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![Submarine U-14 (LOC) (6358166395)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Submarine_U-14_LOC_6358166395.jpg)
American Civil War
*1864, February 17 –
Confederate
Confederacy or confederate may refer to:
States or communities
* Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities
* Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
human-powered submarine
''H. L. Hunley'' sinks the
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
sloop with
spar torpedo
A spar torpedo is a weapon consisting of a bomb placed at the end of a long pole, or spar, and attached to a boat. The weapon is used by running the end of the spar into the enemy ship. Spar torpedoes were often equipped with a barbed spear at ...
, off
Charleston. The ''H. L. Hunley'' thus became the first submarine to successfully sink an enemy vessel in combat, and was the direct progenitor of what would eventually become international
submarine warfare.
First Balkan War
*1912, December 9 – became the first submarine to launch a self-propelled torpedo at an enemy ship, though the ship did not sink due to a weapons malfunction.
World War I
*1914, September 5 –
HMS ''Pathfinder'' is sunk at the start of World War I by , becoming the first ship to ever be sunk by a self-propelled torpedo fired by submarine.
*1914, September 22 – German submarine
sinks three unescorted British armoured cruisers , and in approximately one hour.
*1914, October 18 – German submarine sinks in the first ever successful attack on one submarine by another.
*1914, October 20 – German submarine sinks in the first submarine sinking of a
merchant ship
A merchant ship, merchant vessel, trading vessel, or merchantman is a watercraft that transports cargo or carries passengers for hire. This is in contrast to pleasure craft, which are used for personal recreation, and naval ships, which are u ...
during the world wars.
*1915, May 7 – German submarine sinks killing 1,198 and leaving 761 survivors. The sinking turned public opinion in many countries against Germany, contributed to the
U.S. entry into World War I.
*1915, May 25/27 – In the morning of May 27 German submarine ''U-21'' sinks the British pre-dreadnought battleship off the Gallipoli peninsula. Two days after the same U-boat sunk the pre-dreadnought
HMS ''Triumph'' near Gaba Nepe.
*1916, March 22 – German submarine is sunk by the
Q-ship
Q-ships, also known as Q-boats, decoy vessels, special service ships, or mystery ships, were heavily armed merchant ships with concealed weaponry, designed to lure submarines into making surface attacks. This gave Q-ships the chance to open f ...
– a merchant ship carrying hidden weapons –
HMS ''Farnborough'' in the first successful use of
depth charge
A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive Shock factor, hydraulic shock. Most depth ...
s. (''Farnborough'' sank the SM ''U-83'' in 1917)
World War II
*1939, September 17 - German U-boat sinks
HMS ''Courageous''.
*1939, October 14 – German
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
sinks
HMS ''Royal Oak'' in
Scapa Flow base. The First Lord of Admiralty
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
officially announced the loss of ''Royal Oak'' to the House of Commons, first conceding that the raid had been "a remarkable exploit of professional skill and daring".
*1940, October 17–19 – The most effective
wolfpack of the world wars including
Kretschmer,
Prien and
Schepke sinks 32 ships from
Convoy SC 7
SC 7 was the code name for a large Allied World War II convoy of 35 merchant ships and six escorts, which sailed eastbound from Sydney, Nova Scotia, for Liverpool and other United Kingdom ports on 5 October 1940. While crossing the Atlantic, ...
and
Convoy HX 79
HX 79 was an Allied North Atlantic convoy of the HX series which ran during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II.
It suffered major losses from a U-boat attack, and, with the attack on convoy SC 7 the previous day, represents the wors ...
in two days.
*1940, November 23 – sinks 7 Allied Merchant ships from Convoy SC-11 in only 3 hours.
*1941, November 13 –
''U-81'' strikes with a single torpedo. She sinks the following day due to crippling damage.
*1941, November 28 - Dutch submarine
HNLMS O-21 becomes the only submarine to sink another submarine while they were both surfaced when she sinks German submarine
U-95 with a stern torpedo.
*1942, June 7 - The
''I-168'' sinks the US aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-5) and the USS Hammonn (DD-214) who was attempting to save the Yorktown from battle damage she had received in the Battle of Midway.
