# 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 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 Roma, 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.
| Ship | Nationality | Date | Conflict | Vector | Missile | Notes |
| HMS Egret | United Kingdom | 27 August 1943 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | First ship sunk by guided missile |
| RM Roma | Italy | 9 September 1943 | World War II | Aircraft | Fritz X | First capital ship sunk by guided missiles |
| USS LST-79 | United States | 30 September 1943 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | |
| HMS Dulverton | United Kingdom | 13 November 1943 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | |
| MV Birchbank | United Kingdom | 11 November 1943 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | |
| SS Carlier | Belgium | 11 November 1943 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | |
| MV Marsa | United Kingdom | 21 November 1943 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | |
| 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 |
| HMHS St David | United Kingdom | 24 January 1944 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | |
| SS Samuel Huntington | United States | 29 January 1944 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | |
| HMS Spartan | United Kingdom | 29 January 1944 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | |
| SS Elihu Yale | United States | 15 February 1944 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | |
| HMS Inglefield | United Kingdom | 25 February 1944 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | |
| HMS Lawford | United Kingdom | 8 June 1944 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | Sunk during the Normandy landings |
| USS LST-282 | United States | 15 August 1944 | World War II | Aircraft | Henschel Hs 293 | |
| Leningrad | Soviet Union | May 1963 | --- | Warship | P-35 Progress | Sunk in a missile test |
| INS Eilat | Israel | 21 October 1967 | War of Attrition | Warship | P-15 Termit | First ship sunk by a ship-launched missile |
| SS Orith | Israel | 13 May 1970 | War of Attrition | Warship | P-15 Termit | |
| PNS Khaibar | Pakistan | 4 December 1971 | Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 | Warship | P-15 Termit | |
| PNS Muhafiz | Pakistan | 4 December 1971 | Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 | Warship | P-15 Termit | |
| MV Venus Challenger | United States | 8 December 1971 | Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 | Warship | P-15 Termit | |
| SS Gulf Star | Panama | 8 December 1971 | Indo-Pakistan War of 1971 | Warship | P-15 Termit | |
| Yarmouk | Syria | 8 October 1973 | Yom Kippur War | Warship | Gabriel Mk 1 | |
| Project 205 Moskit | Syria | 8 October 1973 | Yom Kippur War | Warship | Gabriel Mk 1 | |
| Three Project 205 Moskit | Egypt | 9 October 1973 | Yom Kippur War | Warship | Gabriel Mk 1 | |
| Ilya Mechnikov | Soviet Union | 10 October 1973 | Yom Kippur War | Warship | Gabriel Mk 1 | |
| HMAS Air Sprite | Australia | 17 May 1979 | --- | Warship | RIM-24 Tartar | Sunk as a target |
| USS Robert L. Wilson | United States | 1 March 1980 | --- | Warship | RGM-84 Harpoon | Sunk in a missile test |
| Dhofar | Oman | 18 May 1980 | --- | Aircraft | MM39 Exocet | Sunk as target |
| USS Ozark | United States | 1 March 1980 | --- | Aircraft | AGM-65 Maverick | Sunk as a target |
| Two Project 205 Moskit | Iraq | 29 November 1980 | Iran-Iraq War | Warship | RGM-84 Harpoon | |
| IRIS Paykan | Iran | 29 November 1980 | Iran-Iraq War | Warship | P-15 Termit | |
| BAP Almirante Guise | Peru | 1 October 1981 | --- | Warship | Otomat | Sunk in a missile test |
| HMS Sheffield | United Kingdom | 4 May 1982 | Falklands War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | Sank two days after being hit |
| ELMA Río Carcarañá | Argentina | 24 May 1982 | Falklands War | Aircraft | Sea Skua | Previously disabled by Sea Harrier cannon fire |
| SS Atlantic Conveyor | United Kingdom | 25 May 1982 | Falklands War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | |
| PNA Río Iguazú | Argentina | 13 June 1982 | Falklands War | Aircraft | Sea Skua | Already stranded in Choiseul Sound after Sea Harrier attack |
