really have prisoners.

Mostly though they did gather the survivors be them enemy or friend. War conduct in WWII oceans were more respectufull of one another than the land and air forces were IMO.

I also clearly remember that many German Naval men were NOT Nazi party members either!! hence why they had a different view at sea and the enemy than the others.

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

It all depended on the situation. Sometimes no one in a ship would die because the cause of the wreckage was not very severe or their location at the time was favorable. An example of a world war two shipwreck was the sinking of the U.S.S Indianapolis. It sank in the Pacific Ocean waters about 500 miles east of Midway Island and all on-board jumped over-board. 1218 men jumped into the water and only 108 came out. The rest had been eaten by sharks. The rescuers of the 108 remaining soldiers arrived 6 days after the wreckage. But their have also been other sinkings where the rescue team arrived within hours and all or most of the occupants of the vesel were saved.

I hope this helped

Answer 3

There were many survivors as a rule. Some were picked by their comrades, some by the enemy and became p.o.w.s. If a ship went down very quickly, within minutes, then not to many made it. There was always an effort made to rescue survivors. It was made extremely difficult if the battle was still raging. Thousands of sailors on all sides lost their lives during the war.

Answer 4

Some or all of the crew would either get into lifeboats or jump into the ocean, usually wearing life vests. What happened then depended.

The Brits left the survivors of the Bismark to fend for themselves in a moderate storm, because there was a fear of submarines in the area. Most of them died at sea a day or two later. Germany and the Allies had signed the Geneva Convention, which required hostile forces to treat each other's sailors humanely when possible. They did what they could, usually.

The Japanese tended to shoot at enemy sailors who were floating helpless in the water. After a time or two and some survivor's stories, the Allies returned the favor.

Answer 5

It depends on the ship and the action it was in. In most cases, there were survivors, and every effort was made to rescue them. In some instances a ship was destroyed so suddenly or thoroughly that there weren't any survivors. There were also several instances during the Solomon's campaign where orders were issued preventing rescue operations because the danger the mission itself presented, and the vulnerability to the fleet and future operations.

Answer 6

Usually there were anywhere from a handful to several hundred survivors of wartime Battleship sinkings depending on the circumstances.
The worst case i personally know of is that of the H.M.S. Hood, the pride of the WW2 era Royal Navy. One salvo from the German Battleship Bismark found the Hood's magazines causing Her to blow up and split in two catastrophically.
There were only two men who made it off the HMS Hood alive.

Answer 7

Sometimes but efforts were usually made to rescue the survivors by both friendly and enemy ships depending on who had won the battle

Answer 8

Life boats and near by ships would have picked up survivors. Even the enemy boats could, though, I don't know how often, but it's better to take prisoners then let them go back home

Answer 9

nah some got out i herd in pearl harbor some of those cats wear under water for like a week. they could like hear them peking