*1942, September 15 – Japanese submarine
''I-19'' sinks U.S. aircraft carrier and destroyer and damages battleship with a single salvo.
*1942, November 13 -
''I-26'' sinks
USS ''Juneau''. The dead includes all five
Sullivan brothers
The five Sullivan brothers were World War II sailor brothers of Irish American descent who, serving together on the light cruiser , were all killed in action during and shortly after its sinking around November 13, 1942.
The five brothers, ...
.
*1943, March 16–19 – The largest North Atlantic U-boat wolfpack attack of the world wars sinks 22 ships from
Convoys HX 229/SC 122.
*1943, April 29 – May 6 –
Convoy ONS 5
ONS 5 was the 5th of the numbered ONS series of Slow trade convoys Outbound from the British Isles to North America. The North Atlantic battle surrounding it in May 1943 is regarded as the turning point of the Battle of the Atlantic in World ...
is the last major North Atlantic wolfpack attack by surfaced U-boats as escorts demonstrate effective use of
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
to sink 6 U-boats in low-visibility conditions.
*1943, May 14 – or is the first submarine sunk by a
homing torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
.
*1944, November 29 –
USS ''Archer-Fish'' sinks Japanese aircraft carrier
''Shinano'', the largest vessel of that time.
*1943, October 31-November 1 –
USS ''Borie'' and
''U-405'' engage in a pitched battle ending with ''Borie'' ramming the submarine. Both ships are lost.
*1945, January 30 – Soviet submarine
''S-13'' sinks the German ship
''Wilhelm Gustloff'', with older and cautious estimates of 6,000 but more recent estimates of more than 9,000 casualties.
*1945, February 6 – Royal Navy submarine becomes the only submarine to sink another submarine while they were both submerged when she sinks off Norway.
*1945, April 16 – Soviet submarine
''L-3'' sinks the German ship
''Goya'', with 6,000–7,000 casualties.
*1945, July 30 -
USS ''Indianapolis'' is sunk by the
Japanese submarine ''I-58''. She suffers the largest loss of life of an American ship.
Post-World War II
*1971, December 9 –
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
i
PNS ''Hangor'' during the
1971 Indo-Pakistani War sinks the
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n frigate . This was the first ship sunk by a submarine since
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. ''Hangor'' also damaged another warship, INS ''Kirpan''. This was the heaviest casualty that the
Pakistani Navy
ur, ہمارے لیے اللّٰہ کافی ہے اور وہ بہترین کارساز ہے۔ English: Allah is Sufficient for us - and what an excellent (reliable) Trustee (of affairs) is He!(''Qur'an, 3:173'')
, type ...
inflicted on the
Indian Navy
The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...
in the war.
Casualties in 1971 war
After the attack on ''Khukri'', the Indian Navy
The Indian Navy is the maritime branch of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff, a four-star admiral, commands the navy. As a blue-water navy, it operates sig ...
ceased its attacks on Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
and moved the focus of its operations to East Pakistan
East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Scheme, One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India ...
ports like Chittagong
Chittagong ( /ˈtʃɪt əˌɡɒŋ/ ''chit-uh-gong''; ctg, চিটাং; bn, চিটাগং), officially Chattogram ( bn, চট্টগ্রাম), is the second-largest city in Bangladesh after Dhaka and third largest city in B ...
and Cox's Bazaar.
*1982, May 2 – British nuclear submarine HMS ''Conqueror'' sinks Argentine cruiser ''General Belgrano'' off the Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
. It was the first sinking of any vessel by a nuclear-powered submarine in wartime and also the first time that a nuclear-powered submarine fired weapons in an act of war.
*2010, March 26 – A North Korean 2-men midget submarine sinks the South Korean corvette ROKS ''Cheonan'' off Baengnyeong Island
Baengnyeong Island (sometimes spelled Baekryeong; ) is a , long and wide island in Ongjin County, Incheon, South Korea, located near the Northern Limit Line. The 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement which ended the Korean War specified that the fiv ...
.
See also
* List of single ship actions
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Submarine Actions
Submarine warfare
Naval warfare
Naval lists
Lists of naval battles