# When has ramming a ship ever worked in reality **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 16, 2017, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-has-ramming-a-ship-ever-worked-in-reality/804643 "2017-12-16T15:45:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-has-ramming-a-ship-ever-worked-in-reality/804643/21 "2017-12-19T04:02:02Z")
> [@Drum\_God](#): > > The Enterprise E and the Kelvin employed ramming. Worf ordered the Defiant to “ramming speed”, but was rescued before carrying it out. IIRC, Worf also posited that “perhaps today is a good day to die” immediately before issuing that order. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-has-ramming-a-ship-ever-worked-in-reality/804643/22 "2017-12-19T09:36:46Z")
[USS Borie vs. U-405](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Borie_(DD-215)) Highlights include an actual thrown knife. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-has-ramming-a-ship-ever-worked-in-reality/804643/23 "2017-12-19T10:23:32Z")
As part of a raid on a french harbour in WW2, a ship rammed a harbour. If everything went according to plan, Campbeltown would ram the huge dry dock gates, smash her way through and come to rest deep within the dock itself. There she would be scuttled, and there, with luck, she would explode and finish the Normandie Dock for the war’s duration. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-has-ramming-a-ship-ever-worked-in-reality/804643/24 "2017-12-19T15:22:21Z")
You want ramming speed? You have a starship? Take that sucker up to .999c and hit something with it. Anything. Ship, planet, star. The result will be…most spectacular. And there’s no defense. Even if you managed to blow up the ship, the debris is still moving at near-light speed. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-has-ramming-a-ship-ever-worked-in-reality/804643/25 "2017-12-19T15:42:40Z")
If it’s done right it should work pretty well. The bow of a ship should be very strong, while it’s sides will be considerably weaker. Ram a ship nose on into the side of another and it should do some considerable damage. I don’t mean modern heavy steel warships, they ought to have other means besides ramming for battle, but prior to cannons ships couldn’t engage in battle without contact, and if you ram your opponent you should gain an immediate advantage. ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-has-ramming-a-ship-ever-worked-in-reality/804643/26 "2017-12-19T21:14:31Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > [USS Borie vs. U-405](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Borie_(DD-215)) > Highlights include an actual thrown knife. At first I thought that you were joking. But I guess not! Amazing story! ---
**Author:** ![ruh-roh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ruh-roh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruh-roh)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-has-ramming-a-ship-ever-worked-in-reality/804643/27 "2017-12-19T23:05:39Z")
It worked for the MS Stockholm when it took on the Andrea Doria in 1956. However the Stockholm also lost about 30 feet of it’s bow, although it was able to make it back to port on it’s own. The RMS Titanic had little luck taking on a nondescript iceberg. I’ve often wondered if it would have survived had it been a direct hit rather than the glancing blow. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-has-ramming-a-ship-ever-worked-in-reality/804643/28 "2017-12-20T05:26:52Z")
This is fiction, but C.S. Forester has a memorable ramming scene in _Mr. Midshipman Hornblower_: “The galley turned a little, getting exactly into line, and then her oars’ beat quickened. She was coming down to ram, like the Greeks at Salamis.” > **[Mr. Midshipman Hornblower \[Hornblower Saga #1\]](https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20170206)** > > Horatio Hornblower is a fictional Napoleonic Wars era Royal Navy officer who is the protagonist of a series of novels by C. S. Forester. The narrative time line ranges from January 1794 to November 1848. The Napoleonic Wars occurred from May 1803 to... ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-has-ramming-a-ship-ever-worked-in-reality/804643/29 "2017-12-20T06:19:54Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Heck, the ancient triremes used ramming as their main tactic. > [@ssgenius](#): > > Still aside from these number of actual incidents, it is more of a last gasp attempt rather than a real effective technique. I am slightly annoyed you are dismissing hundreds of years of classical warfare ;). ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-has-ramming-a-ship-ever-worked-in-reality/804643/30 "2017-12-20T12:26:03Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > [USS Borie vs. U-405](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Borie_(DD-215)) There were a number of incidents in WWII\* of destroyers deliberately ramming subs. It usually turned out badly for the subs. \*The captain of the sub that sank three British cruisers in WWI was commanding another sub, U-29 later in the war when he failed to notice he was surfacing in the path of _HMS Dreadnought_, which rammed and cut his vessel in two. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-has-ramming-a-ship-ever-worked-in-reality/804643/31 "2017-12-24T06:00:13Z")
The U.S. Army (!) had a group of rams on Western waters during the Civil War: > **[United States Ram Fleet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Ram_Fleet)** > > The United States Ram Fleet was a Union Army unit of steam powered ram ships during the American Civil War. The unit was independent of the Union Army and Navy and reported directly to the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton. The ram fleet operated in coordination with the Mississippi River Squadron during the Union brown-water navy battle against the Confederate River Defense Fleet for control of the Mississippi River and its tributaries. > The unit was created and led by Colonel Charles Ellet J... > **[First Battle of Memphis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Memphis)** > > The First Battle of Memphis was a naval battle fought on the Mississippi River immediately north of the city of Memphis, Tennessee on June 6, 1862, during the American Civil War. The engagement was witnessed by many of the citizens of Memphis. It resulted in a crushing defeat for the Confederate forces, and marked the virtual eradication of a Confederate naval presence on the river. Despite the lopsided outcome, the Union Army failed to grasp its strategic significance. Its primary historical im... > [@Philliam](#): > > Even though it was an accident due to a tragic miscalculation, _HMS Camperdown_ collided with _HMS Victoria_ during maneuvers in 1893. Both Battleships had ‘ram’ bows. _Victoria_ was struck and severely holed on the starboard side, filled and capsized within 13 minutes with the loss of half the crew. Later fictionalized for comic effect in the Alec Guinness film _Kind Hearts and Coronets_. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-has-ramming-a-ship-ever-worked-in-reality/804643/32 "2017-12-24T20:09:14Z")
> **[Battle of Lissa (1866)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lissa_(1866))** > > The Battle of Lissa (or Battle of Vis) (Croatian: Bitka kod Visa) took place on 20 July 1866 in the Adriatic Sea near the Dalmatian island of Vis (Italian: Lissa) and was a significant victory for an Austrian Empire force over a numerically superior Italian force. It was the first major sea battle between ironclads and one of the last to involve deliberate ramming. The Italian navy fired roughly 1450 shots during the engagement, but failed to sink any Austrian ship while losing two ironclads. > On... “The Battle of Lissa (sometimes called Battle of Vis) took place on 20 July 1866 in the Adriatic Sea near the Dalmatian island of Lissa (“Vis” in Croatian) and was a decisive victory for an outnumbered Austrian Empire force over a numerically superior Italian force. It was the first major sea battle between ironclads and one of the last to involve deliberate ramming.” And just a lot of battles mentioned and stuff; [Roman Naval Warfare - World History Encyclopedia](https://www.ancient.eu/Roman_Naval_Warfare/) Mentions the largest: [Battle of Cape Ecnomus - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cape_Ecnomus) Romans: About 330 ships; Approx. 140,000 rowers and marines Carthaginians: About 350 ships; In excess of 150,000 rowers and marines ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-has-ramming-a-ship-ever-worked-in-reality/804643/33 "2017-12-24T20:16:26Z")
Icebergs count? ---
**Author:** ![ssgenius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@ssgenius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ssgenius)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2017, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-has-ramming-a-ship-ever-worked-in-reality/804643/34 "2017-12-29T04:56:20Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > Icebergs count? Surprisingly Aside from the Titanic, there has been very few Iceberg collisions resulting in loss of life [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-has-ramming-a-ship-ever-worked-in-reality/804643.md?page=1)