This listing includes merchant ships lost during conflict, predominantly the First World War and Second World War, the later including the Pacific War of course. Some of the vessels may have been acting in a military role at the time. The vessels listed had some connection with Australia, although the loss itself may not have been related to a journey involving Australia.
References:
Gregory [DG] provides the main information, with others.

[73 records]

Associated links:  PACIFIC OCEAN    MIDDLETON & ELIZABETH REEFS

Aorangi. Steamship, 4268 tons. Built 1883. Formerly New Zealand Steamship Co. Sunk at Scapa Flow during World War1. Later raised and used as a stoe ship, 1921.  [DG]

Aparima. Steamship, 5704 tons. Built 11902. U.S.S.Company's cadet ship. Torpedoed and sunk, 19 November 1917. Fifty-seven lives lost.  [DG]

Arabia. Steamship, 7903 tons. Built 1898. P. & O. Co. Torpedoed in Mediterranean Sea, 6 November 1916. Eleven killed.  [DG]

Armidale. Minesweeper, 650 tons. Built Morts Dock, Sydney 1942. Attacked by thirteen Japanese aircraft; sank after being struck by two torpedoes, off Timor, 1 December 1942. One huindred and forty-nine men took to the boats where they were machine-gunned from the air. Rescue did not come for a week, resulting in more casualties, with some boats disappearing.  [LAH]

Australbush. Steamship, 4400 tons. Commonweath Government Line. Torpedoed and sunk near Portsmouth, November 1917.  [DG]

Australdale. Steamship, 4400 tons. Commonweath Government Line. Torpedoed and sunk near Spanish coast, October 1917.  [DG]

Australien. Steamship, 6365 tons. Built 1889.  Messageries Maritimes Company. Torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea, 19 July 1918. [DG]

Ballarat. Steamship, 11120 tons. Built 1914. P. & O. Co. Torpedoed and sunk near Scilly Islands, 25 April 1917.  [DG]

Barunga. Steamship, 7484 tons. Built 1913, ex Sumatra. Commonwealth Government Line. Torpedoed and sunk, March 1917.  [DG]

Delphic. Steamsship, 8278 tons. Built 1897. White Star Line. Torpedoed near Bishop Rock, off England coast, sunk, 16 August 1917. Five lives lost.  [DG]

Echunga. Steamship, 4589 tons. Built 1907. A.S.S.Co. Torpedoed in the English Channeel, September 1917.  [DG]

Emden.  German cruiser, 3600 tons displacement.  Sank or captured 23 merchant ships, 1 cruiser and 1 destroyer. Destroyd by HMAS Sydney at Cocos Islands. [LSW]

Era. Stamship, 2379 tons. Built 1888. Howard Smith & Co. Torpedoed June 1918. [DG]

Hurunui. Steamship, 10644 tons. Built 1912. N.Z.S.Co. Torpedoed and sunk in English Channel, 18 May 1918.  [DG]

India. Steamship, 8000 tons. Built 1898. P. & O. Line. As an armed cruiser, sunk by submarine while on patrol off Norway, 8 August 1916. One huindred and sixteen lives lost.  [DG]

Indrapura. Steamship. See Port Adelaide, lost English Channel 1917.  [DG]

Itonus. Four-master steamer, 6538 tons. Built 1898 as the Anglia. Archibald Currie Line.Several visits to Austraalia. Torpedoed in the Mediterranean, 20 December 1916 with loss of life.  [DG]

Itonus. Steamship, 6538 tons. Built 1898. Formely cable steam sship Anglia. A.Currie Line, later British-India Co. Torrpedoed and sunk in Mediterranean Sea, 20 December 1916.  [DG]

Kaipara. Steamship, 7392 tons. Buil 1903. New Zealand Steamship Co. Sunk in the South Atlantic  by the German warship Kiaser Wilhelm der Grosse, 16 August 1914.  [DG]

Kapunda. 3097 tons. Built 1908. Owned by the Melbourne Steam Ship Company. Sold, Torpedoed and sunk off Malta, Mediterranean Sea, November 1916.  [DG]

