Re: Aircraft Vs Dreadnoughts (Which is what the topic mutated into :o)

ShldWulf@aol.com wrote:

> A couple of points about this thread:
>
>
> >Except for the Iowa's, no battleship has the capability to fire on an
A-6 at
> all, and even the Iowa has problems.<
>
> Incorrect. The Iowa's have anti-air missiles, (Sea-sparrows as I
recall) with
> 15-20 mile range. As to the A-6 dropping a guided "bunker-buster" that
is
> what the Phalanx is for and it would have NO trouble ripping up an
free-fall
> bomb. Especially a LGB, since it drops in a nice predictable pattern
around
> the laser beam. A quarter second burst and move on to the next one.
Even if
> the shell don't detonate the bomb, (in all likely hood not) they will
destroy
> the guidance unit, airfoils and probably the detonation train.

Not according to any of the unclassified sources that I read.  If there
were any
SAM's on the Iowa's, they were shoulder fired.	There was a suggested
conversion
that would remove the aft turret and install facilities for harrier jump
jets and
a VLS launcher, but it was never implemented.

The bunker buster (so I have heard) is a former 8" howitzer barrel with
an armor
piercing nose and guidance.  At best, the phalanx will degrade the
accuracy, as
it only fires tiny shells for destroying fragile missiles and its
engagement
range is a tad short.  You have a misconception about how semi-active
homing
works.	The only reason for the bomb to travel in a predictable path
around the
beam is if it was dropped from the aircraft doing the target
illumination.  For
best results, you want the a different aircraft to designate the target
to give
the bomber more freedom after the release.  Your description would be
accurate
for beam riding guidance, but that is another story.

>
>
> >and the last plane drops the LGB to detonate under the keel, between
the
> funnels.<
>
> Kinda hard. The LGB would hit the water and would go deep. It might,
> (Keyword: Might) drop under the hull, then again, with all it's
external
> stuff torn off it might just tumble the other way. Even with a delay
on it it
> might not detonate "under the keel".

It detonates under the keel, because it strikes the vessel between the
funnels
and continues right through.  The aggregate thickness of the armor
between the