US Navy Personnel in World War II: Service and Casualty Statistics

US Navy Personnel in World War II:
Service and Casualty Statistics

( From the Annual Report, Navy and Marine Corps Military Personnel Statistics, 30 June 1964,
prepared by the Bureau of Naval Personnel and US Marine Corps Headquarters.)

Deaths - Due to Enemy Action - Officers
Deaths - Due to Enemy Action - Enlisted and Officer Candidates
Deaths - Due to Other Than Enemy Action - Officers
Deaths - Due to Other Than Enemy Action - Enlisted
Deaths - Due to Other Than Enemy Action - Officer Candidates
Naval Personnel - Active Service Casualties - By Area - Officers
Naval Personnel - Active Service Casualties - By Area - Enlisted

1. Number on active duty on 7 Dec 1941 was:

Officers	35,760
Enlisted	301,589	(incl OC)
Total	337,349

2. The number of officers and enlisted personnel that served in the Navy during World War II.

7 Dec 1941 - 31 Dec 1946 was 4,183,466 (390,037 officers and 3,793,429 enlisted)

3. Volunteers and Draftees in WWII:

Total enlistments, 12/1/41 to 12/31/46	3,793,429
Total inducted into Navy, prior 12/31/46	1,549,285

(of those inducted, 189,365 remained inductees; 1,359,920 voluntarily enlisted as USN-SV or USNR-SV)

4. Total of 3,546,179 persons entered the Naval Service during World War II.

5. Male and Female enlisted input from civil life, July 1941 thru Dec 1945:

	1941		1942		1943		1944
	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female	Male	Female
TOTAL	88,783		873,045	5,985	996,490	36,451	882,266	42,419
Jan			59,522		47,893	2,172	105,154	3,860
Feb			41,652		60,401	2.993	62,914	4,252
Mar			39,264		58,843	3,401	123,619	4,721
Apr			31,610		65,655	2,271	118,327	3,716
May			33,053		76,424	1,908	123,809	3,590
Jun			48,968		103,792	2,514	82,758	3,895
Jul	9,138		74,148		108,584	3,466	51,300	4,189
Aug	10,152		86,813		98,278	4,225	58,442	4,717
Sep	9,688		124,483	556	100,222	3,819	44,338	4,188
Oct	10,579		131,361	2,102	103,998	3,707	42,533	3,204
Nov	7,257		116,202	1,715	79,839	2,922	35,634	1,506
Dec	41,969		85,969	1,612	92,561	3,053	33,438	581

	1945
	Male	Female
TOTAL	465,793	10,608
Jan	63,008	605
Feb	63,805	511
Mar	69,909	1,457
Apr	44,032	1,648
May	39,091	1,665
Jun	44,394	1,637
Jul	41,632	1,886
Aug	29,542	1,199
Sep	23,949
Oct	17,538
Nov	16,280
Dec	12,613

6. An estimated 3,639,615 (87%) of Navy Personnel served overseas and in all probability were exposed to combat.

Number serving ashore outside U.S. on 21 Jul 45	543,284
Number serving afloat outside U.S. on 21 Jul 45	1,565,898
Number serving ashore U.S. on 31 Jul 45	1,296,343

7. The male enlisted strength of the Navy V-J Day (2 Sep 1945) was 2,994,696.

Peak strength of Navy overseas (as of 30 June 1945)	Officers	198,383
	Enlisted	1,923,910
	Total	2,122,293

8. Peak strength was on 31 Jul 1945 - 3,405,525.

9. Peak strength by theater of operations:

European (continental)	49,801 On 30 Nov 1944
North Atlantic (ashore & afloat)	150,046 On 30 Jun 1944
Mediterranean (ashore & afloat)	90,175 on 31 Aug 1944
Pacific (ashore & afloat)	1,366,716 on 31 Aug 1945
CBI (Ceylon, Burma & India)	Not available

10. Peak strength of various staff corps officers during World War II (Warrants not included):

	TOTAL	AIM	COMO	OTHER OFFICERS

Med Corps 30 Sep 45	14,494	20	8	14,466
Men	14,444	20	8	14,416
Women	50			50

Supply Corps 31 Oct 45	17,310	17	11	17,282
Men	16,351	17	11	16,323
Women	959			959

Civil Eng Corps 30 Sept 45	7,486	11	11	7,464
Men	7,484			7,462
Women	2			2

Dental Corps 31 Oct 45	7,220	2		7,218
Men	7,218	2		7,216
Women	2			2

Chaplain Corps 30 Sept 45	2,808	1		2,807
Men	2,808	1		2,807

Nurse Corps 30 Jun 45	11,086			11,086
Women	11,086			11,086

11. Average length of service of officers and enlisted in World War II was 2 years 6 months.

12. Estimated age distribution of enlisted personnel in World War II based on data as of 30 June 1945 was:

AGE GROUP	PERCENT

Under 20	20.72
20	12.88
21-24	28.39
25-29	18.62
30-34	10.79
35-39	6.35
40-44	1.41
45-49	0.56
50-54	0.17
55 & Over	0.11

13. During World War II, the USNR outnumbered USN personnel on active duty by a 3 to 1 majority (from 31 July 43 - 31 Dec 45). During this period the USNR composed between 76.8% to 90.5% of total personnel on active duty. In May 45, 90.5%; on 31 Jul 45 the month in which the Navy hit its peak strength, USNRs on active duty composed 87.4% of all Navy personnel.

