OFFTOPIC - Unsinkable U.S. Navy Frigate

[Munchmasterman]

Originally Posted by Jackie S

I see the problem as actual hits.

The best way to sink a ship with a very large bomb is not to actually hit the ship, but to have the bomb explode just next to it. The multiplied impact of the water would break the keel.

When Billy Mitchel did his famous demonstration after WW-1 to prove the vulnerability of large capital ships to aircraft, they used the old German Dreadnaught Battleship Ostfriesland as a target. They literally blew it to pieces a topside with 2000 and 4000 pound bombs and incentararies, but it did not turn turtle and sink until they dropped a couple of 2000 lb "tall boys" just off of it's port and starboard sides. The explosion, magnified by the waters hammering affect, split the hull.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnOzGjvjU4w

The video is a little misleading, the final Homs that sunk the old girl hit just off the stern, not on it.

That being said, that Frigate in the OP was one tough cookie.

Douglas MacArthur was one of the judges who sat on Mitchell's court marshal.

[Munchmasterman]

It always boils down to there may not be targets that can be clearly defined or that can be cleanly taken out.
Always going to be collateral damage and it's always going to need boots on the ground to secure areas and to dig out the gomers.

Originally Posted by CuteOldGuy

Exactly. The key word is "try". But if war is unavoidable, we need to win as quickly and decisively as possible. The strongest country ought not get involved in long, drawn out proxy wars with ridiculous rules of engagement and no clear definition of victory. If it's worth fighting, it's worth winning. Or don't fight. It wastes money, and, more importantly, lives.

[DSK]

Originally Posted by Munchmasterman

It always boils down to there may not be targets that can be clearly defined or that can be cleanly taken out.
Always going to be collateral damage and it's always going to need boots on the ground to secure areas and to dig out the gomers.

Actually, I agree with Obama on this one. Drone them for the next 50 years if we must, but some of our best young men in the country from working class, blue collar families go into the army, and we don't need to sacrifice them in favor of Goldman Sachs or Halliburton's profits.