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

Another few points :o)

>The bunker buster (so I have heard) is a former 8" howitzer barrel with
an 
armor
piercing nose and guidance.<

The ones in the Gulf were. The "new" ones are purpose made 2000 pounders
with 
armor/concrete/soil penatrating heads on them.

>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.<

20mm high velocity armor piercing shells, mixed with HE in a standard
load. 
As for range your looking at around 500-1000 yards. The phalanx corrects
each 
shell by moving the gun between shots to saturate the target area. As
for 
"degrading" the accuracy. The shells will rip all the guidence units to 
shreds. Not to mention the impacts will play a bit of havoc with the 
trejectory once it has done so.

>You have a misconception about how semi-active homing
works.<

Not really. I have a wonderful conception of how it works. It was my job
for 
15 years :o)

>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.<

Actually it's not. Laser Guided Bombs ARE beam riders. It doesn't matter
if 
the launching aircraft is painting the target or another one, the
results are 
the same. The seeker head HAS to spiral around the beam.. that's how the

system works. Bomber freedom just means the bomber doesn't have to move
in a 
predictable path while or over fly a heavly defended target. The plane
can 
drop and then peel away outside the targets anti-air envelope. The bomb 
however does NOT do any radical menuvers or movement and after the first

couple of seconds takes up a nice spiral glide path down around the
beam.

>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
top and bottom of the Iowa class is probably not more than 12 inches.<

More likely inside then... but not all the way through. If it does
however it 
won't be under the keel but several hundred feet under the ship... and
even 
1000 pounds of explosives won't have that much effect that deep.
Assuming it 
doesnt' angle off somwhere once it exits. The reason bunker busters work
so 
well it they DON"T penatrate too well once they hit a certian
resistance. 
(Once that hardened steel nose mushrooms a bit, the drag causes the bomb
to 
slow enough for the detonation sequence to finish before it gets much
further)

I was trying to figure how you'd time the bomb to hit the water and
slide 
under the ship :o) Now THAT would have an effect :o)