Deaths - World War II - Due to Enemy Action

Deaths - Due to Enemy Action - Officers

Type of Casualty	Grand Total Officers, Enlisted, Officer Cand.	Officers
		Total Officers	Men				Women
			USN	USNR	Retired		WAVES USNR	Nurses
			USN	USNR	USN	USNR	WAVES USNR	USN	USNR

Total Combat Deaths	36,950	4,025	1,038	2,982	5	.	0	0	0

Killed in Action	30,831	2,148	737	1,407	4	.	.	.	.
1941*	2,155	104	49	55	0	.	.	.	.
1942	2,809	205	106	98	1	.	.	.	.
1943	4,524	277	115	161	1	.	.	.	.
1944	7,685	515	117	397	1	.	.	.	.
1945	11,446	828	244	583	1	.	.	.	.
1946	2,212	219	106	113	0	.	.	.	.

Killed in Action (Air Combat)	3,173	1,514	172	1,341	1	.	.	.	.
1941	26	9	4	5	0	.	.	.	.
1942	81	41	12	29	0	.	.	.	.
1943	315	143	47	96	0	.	.	.	.
1944	502	244	20	224	0	.	.	.	.
1945	1,071	516	53	462	1	.	.	.	.
1946	1,178	561	36	525	0	.	.	.	.

Died of Wounds	1,837	151	29	122	0	.	.	.	.
1941	36	3	2	1	0	.	.	.	.
1942	181	26	11	15	.	.	.	.	.
1943	251	26	3	23	.	.	.	.	.
1944	677	44	5	39	.	.	.	.	.
1945	692	52	8	44	.	.	.	.	.
1946	0	0	0	0	.	.	.	.	.

Died Prisoner of War	919	180	96	84	0	.	.	.	.
1941	0	0	0	0	.	.	.	.	.
1942	187	15	10	5	.	.	.	.	.
1943	143	7	3	4	.	.	.	.	.
1944	414	78	47	31	.	.	.	.	.
1945	172	77	35	42	.	.	.	.	.
1946	3	3	1	2	.	.	.	.	.

Other Deaths Due Enemy Action	190	32	4	28	.	.	.	.	.
1941	0	0	0	0	.	.	.	.	.
1942	20	9	3	6	.	.	.	.	.
1943	18	1	0	1	.	.	.	.	.
1944	70	4	0	4	.	.	.	.	.
1945	48	8	0	8	.	.	.	.	.
1946	34	10	1	9		.	.	.	.

* Includes USS Reuben James & USS Kearney, Oct 1941

Deaths - Due to Enemy Action - Enlisted and Officer Candidates

Type of Casualty	Enlisted						Total Officer Candidates Included With Enlisted USNR
	Total Enlisted	Men				Women
	Total Enlisted	USN	USNR	USN-1	Fleet Reserve	WAVES V-10

Total Combat Deaths	32,925	14,296	18,136	276	217	0	5

Killed in Action	28,683	12,540	15,766	240	137	0	4
1941*	2,051	1,965	61	0	25	.	0
1942	2,604	1,862	726	0	16	.	0
1943	4,247	2,500	1,713	7	27	.	0
1944	7,170	1,998	5,087	66	19	.	1
1945	10,618	3,335	7,078	157	48	.	3
1946	1,993	880	1,101	10	2	.	0

Killed in Action (Air Combat)	1,659	627	1,015	17	0	0	1
1941	17	16	1	0	.	.	1
1942	40	35	5	0	.	.	1
1943	172	128	44	0	.	.	.
1944	258	74	181	3	.	.	.
1945	555	198	353	4	.	.	.
1946	617	176	431	10	.	.	.

Died of Wounds	1,686	432	1,233	15	6	0	0
1941	33	31	2	0	0	.	.
1942	155	106	46	0	3	.	.
1943	225	66	159	0	0	.	.
1944	633	126	499	6	2	.	.
1945	640	103	527	9	1	.	.
1946	0	0	0	0	0	.	.

Died Prisoner of War	739	673	0	0	66	0	0
1941	0	0	.	.	0	.	.
1942	172	129	.	.	43	.	.
1943	136	132	.	.	4	.	.
1944	336	321	.	.	15	.	.
1945	95	91	.	.	4	.	.
1946	0	0	.	.	0	.	.

