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List of ships sunk by missiles

Summary

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 MXY-7 Ohka suicide rocket. It also does not include vessels that were crippled and subsequently broken up.

Background edit

 
USS Agerholm being struck by a Tomahawk missile

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 edit

The list includes all verified sinkings.[nb 1]

Ship Nationality Date Conflict Vector Missile Notes Ref
HMS Egret   United Kingdom 27 August 1943 World War II Aircraft Henschel Hs 293 First ship sunk by guided missile[nb 2] [15]
RM Roma   Italy 9 September 1943 World War II Aircraft Fritz X First capital ship sunk by guided missiles [3]
USS LST-79   United States 30 September 1943 World War II Aircraft Henschel Hs 293 [16]
HMS Dulverton   United Kingdom 13 November 1943 World War II Aircraft Henschel Hs 293 [5]
MV Birchbank   United Kingdom 11 November 1943 World War II Aircraft Henschel Hs 293 [17]
SS Carlier   Belgium 11 November 1943 World War II Aircraft Henschel Hs 293 [17]
MV Marsa   United Kingdom 21 November 1943 World War II Aircraft Henschel Hs 293 [18]
HMT Rohna   United Kingdom 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   United Kingdom 24 January 1944 World War II Aircraft Henschel Hs 293 [20]
SS Samuel Huntington   United States 29 January 1944 World War II Aircraft Henschel Hs 293 [5]
HMS Spartan   United Kingdom 29 January 1944 World War II Aircraft Henschel Hs 293 [21]
SS Elihu Yale   United States 15 February 1944 World War II Aircraft Henschel Hs 293 [5]
HMS Inglefield   United Kingdom 25 February 1944 World War II Aircraft Henschel Hs 293 [22]
HMS Lawford   United Kingdom 8 June 1944 World War II Aircraft Henschel Hs 293 Sunk during the Normandy landings [23]
USS LST-282   United States 15 August 1944 World War II Aircraft Henschel Hs 293 [24]
Leningrad   Soviet Union May 1963 --- Warship P-35 Progress Sunk in a missile test [25]
INS Eilat   Israel 21 October 1967 War of Attrition Warship P-15 Termit First ship sunk by a ship-launched missile [7]
SS Orith   Israel 13 May 1970 War of Attrition Warship P-15 Termit [26]
PNS Khaibar   Pakistan 4 December 1971 Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 Warship P-15 Termit [27]
PNS Muhafiz   Pakistan 4 December 1971 Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 Warship P-15 Termit [27]
MV Venus Challenger   United States 8 December 1971 Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 Warship P-15 Termit [28]
SS Gulf Star   Panama 8 December 1971 Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 Warship P-15 Termit [29]
Yarmouk   Syria 8 October 1973 Yom Kippur War Warship Gabriel Mk 1 [30]
Project 205 Moskit[nb 3]   Syria 8 October 1973 Yom Kippur War Warship Gabriel Mk 1 [31]
Three Project 205 Moskit   Egypt 9 October 1973 Yom Kippur War Warship Gabriel Mk 1 [31]
Ilya Mechnikov   Soviet Union 10 October 1973 Yom Kippur War Warship Gabriel Mk 1 [32]
HMAS Air Sprite   Australia 17 May 1979 --- Warship RIM-24 Tartar Sunk as a target [33]
USS Robert L. Wilson   United States 1 March 1980 --- Warship RGM-84 Harpoon Sunk in a missile test [34]
Dhofar   Oman 18 May 1980 --- Aircraft MM39 Exocet Sunk as target [35]
USS Ozark   United States 1 March 1980 --- Aircraft AGM-65 Maverick Sunk as a target [36]
Two Project 205 Moskit   Iraq 29 November 1980 Iran-Iraq War Warship RGM-84 Harpoon [37]
IRIS Paykan   Iran 29 November 1980 Iran-Iraq War Warship P-15 Termit [37]
BAP Almirante Guise   Peru 1 October 1981 --- Warship Otomat Sunk in a missile test [38]
HMS Sheffield   United Kingdom 4 May 1982 Falklands War Aircraft AM39 Exocet Sank two days after being hit [39]
SS Atlantic Conveyor   United Kingdom 25 May 1982 Falklands War Aircraft AM39 Exocet [40]
