battle, early modern
Battle of Saldanha Bay
Battle of Saldanha Bay was a battle fought on 21 July 1781 at Saldanha Bay, in what is now South Africa. It was part of the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, which ran from 1780 to 1784. The recorded result: British victory. Recorded strength: 5 ships of the line; 3 frigates; 2 cutters; 1 bomb vessel; 1 fireship; 2 troopships; 5 merchant ships against 8 merchant ships.
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Where it sits in the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War
Record
| Date | 21 July 1781 | |
|---|---|---|
| Place | Saldanha Bay, South Africa 33.017S, 17.950E | |
| Kind | Battle, early modern | |
| Strength | 5 ships of the line; 3 frigates; 2 cutters; 1 bomb vessel; 1 fireship; 2 troopships; 5 merchant ships | 8 merchant ships |
| Casualties and losses | None | 5 merchant ships captured; 1 merchant ship destroyed |
| Commanders |
| |
Nearest engagements
- Battle of Blaauwberg 1806, 95 km SE
- Battle of Salt River 1510, 112 km SE
- Sinking of the Flensborg 1629, 217 km S
- Battle of Sandfontein 1914, 483 km N
- Battle of Kakamas 1915, 535 km NE
In the same war
- Before: Battle of Elmina 18 February 1781
- After: Battle of Dogger Bank 5 August 1781
- All 7 engagements of Fourth Anglo-Dutch War
Elsewhere in 1781
- Siege of Yorktown United States
- Battle of the Chesapeake
- Battle of Cowpens United States
- Siege of Pensacola United States
- Battle of Guilford Court House United States
Battle of Saldanha Bay is one of 2,009 engagements of the 18th century in the atlas and one of 92 in present-day South Africa.
Sources
Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q4872243, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Saldanha Bay (1781), revision 1372119344, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.