Other Deaths Due Enemy Action	158	24	122	4	8	0	0
1941	0	0	0	0	0	.	.
1942	11	4	4	0	3	.	.
1943	17	2	14	0	1	.	.
1944	66	13	51	1	1	.	.
1945	40	4	31	2	3	.	.
1946	24	1	22	1	0	.	.

* Includes USS Reuben James & USS Kearney, Oct 1941

Deaths - World War II - Due To Other Than Enemy Action

Deaths - Due To Other Than Enemy Action - Officers

Type of Casualty	Grand Total Officers, Enlisted, Officer Cand.	Officers
		Total Officers	Men				Women
			USN	USNR	Retired		WAVES USNR	Nurses
			USN	USNR	USN	USNR	WAVES USNR	USN	USNR

Total Deaths Non-Combat	25,664	5,883	828	4,859	147	.	10	12	27

Natural Causes	5,533	841	247	452	129	.	3	4	6
1941	9	3	1	0	2	.	0	0	0
1942	498	74	28	31	15	.	0	0	0
1943	1,146	139	31	89	16	.	0	1	2
1944	1,619	237	58	137	38	.	0	3	1
1945	1,591	237	69	121	43	.	2	0	2
1946	670	151	60	74	15	.	1	0	1

Aviation Accidents	8,184	4,142	373	3,756	1	.	3	3	6
1941	38	15	7	8	0	.	0	0	0
1942	722	347	43	303	1	.	0	0	0
1943	2,171	1,010	98	910	0	.	1	1	0
1944	2,590	1,304	81	1,216	0	.	0	2	5
1945	2,126	1,164	89	1,073	0	.	2	0	0
1946	537	302	55	246	0	.	0	0	1

Other Deaths	11,947	900	208	651	17	.	4	5	15
1941	30	1	0	1	.	.	0	0	0
1942	920	67	27	39	1	.	0	0	0
1943	2,041	145	34	102	3	.	1	2	3
1944	4,504	323	66	246	6	.	0	2	3
1945	3,243	249	39	196	5	.	3	0	6
1946	1,209	115	42	67	2	.	0	1	3

Deaths - Due To Other Than Enemy Action - Enlisted

Type of Casualty	Enlisted
	Total Enlisted	Men				Women
	Total Enlisted	USN	USNR	USN-1	Fleet Reserve	WAVES V-10

Total Deaths Non-Combat	19,095	5,056	13,117	433	394	95

Natural Causes	4,601	907	3,201	143	311	39
1941	6	5	0	0	1	0
1942	419	173	176	0	70	0
1943	985	191	698	16	76	4
1944	1,344	182	1,010	47	90	15
1945	1,331	173	1,017	70	56	15
1946	516	183	300	10	18	5

Aviation Accidents	3,515	1,162	2,304	36	2	11
1941	20	19	1	0	0	0
1942	278	212	66	0	0	0
1943	922	363	555	2	2	0
1944	1,161	286	850	19	0	6
1945	910	153	741	12	0	4
1946	224	129	91	3	0	1

Other Deaths	10,979	2,987	7,612	254	81	45
1941	29	21	8	0	0	0
1942	848	474	346	0	28	0
1943	1,878	684	1,156	13	19	6
1944	4,155	755	3,281	88	14	17
1945	2,978	472	2,342	132	18	14
1946	1,091	581	479	21	2	8

Deaths - Due To Other Than Enemy Action - Officer Candidates

Type of Casualty	Officer Candidates
Type of Casualty	Total Officer Candidates	V-5	V-7	V-12	Naval Academy Midshipmen

Total Deaths Non-Combat	686	573	9	95	9

Natural Causes	91	32	6	49	4
1941	0	0	0	0	0
1942	5	3	1	0	1
1943	22	14	2	5	1
1944	38	10	1	27	0
1945	23	4	2	15	2
1946	3	1	0	2	0

Aviation Accidents	527	516	0	9	2
1941	3	3	0	0	0
1942	97	97	0	0	0
1943	239	235	0	4	0
1944	125	122	0	1	2
1945	52	49	0	3	0
1946	11	10	0	1	0

Other Deaths	68	25	3	37	3
1941	0	0	0	0	0
1942	5	3	1	0	1
1943	18	12	0	5	1
1944	26	6	1	19	0
1945	16	3	1	12	0
1946	3	1	0	1	1

Naval Personnel (1/) - Active Service Casualties - World War II - By Area

Active Service Casualties - By Area - Officers (1/)

Area	Grand Total Officers & Enlisted	Officers
		Total Officers	Enemy Action			Non-Enemy Action Deaths
		Total Officers	Total	Deaths	Wounded	Non-Enemy Action Deaths

