List of ships sunk by missiles
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/Hundimiento_del_destructor_HMS_Sheffield.jpg/300px-Hundimiento_del_destructor_HMS_Sheffield.jpg)
This is a list of ships sunk by missiles. Ships have been sunk by unguided projectiles for many centuries, but the introduction of guided missiles during World War II changed the dynamics of naval warfare. 1943 saw the first ships to be sunk by guided weapons, launched from aircraft, although it was not until 1967 that a ship was sunk by a missile launched from a ship outside a test environment. Both of these were warships, but missiles have also attacked merchant ships. More than fifty other vessels have been sunk, in war and in peace.
This list only contains vessels sunk by guided missiles, and does not include those destroyed by unguided weapons such as naval artillery, torpedoes or crewed weapons like the Kamikaze suicide rocket. It also does not include vessels that were crippled and subsequently broken up.
Background[]
Ships have been equipped to fire projectiles for centuries, particularly the use of trebuchet and, ultimately, cannon developed by the Song dynasty, the latter epitomising naval weaponry in the Age of Sail.[1] However, the use of guided weapons did not emerge until the Second World War, when guided bombs, a form of precision-guided munition, started being developed by both the Allies and Axis.[2] The first to be used operationally was a German weapon, the Fritz X. Initial attacks were unsuccessful, but on 9 September 1943, Fritz X damaged the Italian battleship Italia and sank the battleship Roma, the first successful strike by a guided missile against a capital ship.[3] At the same time, the Henschel Hs 293 entered service, equipped with a rocket engine.[4] First used in combat in 1943, these were the first guided missiles to sink a warship.[5]
After the war, development of anti-ship missiles continued, particularly in the Soviet Union and Sweden, who saw mounting missiles on ships as a way to increase the strike capacity of small vessels.[6] It was a Soviet missile, the P-15 Termit, that made this public and sunk a ship in combat on 21 October 1967, launched from a vessel of the Egyptian Navy.[7] This demonstration led to a proliferation of other missiles being developed, including the Exocet.[8] The Exocet was used extensively during the Iran–Iraq War, particularly during the Tanker War, where it was the primary missile used by Iraqi Air Force.[9] In addition to nations, anti-ship missiles are also used by non-state actors who target merchant vessels, using missiles in a form of piracy.[10]
To counter anti-ship missiles, warships have used surface-to-air missiles, advanced electronic countermeasures and close-in weapons systems.[11]
List[]
The list includes all verified sinkings.[nb 1]
Ship | Nationality | Date | Conflict | Vector | Missile | Notes | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
HMS Egret | ![]() |
27 August 1943 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | First ship sunk by guided missile[nb 2] | [15] |
RM Roma | ![]() |
9 September 1943 | World War II | Aircraft | Fritz-x | First capital ship sunk by guided missiles | [3] |
USS LST-79 | ![]() |
30 September 1943 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | [16] | |
HMS Dulverton | ![]() |
13 November 1943 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | [5] | |
MV Birchbank | ![]() |
11 November 1943 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | [17] | |
![]() |
11 November 1943 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | [17] | ||
MV Marsa | ![]() |
21 November 1943 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | [18] | |
HMT Rohna | ![]() |
26 November 1943 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | 1,138 killed, the highest number of casualties caused by a single anti-ship missile | [19] |
HMHS St David | ![]() |
24 January 1944 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | [20] | |
SS Samuel Huntington | ![]() |
29 January 1944 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | [5] | |
HMS Spartan | ![]() |
29 January 1944 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | [21] | |
![]() |
15 February 1944 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | [5] | ||
HMS Inglefield | ![]() |
25 February 1944 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | [22] | |
HMS Lawford | ![]() |
8 June 1944 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | Sunk during the Normandy landings | [23] |
USS LST-282 | ![]() |
15 August 1944 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | [24] | |
Leningrad | ![]() |
May 1963 | --- | Warship | P-35 Progress | Sunk in a missile test | [25] |
INS Eilat | ![]() |
21 October 1967 | War of Attrition | Warship | P-15 Termit | First ship sunk by a ship-launched missile | [7] |
![]() |
13 May 1970 | War of Attrition | Warship | P-15 Termit | [26] | ||
PNS Khaibar | ![]() |
4 December 1971 | Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 | Warship | P-15 Termit | [27] | |
PNS Muhafiz | ![]() |
4 December 1971 | Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 | Warship | P-15 Termit | [27] | |
MV Venus Challenger | ![]() |
8 December 1971 | Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 | Warship | P-15 Termit | [28] | |
![]() |
8 December 1971 | Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 | Warship | P-15 Termit | [29] | ||