| USS Agerholm | United States | 18 July 1982 | --- | Submarine | UGM-109 Tomahawk | Sunk in a missile test |
| MV Sambow Banner | South Korea | 9 August 1982 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | |
| MV Eastern Hunter | Singapore | 2 January 1983 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | |
| MV Panoceanic Fame | Greece | 15 May 1983 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | |
| MV Iran Reshadat | Iran | 24 August 1983 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | |
| MV Iran Rezvan | Iran | 25 October 1983 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | |
| MV Skaros | Cyprus | 1 February 1984 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | |
| MV Charming | United Kingdom | 1 March 1984 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | |
| MV Rana | Saudi Arabia | 23 August 1984 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | |
| MV Song Bong | North Korea | 13 September 1985 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | |
| MV Castor | Liberia | 27 February 1986 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | |
| Waheed | Libya | 25 March 1986 | Action in the Gulf of Sidra (1986) | Aircraft | AGM-84 Harpoon | |
| Ain Zaquit | Libya | 25 March 1986 | Action in the Gulf of Sidra (1986) | Aircraft | AGM-84 Harpoon | |
| MV Harmony I | Malta | 6 May 1986 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | |
| Musson | Soviet Union | 16 April 1987 | --- | Missile boat | P-15 Termit | Accidentally hit by a training target missile during a training exercise and sunk |
| MV Bigerange XIV | Panama | 1 September 1987 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | |
| MV Iran Sedaghat | Iran | 31 December 1987 | Iran-Iraq War | Aircraft | AM39 Exocet | |
| IRIS Joshan | Iran | 19 April 1988 | Operation Praying Mantis | Warship | RIM-66 Standard | |
| IRIS Sahand | Iran | 19 April 1988 | Operation Praying Mantis | Warship | RGM-84 Harpoon | |
| 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. |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| ARA Chiriguano | Argentina | October 1996 | --- | Aircraft | MM39 Exocet | Sunk as a target |
| USS White Plains | United States | 8 July 2002 | --- | Warship | RGM-84 Harpoon | Sunk as a target |
| USS Harold E. Holt | United States | 10 July 2002 | --- | Combined | AGM-114 Hellfire and RGM-84 Harpoon | Sunk as a target |
| USS Spruance | United States | 8 December 2006 | --- | Aircraft | AGM-84 Harpoon | Sunk as a target |
| USS Horne | United States | 14 July 2008 | --- | Aircraft | AGM-84 Harpoon | Sunk as a target |
| Georgy Toreli | Georgia | 10 August 2008 | Russo-Georgian War | Warship | P-120 Malakhit | |
| USS Fresno | United States | 15 September 2014 | --- | Warship | RGM-84 Harpoon | Sunk as a target |
| USS Reuben James | United States | 18 January 2016 | --- | Warship | RIM-174 Standard ERAM | Sunk in a missile test |
| PNS Tippu Sultan | Pakistan | 27 April 2020 | --- | Combined | Babur, AM39 Exocet and YJ-83 | Sunk as a target |
| USS Durham | United States | 30 August 2020 | --- | Warship | RGM-84 Harpoon | Sunk as a target |
| Sloviansk | Ukraine | 3 March 2022 | Russian invasion of Ukraine | Aircraft | Kh-31 | |
| BDK Saratov | Russia | 24 March 2022 | Russian invasion of Ukraine | Ground battery | Tochka-U | Hit by ground-to-ground missile when moored in Berdyansk harbour. |
| Moskva | Russia | 14 April 2022 | Russian invasion of Ukraine | Coastal battery | R-360 Neptune | Russia claims the cruiser sank from an internal explosion |
| Russian tug Spasatel Vasily Bekh | Russia | 17 June 2022 | Russian invasion of Ukraine | Coastal battery | RGM-84 Harpoon | |
| Russian landing ship Novocherkassk | Russia | 26 December 2022 | Russian invasion of Ukraine | Aircraft | Storm Shadow | Destroyed while in port at Sevastopol. |
| Ternopil | Ukraine | 21 July 2023 | Russo-Ukrainian War | Warship | P-240 Moskit | Captured in 2014 at Donuzlav bay. Sunk in missile test |
| M/V Rubymar | United Kingdom | 2 March 2024 | Red Sea crisis | Unknown | Ballistic missile | First ship sunk by an anti-ship ballistic missile |
| Tsiklon | Russia | 19 May 2024 | Russian invasion of Ukraine | Surface battery | MGM-140 ATACMS | Sunk while in port at Sevastopol. |