The Spanish Armada was a Spanish naval fleet (army of ships) famous for being used by King Philip II of Spain against England in 1588.
The ships were on their way to Flanders, across the English Channel, to fetch an army to invade England. However, the Royal Navy, in Queen Elizabeth I of England’s reign, caught up with the ships on the way. English ships sailed from Plymouth to attack the Armada. They were faster and more manoeuvrable than the larger Spanish galleons. They fired on the Armada without loss as the Armada sailed east off the south coast of England.
This started on 12 July 1588 and ended during August 1588.
The second-in-command of the Royal Navy was Sir Francis Drake. A story is that he was playing a game of bowling with his friends when he heard of the attack, but he boldly insisted that he had time to finish the game and then to defeat the Spanish Armada. The story was first written 100 years after the events, however, and so it may have never happened.
The Spanish Armada was led by Spanish Duke of Medina Sidonia. He had no naval experience but replaced the original commander, who had died in February.
The following year, an English Armada, sometimes called the "counter-armada" attacked the Spanish Navy in Portugal. This also failed and the English Armada was similarly devastated.