Lunatic ran a mad ship, as warships seen in English Channel (7,6)
I believe the answer is:
spanish armada
'warships seen in english channel' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this defines the answer.
'lunatic ran a mad ship as' is the wordplay.
'lunatic' indicates an anagram.
'ran'+'a'+'mad'+'ship'+'as'='ranamadshipas'
'ranamadshipas' with letters rearranged gives 'SPANISH ARMADA'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for spanish armada that I've seen before include "1588 invasion force" , "Fleet sent against England in 1588" , "1588 invasion fleet" , "Fleet that sailed from Lisbon in May fifteen eighty eight" , "Famous naval fleet" .)