In warfare, ramming is a technique that was used in air, sea and land combat. The term originated from battering ram

Battering ram

A battering ram is a siege engine originating in ancient times and designed to break open the masonry walls of fortifications or splinter their wooden gates...

, a siege weapon used to bring down fortifications by hitting it with the force of the ram's momentum. Thus, in warfare ramming refers to hitting a target by running oneself into the target.

Today, hand-held battering rams are one tool among many used by law enforcement and military personnel for door breaching

Door breaching

Door breaching is a process used by military, police, or emergency services to force open closed and/or locked doors. A wide range of methods are available, one or more of which may be used in any given situation...

. Forcible entry

Forcible entry

Forcible entry is defined by Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law as the unlawful taking of possession of real property by force or threats of force or unlawful entry into or onto another's property, especially when accompanied by force....

 by criminals has been implemented using such methods as vehicles rammed into buildings.

Naval warfare

The ram was commonly used in antiquity, and was an important part of the armament of the galleys of Imperial Rome. The ancient Greeks

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...

 used their trireme

Trireme

A trireme was a type of galley, a Hellenistic-era warship that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean, especially the Phoenicians, ancient Greeks and Romans.The trireme derives its name from its three rows of oars on each side, manned with one man per oar...

 vessels for ramming as well. In ancient China, rams were largely unknown as the lack of a keel

Keel

In boats and ships, keel can refer to either of two parts: a structural element, or a hydrodynamic element. These parts overlap. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in construction of a ship, in British and American shipbuilding traditions the construction is dated from this event...

 and the flat shape of the junk

Junk (ship)

A junk is an ancient Chinese sailing vessel design still in use today. Junks were developed during the Han Dynasty and were used as sea-going vessels as early as the 2nd century AD. They evolved in the later dynasties, and were used throughout Asia for extensive ocean voyages...

's bow was not conducive to the build of an elongated underwater spur.

The ram's first recorded use in modern times between major warships, however, was in the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, at the battle of Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads

Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...

, when the armoured Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 warship Virginia

CSS Virginia

CSS Virginia was the first steam-powered ironclad warship of the Confederate States Navy, built during the first year of the American Civil War; she was constructed as a casemate ironclad using the raised and cut down original lower hull and steam engines of the scuttled . Virginia was one of the...

 rammed the Union

Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

 frigate , sinking her almost immediately.

Another significant success of the ram in wartime was at the 1866 battle of Lissa

Battle of Lissa (1866)

The Battle of Lissa took place on 20 July 1866 in the Adriatic Sea near the Dalmatian island of Lissa and was a decisive victory for an outnumbered Austrian Empire force over a superior Italian force...

, between Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 and Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

. The Italian ironclad Re d'Italia had been damaged aft by gunfire, and had no rudder. Lying helpless in the water, she was struck amidships by the Austrian Ferdinand Max, the flagship of the Austrian Commander-in-Chief Admiral Tegetthoff

Wilhelm von Tegetthoff

Wilhelm von Tegetthoff was an Austrian admiral. Considered one of the prominent naval commanders of the 19th century, Tegetthoff was known for his innovative tactics as well as his inspirational leadership....

. The Austrian ship retreated unharmed as the Italian vessel rolled over and sank.

During the War of the Pacific

War of the Pacific

The War of the Pacific took place in western South America from 1879 through 1883. Chile fought against Bolivia and Peru. Despite cooperation among the three nations in the war against Spain, disputes soon arose over the mineral-rich Peruvian provinces of Tarapaca, Tacna, and Arica, and the...

, the Peruvian ironclad Huáscar

Huáscar (ship)

Huáscar is a 19th century small armoured turret ship of a type similar to a monitor. She was built in Britain for Peru and played a significant role in the battle of Pacocha and the War of the Pacific against Chile before being captured and commissioned with the Chilean Navy. Today she is one of...

repeatedly rammed the Chilean corvette Esmeralda

Esmeralda (1855)

The Esmeralda launched in 1855, was a wooden steam corvette sunk during the War of the Pacific as was set against superior forces, fought until sunk with colors flying on 21 May 1879 at the Battle of Iquique...

