Battle of the Strait of Messina

The Battle of the Strait of Messina was fought on 276 BC when a Carthaginian fleet attacked the Sicilian fleet of Pyrrhus of Epirus, who was crossing the strait to Italy. Pyrrhus had left Italy for Sicily on the Autumn of 278 BC and scored several major victories against the Carthaginian armies, but Roman successes against Pyrrhus' Italian allies convinced him to return to Italy.

While Pyrrhus was transporting his troops to Rhegium he was attacked by the Carthaginians who inflicted heavy casualties on his fleet. Pyrrhus' surviving ships, amounting to 40 warships plus the transport ships, docked at Locri where he had left his son Alexander when he opened his Sicilian campaign.