Yarmouk | ![]() |
8 October 1973 | Yom Kippur War | Warship | Gabriel Mk 1 | [30] | |
Project 205 Moskit[nb 3] | ![]() |
8 October 1973 | Yom Kippur War | Warship | Gabriel Mk 1 | [31] | |
Three Project 205 Moskit | ![]() |
9 October 1973 | Yom Kippur War | Warship | Gabriel Mk 1 | [31] | |
Ilya Mechnikov | ![]() |
10 October 1973 | Yom Kippur War | Warship | Gabriel Mk 1 | [32] | |
HMAS Air Sprite | ![]() |
17 May 1979 | --- | Warship | RIM-24 Tartar | Sunk as a target | [33] |
USS Robert L. Wilson | ![]() |
1 March 1980 | --- | Warship | RGM-84 Harpoon | Sunk in a missile test | [34] |
Dhofar | ![]() |
18 May 1980 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | MM39 Exocet | [35] | |
USS Ozark | ![]() |
1 March 1980 | --- | Aircraft | AGM-65 Maverick | Sunk as a target | [36] |
Two Project 205 Moskit | ![]() |
29 November 1980 | Iran-Iraq War | Warship | RGM-84 Harpoon | [37] | |
![]() |
29 November 1980 | Iran-Iraq War | Warship | P-15 Termit | [37] | ||
BAP Almirante Guise | ![]() |
1 October 1981 | --- | Warship | Otomat | Sunk in a missile test | [38] |
HMS Sheffield | ![]() |
4 May 1982 | Falklands War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | Sank two days after being hit | [39] |
SS Atlantic Conveyor | ![]() |
25 May 1982 | Falklands War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | [40] | |
USS Agerholm | ![]() |
18 July 1982 | --- | Submarine | UGM-109 Tomahawk | Sunk in a missile test | [41] |
MV Sambow Banner | ![]() |
9 August 1982 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | [42] | |
MV Eastern Hunter | ![]() |
2 January 1983 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | [43] | |
MV Panoceanic Fame | ![]() |
15 May 1983 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | [44] | |
MV Iran Reshadat | ![]() |
24 August 1983 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | [45] | |
MV Iran Rezvan | ![]() |
25 October 1983 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | [46] | |
MV Skaros | ![]() |
1 February 1984 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | [47] | |
MV Charming | ![]() |
1 March 1984 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | [48] | |
MV Rana | ![]() |
23 August 1984 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | [49] | |
MV Song Bong | ![]() |
13 September 1985 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | [50] | |
MV Castor | ![]() |
27 February 1986 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | [50] | |
Waheed | ![]() |
25 March 1986 | Action in the Gulf of Sidra (1986) | Aircraft | AGM-84 Harpoon | [51] | |
Ain Zaquit | ![]() |
25 March 1986 | Action in the Gulf of Sidra (1986) | Aircraft | AGM-84 Harpoon | [52] | |
MV Harmony I | ![]() |
6 May 1986 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | [53] | |
K-219 | ![]() |
6 October 1986 | --- | --- | R-27 Zyb | Sunk by accident | [54] |
MV Bigerange XIV | ![]() |
1 September 1987 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | [55] | |
MV Iran Sedaghat | ![]() |
31 December 1987 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | [56] | |
![]() |
19 April 1988 | Operation Praying Mantis | Warship | RIM-66 Standard | [57] | ||
IRIS Sahand | ![]() |
19 April 1988 | Operation Praying Mantis | Warship | RGM-84 Harpoon | [57] | |
Sveti Vlaho | ![]() |
6 December 1991 | Croatian War of Independence | Coastal battery | 9K11 Malyutka | Refloated in 2001 and preserved as a monument at Batala Park in Dubrovnik. | [58] |
TČ-219 Streljko | ![]() |
8 October 1994 | Croatian War of Independence | Warship | RBS-15 | Sunk as a target by the Croatian Navy; ship had been captured in 1991 | [59][60] |
RČ-310 Velimir Škorpik | ![]() |
8 October 1994 | Croatia War of Independence | Warship | P-15 Termit | Sunk as a target by the Croatian Navy; ship had been captured in 1991 | [59][60] |
![]() |
October 1996 | --- | Aircraft | MM39 Exocet | Sunk as a target | [61] | |
USS White Plains | ![]() |
8 July 2002 | --- | Warship | RGM-84 Harpoon | Sunk as a target | [62] |
USS Harold E. Holt | ![]() |
10 July 2002 | --- | Combined | AGM-114 Hellfire and RGM-84 Harpoon | Sunk as a target | [63] |
USS Spruance | ![]() |
8 December 2006 | --- | Aircraft | AGM-84 Harpoon | Sunk as a target | [64] |
USS Horne | ![]() |
14 July 2008 | --- | Aircraft | AGM-84 Harpoon | Sunk as a target | [65] |
![]() |
10 August 2008 | Russo-Georgian War | Warship | P-120 Malakhit | [66] | ||
USS Fresno | ![]() |
15 September 2014 | --- | Warship | RGM-84 Harpoon | Sunk as a target | [67] |
USS Reuben James | ![]() |
18 January 2016 | --- | Warship | RIM-174 Standard ERAM | Sunk in a missile test | [68] |
PNS Tippu Sultan | ![]() |
27 April 2020 | --- | Combined | Babur, AM39 Exocet and YJ-83 | Sunk as a target | [69][70] |
USS Durham | ![]() |
30 August 2020 | --- | Warship | RGM-84 Harpoon | Sunk as a target | [71] |
Notes[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ships sunk by missiles. |
- ^ For example, the United States Navy claimed to have destroyed a Japanese destroyer with a ASM-N-2 Bat on 27 May 1945.[12] However, this has not been confirmed and so it is excluded from the list.[13]
- ^ The German Air Force claim to have sunk the freighter Uskide on 1 August 1943 but this is disputed.[14]
- ^ A Project 183R missile boat was also destroyed.[30]
References[]
Citations[]
- ^ Grant 2010, p. 53.
