Battle of the Strait of Hormuz (1553)

The Battle of the Strait of Hormuz was fought in August 1553 between an Ottoman fleet, commanded by Admiral Murat Reis, against a Portuguese fleet of Dom Diogo de Noronha. The Turks were forced to retreat after clashing with the Portuguese.

Background
After Piri Reis was executed in late 1552, Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent had him replaced by Murat Reis, as Ottoman "admiral of the Indian Ocean fleet". His mission was to transfer 15 galleys stationed at Basra to the Red Sea, to firmly secure it against Portuguese incursions. Such a task however, demanded sailing through the Persian Gulf, closely watched and heavily guarded by the Portuguese from their base at Hormuz.

Piri Reis' attack on Muscat and Hormuz the previous year had triggered a Portuguese response from Goa, in the form of 30 galleons and caravels, 70 oar ships, and 3,000 soldiers commanded by the Viceroy himself, Dom Afonso de Noronha. These forces were eventually not needed, but nonetheless, significant reinforcements were detached to secure Hormuz against possible Ottoman attacks in the near future. The Portuguese captain of Hormuz was then Dom António de Noronha, while the sea-captain of Hormuz was Dom Diogo de Noronha. Dom Diogo was joined by the flotilla of Dom Pedro de Ataíde, who had just returned from blockading the mouth of the Red Sea that year.

In May 1553, Dom Diogo set out to sea to patrol the vicinity of Cape Musandam with his main force, while two small craft were dispatched to scout the Shatt al-Arab for Ottoman movements. A few months later, the two craft returned, with information that Murat Reis had departed Basra with 16 vessels and followed close behind, on his way towards the Strait of Hormuz.

The battle
The Turks sailed in a column close to shore, and as soon as they spotted the Portuguese fleet, attempted to circle it around the north. To allow the galleons and war-caravels to fire broadsides, the Portuguese formed a line – a tactic that in the future would become standard in naval warfare. Murat Reis proved just as skilful commanding his galleys: lacking broadside artillery, he instead would order all his galleys to veer to starboard at the same time, to allow the bow guns to fire at the Portuguese, before resuming course. One Turkish cannonball pierced the Portuguese flagship below the waterline; at this critical moment, the ship-master performed a risky manoeuvre: shifting direction towards the wind, the galleon tilted, bringing the hole above the waterline and allowing the carpenters to plug it mid-battle.

Towards the end of the morning wind fell, leaving the Portuguese and Ottoman sail vessels immobile, but not the galleys. Possessing himself a carrack which he could not leave behind, Murat Reis took the opportunity to surround an isolated Portuguese galleon, commanded by Gonçalo Pereira Marramaque. For the following six hours, the galleon crew withstood a continuous bombardment, felling its masts and tearing down its fore and aft castles. Yet the Turks were unable to sink it through gunfire alone, or close in for the grapple. At the same time, the Turkish galleys were harassed by the Portuguese foists, which being lighter, did not press with the attack.

As the wind picked up, the Portuguese galleons and war-caravels once more closed in on the Turkish galleys, and Murat Reis finally disengaged, taking the route back to Basra along the Persian coast.

Aftermath
Coming aboard the battered galleon, Dom Diogo de Noronha applauded its crew for their brave resistance – congratulating the commanding officers last, declaring that they had not but done their duty as expected of nobility of their rank.

Gonçalo Pereira Marramaque was towed back to Hormuz by a few oarships, while Dom Diogo de Noronha set out in pursuit of the Turkish galleys. Since wind blew weak, Murat Reis gained a considerable lead and managed to reach Basra safely within seven days, and Dom Diogo likewise returned to Hormuz and Goa, leaving just a few craft keeping watch at the mouth of the Shatt al Arab.

Following this setback, Murat Reis was dismissed of his command, and replaced with Seydi Ali Reis, who would likewise attempt an incursion across the Persian Gulf the following year.