Re: Tin Cans versus Dreadnoughts

"Imre A. Szabo" wrote:

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Christopher Pratt <valen@gatecom.com>
> To: <gzg-l@csua.berkeley.edu>
> Sent: Friday, March 09, 2001 7:31 AM
> Subject: Re: Tin Cans versus Dreadnoughts
>
> > > Well, it depends on your basis for the game model - One modern CV
with
> > > full complement should be able to sink multiple Kirov, Missouri's
etc.
> > > But then that's hardly a fair (or even reasonable) model.  I like
the
> > > 'Extended Range Air Force' model for SF space war myself but yes
if this
> > > is WW2 in space then strike craft (fighters) are over rated.
> > >
> A Kirov, yes; a Missouri, I wouldn't be so sure.  The U.S.N. doesn't
have
> the ordance to deal with that type of armor anymore...  In WWII, they
did;
> dive bombers and torpedoe bombers.  When was the last time a Harpoon
or
> tomahawk was tested against 12" steel armor???  Yes, you can smash the
> lightly armored supperstructure, but that's not going to put the ship
down
> (unless the captain gets a false report of an engine room being
destroyed
> and then scuttles the ships)...

If the Kirov is allowed to defend itself, a single carrier airwing will
have a
lot of trouble as the SA-N-6 missile has a long enough range to launch
before
the harpoons, the Kirov class has at least one missile per harpoon on
the
carrier, and it has plenty of other missiles and multibarreled cannon,
too.

Against the Missouri, a single laser guided bunker buster dropped from
an A-6
will either detonate on the water side of the keel plate (bad)[if thirty
feet of
steel reinforced concrete doesn't stop them, a few decks of 3 inch steel
has no
chance], or in the main magazines or engineering spaces (worse), and
there is
nothing that the Missouri can do to prevent it.  Loaded with four such
bombs,
the single A-6 has a reasonable chance of sinking the entire Iowa class
of
battleships in a single sortie, if the ships were in the same formation.
 If
they were positioned like one of the Baker tests, a single modern
carrier
airwing could sink every battleship built in this century, as their air
defences
are not up to the task of dealing laser guided, bunkerbusting bombs, let
alone
the aircraft that drop them.