At the outbreak of war, large fleets of battleships—many inherited from the dreadnought era decades before—were considered one of the decisive forces in naval warfare.
Battleships were the most heavily protected ships afloat, nonetheless sixteen were sunk or crippled by bombs or torpedoes delivered by aircraft, while three more were sunk by submarine-launched torpedoes.
Guided bombs developed during the war made it much easier for aircraft to sink battleships.
The list includes armed vessels that served during the war and in the immediate aftermath, inclusive of localized ongoing combat operations, garrison surrenders, post-surrender occupation, colony re-occupation, troop and prisoner repatriation, to the end of 1945.
For smaller vessels, see also List of World War II ships of less than 1000 tons.