Comments by "Steve Valley" (@stevevalley7835) on "The Drydock - Episode 068" video.

  1. When the Iowas were being reactivated, a Navy representative appeared on a news interview show I saw. He was asked about their vulnerability to Exocets, this being shortly after the Falklands war. His reply was that, if an Iowa was hit with an Exocet, they would "pipe sweepers on deck to push the remains of the missile over the side". I can see that, as ASM warheads don't have a casing strong enough to penetrate armor, as that would reduce the bursting charge, resulting in the ASM going splat against the side of the ship.
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  2.  @kemarisite  Looking at the Sheffield and Stark, cruise missiles appear to hit only several feet above the waterline, where they would hit the side armor of a BB. Additionally, the Iowas don't have aluminum superstructures, but steel, with a higher melting point, so fire damage is not as severe as in a modern ship. I think of radar guidance as having ADD. it will home in on whatever gives it the best return at the moment, which would be the long, tall, flat side of the hull. Sheffield was hit in the side of the hull, just about amidships. Stark was hit in the hull, just below the bridge. On an Iowa, hits in those locations, only several feet above the waterline, would go splat against the armor.
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  3.  @kemarisite  That is interesting. The Harpoon test shots I saw pix of several years ago were all hull strikes. The popup is probably to exploit the vulnerability of an aluminum superstructure, or the hanger of a carrier. In the case of a DD, that popup means aiming for a smaller target. It may look good on paper, but there may be a lot of missiles that whiz harmlessly over the ship.
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  4. iirc, I read that the Texas closed a few months ago, so it can be repaired enough to make it to a drydock without sinking. In bypassing Texas, you also miss the Lexington in Corpus.
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  5. As i have offered before, I think the Lexingtons were poor carriers. Maybe not as poor as they would have been as battle cruisers, but still very compromised in their ability to carry aircraft.
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