Re: Air Force Seeks Bush's Approval for Space Weapons Programs


Pat Flannery (flanner@xxxxxxxxxx) writes:
> Andre Lieven wrote:
>
>>Pat: On this point, Derek and I are correct, and your statement simply
>>wasn't. Give in to that truth with grace. :-)
>
> I said the crew knew that if a cruise missile hit the ship they were
> doomed- look:
> "But of course you never tell the crew "Oh, BTW, if we ever do take a
> direct cruise missile hit, it's all over- pronto" although I did talk to
> a destroyer crewman who knew that was the case, as oddly, the topic kept
> coming up in the crew's conversation, especially when they were within
> range of Iran's Silkworm missiles."

Indeed. You stated that " *if* you never tell the crew ", and thats
where you were wrong. On what basis do you suggest that they " never
tell the crew " ? I would bet that weapons officers learn about what
the Other Side has, and I would further bet that said weps speak with
much of the rest of the crew.

So, either you meant " If you never tell the crew, which doesn't happen ",
or " They never tell the crew ".

In the first case, you left out the proper qualifier, and in the latter
case, it's flat out wrong.

> I meant the officers don't go around reminding the crew that they are
> toast if they ever get hit by a cruise missile, as the crew knows that
> is the case already.

Then, you conveyed that idea rather poorly. By leaving out " while
the officers don't tell the crew what would happen, since their training
ensures that they already know. ", thats where you let in confusion.

> The guy I talked to served on a destroyer in the
> Gulf, and he said that was the major concern anytime they got near the
> Iranian Silkworm sites- that they were going to get one inbound that
> would get through their defenses the way the two Exocets got through the
> Stark's defenses, and use its infrared homer to zero in on the ship's
> funnel, after which the ship would be fatally damaged. I'm sure the crew
> knew that a Silkworm is an upgraded Styx, and that Styx missiles sank
> the Israeli destroyer Eilat in 1967. The first two Styx hits nearly
> ripped that ship in half, the crew somehow managed to keep it afloat for
> two hours, only to get hit by another Styx that finished it
> off...followed by yet another Styx that blew up amid the survivors in
> the water. Stuff like that would tend to keep one on edge.

Well, theres a bit of a difference between a WW2 2,000 ton DD, and a
modern DD(G) of a greater size, greater damage control ( Note that
Stark ate two Exocets, and stayed afloat; a fact that most USN
personnel were well aware of, I'd bet ), and modern anti missile
systems, from ECM to CIWS.

Andre

--
" I'm a man... But, I can change... If I have to... I guess. "
The Man Prayer, Red Green.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Air Force Seeks Bushs Approval for Space Weapons Programs
    ... I meant the officers don't go around reminding the crew that they are toast if they ever get hit by a cruise missile, as the crew knows that is the case already. ... I'm sure the crew knew that a Silkworm is an upgraded Styx, and that Styx missiles sank the Israeli destroyer Eilat in 1967. ...
    (sci.space.history)
  • Re: Air Force Seeks Bushs Approval for Space Weapons Programs
    ... >>much of the rest of the crew. ... > large cruise missile. ... after which the ship would be fatally damaged. ... >>>knew that a Silkworm is an upgraded Styx, ...
    (sci.space.history)
  • Re: Air Force Seeks Bushs Approval for Space Weapons Programs
    ... much of the rest of the crew. ... I meant, that during training you probably don't go gleefully jumping up and down while pointing out to the crews that the ships they will be serving on will be about as survivable as a beer can if they ever get clipped by a large cruise missile. ... Gulf, and he said that was the major concern anytime they got near the Iranian Silkworm sites- that they were going to get one inbound that would get through their defenses the way the two Exocets got through the Stark's defenses, and use its infrared homer to zero in on the ship's funnel, after which the ship would be fatally damaged. ... I'm sure the crew knew that a Silkworm is an upgraded Styx, and that Styx missiles sank the Israeli destroyer Eilat in 1967. ...
    (sci.space.history)
  • Re: Air Force Seeks Bushs Approval for Space Weapons Programs
    ... >>Pat Flannery writes: ... I'm sure the crew ... >>> knew that a Silkworm is an upgraded Styx, ... >>> the Israeli destroyer Eilat in 1967. ...
    (sci.space.history)