List of maritime disasters in World War II

A maritime disaster is an event which usually involves a ship or ships and can involve military action. Because of the nature of maritime travel, there is often a substantial loss of life. This list covers those disasters where 30 or more lives were lost.

Notable disasters
The sinking of RMS Titanic in 1912, with 1,517 fatalities, is probably the most famous shipwreck, but not the biggest in terms of life lost. The wartime sinking of the MV Wilhelm Gustloff in January 1945 in World War II by a Soviet Navy submarine, with an estimated loss of about 9,400 people, remains the greatest maritime disaster ever. In peacetime, the 1987 loss of the ferry MV Doña Paz, with an estimated 4,386 dead, is the largest non-military loss recorded.