Deadmanwalking
New Member
The rate at which a ship sinks is not related to the size of the warhead of the torpedo. In most cases it is where it hits that is more important. For example a small torp penetrating the hull and exploding within the magazine inside the ship will cause more damage than a heavy hitting the bow. Most torpedoes today have a delayed fuse for the same reason. Also ships are designed with bulkheads below the waterline and more importantly the vulnerable parts of the ship (magazine, fuel, etc) are placed above the waterline.
This also answers another question why the ships are more geared towards stopping a sea skimmer than a torp.
Another reason for being more protected against a sea skimmer is as below
Most ships (even corvettes nowadays) carry a small ASW helo. generally ships move in pairs and so there will be atleast one helo monitoring the area around the ship to detect and destroy subs. A torp has a range of 30-35 Nm (45 miles). This range is head on and not tail chase. This makes the platform firing the torpedo very vulnerable to attack by the ships own sonar system or the ASW helo.
On the other hand AShM's (Anti-ship missiles) have ranges in excess of 100 miles and can be fired by aircraft well before the aircraft itself comes within the kill envelope of the ship. Also sea skimmers are more difficult to detect at longer ranges as they fly in the blind spot of the ship board radar.
This also answers another question why the ships are more geared towards stopping a sea skimmer than a torp.
Another reason for being more protected against a sea skimmer is as below
Most ships (even corvettes nowadays) carry a small ASW helo. generally ships move in pairs and so there will be atleast one helo monitoring the area around the ship to detect and destroy subs. A torp has a range of 30-35 Nm (45 miles). This range is head on and not tail chase. This makes the platform firing the torpedo very vulnerable to attack by the ships own sonar system or the ASW helo.
On the other hand AShM's (Anti-ship missiles) have ranges in excess of 100 miles and can be fired by aircraft well before the aircraft itself comes within the kill envelope of the ship. Also sea skimmers are more difficult to detect at longer ranges as they fly in the blind spot of the ship board radar.