Re: [FT] Re: Small vessels and the Line of Battle

On Tue, 14 Sep 1999, Roger Books wrote:

> You are assuming that a space navy ship is better compartmentalized
than
> a modern US Warship.	I can, without a doubt, say this is untrue.  A
> modern US ship pretty well has to have a hole (or holes) big enough to
> remove 50% of its flotation ability.	I would claim that any ship,
space
> navy or wet navy, that has had 50% of its hull space destroyed is
going
> to be a hulk in space.

One Point. When a Wet Navy ship looses 50% of its volume to flooding it 
capsizes. Damage control has to counter flood compartments to keep it up

right. If a damaged ship capsizes, its death for that ship and most of 
the crew. 

A space navy ship will not capsize. You can loose quite a bit of
internal 
pressure and still keep quite happy and nice. Assuming you have crew to 
operate and repair critical systems. The crew most certainly fight in 
hardsuits in most cases I'd think. 

> The reason I say US ships is the Brits do things like build ships with
> metal that burns and is soft (aluminum in a warship?)  If you can find
> it (brain fog, sorry) there was that US tin can that ran afoul of a
> mine,
> you should look at the pictures.  What keeps ships running is partialy
> design, but mostly a well trained and couragous crew, and I can't
really
> believe a space navy ship is going to be that much more survivable
than
> a wet navy ship.

The ship structure is not germain at all. Go talk to the folks on 
sci.mil.naval. They have rehashed the Al superstructure thing more than
a 
few times. The Reason the Stark and the Sheffield were in such bad shape

was the missile's motor was still burning. The Sheffield lost its fire 
main in the impact. The Stark was able to continue under its own power.

Wet navy ships have to contend with sinking. Space navy ships don't.
that 
is why they'd be more capable even after some damage. 

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