Warships Lost in Armed Conflict since World War II

Factual Questions
1

Having read the thread on the last US capital ship to be sunk in battle, I realize that, though there has been significant land and air warfare around the world since World War II, there have been relatively few naval battles of substantial consequence in the past seven decades. It seems to me that, putting aside accidents and intentional destruction for target practice and the like, very few warships have been sunk or permanently put out of action through hostile action after the conclusion of World War II.

In fact, the only real naval conflict between serious contenders that I can think of off the top of my head is the Falklands War, in which the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano and the British destroyer HMS Sheffield were sunk. Otherwise, the only naval action that I can think of has involved riverine warfare (SWIFT boats of Vietnam, for example) and conflict involving small, coastal patrol boats, but not battles involving bluewater naval vessels (other than in support of land-based action).

So, since World War II, what naval actions have resulted in the loss of ocean-going warships?

2

Maybe this one:

3

Not an exhaustive list to be sure, but ones I can think of.

Argentina also lost the submarine Santa Fe in the Falklands while the British lost the destroyer Coventry, the frigates Ardent and Antelope, the container ship Atlantic Conveyor, and the landing ship Sir Tristram was hulked and abandoned but later refloated and recomissioned after the conflict. The Iranian La Combattante II class fast attack craft Joshan and the frigate Sahand were sunk by the US Navy in Operation Praying Mantis, 2 LibyanNanuchka class corvettes and a La Combattante II fast attack craft were sunk in 1986 in the Gulf of Sidra.

In the Arab-Israeli wars the destroyer INS Eilat was sunk by Egyptian missile boats in 1967, and in 1973 Israel claimed to have sunk 3 Syrian missile boats, a minelayer and a gunboat and 5 Egytian missile boats in 3 seperate actions.

In the 1971 war between India and Pakistan the Indian frigate INS Kukri was sunk by submarine torpedo, while Pakistan lost the submarine PNS Ghazi, the destroyer PNS Khaibar was sunk and PNS Shah Jahan damaged beyond repair, and a minesweeper, 3 patrol vessels and 7 gunboats were also lost by Pakistan.

Iran lost a missile boat while sinking 5 Iraqi Osa II missile boats and 8 P-6 torpedo boats in Operation Morvarid during the Iran-Iraq war.

4

A somewhat related thread I started a few months back.

5

I have wondered about USS Stark - it was repaired, but given the cost was supposedly 134 million, I wonder if it was more done to prevent it being considered a write off and therefore a ‘win’ than a completely economic decision.

Otara

6

The US sank an Iranian frigate in Operation Praying Mantis in 1988. The shocking thing is that the biggest naval engagement by the US since WWII went almost unnoticed in the media.

7

Dissonance grabbed all of the ones I could think of offhand. A few additional ones not mentioned though include:

During the 1956 Suez Conflict: The Royal Navy CL HMS Newfoundland engaged the Egyptian Navy frigate Domiat, a former RN River-class frigate, in a nighttime gun battle. The Domiat was rapidly set on fire, and then sunk by the RN DD Diana.

Also in this conflict, the Egyptian DD Ibrahim El Awal, a former RN Hunt-class destroyer, was engaged by the Israeli Navy destroyers Eilat and Yaffo after having shelled Haifa. The INS vessels, with help from airstrikes, disabled the Ibrahim El Awal, which then surrendered. It was incorporated into the Israeli Navy as INS Haifa, where it served until some time in the 1970s.

Going half the world away to Vietnam, the U.S. Navy and North Vietnamese fought several skirmishes during their long conflict. The Gulf of Tonkin incident is the most famous, but another interesting battle is the Battle of Dong Hoi. In this battle NVN torpedo boats and NVAF Mig-17s engaged a USN surface group that was trying to interdict nearby roads with naval gunfire. The USN responded with SAMs and gunfire. According to the wiki, it’s notable because it’s the first time that the USN came under enemy air attack since WW2, and got bombed. (Evidently the North Korean Air Force was unable to attack the USN during the Korean War.) The USN DD Higbee was hit squarely by a 250-lb bomb on the destroyer’s rear 5-in gun mount. Fortunately for the Americans, the mount had been evacuated shortly before, due to a hangfire in the gun. The Higbee withdrew, as did the rest of the group, and were promptly attacked by NVN torpedo boats. Two of those were sunk by USN gunfire.

While there were a multitude of NVN sampans, junks, and other small vessels sunk during operations like Operation Sea Dragon, I don’t believe the NVN lost any warships. Any resistance was provided by shore batteries, which accounted for a few hits on various UN vessels, but no sinkings. This page is a brief compilation of accounts during Sea Dragon.

Finally, in a nearby part of the world, the People’s Republic of China and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam fought a brief naval battle over the Spratly Islands in 1988. The Vietnamese were driven off a reef they’d occupied, at the loss of two “armed transporters” like this, and a heavily damaged landing craft, which looks to my untrained eye like an LST.

Some of the above strain the definition of “sunk warship”, but I think the various 1956 naval clashes count.

8

There was naval combat during the occupation of Hainan in 1950 but I can’t find if any ships were permanently lost.

9

Although it wasn’t sunk only captured, there was The USS Pueblo. Actually, there still is The Pueblo, as it was never struck from the naval registry and remains the only active US ship in ‘enemy’ hands.

10

One could ask the same question about the USS Liberty as well; it didn’t sink, but it was decomissioned barely a year after it was damaged in an Israeli attack. Also, I doubt that it qualifies as a “warship” for the purposes of this question.

11

Argentina also lost the ARA General Belgrano, A former U.S. Navy ship.

12

…which is mentioned in the quoted box in the post you quoted.

13

The Liberty was only repaired enough to make sure it didn’t sink while getting home. The Stark was completely repaired. The difference was that with the Liberty the keel was twisted. It was cheaper to rebuild the Stark than to scrap it and build a new ship. They got another 20 years out of the Stark, though it was retired and scrapped a few years ago. The Navy did much the same thing with the Belknap, which burned down to the hull (the superstructure was completely gone).

14

Two US Navy ships were severly damaged by mines in the first Gulf War.

15

The landing ship Sir Galahad was also very seriously damaged and shortly after the war was sunk off the Falklands and is now an official War Grave.