Krait. Japanese fishing vessel, 68 tons. Lbd 70 x 11 x 6 ft. Captured by Allied forces in 1941, and gained fame in several missions to the Far East. After the war she was used for commercial trading until a public subsscription raised funds for her purchase. [LC]

Kyarra. Steamship, 6952 tons. Built 1903. A.U.S.N.Co. Hospital ship. Torpedoed and sunk, June 1918.  [DG]

Limerick. Steamship, 6827 tons. Ex Rippingham Grange. Built 1898. U.S.S.Co. Torpedoed and sunk, 28 May 1917. Eight lives lost.  [DG]

Loch Torridon. Built 1881. Loch Line of Glasgow. Torpedoed in English Channel, 1915. [CWR]

Loch Broom. Built 1885. Loch Line of Glasgow. Sold to Norwegian owners 1912; sunk by German submarine 1917. [CWR]

Loch Awe. Built 1869. Loch Line of Glasgow. Sold to Norwegian owners 1912, sunk by German submarine during First World War. [CWR]

Maloja. Royal Mail steamer, 12350 tons. Built 1911. P. & O. Co. Mined in the English Channel, near Dover, 27 February 1916. One hundred and twenety-two lives lost. [DG]

Maloja. Steamship, 12,350 tons. (Sister Medina). Built 1911. Made a number of trips to Australia for P.&.O. Steam Navigation Co. Struck a mine in the English Channel off Dover, 27 February 1916. One hundred and twenty-two lives lost. Subsequently blown up as she was in the shipping channel. [DG]

Mamutu. Wooden motor vessel, 300 tons. Built Hong Kong, 1938. Owned by Birns, Philp. Left Port Moresby for Daru on the western coast of the Gulf of Papua; attacked and sunk by gunfire from Japanese submarinee RO 33, which then machine-gunned the surrvivors in the sea. One hundred and fourteen lives lost, most of those natives. [LAH] No date recorded.

Marere. Steamship, 6057 tons. Built 1902. Commonwealth and Dominion Line. Torpedoed and sunk as a transport, 18 January, 1916. [DG]

Marmora. Royal Mail steamer, 10509 tons. Built 1903. P.&O. Co. Torpedoed and sunk, 23 July 1918. Ten lives lost.  [DG]

Matunga. Steamship, 1618 tons. Built 1900. Burns, Philip & Co. Captured and sunk by German raider Wolf near New Guinea, 26 August 1917. Passengers and crew taken as prisoners to Germany. [DG]

Matunga. Single-screw steamer, 1618 tons. Built UK, 1900. Burns, Philp& Co. Captain Alex Donaldson. Left Sydney in August 1917 for New Guinea  with passengers and cargo. She was was three hundred miles off Rabaul  when she radioed her destination and expected time of arrival - and mentioned her cargo - five hundred tons of coal, and, more important to the townsfolk of Rabaul, a months liquor supply.  The ship never reached Rabaul and there was no sign of her passengers, crew, nor wreckage. At the end of the war it was discovered that the Matunga had been boarded by the German raider Wolf, and the passengers and crew captured on 6 August 1917. No lives were lost when the Wolf, disguised as an old tramp steamer, suddenly turned on the Matunga and placed a shot across her bows. Captain Alex Donaldson offered no resistance, and the ship was calmly and rather politely captured as was the way of the Wolf. The capture took five minutes. With a prize crew on board the Matunga, the two ships steamed toward the north- west tip of the then Dutch New Guinea. Off the little island of Waigeu, the coal from the captured ship was transferred by hand to the Wolf. On 26 August 1917 both ships moved a few miles out to sea where time bombs were placed on the Matunga and she disappeared stern first beneath the waves. The Wolf continued west toward the Indian Ocean and over a period of fifteen months, captured and sunk a total of thirteen vessels. The crews and passengers of the ill-fated ships were captured and held in the holds of the Wolf, and in a second ship. The Wolf and her prisoners reached Germany in February 1918. [DG]

Medina. Steamship, 12,350 tons. (Sister Maloja). Built 1911. Initially a Royal yacht; conveted King George and Queen Mary to India for the Great Durbar, Delhi, 1911. Altered for merchant service, and made a number of trips to Australia for P.&.O. Steam Navigation Co. Torpedoed off Plymouth, 28 April 1917. Five lives lost.  [DG]