USS Agerholm   United States 18 July 1982 --- Submarine UGM-109 Tomahawk Sunk in a missile test [41]
MV Sambow Banner   South Korea 9 August 1982 Iran-Iraq War Aircraft AM39 Exocet [42]
MV Eastern Hunter   Singapore 2 January 1983 Iran-Iraq War Aircraft AM39 Exocet [43]
MV Panoceanic Fame   Greece 15 May 1983 Iran-Iraq War Aircraft AM39 Exocet [44]
MV Iran Reshadat   Iran 24 August 1983 Iran-Iraq War Aircraft AM39 Exocet [45]
MV Iran Rezvan   Iran 25 October 1983 Iran-Iraq War Aircraft AM39 Exocet [46]
MV Skaros   Cyprus 1 February 1984 Iran-Iraq War Aircraft AM39 Exocet [47]
MV Charming   United Kingdom 1 March 1984 Iran-Iraq War Aircraft AM39 Exocet [48]
MV Rana   Saudi Arabia 23 August 1984 Iran-Iraq War Aircraft AM39 Exocet [49]
MV Song Bong   North Korea 13 September 1985 Iran-Iraq War Aircraft AM39 Exocet [50]
MV Castor   Liberia 27 February 1986 Iran-Iraq War Aircraft AM39 Exocet [50]
Waheed   Libya 25 March 1986 Action in the Gulf of Sidra (1986) Aircraft AGM-84 Harpoon [51]
Ain Zaquit   Libya 25 March 1986 Action in the Gulf of Sidra (1986) Aircraft AGM-84 Harpoon [52]
MV Harmony I   Malta 6 May 1986 Iran-Iraq War Aircraft AM39 Exocet [53]
Musson   Soviet Union 16 April 1987 --- Missile boat P-15 Termit Accidentally hit by a training target missile during a training exercise and sunk [54]
MV Bigerange XIV   Panama 1 September 1987 Iran-Iraq War Aircraft AM39 Exocet [55]
MV Iran Sedaghat   Iran 31 December 1987 Iran-Iraq War Aircraft AM39 Exocet [56]
IRIS Joshan   Iran 19 April 1988 Operation Praying Mantis Warship RIM-66 Standard [57]
IRIS Sahand   Iran 19 April 1988 Operation Praying Mantis Warship RGM-84 Harpoon [57]
Sveti Vlaho   Croatia 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   Yugoslavia 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   Yugoslavia 8 October 1994 Croatian War of Independence Warship P-15 Termit Sunk as a target by the Croatian Navy; ship had been captured in 1991 [59][60]
ARA Chiriguano   Argentina October 1996 --- Aircraft MM39 Exocet Sunk as a target [61]
USS White Plains   United States 8 July 2002 --- Warship RGM-84 Harpoon Sunk as a target [62]
USS Harold E. Holt   United States 10 July 2002 --- Combined AGM-114 Hellfire and RGM-84 Harpoon Sunk as a target [63]
USS Spruance   United States 8 December 2006 --- Aircraft AGM-84 Harpoon Sunk as a target [64]
USS Horne   United States 14 July 2008 --- Aircraft AGM-84 Harpoon Sunk as a target [65]
Georgy Toreli   Georgia 10 August 2008 Russo-Georgian War Warship P-120 Malakhit [66]
USS Fresno   United States 15 September 2014 --- Warship RGM-84 Harpoon Sunk as a target [67]
USS Reuben James   United States 18 January 2016 --- Warship RIM-174 Standard ERAM Sunk in a missile test [68]
PNS Tippu Sultan   Pakistan 27 April 2020 --- Combined Babur, AM39 Exocet and YJ-83 Sunk as a target [69][70]
USS Durham   United States 30 August 2020 --- Warship RGM-84 Harpoon Sunk as a target [71]
Sloviansk   Ukraine 3 March 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Aircraft Kh-31 [72]
BDK Saratov   Russia 24 March 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Coastal battery Tochka-U Hit by ground-to-ground missile when moored in Berdyansk harbour. [73][74]
Moskva   Russia 14 April 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Coastal battery R-360 Neptune Russia claims the cruiser sank from an internal explosion [75][76]
Russian tug Spasatel Vasily Bekh   Russia 17 June 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Coastal battery RGM-84 Harpoon [77][78]
Russian landing ship Novocherkassk   Russia 26 December 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine TBC TBC TBC [79]
M/V Rubymar   United Kingdom 2 March 2024 Red Sea crisis Unknown Ballistic missile First ship sunk by an anti-ship ballistic missile [80]

