World Affairs Board - View Single Post - Conventional Cruise Missiles vs. WWII Battleships

RustyBattleship · 07-28-2007, 19:42 PM

Okay. I'll put my two cents in. Tomahawks and Harpoons CAN hurt a Battleship. Sinking it is something else. On the Iowa class BBs, the armor is INSIDE the ship. So you have to have missiles going through the same holes in the upper decks or shell plating to even hit the armor.

The explosive in the warheads of CMs is much more powerful than that in 16-inch shells. But the CMs are slower without the hard armor penetrating noses. A 16-inch shell with full service charge leaves the muzzle at about 1700 mph. By the time it reaches a target 20 miles away, it is still doing 1100 mph. About twice as fast as a Tomahawk.

As for the movie "Under Siege" I was too busy finding all the flaws in it to enjoy it (it was filmed aboard the USS Alabama in Mobile and even had the Tomahawk launchers on backwards). I'm not much of a Siegal fan but enjoyed Colm Meany (a meaner role than Chief O'Brien) whom I met a a Star Trek con (really a very friendly guy).

Also enjoyed Tommy Lee Jones. For that matter I enjoy almost all of his movies.

The blond was good eye candy too.

Ummmm. What was the movie about again?

07-28-2007, 19:42 PM	#16 (permalink)
RustyBattleship *Defense Professional* Join Date: 01-12-06 Location: Long Beach, CA Posts: 2,951	Okay. I'll put my two cents in. Tomahawks and Harpoons CAN hurt a Battleship. Sinking it is something else. On the Iowa class BBs, the armor is INSIDE the ship. So you have to have missiles going through the same holes in the upper decks or shell plating to even hit the armor. The explosive in the warheads of CMs is much more powerful than that in 16-inch shells. But the CMs are slower without the hard armor penetrating noses. A 16-inch shell with full service charge leaves the muzzle at about 1700 mph. By the time it reaches a target 20 miles away, it is still doing 1100 mph. About twice as fast as a Tomahawk. As for the movie "Under Siege" I was too busy finding all the flaws in it to enjoy it (it was filmed aboard the USS Alabama in Mobile and even had the Tomahawk launchers on backwards). I'm not much of a Siegal fan but enjoyed Colm Meany (a meaner role than Chief O'Brien) whom I met a a Star Trek con (really a very friendly guy). Also enjoyed Tommy Lee Jones. For that matter I enjoy almost all of his movies. The blond was good eye candy too. Ummmm. What was the movie about again? __________________ Able to leap tall tales in a single groan.