List of ships sunk by missiles

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.

HMS Sheffield stricken after being hit by an Exocet missile, 26 May 1982

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
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 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 Missile Notes Reference
HMS Egret  United Kingdom 27 August 1943 Henschel Hs 293 First ship sunk by guided missile[nb 2] [15]
USS LST-79  United States 30 September 1943 Henschel Hs 293 [16]
Roma  Kingdom of Italy 9 September 1943 Fritz X Sunk after being struck by two missiles [17]
HMS Dulverton  United Kingdom 13 November 1943 Henschel Hs 293 [5]
MV Birchbank  United Kingdom 11 November 1943 Henschel Hs 293 [18]
SS Carlier  Belgium 11 November 1943 Henschel Hs 293 [18]
MV Marsa  United Kingdom 21 November 1943 Henschel Hs 293 [19]
HMT Rohna  United Kingdom 26 November 1943 Henschel Hs 293 1,138 killed, the highest number by an anti-ship missile [20]
HMHS St David  United Kingdom 24 January 1944 Henschel Hs 293 [21]
SS Samuel Huntington  United States 29 January 1944 Henschel Hs 293 [5]
HMS Spartan  United Kingdom 29 January 1944 Henschel Hs 293 [22]
SS Elihu Yale  United States 15 February 1944 Henschel Hs 293 [5]
HMS Inglefield  United Kingdom 25 February 1944 Henschel Hs 293 [23]
HMS Lawford  United Kingdom 8 June 1944 Henschel Hs 293 Sunk during the Normandy landings [24]
USS LST-282  United States 15 August 1944 Henschel Hs 293 [25]
Leningrad  Soviet Union May 1963 P-35 Progress Sunk in a missile test [26]
INS Eilat  Israel 21 October 1967 P-15 Termit First ship sunk by a ship-launched missile [7]
SS Orith  Israel 13 May 1970 P-15 Termit [27]
PNS Khaibar  Pakistan 4 December 1971 P-15 Termit [28]
PNS Muhafiz  Pakistan 4 December 1971 P-15 Termit [28]
MV Venus Challenger  United States 8 December 1971 P-15 Termit [29]
SS Gulf Star  Panama 8 December 1971 P-15 Termit [30]
Yarmouk  Syria 8 October 1973 Gabriel Mk 1 [31]
Project 205 Moskit[nb 3]  Syria 8 October 1973 Gabriel Mk 1 [32]
Three Project 205 Moskit  Egypt 9 October 1973 Gabriel Mk 1 [32]
Ilya Mechnikov  Soviet Union 10 October 1973 Gabriel Mk 1 [33]
HMAS Air Sprite  Australia 17 May 1979 RIM-24 Tartar Sunk as a target [34]
USS Robert L. Wilson  United States 1 March 1980 RGM-84 Harpoon Sunk in a missile test [35]
Dhofar  Oman 18 May 1980 MM39 Exocet [36]
USS Ozark  United States 1 March 1980 AGM-65 Maverick Sunk by accident [37]
Two Project 205 Moskit  Iraq 29 November 1980 RGM-84 Harpoon [38]
IRIS Paykan  Iran 29 November 1980 P-15 Termit [38]
BAP Almirante Guise  Peru 1 October 1981 Otomat Sunk in a missile test [39]
SS Atlantic Conveyor  United Kingdom 25 May 1982 AM39 Exocet Sunk during the Falklands War [40]
HMS Sheffield  United Kingdom 28 May 1982 AM39 Exocet Sunk two days after being hit [41]
USS Agerholm  United States 18 July 1982 UGM-109 Tomahawk Sunk in a missile test [42]
MV Sambow Banner  South Korea 9 August 1982 AM39 Exocet [43]
MV Eastern Hunter  Singapore 2 January 1983 AM39 Exocet [44]
MV Panoceanic Fame  Greece 15 May 1983 AM39 Exocet [45]
MV Iran Reshadat  Iran 24 August 1983 AM39 Exocet [46]
MV Iran Rezvan  Iran 25 October 1983 AM39 Exocet [47]
MV Skaros  Cyprus 1 February 1984 AM39 Exocet [48]
MV Charming  United Kingdom 1 March 1984 AM39 Exocet [49]
MV Rana  Saudi Arabia 23 August 1984 AM39 Exocet [50]
MV Song Bong  North Korea 13 September 1985 AM39 Exocet [51]
MV Castor  Liberia 27 February 1986 AM39 Exocet [51]
Waheed  Libya 25 March 1986 AGM-84 Harpoon [52]
Ain Zaquit  Libya 25 March 1986 AGM-84 Harpoon [53]
MV Harmony I  Malta 6 May 1986 AM39 Exocet [54]
K-219  Soviet Union 6 October 1986 R-27 Zyb Sunk by accident [55]
MV Bigerange XIV  Panama 1 September 1987 AM39 Exocet [56]
MV Iran Sedaghat  Iran 31 December 1987 AM39 Exocet [57]
IRIS Joshan  Iran 19 April 1988 RIM-66 Standard [58]
IRIS Sahand  Iran 19 April 1988 RGM-84 Harpoon [58]
TČ-219 Streljko  Croatia 8 October 1994 RBS-15 Sunk as a target [59]
ARA Chiriguano  Argentina October 1996 MM39 Exocet Sunk as a target [60]
USS White Plains  United States 8 July 2002 RGM-84 Harpoon Sunk as a target [61]
USS Harold E. Holt  United States 10 July 2002 AGM-114 Hellfire and RGM-84 Harpoon Sunk as a target [62]
USS Spruance  United States 8 December 2006 AGM-84 Harpoon Sunk as a target [63]
USS Horne  United States 14 July 2008 AGM-84 Harpoon Sunk as a target [64]
Georgy Toreli  Georgia 10 August 2008 P-120 Malakhit [65]
USS Fresno  United States 15 September 2014 RGM-84 Harpoon Sunk as a target [66]
USS Reuben James  United States 18 January 2016 RIM-174 Standard ERAM Sunk in a missile test [67]
PNS Tippu Sultan  Pakistan 27 April 2020 Babur, AM39 Exocet and YJ-83 Sunk as a target [68][69]
USS Durham  United States 30 August 2020 RGM-84 Harpoon Sunk as a target [70]

