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 another 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.
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 battleshipItalia 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]
^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]
Asia-Pacific Defense Forum Staff (2002). "RIMPAC 2002". Asia-Pacific Defense Forum (Fall 2002): 8–18.
Bagnasco, Ermingo (2012). The Littorio Class: Italy's Last and Largest Battleships. Barnsley: Seaforth. ISBN978-1-84832-105-2.
Bollinger, Martin J. (2010). Warriors and Wizards: The Development and Defeat of Radio-Controlled Glide of the Third Reich. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. ISBN978-1-59114-067-2.
Buckley, Donal (2011). "Postscript: 'And so to D-Day'". In Morgan, Gerald (ed.). Southern Ireland and the Liberation of France: New Perspectives. New York: Peter Lang. pp. 205–211. ISBN978-3-03430-190-9.
Cooper, Tom; Bishop, Farzad (2000). Iran-Iraq War in the Air, 1980-1988. Atglen: Schiffer Military History. ISBN978-0-76431-669-2.
Dorr, Robert F. (1999). B-24 Liberator Units of the Pacific War. London: Osprey. ISBN978-1-85532-781-8.
Evans, Arthur S. (2010). Destroyer Down: An Account of HM Destroyer Losses 1939-1945. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Maritime. ISBN978-1-84884-270-0.
Everett, H.R. (2015). Unmanned Systems of World Wars I and II. Cambridge: The MIT Press. ISBN978-0-262-02922-3.
Goss, Chris (2016). Fw 200 Condor Units of World War 2. London: Osprey. ISBN978-1-47281-267-4.
Gardiner, Robert (1995). Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995. London: Conway Maritime. ISBN978-0-85177-605-7.
Grant, R.G. (2010). Battle at Sea: 3000 Years of Naval Warfare. New York: DK Books. ISBN978-0-75667-491-5.
Gunston, Bil (1979). The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of the World's Rockets & Missiles. London: Salamander Books. ISBN978-0-86101-029-5.
Hiranandani, G.M. (2000). Transition to Triumph: History of the Indian Navy, 1965-1975. New Delhi: Lancer. ISBN978-189-782-972-1.
Hooke, Norman (1989). Modern Shipping Disasters, 1963-1987. London: Lloyds. ISBN978-1-85044-211-0.
Hooke, Norman (1997). Maritime Casualties, 1963-1996. London: Lloyds. ISBN978-1-85978-110-4.
Kachur, Pavel (2008). "Гончие псы" Красного флота. "Ташкент", "Баку", "Ленинград" [Hounds of the Red Fleet: Tashkent, Baku, Leningrad] (in Russian). Moscow: Yauza/Eksmo. ISBN978-5-699-31614-4.
Mercau, Ezequiel (2019). The Falklands War: An Imperial History. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN978-1-10848-329-2.
Morgan, Rick (2017). A-6 Intruder Units 1974-96. New York: Osprey Publishing. ISBN978-1-472-81877-5.
Navias, Martin S.; Hooton, E. R. (1996). Tanker Wars: Assault on Merchant Shipping During the Iran-Iraq Crisis, 1980-88. London: Tauris Academic Studies. ISBN978-1-86064-032-2.
O'Ballance, Edgar (1978). No Victor, No Vanquished: The Yom Kippur War. San Rafael: Presidio Press. ISBN978-0-89141-017-1.
Offley, Edward (2008). Scorpion Down: Sunk by the Soviets, Buried by the Pentagon: the Untold Story of the USS Scorpion. New York: Basic Books. ISBN978-0-46505-186-1.
Palmer, Michael A. (2003). On Course to Desert Storm: The United States Navy and the Persian Gulf. Honolulu: University Press of the Pacific. ISBN978-1-41020-495-0.
Ricketts, R. Allan; Norton, Richard J.; Turcotte, William E. (1994). National Security. Newport: Naval War College Press. ISBN978-1-88473-302-4.
Rodríguez, Horacio (1997). Buques de la Armada Argentina 1970–1996: sus comandos y operaciones (in Spanish). Buenos Aires: Instituto Nacional Browniano. ISBN978-9-87951-605-8.
Gillett, Ross (1988). Australian and New Zealand Warships Since 1946. Sydney: Child & Associates. ISBN978-0-86777-219-7.
Samaan, Jean-Loup (25 October 2017). The missile threat in the Mediterranean: implications for European security (Report). Madrid: Real Instituto Elcano.
Smith, Peter Charles (1998). Ship Strike: A History of Air to Sea Weapon Systems. Shrewsbury: Airlife. ISBN978-1-85310-773-3.
Tzalel, Mosha (2000). From Ice-breaker to Missile Boat: The Evolution of Israel's Naval Strategy. Westport: Greenwood Press. ISBN978-0-31331-360-8.
Yenne, Bill (2018). Complete History of U.S. Cruise Missiles: Kettering's 1920s' Bug, 1950s Snark to today's Tomahawk. Forest Lake: Specialty Press. ISBN978-1-58007-256-4.