Notes edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ships sunk by missiles.
  1. ^ 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]
  2. ^ The German Air Force claim to have sunk the freighter Uskide on 1 August 1943 but this is disputed.[14]
  3. ^ A Project 183R missile boat was also destroyed.[30]

References edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ Grant 2010, p. 53.
  2. ^ Smith 1998, p. 49.
  3. ^ a b Smith 1998, p. 104.
  4. ^ Smith 1998, p. 100.
  5. ^ a b c d Smith 1998, p. 103.
  6. ^ Gunston 1979, p. 79.
  7. ^ a b Grant 2010, p. 342.
  8. ^ Gunston 1979, p. 72.
  9. ^ Navias & Hooton 1996, p. 128.
  10. ^ Samaan 2017, p. 5.
  11. ^ Gunston 1979, p. 4.
  12. ^ Dorr 1999, p. 81.
  13. ^ Everett 2015, p. 385.
  14. ^ Bollinger 2010, pp. 26–27.
  15. ^ Bollinger 2010, p. 5.
  16. ^ Bollinger 2010, p. 61.
  17. ^ a b Bollinger 2010, p. 68.
  18. ^ Bollinger 2010, p. 78.
  19. ^ Goss 2016, p. 92.
  20. ^ Bollinger 2010, p. 109.
  21. ^ Gardiner 1995, pp. 34–35.
  22. ^ Evans 2010, p. 182.
  23. ^ Buckley 2011, p. 206.
  24. ^ Bollinger 2010, p. 153.
  25. ^ Kachur 2008, p. 132.
  26. ^ Tzalel 2000, p. 44.
  27. ^ a b Hiranandani 2000, p. 193.
  28. ^ Hiranandani 2000, p. 219.
  29. ^ Hiranandani 2000, p. 199.
  30. ^ a b O'Ballance 1978, p. 315.
  31. ^ a b Tzalel 2000, p. 118.
  32. ^ Hooke 1989, p. 216.
  33. ^ Gillett 1988, p. 40.
  34. ^ "Robert L. Wilson (DD-847)". Naval History and Heritage Command. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  35. ^ "LONDON & ROCHESTER TRADING CO. (CRESCENT SHIPPING), Rochester. - Paul Johnson". transportsofdelight.smugmug.com. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
  36. ^ Priolo, Gary P. (13 September 2019). "USS Ozark". Navsource Naval History. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  37. ^ a b Cooper & Bishop 2000, p. 108.
  38. ^ Moore 1985, p. 716.
  39. ^ Evans 2010, p. 76.
  40. ^ Mercau 2019, p. 77.
  41. ^ Yenne 2018, p. 154.
  42. ^ Hooke 1997, p. 535.
  43. ^ Hooke 1989, p. 140.
  44. ^ Navias & Hooton 1996, p. 57.
  45. ^ Hooke 1997, p. 293.
  46. ^ Navias & Hooton 1996, p. 48.
  47. ^ Hooke 1997, p. 581.
  48. ^ Hooke 1997, p. 130.
  49. ^ Navias & Hooton 1996, p. 77.
  50. ^ a b Navias & Hooton 1996, p. 108.
  51. ^ Ricketts, Norton & Turcotte 1994, p. 129.
  52. ^ Morgan 2017, p. 32.
  53. ^ Hooke 1997, p. 266.
  54. ^ "Pacific Fleet Pays Honors to Corvette Musson Wrecked 25 Years Ago". Archived from the original on 2012-05-15.
  55. ^ Hooke 1989, p. 71.
  56. ^ Navias & Hooton 1996, p. 88.
  57. ^ a b Palmer 2003, p. 144.
  58. ^ "Sveti Vlaho u punom sjaju" ["Sveti Vlaho" in full glory]. Slobodna Dalmacija (in Croatian). 6 December 2001.
  59. ^ a b Gardiner 1995, p. 649.
  60. ^ a b "HRM – 25 godina poslije". Obrana i sigurnost (in Croatian). 12 September 2016. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
  61. ^ Rodríguez 1997, p. 66.
  62. ^ Asia-Pacific Defense Forum Staff 2002, p. 14.
  63. ^ Asia-Pacific Defense Forum Staff 2002, pp. 15–16.
  64. ^ Evans, Mark L.; Cohn-Postar, Gideon (4 December 2019). "Spruance I (DD-963)". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  65. ^ Doehring, Thoralf (4 December 2019). "USS Horne (CG 30)". Navy Site. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  66. ^ Shactman, Noah (15 August 2008). "Inside the Battle for the Black Sea". wired.com. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  67. ^ Joint Information Bureau (14 September 2014). "U.S. joint forces sink former USS Fresno". navy.mil. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  68. ^ 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.
  69. ^ Defense Brief Editorial (28 April 2020). "Pakistan sinks former Royal Navy frigate in missile firing drill". Defence Brief. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  70. ^ "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.
  71. ^ RIMPAC 2020 Public Affairs (31 August 2020). "RIMPAC 2020 Participants Conduct Sinking Exercise". navy.mil. Retrieved 5 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  72. ^ "Ukraine Reports Loss of U.S.-Built Patrol Boat by Russian Missile". The Maritime Executive. Retrieved 2022-07-02.
  73. ^ "Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief releases video of army destroying Russian ship Saratov last year". Ukrainska Pravda. 2023-03-24.
  74. ^ "Ukraine Navy successfully disables 5 Russian landing ships since start of war". Navy Recognition. 2023-08-17.
  75. ^ NYT (2022-04-15). "Russia's Black Sea flagship was hit by 2 Ukrainian missiles, a U.S. official says". New York Times. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
  76. ^ Trevithick, Joseph (2022-04-15). "Ukrainian Anti-Ship Missiles Struck The Russian Cruiser Moskva: U.S. Officials". The Drive. Retrieved 2022-04-15.
  77. ^ "Ukrainsk forsvarsminister efter dansk besøg: kornaftale blev mulig på grund af missiler fra Danmark". DR Nyheder. 10 April 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  78. ^ Ozberk, Tayfun (17 June 2022). "Ukraine Strikes Russia's Vasily Bekh Rescue Tug With Antiship Missiles". Naval News. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  79. ^ "Ukrainian Bombers Just Blew Up Another Russian Warship. 'Russia's Fleet Is Getting Smaller And Smaller!'". Forbes. 2023-12-26.
  80. ^ "CENTCOM on Twitter". Twitter.

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