Little known statistics about the Second World War

We have seen many pictures about the Second World War. We have read much about the war in books. We have seen umpteen movies about it. We have seen many videos on Youtube. Below are given statistics about the war.

Believe me, it is fascinating reading.

WWII Death Count Per Country:

Country	Military	Civilian	Total
USSR	12 million	17 million	29 million
Poland	597,000	5.86 million	6.27 million
Germany	3.25 million	2.44 million	5.69 million
Yugoslavia	305,000	1.35 million	1.66 million
Romania	450,000	465,000	915,000
Hungary	200,000	600,000	800,000
France	245,000	350,000	595,000
Italy	380,000	153,000	533,000
Great Britain	403,000	92,700	495,000
United States	407,000	6,000	413,000
Czechoslovakia	7,000	315,000	322,000
Holland	13,700	236,000	249,000
Greece	19,000	140,000	159,000
Belgium	76,000	23,000	99,000

Death Distribution Of Both World Wars

War	Military Dead	Civilian Dead
WWI	95%	5%
WWII	33%	67%

Number of divisions available for these countries over the course of the war:

Country	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	End of War
France	86	105	0	0	5	7	14	14
Germany*	78	189	235	261	327	347	319	375
Great Britain	9	34	35	38	39	37	31	31
Italy	6	73	64	89	86	2	9	10
Poland	43	2	2	2	2	5	5	5
Romania	11	28	33	31	33	32	24	24
USSR	194	200	220	250	350	400	488	491
USA**	8	24	39	76	95	94	94	94

*towards the end of the war, many of these divisions were either incomplete or poorly equipped
**including both Army and Marine divisions and accounting for the Pacific theater
Aircraft Available In Europe

Date	British	US	Soviet	TOTAL	German	Allied Ratio
June 1942	9500	0	2100	11,600	3700	3.1:1
December 1942	11,300	1300	3800	16,400	3400	4.8:1
June 1943	12,700	5000	5600	23,300	4600	5.1:1
December 1943	11,800	7500	8800	28,100	4700	6:1
June 1944	13,200	11,800	14,700	39,700	4600	8.6:1
December 1944	14,500	12,200	15,800	42,500	8500	5:1

Aircraft Sorties In WWII

Campaign	Allied	Axis	Allied Kills Per 1000	Axis Kills Per 1000	Allied Lost Per 1000	Axis Lost Per 1000
France 1940	4480	21,000	28.6	12.5	58.5	6.1
Britain 1940	31,000	42,000	21.8	29.5	29.5	9.6
Pre D-Day 1944	98,400	34,500	12.7	29.3	10.3	36.1
Post D-Day 1944	203,357	31,833	17.3	16.2	2.5	110.6

Major Warships Sunk In WWII

Country	Aircraft Carriers	Battleships	Cruisers	Destroyers	Submarines	Total
Germany	0	4	9	53	994	1060
Britain	9	5	29	142	75	260
Italy	0	2	15	99	116	232
USA*	11	2	10	82	52	157
France	0	5	10	58	65	138
USSR	0	0	2	34	95	131
Holland	0	0	3	11	15	29
Poland	0	0	1	4	2	9

*includes figures from the Pacific War
Civilian Air Raid Deaths

Country	Deaths
Germany	543,000
Britain	60,400

• According to the law of averages, every rifleman from each division would be killed within a year or two
• Overall, there was a 50% chance of a WWII infantryman being killed or wounded

German/American Rank Conversion Chart

Waffen SS	Wehrmacht	US Army
Schütze	Schütze/Grenadier	Private
Oberschütze	Oberschütze/Obergrenadier	Private First Class
Sturmann	Gefreiter	--
Rottenführer	Obergefreiter	Corporal
Unterscharführer	Unteroffizier	Sergeant
Scharführer	Unterfeldwebel	Staff Sergeant
Standartenjunker	Fähnrich	--
Oberscharführer	Feldwebel	Technical Sergeant
Hauptscharführer	Oberfeldwebel	Master Sergeant
Standarten-Oberjunker	Oberfähnrich	--
Sturmscharführer	Stabsfeldwebel	Sergeant Major
Untersturmführer	Leutnant	Second Lieutenant
Obersturmführer	Oberleutnant	First Lieutenant
Hauptsturmführer	Hauptmann	Captain
Sturmbannführer	Major	Major
Obersturmbannführer	Oberstleutnant	Lieutenant Colonel
Standartenführer	Oberst	Colonel
Oberführer	--	--
Brigadeführer	Generalmajor	Brigadier General
Gruppenführer	Generalleutnant	Major General
Obergruppenführer	General der... (Infanterie, etc.)	Lieutenant General
Oberstgruppenführer	Generaloberst	General
Reichsführer	Generalfeldmarschall	General of the Army