- ^ Smith 1998, p. 49.
- ^ a b Smith 1998, p. 104.
- ^ Smith 1998, p. 100.
- ^ a b c d Smith 1998, p. 103.
- ^ Gunston 1979, p. 79.
- ^ a b Grant 2010, p. 342.
- ^ Gunston 1979, p. 72.
- ^ Samaan 2017, p. 5.
- ^ Gunston 1979, p. 4.
- ^ Dorr 1999, p. 81.
- ^ Everett 2015, p. 385.
- ^ Bollinger 2010, pp. 26–27.
- ^ Bollinger 2010, p. 5.
- ^ Bollinger 2010, p. 61.
- ^ a b Bollinger 2010, p. 68.
- ^ Bollinger 2010, p. 78.
- ^ Goss 2016, p. 92.
- ^ Bollinger 2010, p. 109.
- ^ Gardiner 1995, pp. 34–35.
- ^ Evans 2010, p. 182.
- ^ Buckley 2011, p. 206.
- ^ Bollinger 2010, p. 153.
- ^ Kachur 2008, p. 132.
- ^ Tzalel 2000, p. 44.
- ^ a b Hiranandani 2000, p. 193.
- ^ Hiranandani 2000, p. 219.
- ^ Hiranandani 2000, p. 199.
- ^ a b O'Ballance 1978, p. 315.
- ^ a b Tzalel 2000, p. 118.
- ^ Hooke 1989, p. 216.
- ^ Gillett 1988, p. 40.
- ^ "Robert L. Wilson (DD-847)". Naval History and Heritage Command. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ Chipchase, Nick (9 March 2013). "Dhofar (SNV) (+1980)". wrecksite. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ Priolo, Gary P. (13 September 2019). "USS Ozark". Navsource Naval History. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ a b Cooper & Bishop 2000, p. 108.
- ^ Moore 1985, p. 716.
- ^ Evans 2010, p. 76.
- ^ Mercau 2019, p. 77.
- ^ Yenne 2018, p. 154.
- ^ Hooke 1997, p. 535.
- ^ Hooke 1989, p. 140.
- ^ Hooke 1997, p. 293.
- ^ Hooke 1997, p. 581.
- ^ Hooke 1997, p. 130.
- ^ Ricketts, Norton & Turcotte 1994, p. 129.
- ^ Morgan 2017, p. 32.
- ^ Hooke 1997, p. 266.
- ^ Offley 2008, p. 112.
- ^ Hooke 1989, p. 71.
- ^ a b Palmer 2003, p. 144.
- ^ "Sveti Vlaho u punom sjaju" ["Sveti Vlaho" in full glory]. Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). 6 December 2001.
- ^ a b Gardiner 1995, p. 649.
- ^ a b "HRM – 25 godina poslije". Obrana i sigurnost (in Croatian). 12 September 2016. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Rodríguez 1997, p. 66.
- ^ Asia-Pacific Defense Forum Staff 2002, p. 14.
- ^ Asia-Pacific Defense Forum Staff 2002, pp. 15–16.
- ^ Evans, Mark L.; Cohn-Postar, Gideon (4 December 2019). "Spruance I (DD-963)". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
- ^ Doehring, Thoralf (4 December 2019). "USS Horne (CG 30)". Navy Site. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
- ^ Shactman, Noah (15 August 2008). "Inside the Battle for the Black Sea". wired.com. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
- ^ Joint Information Bureau (14 September 2014). "U.S. joint forces sink former USS Fresno". navy.mil. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ LaGrone, Sam (7 March 2016). "Navy Sinks Former Frigate USS Reuben James in Test of New Supersonic Anti-Surface Missile". USNI. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ Defense Brief Editorial (28 April 2020). "Pakistan sinks former Royal Navy frigate in missile firing drill". Defence Brief. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ "Marinha do Paquistão testa mísseis antinavio contra casco de fragata Type 21" [Pakistani Navy tests anti-ship missiles against Type 21 frigate]. Poder Naval (in Portuguese). 25 April 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ RIMPAC 2020 Public Affairs (31 August 2020). "RIMPAC 2020 Participants Conduct Sinking Exercise". navy.mil. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
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