Fact check: At least four ships have been sunk by torpedoes since 1945

US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that the sinking of an Iranian ship was the first time an “enemy ship” had been sunk by a torpedo since the Second World War.

He said: “Yesterday in the Indian Ocean … an American submarine sunk an Iranian warship that thought it was safe in international waters.

“Instead it was sunk by a torpedo – a quiet death – the first sinking of an enemy ship by a torpedo since World War Two.”

Evaluation

The sinking is believed to be the first time since the Second World War that the United States has sunk an enemy ship with a torpedo. This might be what Mr Hegseth was referring to.

The UK, Pakistan and possibly North Korea have all sunk ships using torpedoes since then.

The facts

The Press Association has found three cases where a ship was sunk by a torpedo in the last 80 years since the end of the Second World War.

The most recent is also disputed. In 2010 the South Korean navy ship ROKS Cheonan split apart and sank.

A investigation by a group of experts later concluded that the sinking was due to the detonation of a homing torpedo. The torpedo was made in North Korea, and “the evidence points overwhelmingly” to it being fired by a North Korean submarine, the experts concluded. The North Koreans, however, denied responsibility.

In 1982 during the Falklands War, the Royal Navy sank the Argentinian ship ARA General Belgrano. The torpedoes that sank the cruiser were fired from a British submarine.

Finally, in 1971 several torpedoes fired from a Pakistan submarine hit and sank the Indian navy’s INS Khukri.

Links

Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine hold briefing on the U.S.-Iran war

Subject Investigation Result on the Sinking of ROKS “Cheonan” (archived)

UN – Press Conference on Situation in Korean Peninsula (archived)

Gov.uk – New HMS Raleigh accommodation pays tribute to Navy heritage (archived)

Diu District – INS Khukri Memorial (archived)