List of naval battles: Difference between revisions

This is a list of naval battles, organized by date and era.

Ancient

• 494 BC Lade
• 480 BC Artemisium
• 480 BC Salamis
• 474 BC Cumae
• 460s BC Eurymedon
• 450s BC Salamis (in Cyprus)
• 433 BC Sybota
• 429 BC Naupactus
• 425 BC Pylos
• 411 BC Cynossema
• 405 BC Aegospotami
• 394 BC Cnidus
• 376 BC Naxos
• 308 BC Salamis (in Cyprus): Demetrius I Poliorcetes defeats the fleet of Menelaeus, brother of Ptolemy I
• 260 BC Lipara Islands
• 260 BC Mylae
• 258 BC Cos
• 256 BC Cape Ecnomus
• 249 BC Drepana
• 242 BC Aegates Islands: Roman sea victory over the Carthaginians, ending the First Punic War
• 201 BC Chios: Philip V of Macedon is defeated by the Egyptians, Rhodians, and Pergamese
• 190 BC Eurymedon: Roman forces under Lucius Aemilius Regillus defeat a Seleucid fleet commanded by Hannibal
• 190 BC Myonessus
• 31 BC Actium: Octavian decisively defeats Antony and Cleopatra

Middle Ages

• 677 Syllaeum
• 1213 Damme: English under William Longsword, Earl of Salisbury, sink most of fleet of France's King Philip II in the harbor of Damme
• 1217 South Foreland: Fleet of English Hubert and Burgh defeat French fleet of Eustace the Monk off Dover
• 1296 Curzota: Genoa defeats Venetian fleet including Marco Polo
• 1340 Sluys: Edward III of England beats Franco-Genoese fleet of Philip VI of France off the coast of Flanders and gains control of the English Channel
• 1354 Sapienza: Genoans destroy Venetian fleet

Renaissance

• 1509 Dui (February 2): Portugal's India viceroy destroys Moslem fleet, controls spice trade
• 1538 Preveza: Ottoman fleet defeats Spanish-Venetian fleet
• 1571 Lepanto
• 1588 Defeat of the Spanish Armada

17th century

• 1627 Oliwa
• 29 May 1652 Goodwin Sands - Blake fires on Tromp's fleet without declaring war and initiates the First Anglo-Dutch War
• 26 August 1652 Plymouth - De Ruyter's 36 men of war hold off Ayscue's 45 men of war, driving them away.
• 8 October 1652 Kentish Knock - Blake beats back de Witt
• 10 December Dungeness (December 10): Tromp defeats Blake
• 1652 Blenau (April 7): Great Conde commands Fronds against French under Marshall Turenne
• 1653 Portland (February 28–March 2) Dutch admiral Tromp, outnumbered, loses a dozen man of war and 50 merchant man to Blake
• March 13 1653 Livorno: Johan van Galen's ships defeat Bodley
• 1653 Gabbard
• 1653 Scheveningen
• June 1666 Four Days Battle
• 1667 Raid on the Medway
• 1672 Sole Bay
• 1672 Texel
• 1676 Oland (June 1): Danish-Dutch fleet defeats Swedish fleet in Baltic Sea
• 1690 Beachy Head
• 1692 La Hougue

18th century

• 1744 February 22 Toulon - draw between British and Franco-Spanish fleets south of Toulon
• 1759 Quiberon Bay British defeat French
• 1770 July 5 and 7 Chesma Russian fleet burns Turkish fleet off western Turkey
• 1776 October 11 Valcour Island - Benedict Arnold escapes the British fleet under Guy Carleton
• 1780 Cape St Vincent (1780)
• 1781 Chesapeake Bay
• 1782 April 12 Saintes
• 1782 April 12 Providien - Indecisive engagement between French and English squadrons off south-east India
• 1782 July 6 Negapatam - Indecisive engagment between British and French fleets off south-east India
• 1782 September 3 Trincomalee - British fleet under Hughes damages French fleet under Suffren but withdraws
• 1783 June 20 Cuddalore - French fleet drives British fleet off shore of Cuddalore. Last of the five battles between Suffren and Hughes
• 1788 Ochakov Russia defeats Turkey in Black Sea

Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790)

• 1788 Hogland - Bloody engagement between Swedish and Russian fleets; both sides loose a ship, but Swedes withdraw.
• 1789 May 21 - 22-gun cutter Mercury under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Roman Crown captures Swedish 40-gun frigate Venus, which according to tradition joins Russian navy under the same name.
• 1789 October 11 First Rochensalm - Clash of Swedish and Russian galley fleets results in Russian victory. Swedish admiral Erensferd looses 5 rowing frigates, as well as some smaller craft and is forced to retreat
• 1790 May 2 Revel - Swedish fleet of 22 battleships and 4 frigates under command of Admiral Duke Carl of Sondermanland attacks Russian fleet under admiral Chitchagov (9 battleships, 5 frigates) anchored off Revel. Attack proves unsuccessful, Swedes lose two ships of the line and withdraw.
• 1790 May 4 Fredrikshamn - Swedish galley fleet (140 galleys, 4 transports) attacks Russian galley detachement of capt. Sjlissov (60 galleys, 3 large rowing frigates). Attack is a success, Russians withdraw after a fight, losing at least 20 galleys and all 3 frigates.
• 1790 June 22 Vyborg Bay - Swedish fleet blockaded in the "gauntlet" of the bay of Vyborg attempts a breakout. Swedes loose 7 ships of the line and three frigates, as well as multiple smaller ships (4 ships and 2 frigates are actually taken by Russians), but succeed a breakout and save the remainder of the fleet
• 1790 June 28 Second Rochensalm - Decisive victory of the Swedish galley fleet

French Revolutionary War (1793-1801) and Napoleonic Wars (1802-15)

• 1794 June 1 The Glorious First of June - England defeats France in North Atlantic while French convoy makes it safely to Brest
• 1797 February 14 Cape St Vincent
• 1797 October Camperdown - British fleet under Admiral Duncan defeats a Dutch fleet
• 1798 August 1-3 Nile (Aboukir Bay) Nelson defeats a moored French fleet in Egypt
• 1801 April 5 Copenhagen Nelson defeats moored Danish fleet off Kobenhavn to prevent Napoleon getting control of it
• 1801 July 6 First Algeciras - English naval defeat by French
• 1801 July 12 [[Second Algeciras]] - English naval victory over French and Spanish
• 1805 October 21 Cape Trafalgar Nelson defeats combined French/Spanish fleet off southern Spain, gaining control of the oceans for Britain for the rest of the war
• 1807 June 30 Lemnos - Russian fleet under Admiral Alexei Seniavin defeats Turks in Aegean
• 1807 September 2-7 Second Copenhagen - British land, sea forces under Admiral Gambier and Gen. Cathcart destroy Danish fleet
• 1812 July [[First Battle of Lissa]] - British frigate fleet destroys superior French/Venezian fleet at Lissa (Vis) in the Adriatic Sea

War of 1812

• 1812 Sacket's Harbor (July 19): US turns back British naval attack
• 1812 August 19: Isaac Hull's USS Constitution defeats HMS Guerrière
• 1812 Virginia (October 18): Jacob Jones' USS Wasp defeats HMS Frolic
• 1812 October 25: Decatur's USS United States captures HMS Macedonian
• 1812 December 29: Bainbridge's USS Constitution destroys HMS Java
• 1813 Sacket's Harbor (May 28–29): US Gen. Jacob Brown turns back British under Sir John Prevost
• 1813 Boston Harbor (June 1): HMS Shannon captures Lawrence's USS Chesapeake, Lawrence says: "Don't give up the ship"
• 1813 August 14: HMS Pelican captures Allen's USS Argus
• 1813 September 3: USS Enterprise captures HMS Boxer off New England Coast
• 1813 Lake Erie
• 1814 September 1: USS Wasp sinks HMS Avon
• 1814 Lake Champlain: and Plattsburg (September 11): US squadron under Thomas Macdonough defeats British under George Downie
• 1814 Plattsburg
• 1815 February 20: USS Constitution captures HMS Cyane and HMS Levant
• 1815 March 23: USS Hornet captures HMS Penguin

