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.

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.

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. 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. 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 , the first successful strike by a guided missile against a capital ship. At the same time, the Henschel Hs 293 entered service, equipped with a rocket engine. First used in combat in 1943, these were the first guided missiles to sink a warship.

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. 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. This demonstration led to a proliferation of other missiles being developed, including the Exocet. 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. 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.

To counter anti-ship missiles, warships have used surface-to-air missiles, advanced electronic countermeasures and close-in weapons systems.

List The list includes all verified sinkings. ShipNationalityDateConflictVectorMissileNotes 27 August 1943World War IIAircraft Henschel Hs 293 First ship sunk by guided missile RM Roma Italy 9 September 1943World War IIAircraftFritz XFirst capital ship sunk by guided missiles 30 September 1943World War IIAircraft Henschel Hs 293 13 November 1943World War IIAircraft Henschel Hs 293 MV Birchbank 11 November 1943World War IIAircraft Henschel Hs 293 11 November 1943World War IIAircraft Henschel Hs 293 MV Marsa 21 November 1943World War IIAircraft Henschel Hs 293 HMT Rohna 26 November 1943World War IIAircraft Henschel Hs 293 1,138 killed, the highest number of casualties caused by a single anti-ship missile HMHS St David 24 January 1944World War IIAircraft Henschel Hs 293 29 January 1944World War IIAircraft Henschel Hs 293 29 January 1944World War IIAircraft Henschel Hs 293 15 February 1944World War IIAircraft Henschel Hs 293 25 February 1944World War IIAircraft Henschel Hs 293 8 June 1944World War IIAircraft Henschel Hs 293 Sunk during the Normandy landings 15 August 1944World War IIAircraft Henschel Hs 293 May 1963 ---Warship P-35 Progress Sunk in a missile test INS Eilat 21 October 1967War of AttritionWarship P-15 Termit First ship sunk by a ship-launched missile 13 May 1970War of AttritionWarship P-15 Termit PNS Khaibar 4 December 1971Indo-Pakistan War of 1971Warship P-15 Termit 4 December 1971Indo-Pakistan War of 1971Warship P-15 Termit MV Venus Challenger 8 December 1971Indo-Pakistan War of 1971Warship P-15 Termit 8 December 1971Indo-Pakistan War of 1971Warship P-15 Termit Yarmouk 8 October 1973Yom Kippur WarWarship Gabriel Mk 1 Project 205 Moskit 8 October 1973Yom Kippur WarWarship Gabriel Mk 1 Three Project 205 Moskit 9 October 1973Yom Kippur WarWarship Gabriel Mk 1 Ilya Mechnikov 10 October 1973Yom Kippur WarWarship Gabriel Mk 1 17 May 1979 ---Warship RIM-24 Tartar Sunk as a target 1 March 1980 ---Warship RGM-84 Harpoon Sunk in a missile test Dhofar 18 May 1980 ---Aircraft MM39 ExocetSunk as target 1 March 1980 ---Aircraft AGM-65 Maverick Sunk as a target Two Project 205 Moskit 29 November 1980Iran-Iraq WarWarship RGM-84 Harpoon IRIS Paykan 29 November 1980Iran-Iraq WarWarship P-15 Termit 1 October 1981 ---Warship Otomat Sunk in a missile test 4 May 1982Falklands WarAircraft AM39 Exocet Sank two days after being hit ELMA Río Carcarañá 24 May 1982Falklands WarAircraftSea SkuaPreviously disabled by Sea Harrier cannon fire 25 May 1982Falklands WarAircraft AM39 Exocet PNA Río Iguazú Argentina13 June 1982Falklands WarAircraftSea SkuaAlready stranded in Choiseul Sound after Sea Harrier attack 18 July 1982 ---Submarine UGM-109 Tomahawk Sunk in a missile