German Occupational Forces, 1939-1940

Country	Population	Area In Sq. Mi.	German Forces	German Ratio To Population
Balkans	21 million	403,000	200,000	1:105
Belgium	8 million	30,400	100,000	1:80
Denmark	3.6 million	22,700	40,000	1:90
France	40 million	550,700	500,000	1:80
Holland	8.5 million	34,200	100,000	1:85
Norway	2.8 million	324,000	150,000	1:19

Location Of German Divisions In June Of Each Year

Country	1941	1942	1943	1944
USSR	34	171	179	157
France, Belgium & Holland	38	27	42	56
Norway & Finland	13	16	16	16
Balkans	7	8	17	20
Italy	0	0	0	22
Denmark	1	1	2	3
North Africa	2	3	0	0

A look at fuel consumption of German tanks:

Year	Types Of Tanks In A Division	Tons Of Fuel Consumed Per 100 Miles
1941	PzII, PzIII, PzIV, Pz38	22.1
1942	PzIII, PzIV	23.7
1943	PzIII, PzIV, Panther, Tiger	31.7
1944	PzIV, Panther, Tiger	35.8

Luftwaffe Aircraft Used Only Against Allied Bombers

Month	Year	Percentage
June	1940	0%
June	1941	7%
June	1942	17%
June	1943	21%
June	1944	29%
January	1945	50%

• Germany got 45% of its oil supplies from Romania, which was captured by the Soviets in August 1944
• In spite of fuel shortages, German tank production doubled in 1943 and went up another 50% in 1944

Oil Production In Tons

Year	Germany	USA
1939	8 million	N/A
1940	6.7 million	N/A
1941	7.3 million	N/A
1942	7.7 million	184 million
1943	8.9 million	200 million
1944	6.4 million	223 million

Percentage Of German Forces On The Eastern Front Each Year

Unit	1941	1942	1943	1944
Divisions	67%	75%	60%	57%
Troops	84%	74%	72%	40%
Aircraft	64%	65%	42%	45%

• By D-Day the Germans had 1.5 million railway workers operating 988,000 freight cars and used 29,000 per day

Germany's casualty statistics:

• By D-Day, 35% of all German soldiers had been wounded at least once,
  11% twice, 6% three times, 2% four times and 2% more than 4 times
• The average officer slot had to be refilled 9.2 times
• Germany lost 136 Generals, which averages out to be 1 dead General every 2 weeks
• Germany lost 110 Division Commanders in combat
• Air attacks caused 1/3 of German Generals' deaths
• 84 German Generals were executed by Hitler

• Germany lost 40-45% of their aircraft to accidents

U-Boat Losses

Sunk By	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	Total
Aircraft Carrier	0	2	3	36	140	68	40	289
Ships	5	11	24	32	59	68	17	216
Bombs	0	0	0	0	2	24	36	62
Mines	3	2	0	3	1	9	7	25
Submarines	1	2	1	2	4	5	3	18
Other	0	4	5	6	17	43	17	92
Total	9	23	35	86	236	235	122	746

• By late 1944, the Waffen SS accounted for 10% of the German military and 25% of the German armor
• German bullets had less flash and smoke than American bullets so it was harder to see where the Germans were firing from

German Flak

Unit	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944
Heavy Guns	2600	3164	3888	4772	8520	10,600
Light Guns	6700	8290	9020	10,700	17,500	19,360
Searchlights	2988	3450	3905	4650	5200	7500
% Under The Luftwaffe	50%	61%	54%	64%	74%	70%

Mid-Year Manpower On The Eastern Front

Year	Soviet	German
1941	5 million	3.3 million
1942	5 million	3.1 million
1943	6.2 million	2.9 million
1944	6.8 million	3.1 million

• 80% of Soviet males born in 1923 didn't survive WWII

• There was a Polish General named Juliuz Rommel, although if they were related it would only be distantly

8th Air Force:
fired 76.9 million rounds of .50 caliber
fired .7 million rounds of .30 caliber
downed 6090 enemy aircraft
had an average of 1 enemy plane shot down for each 12,700 rounds fired (1/12,700)
15th Air Force:
fired 30 million rounds of .50 caliber
downed 2110 enemy aircraft
had an average of 1/14,200
The Germans' average was 1/12,000
Percentage Of All Allied Bombs Dropped