Notes
  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.[31]

References

Citations
  1. Grant 2010, p. 53.
  2. Smith 1998, p. 49.
  3. Smith 1998, p. 104.
  4. Smith 1998, p. 100.
  5. Smith 1998, p. 103.
  6. Gunston 1979, p. 79.
  7. 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. Bagnasco 2012, p. 342.
  18. Bollinger 2010, p. 68.
  19. Bollinger 2010, p. 78.
  20. Goss 2016, p. 92.
  21. Bollinger 2010, p. 109.
  22. Gardiner 1995, pp. 34–35.
  23. Evans 2010, p. 182.
  24. Buckley 2011, p. 206.
  25. Bollinger 2010, p. 153.
  26. Kachur 2008, p. 132.
  27. Tzalel 2000, p. 44.
  28. Hiranandani 2000, p. 193.
  29. Hiranandani 2000, p. 219.
  30. Hiranandani 2000, p. 199.
  31. O'Ballance 1978, p. 315.
  32. Tzalel 2000, p. 118.
  33. Hooke 1989, p. 216.
  34. Gillett 1988, p. 40.
  35. "Robert L. Wilson (DD-847)". Naval History and Heritage Command. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  36. Chipchase, Nick (9 March 2013). "Dhofar (SNV) (+1980)". wrecksite. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  37. Priolo, Gary P. (13 September 2019). "USS Ozark". Navsource Naval History. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  38. Cooper & Bishop 2000, p. 108.
  39. Moore 1985, p. 716.
  40. Mercau 2019, p. 77.
  41. Evans 2010, p. 76.
  42. Yenne 2018, p. 154.
  43. Hooke 1997, p. 535.
  44. Hooke 1989, p. 140.
  45. Navias & Hooton 1996, p. 57.
  46. Hooke 1997, p. 293.
  47. Navias & Hooton 1996, p. 48.
  48. Hooke 1997, p. 581.
  49. Hooke 1997, p. 130.
  50. Navias & Hooton 1996, p. 77.
  51. Navias & Hooton 1996, p. 108.
  52. Ricketts, Norton & Turcotte 1994, p. 129.
  53. Morgan 2017, p. 32.
  54. Hooke 1997, p. 266.
  55. Offley 2008, p. 112.
  56. Hooke 1989, p. 71.
  57. Navias & Hooton 1996, p. 88.
  58. Palmer 2003, p. 144.
  59. Gardiner 1995, p. 649.
  60. Rodríguez 1997, p. 66.
  61. Asia-Pacific Defense Forum Staff 2002, p. 14.
  62. Asia-Pacific Defense Forum Staff 2002, pp. 15–16.
  63. Evans, Mark L.; Cohn-Postar, Gideon (4 December 2019). "Spruance I (DD-963)". Naval History and Heritage Command. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
  64. Doehring, Thoralf (4 December 2019). "USS Horne (CG 30)". Navy Site. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  65. Shactman, Noah (15 August 2008). "Inside the Battle for the Black Sea". wired.com. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  66. Joint Information Bureau (14 September 2014). "U.S. joint forces sink former USS Fresno". navy.mil. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  67. 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.
  68. Defense Brief Editorial (28 April 2020). "Pakistan sinks former Royal Navy frigate in missile firing drill". Defence Brief. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  69. "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.
  70. RIMPAC 2020 Public Affairs (31 August 2020). "RIMPAC 2020 Participants Conduct Sinking Exercise". navy.mil. Retrieved 5 December 2020.

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