test MV Sambow Banner 9 August 1982Iran-Iraq WarAircraft AM39 Exocet MV Eastern Hunter 2 January 1983Iran-Iraq WarAircraft AM39 Exocet MV Panoceanic Fame 15 May 1983Iran-Iraq WarAircraft AM39 Exocet MV Iran Reshadat 24 August 1983Iran-Iraq WarAircraft AM39 Exocet MV Iran Rezvan 25 October 1983Iran-Iraq WarAircraft AM39 Exocet MV Skaros 1 February 1984Iran-Iraq WarAircraft AM39 Exocet MV Charming 1 March 1984Iran-Iraq WarAircraft AM39 Exocet MV Rana 23 August 1984Iran-Iraq WarAircraft AM39 Exocet MV Song Bong 13 September 1985Iran-Iraq WarAircraft AM39 Exocet MV Castor 27 February 1986Iran-Iraq WarAircraft AM39 Exocet Waheed 25 March 1986Action in the Gulf of Sidra (1986)Aircraft AGM-84 Harpoon Ain Zaquit 25 March 1986Action in the Gulf of Sidra (1986)Aircraft AGM-84 Harpoon MV Harmony I 6 May 1986Iran-Iraq WarAircraft AM39 Exocet Musson 16 April 1987 ---Missile boat P-15 Termit Accidentally hit by a training target missile during a training exercise and sunk MV Bigerange XIV 1 September 1987Iran-Iraq WarAircraft AM39 Exocet MV Iran Sedaghat 31 December 1987Iran-Iraq WarAircraft AM39 Exocet IRIS Joshan 19 April 1988Operation Praying MantisWarship RIM-66 Standard 19 April 1988Operation Praying MantisWarship RGM-84 Harpoon Sveti Vlaho Croatia6 December 1991Croatian War of IndependenceCoastal battery9K11 MalyutkaRefloated in 2001 and preserved as a monument at Batala Park in Dubrovnik. TČ-219 Streljko 8 October 1994Croatian War of IndependenceWarship RBS-15 Sunk as a target by the Croatian Navy; ship had been captured in 1991 RČ-310 Velimir Škorpik 8 October 1994Croatian War of IndependenceWarshipP-15 TermitSunk as a target by the Croatian Navy; ship had been captured in 1991 ARA Chiriguano October 1996 ---Aircraft MM39 Exocet Sunk as a target 8 July 2002 ---Warship RGM-84 Harpoon Sunk as a target 10 July 2002 ---Combined AGM-114 Hellfire and RGM-84 Harpoon Sunk as a target 8 December 2006 ---Aircraft AGM-84 Harpoon Sunk as a target 14 July 2008 ---Aircraft AGM-84 Harpoon Sunk as a target 10 August 2008Russo-Georgian WarWarship P-120 Malakhit 15 September 2014 ---Warship RGM-84 Harpoon Sunk as a target 18 January 2016 ---Warship RIM-174 Standard ERAM Sunk in a missile test 27 April 2020 ---Combined Babur, AM39 Exocet and YJ-83 Sunk as a target 30 August 2020 ---Warship RGM-84 Harpoon Sunk as a target Jaceguai 24 June 2021 ---Aircraft AM39 Exocet Sunk as a target Sloviansk3 March 2022Russian invasion of UkraineAircraftKh-31 Saratov 24 March 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Ground battery Tochka-U Hit by ground-to-ground missile when moored in Berdyansk harbour. 14 April 2022 Russian invasion of UkraineCoastal battery R-360 Neptune Sunk by Ukrainian R-360 Neptune missiles 17 June 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Coastal battery RGM-84 Harpoon Russian landing ship Novocherkassk 26 December 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Aircraft Storm Shadow Destroyed while in port at Sevastopol. Ternopil21 July 2023Russo-Ukrainian WarWarshipP-240 MoskitCaptured in 2014 at Donuzlav bay. Sunk in missile test KRI Slamet Riyadi 31 July 2023 ---Combined C-704, AM39 Exocet and YJ-83 Sunk as a target M/V Rubymar2 March 2024Red Sea crisisUnknownBallistic missileFirst ship sunk by an anti-ship ballistic missileTsiklon19 May 2024Russian invasion of UkraineSurface batteryMGM-140 ATACMSSunk while in port at Sevastopol.Magic Seas6 July 2025Red Sea crisisUnknownBallistic missileSunk by a combination of ballistic and anti-ship missilesEternity C7 July 2025Red Sea crisisUnknownBallistic missileSunk by a combination of ballistic and anti-ship missiles

Notes

References Citations

Bibliography