Grand Total	100,392	13,208	7,325	4,025	3,300	5,883
1941 (Oct & Dec) 2/	3,338	223	204	116	88	19
1942	15,379	1,722	1,234	810	424	488
1943	16,476	2,368	1,073	608	465	1,295
1944	30,926	4,198	2,325	1,212	1,113	1,863
1945	31,857	4,139	2,489	1,279	1,210	1,650
1946	2,416	568	0	0	0	568

Atlantic - Total	10,966	1,219	615	306	309	604
1941 (Oct & Dec) 2/	165	18	10	7	3	8
1942	1,366	151	77	32	45	74
1943	2,226	299	92	56	36	207
1944	5,876	583	365	158	207	218
1945	1,241	138	71	53	18	67
1946	92	30	0	0	0	30

Asiatic - Total	40,920	4,166	3,779	2,080	1,699	387
1941 (Dec)	194	23	23	10	13	0
1942	2,948	307	305	254	51	2
1943	2,042	177	177	169	8	0
1944	10,972	1,244	1,159	703	456	85
1945	24,450	2,343	2,115	944	1,171	228
1946	314	72	0	0	0	72

Pacific - Total	30,765	3,945	2,588	1,508	1,080	1,357
1941 (Dec)	2,944	177	171	99	72	6
1942	9,903	952	845	524	321	107
1943	7,201	937	655	350	305	282
1944	8,033	1,156	635	273	362	521
1945	2,353	661	282	262	20	379
1946	331	62	0	0	0	62

Mediterranean - Total	4,597	398	641	129	212	57
1941 (Dec)	0	0	0	0	0	0
1942	63	7	7	0	7	0
1943	2,128	160	149	33	116	11
1944	2,180	192	165	77	88	27
1945	211	34	20	19	1	14
1946	15	5	0	0	0	5

United States - Total	13,144	3,480	2	2	0	3,478
1941 (Dec)	35	5	0	0	0	5
1942	1,099	305	0	0	0	305
1943	2,879	795	0	0	0	795
1944	3,865	1,013	1	1	0	1,012
1945	3,602	963	1	1	0	962
1946	1,664	399	0	0	0	399

Active Service Casualties - By Area - Enlisted (1/)

Area	Enlisted
	Total Enlisted	Enemy Action			Non-Enemy Action Deaths
	Total Enlisted	Total	Deaths	Wounded	Non-Enemy Action Deaths

Grand Total	87,184	67,403	32,925	34,478	19,781
1941 (Oct & Dec) 2/	3,115	3,057	2,101	956	58
1942	13,657	12,005	8,329	3,676	1,652
1943	14,108	10,044	5,912	4,132	4,064
1944	26,738	19,889	7,530	12,359	6,849
1945	27,718	22,408	9,053	13,355	5,310
1946	1,848	0	0	0	1,848

Atlantic - Total	9,747	6,919	3,674	3,245	2,828
1941 (Oct & Dec) 2/	147	140	104	36	7
1942	1,215	761	294	467	454
1943	1,927	1,072	804	268	855
1944	5,293	4,187	1,910	2,277	1,106
1945	1,103	759	562	197	344
1946	62	0	0	0	62

Asiatic - Total	36,754	34,712	15,960	18,752	2,042
1941 (Dec)	171	167	97	70	4
1942	2,641	2,592	2,288	304	49
1943	1,865	1,853	1,842	11	12
1944	9,728	8,941	3,571	5,370	787
1945	22,107	21,159	8,162	12,997	948
1946	242	0	0	0	242

Pacific - Total	26,820	21,779	11,609	10,170	5,041
1941 (Dec)	2,767	2,750	1,900	850	17
1942	8,951	8,593	5,736	2,857	358
1943	6,264	5,212	2,781	2,431	1,052
1944	6,877	4,875	991	3,884	2,002
1945	1,692	349	201	148	1,343
1946	269	0	0	0	269

Mediterranean - Total	4,199	3,973	1,672	2,301	226
1941 (Dec)	0	0	0	0	0
1942	56	54	8	46	2
1943	1,968	1,900	485	1,415	68
1944	1,988	1,883	1,056	827	105
1945	177	136	123	13	41
1946	10	0	0	0	10

United States - Total	9,664	20	10	10	9,644
1941 (Dec)	30	0	0	0	30
1942	794	5	3	2	789
1943	2,084	7	0	7	2,077
1944	2,852	3	2	1	2,849
1945	2,639	5	5	0	2,634
1946	1,265	0	0	0	1,265

1/ Exclude Marine Corps and Coast Guard

2/ Includes Hostile Action Occurring October 1941

Source: Annual Report, Navy and Marine Corps Military Personnel Statistics, 30 June 1964.
NAVPERS 15658(A). (Washington, DC: Bureau of Naval Personnel, Headquarters - US Marine Corps, 1964): 76-77.