Summary

The Battle of Lissa, fought between an Austrian fleet commanded by Rear Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff and an Italian fleet commanded by Admiral Count Carlo di Persano on July 20, 1866, was the first encounter between armoured ships in which ramming was employed as a tactic. During the battle Tegetthoff ordered his ironclads to ram their opponents and in the ensuing melee the Austrian flagship Erzherzog Ferdinand Maximilian rammed and sank the former Italian flagship Re d'Italia.

Following Tegetthoff's success at the battle of Lissa ramming became a prominent feature of naval tactics for the next forty years.