Does anyone know how thick the hull is on a Ford and Nimitz class carrier and how they would cope with a heavy weight torpedo?
Its thick. There are some unsourced figures saying up to 100-250mm plate thick in some parts. And its doubled hulled, with many watertight compartments. They are ruggedly built as large military capital ships with long, hard lives ahead of them, where significant cost such that saving weight or money on plate thickness makes no sense. But its more of the structure than just plate thickness, they are designed to handle large fires which can and do happen on carriers. They are also designed to handle large forces, like planes crashing into them and wind and other loads from such a large and massive structure.
Many have figured a heavy weight torpedo might damage a rudder or propeller or drive shaft, and perhaps penetrate the outer hull and damage it, but is unlikely to break a ship of that size and that kind of construction in half. That is not what a mk48 with a ~290kg warhead is designed for.
The soviets never planned to hit a carrier with just a single torpedo from a SSN to take it out, if they did, they would have never needed their heavy cruisers. The Chinese are not promoting the idea that they could take out a carrier with a single SSN and a single torpedo.
The other issue is of course is the thing is moving at 30kts, surrounded by the USN, and dozens of air assets and under water assets. Even getting a realistic firing solution is tricky. Its one thing to photograph it through a periscope, its another to actually hit.
Carriers are susceptible to being mission killed. But US carriers have a tough reputation of "coming back from the dead". Less mission killed as mission compromised.
