List of single-ship actions

A single-ship action is a naval engagement fought between two warships of opposing sides, excluding submarine engagements; called so because there is a single ship on each side. The following is a list of notable single-ship actions.



Anglo Spanish War

 * 1579 March 1 - Golden Hind captures the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de la Concepción.

Golden Age of Piracy

 * 1720 October 20 - British sloop Tyger under Jonathan Barnet captures the pirate sloop William and its owner Calico Jack.

War of the Austrian Succession

 * 1743 June 20 - HMS Centurion captures the Spanish treasure galleon Nuestra Señora de la Covadonga

American Revolutionary War

 * 1778 April 24 - USS Ranger captures HMS Drake. (details)
 * 1779 May 7 USS Providence captures HMS Diligent
 * 1779 September 10 - USS Morris defeats HMS West Florida in the Battle of Lake Pontchartrain.
 * 1779 September 14 - HMS Pearl defeats the Spanish frigate Santa Mónica. (details)
 * 1779 November 11 - HMS Tartar captures the Spanish frigate Santa Margarita. (details)
 * 1780 June 1 - USS Trumbull engages the British privateer Watt; both ships withdraw
 * 1780 August 11 - HMS Flora defeats the French ship Nymphe in the first engagement thought to involve the carronade.
 * 1781 May 1 - HMS Canada captures the Spanish frigate Santa Leocadia. (details)
 * 1781 September 6 - American privateer Congress captures the British sloop HMS Savage (1778). (details)
 * 1782 August 12 - Frigate HMS Coventry (1757) inconclusively engages the French frigate Bellone
 * 1782 December 6 - HMS Ruby defeats the French ship Solitaire. (details)
 * 1783 January 22 - HMS Hussar captures the French frigate Sybille. (details)

Russo-Swedish War

 * 1789 May 21 - 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

French Revolutionary Wars

 * 1793 June 18 - HMS Nymphe (1780) captures the FRENCH FRIGATE Cléopâtre (details)
 * 1793 December 1 - His Majesty's packet ship Antelope captures the French privateer Atlante.
 * 1794 May 29 - HMS Carysfort (1766) recaptures HMS Castor (1785) (details)
 * 1795 January 4 - HMS Blanche (1786) captures Pique
 * 1795 March 13 - HMS Lively (1794) captures the French frigate Tourterelle
 * 1796 June 6 - HMS Unicorn (1794) captures French frigate Tribune
 * 1797 March 13 - HMS Viper captures Nuestra Señora de la Piedad.
 * 1797 December 22 - HMS Phoebe (1795) captures the French frigate Néréide
 * 1798 January - 11 HMS Racoon (1795) captures the French privateer Policrate
 * 1798 April 2 - HMS Mars captures the French ship Hercule
 * 1798 April 17 - HMS Recovery captures the French privateer Revanche
 * 1798 July 4 - French brig Lodi in an inconclusive engagement with the English privateer brig Acquila (probably Eagle)
 * 1798 June 21 - His Majesty's packet ship Princess Royal repels the French privateer Avanture.(details)
 * 1798 August 7 - HMS Espoir (1797) captures the Genoese pirate Liguria
 * 1798 October 20 - HMS Racoon captures the French privateer Vigilante
 * 1798 December 12 - HMS Perdrix captures the French privateer L'Armée d' Italie
 * 1799 March 18 - HM hired brig Telegraph captures French privateer Hirondelle
 * 1799 November 23 - Hired cutter Courier captures French privateer Guerrier
 * 1799 December 2 HMS Racoon captures French privateer Intrepide
 * 1799 December 26 - HMS Viper captures the French privateer Furet
 * 1800 March 5 - HMS Phoebe (1795) captures the privateer Heureux
 * 1800 August 20 - HMS Seine (1798) captures the French ship Vengeance
 * 1800 October 8 - HMS Gipsy (1800) captures the French privateer Quidproquo
 * 1800 October 7 - French privateer Confiance captures British East Indiaman Kent
 * 1801 February 19 - HMS Phoebe (1795) captures the French frigate Africaine (details)
 * 1801 May 6 - HMS Speedy (1782) captures Spanish xebec frigate El Gamo
 * 1801 August 18 - HMS Guachapin (1801) captures Spanish letter of marque Theresa
 * 1801 September 25 - HMS Pickle (1800) has an inconclusive engagement with a privateer flying the Spanish colors off Hispaniola.

