Quote:
Originally Posted by fitz
Your not getting this on a fundamental level. You think you are, but your not.
If I understand the above correctly what your saying is, because USS Missouri was being escorted by a pre-ADIMP Type 42 destroyer and an FFG7 she had no cause to worry, sent the lookouts to their bunks, turned off Phalanx, SPS-67, SPQ-9 and SLQ-32 and just left things to fate?
Because she was being escorted Missouri had no responsibility for her own protection while sailing through a minefield within range of hostile enemy coastal weapons????
I'm not talking about watching over the group here, I'm talking about basic self-protection. Silkworm is hardly a sophisticated weapon system. It's big. It flies high. It's not especially fast. If Missouri couldn't see these coming because her radar and ESM didn't detect them then how exactly is she expected to deal with inbound Granit's?
|
That is not what is stated. I doubt very much that her lookouts were back in berthing, the Phaylanx turned off etc etc. That certainly is not procedure. Each and every ship is assigned their duties and every man assigned has a watch. That is not saying they shut the sytems down and roll up the carpets and call it a night. The idea of having escorts (as she did) is to bring all the tools a battlegroup requires to do its intended job.
You need not go indepth about Silkworms I am familiar with them. And according to reports minesweepers were already through the area and cleared a lane through the Iraqi defenses in search of mines.
How much damage do you believe a Silkworm would do to that ship if struck?
1)Mission kill
2)Sunk
3)minimal
IMO outside the human factor, minimal.
If Missouri couldn't see these coming because her radar and ESM didn't detect them then how exactly is she expected to deal with inbound Granit's?
Its not a question "if" Missouri could see it coming. What prompted the Iraqis to fire them (unknown range)(unpainted) was the pounding that Missouri was giving the Kuwati shoreline in a feint effort to fake an amphibious landing on the morning of the 23rd Feb.
If they knew what they were firing at then why shoot a missle that did not go active. Instead of hitting your target you just gave away your position for the next available ship to focus upon.
As far as her detection goes that is not a question for me to answer. That would be the battlegroups commander's job to answer.There could be a reason for this but the only men to know would probably be her CO or the XO.
If you remember correctly when this post started we stressed two different tools two different jobs.