, sinking the wooden steam- and wind-powered ship.

During World War I, rammed and sunk German submarine . This was an incidental use of the ship's bow, however. In 1918 HMS Olympic rammed SM U-103.

In World War II, naval ships often rammed other vessels, though this was often due to circumstances, as considerable damage could be caused to the attacking ship. The damage that lightly constructed destroyer

Destroyer

In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...

s took from the tactic led to it being officially discouraged by the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 from early 1943, after the was dry-docked for three months following sinking U-357 in December 1942 and was torpedoed and sunk following damaging her propellers during the ramming of U-444 in March 1943. USS Buckley (DE-51)

USS Buckley (DE-51)

USS Buckley , a of the United States Navy, was named in honor of Ordnanceman John D. Buckley , who was killed in action during the Japanese attack on the Hawaiian Islands....

 rammed U-66; and HMS Easton rammed U-458.

On 29 January 1943 the Japanese submarine I-1

Japanese submarine I-1

The Japanese submarine I-1 was a J1 type submarine built by Kawasaki, Kobe, for the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was a large cruiser submarine displacing 2,135 tons and was the lead of four boats built in the class....

 was rammed and wrecked by the New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 naval trawler

Naval trawler

A naval trawler is a vessel built along the lines of a fishing trawler but fitted out for naval purposes. Naval trawlers were widely used during the First and Second world wars. Fishing trawlers were particularly suited for many naval requirements because they were robust boats designed to work...

s, Kiwi

HMNZS Kiwi (T102)

HMNZS Kiwi was a Bird class minesweeper of the Royal New Zealand Navy.She was commissioned in 1941 for minesweeping and anti-submarine roles. From 1948 to 1956 she functioned as a training ship....

 and Moa

HMNZS Moa (T233)

HMNZS Moa was a Bird class minesweeper of the Royal New Zealand Navy.On 29 January 1943, with her sister ship Kiwi, Moa helped ram and wreck the Japanese submarine I-1...

 in shallow water at Kamimbo Bay, Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal

Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...

 during Operation Ke

Operation Ke

was the largely successful withdrawal of Japanese forces from Guadalcanal at the conclusion of the Guadalcanal Campaign of World War II. The operation took place between 14 January and 7 February 1943, and involved both army and navy forces under the overall direction of the Japanese Imperial...

. The submarine of 2135 tons was much larger and more heavily armed than the minesweeping trawlers of 607 tons each.

During anti-submarine action, ramming was an alternative if the destroyer was too close to the surfaced submarine for her main guns to fire into the water. The tactic was used by the famous British anti-submarine specialist, Captain Frederic John Walker

Frederic John Walker

Captain Frederic John Walker, CB, DSO and three Bars, RN was a British Royal Navy officer noted for his exploits during World War II...

 from December 1941 to the end of the war.

Superannuated British destroyer was disguised as a German ship for the purpose of ramming the lock gates of the U-boat base at St. Nazaire on 28 March 1942. A large explosive time bomb

Time bomb

A time bomb is a bomb whose detonation is triggered by a timer. The use time bombs has been for various purposes ranging from insurance fraud to warfare to assassination; however, the most common use has been for politically-motivated terrorism.-Construction:The explosive charge is the main...

 charge in the bow of the ship exploded the next day, putting the dock out of commission for five years.

PT-109

Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109

PT-109 was a PT boat last commanded by Lieutenant, junior grade John F. Kennedy in the Pacific Theater during World War II...

 was rammed and crushed by a Japanese destroyer, though the incident was at night and the PT-boat was idling to avoid detection, making it doubtful the destroyer's actions were intentional.

rammed the German cruiser in a famous act of desperation.