Quasi-War

 * 1799 February 9 - USS Constellation captures the French frigate L'Insurgente (details)
 * 1800 February 1 - USS Constellation defeats the French frigate La Vengeance (details)
 * 1800 October 12 - USS Boston captures the French corvette Berceau (details)
 * 1800 October 25 - USS Enterprise captures French privateer Flambeau (details)

Napoleonic Wars

 * 1803 May 18 - HMS Doris (1795) captures the French lugger Affronteur on the first day of the war.
 * 1803 July 16 - HMS Racoon (1795) captures French brig-corvette Lodi.
 * 1803 August 13 - French privateer Bellone captures the East Indiaman Lord Nelson
 * 1803 August 17 - HMS Racoon destroys French naval brig Mutine.
 * 1803 August 27 - HMS Seagull (1995) recaptures the East Indiaman Lord Nelson.
 * 1804 February 5 - HMS Eclair engages the 22-gun French privateer Grande Decide.
 * 1804 March 21 - French privateer Blonde captures and sinks HMS Wolverine.
 * 1804 March 25 or 28 - HMS Hippomenes captures French privateer Egyptienne
 * 1804 June 21 - HMS Hippomenes unsuccessfully engages the Guadeloupe privateer Buonaparte.
 * 1804 July 15 - French privateer Dame Ambert captures HMS Lilly
 * 1804 July 31 - HMS Tartar captures French privateer Hirondelle
 * 1805 February 8 - HMS Curieux captures French privateer Dame Ernouf
 * 1805 February 13 - HMS San Fiorenzo captures French frigate Psyche
 * 1805 March 10 - Private ship of war Kitty captures the Spanish private ship of war Felicity
 * 1805 March 20 - French privateer Général Ernouf explodes during an engagement with HMS Renard (1797)
 * 1805 July 19 - French frigate Topaze captures HMS Blanche
 * 1805 August 10 - HMS Phoenix captures Didon
 * 1805 August 16 - HMS Raisonable vs French frigate Topaze
 * 1805 November - HMS Wolverine vs HMS Amethyst
 * 1806 January 23 - French privateer captures and sinks HMS Unique (1804)
 * 1806 May 11 - French ship Abeille captures HMS Alacrity
 * 1806 May 14 - HMS Pallas vs French Minerve
 * 1806 July 19 - HMS Blanche captures French Guerrière
 * 1806 October 26 - HMS Pitt (1805) captures the French privateer Superbe
 * 1806 December 29 - HMS Spitfire captures French privateer Deux Frères
 * 1807 January 3 - HMS Pickle captures the French privateer Favorite.
 * 1807 August 19 - HMS Comus (1806) captures the Danish frigate Frederickscvaern.
 * 1807 October 1 - British packet ship Windsor Castle captures the French privateer Jeune Richard. (details)
 * 1807 October 17 - HMS Superieure (1803) captures the French privateer schooner Tape a L’Oeil.
 * 1807 December 3 - HMS Curieux vs French privateer Revanche
 * 1808 March 2 - HMS Sappho captures Danish privateer Admiral Yawl
 * 1808 March 6–8 - HMS San Fiorenzo captures French frigate Piémontaise
 * 1808 March 14 - - HDMS Lougen engages in an inconclusive action with HMS Childers (1778)
 * 1808 May 11 and 12 - HMS Wizard (1805) vs French 16-gun brig of war Requin, later captured by HMS Volage (1807)
 * 1808 June 24 - HMS Salsette (1805) captures the Russian cutter Opyt
 * 1808 July 5 and 6 - HMS Seahorse captures Turkish frigate Badere Zaffer
 * 1808 August 11 - HMS Comet captures French corvette Sylphe
 * 1808 September 6 - HMS Recruit vs French corvette Diligente
 * 1808 September 29 - French navy corvette Départment-des-Landes captures HMS Maria (1808)
 * 1808 October 3 - French brig Palinure captures HMS Carnation
 * 1810 January 11 - HMS Scorpion captures French brig Oreste
 * 1810 August 10 - His Majesty's Hired armed cutter Queen Charlotte drives off a substantially larger and more heavily armed French vessel.
 * 1812 July 21 - HMS Sealark (1811) captures the French privateer Ville de Caen
 * 1813 September 10 - French privateer cutter Renard destroys the schooner HMS Alphea (1806)
 * 1814 March 27 - HMS Hebrus (1813) captures French frigate Étoile