19th century

• 18-19 June 1822 Chios - Greek rebel fleet under Constantine Kanaris defeats Turkish fleet of Kara Ali
• 20 Ocrober 1827 Navarino - British/French/Russian fleets, under Admirals Codrington, Rigny, and Heiden, destroy Turkish/Egyptian/Tunisian fleet of Tahir Pasha off south-west Greece
• 5 July 1833 Cape St Vincent - British fleet under Sir Charles Napier defeats fleet of Portuguese usurper Don Miguel
• 30 October 1853 Sinop - Russian battleships defeat Turkish frigates at Sinope, Turkey
• November 5 1853 - Russian steam frigate Vladimir defeats and captures Turkish steam frigate Pervas-Bahri
• 1864 Heligoland - German/Austrian fleet defeats Danish fleet in North Sea
• 19 June 1864 Cherbourg France - USS Kearsarge sinks CSS Alabama
• 8-9 March 1862 Hampton Roads
• 20 July 1866 Second Battle of Lissa - Austrian Admiral von Tegetthoff rams and drives off superior Italian fleet under Persano

Late 19th Century

• various actions in 1864 and 1879-83
• 1885 September Foochow - French squadron defeats Chinese ships at Foochow
• 1894 Yalu River - Japan defeats Chinese off Korea
• 1898 May Manila Bay
• 1898 July Santiago de Cuba
• 1904 Yellow Sea
• 1904 Tsushima Straits
• 1905 May 27-28 Tsushima - Japan defeats Russian fleet between Korea and Japan
• 1912 Dardanellia
• 1912 Lemnos

World War I

• 1914–1918 First Battle of the Atlantic
• 1914 August 28 Heligoland Bight
• 1914 November 1 Coronel
• 1914 December 8 Falkland Islands
• 1915 January 24 Dogger Bank
• 1916 May 31 - June 1 Jutland
• 1917 Raid on the Otranto Barrage

World War II

• 1939–1945 Second Battle of the Atlantic
• 1939 December River Plate
• 1940 July 3 Mers El-Kebir - British fleet attacks French fleet in harbour in Algeria
• 1940 July 9 Punta Stilo - British fleet attacks Italian fleet
• 1940 September 23 Dakar - British fleet supports a landing at Dakar
• 1940 November 1 Taranto - British fleet attacks Italians anchored at Taranto
• 1940 November 27 Cape Teulada - British fight back an Italian interception
• 1941 March 28 Cape Matapan - British fleet defeats Italian fleet
• 1941 May 24-27 Hunt for Bismarck
• 1941 December 7 Pearl Harbor
• 1941 December 17 Syrte - Indecisive British-Italian fight off Libya
• 1942 Java Sea (February 27): Japanese destroy ABDA fleet
• 1942 Syrte (March 22)
• 1942 Coral Sea (May 8)
• 1942 Midway (June 4) - US fleet sinks four Japanese carriers
• 1942 Savo Island (August 8): Japanese destroy a US cruiser force
• 1942 Eastern Solomons (August 24): Japanese aircraft carrier Ryuho sunk
• 1942 Cape Esperance (October 12)
• 1942 Santa Cruz Islands (October 26): near Guadalcanal, USS Hornet sunk, but Japanese withdraw
• 1942 Guadalcanal (November 12–15) - four days and nights of fighting
• 1942 Tassafaronga (November 30)
• 1943 January 29 Rennell Island - USS Chicago lost
• 1943 March 26 Komandorski Islands - US cruiser force turns back a Japanese fleet
• 1943 Empress Augusta Bay (November 2)
• 1943 December 26 Battle of North Cape - British ships sink Scharnhorst off northern Norway
• 1944 Philippine Sea (June 19): US shoots down hundreds of Japanese aircraft
• 1944 October 23-26 Leyte Gulf - Gigantic battle consisting of four main actions; in the Sibuyan Sea, Surigao Straits, off Samar, and off Cape Engano

Post World War II

• 1964 Gulf of Tonkin
• 1971 December 9 - Pakistani submarine Hangor sinks Indian frigate (first submarine sinking since WW2)Kukri
• 1982 May Falklands War