In 1988, two US naval ships, destroyer and cruiser , were lightly rammed by Soviet Mirka II

Mirka class frigate

The Mirka Class was the NATO reporting name for a class of light frigates built for the Soviet Navy in the mid to late 1960s. The Soviet Designation was Storozhevoi Korabl Project 35 and Project 35-M .-Design:...

 class light frigate (FFL 824) and Burevestnik class frigate Bezzavetny (FFG 811) inside contested Soviet territorial waters in the Black Sea, near the port of Foros

Foros, Ukraine

Foros is a resort townlet in Crimea, Ukraine. Located at around near Cape Sarych, Foros is the southernmost resort in the Crimea.The settlement was founded and named by medieval Greek merchants. It was rediscovered in the late 19th century by Alexander Kuznetsov, a Russian "tea king" who had his...

. None of the ships involved suffered significant damage.

During the "Cod Wars" between Britain and Iceland, unarmed fishing trawlers found themselves opposed by Icelandic Coastguard vessels and converted trawlers. As well as Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

 coastguard vessels, Britain sent large, ocean-going tugs

Tugboat

A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...

 and lightships to protect them and there were numerous ramming incidents against both sides, sometimes with very serious consequences.

Air warfare

Ramming in air combat is a last-ditch tactic that was used when all else had failed. The ramming pilot could use his entire aircraft as a ram or he could try to destroy the enemy's controls using the propeller or wing to chop into the enemy's tail or wing. Ramming took place when a pilot ran out of ammunition yet was still eager to destroy an enemy, or when his plane had already been damaged beyond saving. Most ramming occurred when the attacker's aircraft was economically, strategically or tactically less valuable than the enemy's, such as by pilots flying obsolescent aircraft against superior ones or by single-engine aircraft against multiple-engine bombers. Defenders rammed more often than invaders.

A ramming attack was not considered suicidal in the same manner as kamikaze

Kamikaze

The were suicide attacks by military aviators from the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, designed to destroy as many warships as possible....

attacks—the ramming pilot stands a chance of surviving, though it was very risky. Sometimes the ramming aircraft itself could survive to make a controlled landing, though most were lost due to combat damage or the pilot bailing out. Ramming was used in air warfare in the first half of the 20th century, in both World War

World war

A world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....

s and in the interwar period. In the jet age, as air combat speeds increased, ramming became obsolete—the probability of successfully executing (and surviving) a ramming attack approached impossibility.

Ground warfare

Already in 750 BCE

Common Era

Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...

, the main striking force of the Assyria

Assyria

Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...

n army was the corps of horse-drawn, two-wheeled chariot

Chariot

The chariot is a type of horse carriage used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Ox carts, proto-chariots, were built by the Proto-Indo-Europeans and also built in Mesopotamia as early as 3000 BC. The original horse chariot was a fast, light, open, two wheeled...

s. Their mission was to smash their way through the ranks of enemy infantry.

During World War II, the tank

Tank

A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...

s crews would sometimes use their own vehicles to run over enemy positions (personel, artillery etc.) instead of firing upon it. This tactic was especially popularised in Soviet Union. Facing the German Tiger

Tiger I

Tiger I is the common name of a German heavy tank developed in 1942 and used in World War II. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. E, often shortened to Tiger. It was an answer to the unexpectedly formidable Soviet armour encountered in the initial months of...

 or Panther

Panther tank

Panther is the common name of a medium tank fielded by Nazi Germany in World War II that served from mid-1943 to the end of the European war in 1945. It was intended as a counter to the T-34, and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV; while never replacing the latter, it served alongside it as...

 tanks, the crewmen of T-34

T-34

The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...

tanks, who lacked the firepower to break their thick armour, sometimes prefered to use the speed and manouverability of their tanks to drive straight into Germans, gambling that the impact will break the enemy's tracks and immobilize it. Moreover, the attack could end with jamming the Tiger's turret, either by blocking it with T-34's own body or by damaging the turret's drive, eliminating the risk to the remaining Soviet units. However there was a serious risk of being destroyed by German guns before reaching enemy tank. In addition to that, sometimes (especially if the T-34 ran into enemy's back), the ramming would rupture Tiger's or Panther's fuel tanks and cause fire, destroying both vehicles.