First Barbary War

 * 1801 August 1 - United States Navy warship USS Enterprise captures Tripolitanian corsair Tripoli near Malta. (details)

War of 1812

 * 1807 June 22 Chesapeake–Leopard Affair - HMS Leopard boards the USS Chesapeake
 * 1811 May 16 Little Belt Affair - USS President fires on HMS Little Belt
 * 1812 June 18 - USS Essex captures HMS Alert
 * 1812 August 19 - USS Constitution defeats HMS Guerriere
 * 1812 August 22 - HMS Barbados defeats US Revenue Cutter James Madison
 * 1812 September 8 - French privateer brig Diligent (or Diligente or Diligence) captures the schooner HMS Laura
 * 1812 September 16 - American privateer Rossie captures the packet Princess Amelia
 * 1812 October 18 - USS Wasp defeats HMS Frolic
 * 1812 October 18 - HMS Poictiers (1809) defeats USS Wasp
 * 1812 October 25 - USS United States captures HMS Macedonian
 * 1812 November 22 - HMS Southampton captures USS Vixen
 * 1812 December 11 - American privateer Saratoga captures the British letter of marque Rachel in the Battle of La Guaira
 * 1812 December 29 - USS Constitution destroys HMS Java
 * 1813 January 17 - HMS Narcissus captures USS Viper
 * 1813 February 24 - USS Hornet defeats HMS Peacock
 * 1813 May 23 - HMS Highflyer (1813) vs. Virginia privateer schooner Roger
 * 1813 June 1 - HMS Shannon captures USS Chesapeake in the Battle of Boston Harbor
 * 1813 August 5 - Privateer Decatur captures HMS Dominica
 * 1813 August 14 - HMS Pelican captures USS Argus
 * 1813 September 5 - USS Enterprise captures HMS Boxer
 * 1813 September 23 - USS President captures HMS Highflyer
 * 1813 December 25 - HMS Belvidera captures USS Vixen II
 * 1814 February - HMS Epervier captures American privateer-brig Alfred
 * 1814 February 14 - USS Constitution destroys HMS Pictou
 * 1814 March 28 - HMS Phoebe captures USS Essex in the Battle of Valparaiso
 * 1814 April 20 - HMS Shelburne, with HMS Orpheus approaching, captures USS Frolic
 * 1814 April 29 - USS Peacock captures HMS Epervier
 * 1814 June 22 - HMS Leander captures USS Rattlesnake
 * 1814 June 28 - USS Wasp captures HMS Reindeer
 * 1814 July 12 - Privateer Syren captures HMS Landrail
 * 1814 July 12 - HMS Medway captures USS Syren
 * 1814 September 1 - USS Wasp sinks HMS Avon
 * 1814 October 11 - HMS Dispatch defeats US Revenue Cutter Eagle
 * 1815 January 15 - HMS Endymion defeats USS President
 * 1815 March 23 - USS Hornet captures HMS Penguin
 * 1815 June 15 - USS Peacock captures the Nautilus of the Bombay Marine of the East India Company

Suppression of the slave trade

 * 1828 April 2 - HMS Black Joke captures Providentia
 * 1828 May 1 - HMS Black Joke captures Presidenté
 * 1829 February 1 - HMS Black Joke captures Almirante
 * 1830 September 7 - HMS Primrose captures Veloz Passagera (details)

Texas

 * 1835 June 15 - USRC Ingham engages the Mexican schooner Montezuma.
 * 1836 March 6 - Texas schooner Liberty captures the Mexican schooner Pelicano
 * 1836 April 3 - Texas schooner Invincible sinks the Mexican schooner Montezuma.

First Schleswig War

 * 1849 June 27 - Prussian paddle steamer Preussischer Adler duels inconclusively with Danish brig St. Croix off Brusterort

Crimean War

 * 1853 November 17 - Russian steam frigate Vladimir captures Turkish/Egyptian steam frigate Pervaz Bahri in the Black Sea (first battle between steamships)

American Civil War

 * 1861 July 18 - USS St. Lawrence sinks privateer Petrel off Charleston, South Carolina
 * 1863 January 11 - CSS Alabama sinks USS Hatteras off Galveston Island, Texas
 * 1864 June 19 - USS Kearsarge sinks CSS Alabama off Cherbourg, France
 * 1864 October 7 - USS Wachusett captures CSS Florida in Bahia Harbour, Brazil

