Topic: Question for Navy Buff's Can a 1 mil$ cruise missile sink a Battleship?
Blayne Bradley
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posted
In Axis and Allies for as long as I have a sub and 2 planes I can sink it, but it begs the question in modern war Battleships are used as massive gun/missile platforms for shore bombardment, but they are nevertheless heavily armed and armoured and thus meant to duke it out with ships of similar size.
So, can a Battleship sustain the hit from a cruise missile and still be operational?
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The short answer is, 'it depends'. I would think a large ship such as a Carrier or Battleship could take some punishment before sinking, but a strike to the magazines or the like could probaly do it. It also depends on the cruise missile...conventional? Tactical Nuke? Payload size?
Posts: 5422 | Registered: Dec 2001
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Blayne Bradley
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conventional, not a nuke, if its a nuke then I think we're pretty screwed.
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In reality? Battleships were demothballed back in The Persian Gulf War, then mothballed again. They have a wooden deck and double hull. They are old and decrepit, so a cruise missle could almost be over kill on a Battleship. Depending where the hit is, I'd say it could still sustain operations.
Aircraft Carrier...good luck to anyone that can get a cruise missile near one. It would damage it if (this is a HUGE if) a cruise missile were to hit. An Aircraft Carrier would definately be able to sustain operations after a hit.
Posts: 2208 | Registered: Feb 2004
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Blayne Bradley
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posted
Unless they use Sunburns. I forget but they wargamed it in "Red Storm Rising" they used a special bomber and a special kind of missile used in the Russian armed forces.
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Now, in all fairness stan, that wooden deck covers 18 inch armor plate... they're actually quite sturdy, which is why they were demothballed.
Posts: 121 | Registered: Jan 2006
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A single cruise missile would likely get shot down before it got anywhere near the carrier. Carriers have some pretty serious automated defense systems that involve high-caliber gatling-style guns. It would take a flight of several cruise missles approaching from all different angles to breach the defenses.
Posts: 3003 | Registered: Oct 2004
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well, there's also the picket ships and what not around... and these would be around a battleship (which is not without it's own point defense systems) as well.
Posts: 121 | Registered: Jan 2006
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