20 Naval Disasters from History that Make Us Scared to Sail

1. The largest attempted naval invasion in human history until the D-Day landings in Normandy, both Mongol attempts under Kublai Khan to invade Japan were foiled by typhoons which sunk thousands of ships in what became known as “Kamikaze” – meaning “divine wind”.

Due to the support of Japanese raiders for the ailing Song dynasty, Kublai Khan – the fifth Khagan of the Mongol Empire and first Emperor of the Yuan dynasty – ordered the invasion of Japan in retribution. First attempting in 1274 with a fleet comprising approximately 900 ships, the Mongols conquered settlements on the small islands of Tsushima and Iki. However, while attempting to land at Hakata Bay on the larger island of Kyūshū, the Mongols were met by a combined force of samurai clans, driving them back into the sea. During this withdrawal to the Chinese mainland, the Mongol fleet was struck by a colossal typhoon and lost.

Attempting again in 1281, employing a fleet of more than 4,000 ships carrying in excess of 140,000 men, the Mongol effort was the largest recorded naval invasion in history until D-Day on June 6, 1944. Facing a two-meter high wall protecting a colossal fortress, built in the interim seven-year period in preparation for a Mongol return, the invasion force was unable to make significant headway onto Kyūshū. Spending months afloat whilst seeking an effective attack strategy, the Mongol fleet was once again struck by a rogue typhoon. Annihilating both the fleet and army, the Mongols abandoned their efforts and did not attempt a further invasion.

Where do we find this stuff? Here are our sources:

“Treasures of the Armada”, Robert Stenuit, E.P. Dutton and Company (1973)

“The Spanish Armada: The Experience of War in 1588”, Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Oxford University Press (1988)

“Fire on the River: The Story of the Burning of the General Slocum”, Werner Braatz and Joseph Starr, Krokodiloplis Press (2000)

“The Tragedy of the Steamboat General Slocum”, Ed O’Donnell, Broadway Publishing (2003)

“The Warship Mary Rose: The Life and Times of King Henry VIII’s Flagship”, David Childs, Greenhill Books (2007)

“Sealed by Time: The Loss and Recovery of the Mary Rose”, Peter Marsden, The Mary Rose Trust (2003)

“The Ship of the Line, Volume 1: The Development of the Battlefleet 1650-1850”, Brian Lavery, Conway Maritime Press (2003)

“Blunders and Disasters at Sea”, David Blackmore, Pen and Sword Maritime (2004)

“Why you’ve never heard of the six Chinese men who survived the Titanic”, Washington Post, Amy B Wang (April 19, 2018)

“Shipwreck ‘could yield billions'”, BBC News (February 25, 2002)

“Sir Francis Wheler (1656-1694)”, in “Oxford Dictionary of National Biography”, C.S. Knighton, Oxford University Press (2004)