Chincha Islands War

 * 1865 November 26 - Battle of Papudo - Chilean corvette Esmeralda captures Spanish gunboat Virgen de Covadonga
 * 1866 August 22 - Spanish frigate Gerona captures Chilean cruiser Pampero. (details)

War of the Pacific

 * 1879 May 21 Battle of Iquique - Peruvian monitor Huáscar sinks Chilean corvette Esmeralda
 * 1879 May 21 Battle of Punta Gruesa - Chilean schooner Covadonga defeats Peruvian ironclad Independencia

Franco-Prussian War

 * 1870 November 7 - French aviso Bouvet fights German gunboat Meteor off Havana

Spanish-American War

 * 1898 April 25 - Spanish gunboat Ligera repulses an attack by American torpedo boat USS Foote (details)

Mexican Revolution

 * 1914 March 31 - Huerista gunboat Guerrero sinks Constitutionalist gunboat Tampico at the Third Battle of Topolobampo


 * 1914 June 16 - Huerista gunboat Guerrero sinks Constitutionalist gunboat Tampico at the Fourth Battle of Topolobampo

World War I

 * 1914 August 26 - British cruiser HMS Highflyer (1898) defeats German auxiliary cruiser SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse in the Battle of Río de Oro
 * 1914 September 14 - British armed merchantman HMS Carmania sinks German auxiliary cruiser SMS Cap Trafalgar in an engagement off Trindade Island in the South Atlantic
 * 1914 September 20 - In the Battle of Zanzibar, the German cruiser SMS Königsberg (1905) attacks and sinks the British cruiser HMS Pegasus (1897) while it is in harbour for repairs.
 * 1914 November 9 - HMAS Sydney (1912) defeats SMS Emden (1906) in the Battle of Cocos.
 * 1917 March 10 - German auxiliary cruiser SMS Möwe sinks New Zealand freighter Otaki and is seriously damaged

World War II

 * 1940 November 5 - German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer sinks convoy escort Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Jervis Bay in the North Atlantic.
 * 1940 November 9 - the Free French aviso Savorgnan de Brazza sinks her sistership, Vichy French aviso Bougainville, off Libreville
 * 1941 February 27 - HMNZS Leander sinks Italian auxiliary cruiser Ramb I in a brief engagement off the Maldives
 * 1941 April 4 - German auxiliary cruiser Thor sinks British armed merchant cruiser HMS Voltaire in an engagement 1200 km off the Cape Verde islands. (details)
 * 1941 May 8 - the British heavy cruiser HMS Cornwall (56) sinks German auxiliary cruiser Pinguin. in an engagement off the Seychelles
 * 1941 November 19 - the battle between HMAS Sydney and the German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran near Western Australia results in the loss of both ships.
 * 1942 June 6 - German auxiliary cruiser Stier sinks the tanker SS Stanvac Calcutta in the South Atlantic.
 * 1942 September 27 - German auxiliary cruiser Stier and American Liberty Ship SS Stephen Hopkins sink each other in the South Atlantic.

Ecuadorian–Peruvian War

 * 1941 July 25 - Ecuadorian gunboat Abdón Calderón duels inconclusively with Peruvian destroyer Almirante Villar off Jambeli

Korean War

 * 1950 June 25 - ROKS Baekdusan sinks a North Korean troop transport
 * 1950 September 10 - ROKS PC-703 sinks North Korean minelayer

Vietnam War

 * 1968 March 1 - USCGC Winona sinks North Vietnamese naval trawler T-A

Sri Lankan Civil War

 * 2003 March 10 - SLNS Sayura sinks LTTE logistic vessel MV Koimer off Mullaitivu

Anti-piracy in Somalia

 * 18 November 2008 - INS Taber sinks the trawler Ekawat Nava 5 which had been captured by Somali pirates.
 * 28 January 2008 - INS Cankarso sinks Somali pirate trawler Prantalay 14 off Minicoy Island. (details)
 * 12 May 2011 - USS Stephen W. Groves sinks Somali pirate longliner Jih Chun Tsai 68 in the Indian Ocean off Somalia.
 * 12 May 2011 - HDMS Esbern Snare sinks Somali pirate dhow NN Iran
 * 12 January 2012 - SPS Patiño captures a Somali pirate skiff