Medina. Royal Mail steamer, 12350 tons. Built 1911. P.& O.Co. Torpedoed in the English Channel, 28 April 1917. Five lives lost.  [DG]

Middlesex. Steamship, 7265 tons. Ex Knight Batchelor. Built 1914. F.S.N.Co. Torpedoed and sunk off Ireland, 16 May 1917.  [DG]

Moldavia. Steamship, 9500 tons. (Sister Mongolia). Built 1903. P. &. O. Steam Navigation Co. Operated on the Australia run. Torpedoed in the English Channel  near Brighton, 23 May 1918. Fifty-eight lives lost. Vessel replaced with a new ship of the same name. [DG]

Moldavia. Royal Mail steamer, 9500 tons. Built 1903. P.& O.Co. Torpedoed and sunk in English Channel, 23 May 1918. Fifty-six troopers lost.  [DG]

Mongolia. Steamship, 9500 tons. (Sister Moldavia). Built 1903. P. &. O. Steam Navigation Co. Operated on the Australia run. From London to Sydney, struck a mine laid by the German raider Wolf in the Arabian Sea, not far from Bombay, 23 June 1917. It exploded under the engine-room. Boats were lowered, however twnety-seven lost their lives. Vessel replaced with a new ship of the same name. [DG]

Mongolia. Royal Mail steamer, 9505 tons. Built 1903. P.&.). Co. Sunk after striking a mine near Bombay, 23 June 1917. [DG]

Mooltan. Royal Mail steamer, 9681 tons. Built 1905. P.& O. Torpedoed and sunk in Meditteranean Sea, 26 July 1917.  [DG].

Mooltan. Steamship, 9621 tons. Built 1905. P. &. O. Steam Navigation Co. Operated on the Australia run. Lost whilst in the services of the Admiralty, in the Mediterranean Sea near Sardinia, 26 July 1917. One life lost. Vessel replaced with a new ship of the same name, 21,000 tons. [DG]

Omrah. Steamship, 8282 tons. Built 1899. Orient Line. Torpedoed without warning and sunk near Sardinia, 12 May 1918.  [DG]

Orama. Steamship, 12927 tons. Built 1911. Orient Line. Torpedoed and sunk, 19 October 1917. [DG]

Orama. Steamship, 12927 tons. Built 1911. Orient Steam Navigation Company. Requisition by the Admiralty as an armed cruiser in World War 1. Torpedoed and sank, 19 October 1917. Replaced by a vessel of the same name. [DG]

Ortona. Steamship, 7945 tons. Built 1899. Pacific Steam Navigation Co. Altered to a cruising yacht and renamed Arcadian. Torpedoed and sunk, 15 April 1917. [DG]

Otaki. Steamship, 9575 tons. Built 1908. N.Z.S.Co. Sunk in the Atlantic after a gallant fight with the Grman raider Moewe, 10 March 1917.  [DG]

Otway. Steamship, 12000 tons. Built 1909. Orient Line. Torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea, 22 July 1917. Ten crew killed.  [DG]

Persia. Royal Mail steamer, 7974 tons. Bult 1898. P. & O. Co. Torpedoed and sunk in Mediterranean Sea, 30 December 1915. Three hundred and thirty-four lives lost.  [DG]

Polynesien. Steamship, 6373 tonss. Built 1889. Messagieries Maritimes Co. Torpedoed and sunk in Mediterranean, 10 August 1918.  [DG]

Port Nicholson. Steamship, 8418 tons. Built 1912. Commonwealth and Dominion Line. Torpedoed and sank, 8 November 1916.  [DG]

Port Adelaide. Steamship, 8181 tons, Ex Indrapura. Built 1911. Commonwealth and Dominion Line. Torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel, 3 February 1917.  [DG]

Port Kembla. Steamship, 4700 tons. Built 1910. Commonwaealthy and Dominion Line. Struck a mine laid by th German raider Wolf and sank, in Cook Strait, 18 September 1917.  [DG]

RO 33. Japanese submarine. Attacked and sunk by gunfire the wooden motor vessel Mamutu, Gulf of Papua. [LAH] No date recorded.

