As noted in files of the War Shipping Administration, how many U.S. merchant ships were sunk in World War II?

According to the War Shipping Administration (WSA), the U.S. Merchant Marine suffered the highest rate of casualties of any service in World War II. Officially, a total of 1,554 - 1,700 ships were sunk due to war conditions, including 733 ships of over 1,000 gross tons.

Hundreds of other ships were damaged; they could not be repaired. From these ships that were lost, they included those that were victims of torpedoes, bombs, mines, kamikaze attack or other combat actions, as well as those lost due to other maritime accidents (fires, explosions, groundings, collisions, weather or sea conditions) that were often caused or exacerbated by wartime conditions. Also, some foreign-flag ships, especially those having U.S. Navy Armed Guard detachments, were lost or totally damaged in the war.

Over and above the lost ships in WW II, the men of the U.S. merchant marine were civilian volunteers who died proportionally in numbers that rivaled or exceeded any branch of the uniformed military. Like the U.S. Navy Armed Guard with whom they sailed, the unsung men of the U.S. merchant marine made possible the Allied victory.

The brave men of the U.S. merchant marine, who transported vast quantities of war materiel, supplies, equipment and troops needed to fight and win the war, again and again made epic journeys across all the oceans of the world, knowing that many their ships (1,554 - 1,700) and comrades would ultimately be lost.