Largest naval battle in history

The "largest naval battle in history" is a disputed title between adherents of varying criteria which include the numbers of personnel or vessels involved in the naval battle, the total displacement of the vessels involved and sometimes the significance and implications of the battle.

While battles fought in modern times are comparatively well-documented, the figures from those in pre-Renaissance era are generally believed by contemporary chroniclers to be exaggerated.

In 1975, the Austrian historian Helmut Pemsel [de] attempted to evaluate naval battles in history by a scoring system.

He assigned a score to each of four aspects of a battle as follows: According to him, the largest naval battle ever is the Battle of Leyte Gulf, scoring 8 of a possible 9 points total, while six others tied for second at 7 points each: Salamis, the Aegates, Actium, La Hogue, Trafalgar and Jutland.

[1]