North Channel Naval Duel

54°43′27″N 5°27′00″W / 54.72417°N 5.45000°W / 54.72417; -5.45000

North Channel naval duel
Part of the American War of Independence
Date 24 April 1778 Location North Channel, Irish Sea Result American victory
Belligerents
United States	Great Britain
Commanders and leaders
John Paul Jones	George Burdon  †
Strength
USS Ranger (sloop of war), 18 guns	HMS Drake (sloop of war), 20 guns (officially 16)
Casualties and losses
3 killed, 5 wounded	5 killed, 20 wounded, HMS Drake severely damaged

The North Channel naval duel was a single-ship action between the United States Continental Navy sloop of war Ranger (Captain John Paul Jones) and the British Royal Navy sloop of war Drake (Captain George Burdon) on the evening of 24 April 1778. Fought in the North Channel, separating Ireland from Scotland, it was the first American naval success within Atlantic waters, and also very nearly the only American naval victory in the Revolutionary War achieved without an overwhelming superiority of force. The action was one of a series of actions by Jones that brought the American War of Independence to British waters.