Year	%
1940	.8%
1941	2%
1942	3%
1943	12.8%
1944	57.9%
1945	23.5%

• 12,000 heavy bombers were shot down in WWII
• Between 1939 and 1945 the Allies dropped 3.4 million tons of bombs
• That averages out to be 27,700 tons of bombs a month

• 2/3 of Allied bomber crews were lost for each plane destroyed
• 3 or 4 ground men were wounded for each killed
• 6 bomber crewmen were killed for each one wounded
• Over 100,000 Allied bomber crewmen were killed over Europe

Tour Of Duty	% KIA or MIA
Fighters (300 combat hours)	24%
Medium bombers (50 missions	48%
Heavy bombers (30 missions)	71%

D-Day Statistics:

Unit	Allies	Germans	Ratio
Ground Troops	1 million	700,000	1.43:1
Replacements	120,000	20,000	6:1
Other Men	1.75 million	780,000	2.25:1
Total	2.87 million	1.5 million	1.92:1

Unit	Allies	Germans	Ratio
Tanks	5500	1400	3.93:1
Artillery	4800	3200	1.5:1
Others	2000	800	2.5:1

Air Force	Bombers	Fighters	Total
RAF	624	2172	2796
USAAF	1922	1311	3233
Luftwaffe	400	420	820
Ratio	6.4:1	8.3:1	7.4:1

The Canadians' contributions in WWII are often overlooked, yet they had the 4th largest air force and the 3rd largest navy, who helped protect Allied convoys in the Atlantic. They gave an added industrial output as well as 6 army divisions, of whom 45,000 gave their lives for the Allies.

• There were 433 Medals of Honor awarded during WWII, 219 of them were given after the receipiant's death

• From 6 June 1944 to 8 May 1945 in Europe the Allies had 200,000 dead and 550,000 wounded

• The US had the lowest casualty rates of the major powers in WWII

The American Sub-Division Of Army Units In WWII:

• squad--around a dozen men
• platoon--3 or 4 squads
• company--3 or 4 platoons
• battalion--3 or 4 companies
• regiment--3 or 4 battalions
• division--3 or 4 regiments
• corps
• army
• army group

US Infantry Regiment In 1944:
6 105mm Howitzers, 9 57mm anti-tank guns, 55 .50 caliber machine guns, many .30 caliber machine guns and enough Jeeps & ammunition to opperate
US Infantry Company In 1944:
193 men, 15 BARs, 2 M1919A4s, 1 .50 caliber machine gun and 6 submachine guns
US Infantry Platoon In 1944:
41 men, 1 M2 carbine, 3 BARs
US Airborne Infantry Company:
176 men, 9 machine guns, 9 BARs, 3 60mm mortars and 3 bazookas
US Airborne Infantry Platoon:
36 men, 2 M1919A6s, 22 rifles, 14 M2 carbines, 1 60mm mortar, 1 sniper rifle and 1 bazooka

• 1/3 of US Airborne troops landed by parachute, 2/3 by glider

Percentage Of Combat Strength Kept In Non-Divisional Formations (regiment, battalion, etc.)

Country	%
USA	45%
USSR	20%
Germany	10%

Total Number Of Weapons During WWII

Weapon Type	World	USA	US %
Aircraft	542,000	283,000	52%
Vehicles	5.1 million	2.47 million	48%

Convoy Battles

Date	Convoy Code	Ships	Sunk	Tonnage	German Subs	Sunk
October 1940	SC-71, HX-79	79	32	154,600	12	0
September 1941	SC-42	70	18	73,200	19	2
July 1942	PQ-17	42	16	102,300	11	0
November 1942	SC-107	42	15	82,800	18	3
December 1942	ONS-154	45	19	74,500	19	1
March 1943	SC-121, HX-228	119	16	79,900	37	2

• 800 U-Boats sank 2640 ships in the Atlantic

Year	Total Ships Sunk	Sunk By Submarine
1939	222	114
1940	1059	471
1941	1299	432
1942	1664	1160
1943	597	377
1944	205	132
1945	105	56



• 40,000 men served on U-Boats during WWII; 30,000 never returned
US Daily Ammunition Expenditure In Tons

Action	Armor divisions	Infantry divisions	155mm battalions
Attack	436-832	353-658	66-121
Defense	596-969	472-768	86-142
Pursuit	107	83	15
Delay	321	256	51