Roscommon. Steamship, 7381 tons. Ex Oswestry Grange. Built 1902. U.S.S.Co. Torpedoed and sunk, 21 August 1917.  [DG]

Rotorua. Steamship, 11140 tons. Built 1910. N.Z.S.Co. Torpedoed in English Channel near Start Point, 22 March 1917.  [DG]

Salsette. Steamship, 6000 tons. Built 11908. P. & O. Co. During World War 11, traded to Australia. Torpedoed and sunk, 20 July 1917.  [DG]

Salsette. Steamer, 6000 tons. Built 1908. Built for the Aden - Bombay trade, then diverted to the Australia run. Torpedoed in the English Channel, 20 July 1917. Fifteen lives lost.  [DG]

Somerset. Steamship, 7272 tons. Built 1903. F.S.N.Co. Torpedoed and sunk off Cape Finisterre, 25 July 1917.  [DG]

Sydney. Steamship, 4232 tons. Built 11883. Messageries Maritimes Co. Torpedoed and sunk in Bay of Biscay, 14 January 1917.  [DG]

Tasman. Steamship, 5023 tons. Built 1913. Royal Packet Navigation Co. Torpedoed and sunk, 16 September 1918.  [DG]

Tasman. Steamship, 5041 tons. Built 1913. On the Singapore-Java-Melbourne run for Koninklkye Paketvaart Maatschappy (Royal Packet Line). Requisitioned by the Commonwealth Government during World War 1; torpedoed 16 September 1918.  [DG]

Turakina. Steamship, 8349 tons. Built 1902. N.Z.S.Co. Torpedoed and sunk in the English Channel, 13 August 1917.  [DG]

Ville de la Ciotat. Steamship, 6431 tons. Built 1892. Messageries Maritimes Co. Torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean, 24 December 1915.  [DG]

Ville de la Ciotat. Steamship. Messageries Maritimes Company. On th Europe-Australia rin for many years after 1889. Sunk by a submarine in the Mediterranean, 24 December 1915. [DG]

Waihemo. Steamship, 4283 tons. Built 1914. U.S.S.Co. Torpedoed and sunk in Mediterranean, March 1918.  [DG]

Warilda. Steamship, 7784 tons. Built 1912, 'with accommodation of three classes of passengers on a most lavish scale'. Adelaide Steamship Company Ltd. Requistioned by the Admiralty for World War 1; fitted up first as a troop ship, then as a hospital ship, on the Southampton-Havre run across the English Channel. Torpedoed by an enemy submarine whilst returning from France with 700 wounded, 3 August 1918. Sank within two hours. Of 801 on board, 123 lives lost. No less than 70,000 troops had been carried by the Warilda, Captain Sim being awarded an OBE for his services. '... the dastardly act on the part of the enemy cannot be forgotten'.  [DG]

Warilda. Steamship, 7713 tons. Built 1912. A.S.S.Co. Torpedoed and sunk while acting as a hospital ship, in the English Channel, 3 August 1918. One hundred and twenty lives lost.  [DG]

Wimmera. Steamship, 3022 tons. Built 1904. Huddar, Parker & Co. Struck a mine laid by the German raider Wolf off Cape Farewell, New Zealand, and foundered, 26 June 1918. Twenty-six lives lost.  [DG]

Wolfe. German auxiliary cruiser, raider, formerly Wachtfels. The only enemy warship to enter Australian or New Zealand waters during World War 1. Commanded by Karl August Nerger, she had a crew of about 400, and armament of seven 15cm guns, 458 mines and four torpedo-tubes. She also carried a two-seater seaplane, the Wolfchen.The Wachtfels was a single-screw 5809 ton steamer, capable of a speed of eleven knots, powered by triple-expansion engines, and had two masts and a single funnel. Lbd 419 x 56.2 x 29.6 ft depth. Left Hamburg 17 December 1916. Succesful in laying mines off the south-east Australian coast, and capturing several vessels, including the Burns, Philp liner Matunga.  [DG - name Wolf]

Yarra. Steamship, 4255 tons. Built 1883. Messageries Maritimes Co. Torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean, 29 May 1917.  [DG]