Last Thursday, July 14th, 2016 a date that will live in infamy the U.S. Navy's, Oliver Perry class frigate, USS Thach (FFG-43) -- was suddenly and deliberately attacked and sunk 60 miles off the Hawaiian Islands. Now the Oliver Perry class is no Iowa class battleship which is basically unsinkable. The Oliver Perry class frigate was the low end of the Navy's warships 1979-2003. What did it take to sink this frigate ? The Navy said the following munitions were used: South Korea submarine: UTM-84 sub-launched Harpoon missile Australias HMAS Ballarat: RTM-84 ship-launched Harpoon missile Australian SH-60S helicopter: AGM-114 Hellfire missiles U.S. maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft: AGM-65 Maverick, AGM-84 U.S. cruiser USS Princeton: RGM-84 ship-launched Harpoon missile U.S. SH-60S helicopter: AGM-114 Hellfire missiles U.S. F-18 fighters: Mk-84 bomb (2,000 lb.) U.S. Air Force B-52: GBU-12 Paveway laser- guided bomb (500 lb.) U.S. submarine: Mk-48 advanced torpedo Below is a link to a 17 minute video of the sinking of the USS Thach. The following is a July 14, 2016 video of the former USS Thach sunk during a living fire exercise as part of the Rim of Pacific Exercise 2016. -> https://news.usni.org/2016/07/18/vi...230369141&mc_cid=aa917058cc&mc_eid=2aedd16e3c FYI: The Oliver Perry class frigate is no "Little Crappy Ship" like todays Navy's LCS that can be sunk with one Hellfire missile. And the LCS is planned to be reclassified as a frigate to replace the Oliver Perry class frigates.
And they pissed away how much on the huge destroyer when they could have taken this design and updated it for a fraction of the cost?
You sure about that? How? What's the cost of refitting an OHP with Aegis, the CIC and mechanicals necessary to run it, and a meaningful VLS?
You are such a JERK!!! LOL!! I look at this and I say....."OMG!!" Then I remember the name...Thach.....as I was reading about how 5 or 6 Chinese Naval Vessels are participating in RIMPAC just like they did in 2014....and I pause and say to myself...... ....."That SOB is just getting my Blood Going!!!" And sure as HELL!!! LOL!! JERK!!! AA
What is the point of this thread? It was a 35 year old frigate. Is the point that the US Navy should eliminate its entire small fleet and replace it with 3 big gun battleships because war only happens within 20 miles of a coast and the only purpose of the US Navy is to support beach assaults? The battleship argument is so absurd it proves why OLD military people should have NO involvement in military planning. They'd have the Air Force consisting of hot air balloons, the Army and Marines with flintlock muskets and Navy ships made of wood and powered by sails.
I should have said a Maverick ADM-65 F which is designed to be used against ships. To penetrate the ships hull and detonate in the interior of the ship. The U.S. Navy has developed or still trying to develope a Hellfire missile to be used against small naval vessels. These might have been the Hellfires used in the sinking of the USS Thach. The naval version of the Hellfire missile has a metal augmented charge (MAC) (Thermobaric). I would make a $100 bet in Vegas that a Hellfire missile with a thermobaric warhead could sink a LCS that uses aluminium in it's construction.
They are going to be using a new Carbon Fiber Composite in ship hull construction. From what I hear the Carbon Fiber Material is many times stronger than Steel or Aluminum and has the ability to absorb radar. As with the Carbon Fiber material is light weight and has the ability to FLEX and come back into shape after a hit. AA
If flexes ??? Interesting. Why did 20th Century battleships and cruisers still had teak decks over the armor plated decks ? It just wasn't old naval traditions but the teak deck absorbed the over pressure of the large guns when they were fired.
Yep!! Those 16 inch guns when fired generated ENORMOUS kinetic energy transfer throughout the ship and especially upon the deck. If they had made that deck metal it would have rippled and cracked from the kinetic energy transfer. AA
When the Iowa's were upgraded during the 1980's there were a lot of electronics that couldn't be added to the Iowa's because they couldn't survive the over pressure and vibrations caused from the 16" guns. The Iowa class BB can withstand twice the overpressure of a Nimitz class carrier or Aegis class destroyer.
Well...yeah....look how their built!! LOL!! But the crew and especially the 16 inch gun loaders had to be on their toes!!! Thy had to put in 2 large powder packs per round which had about the same weight and mass as a Volkswagen Beetle!! AA
Actually, a full propellant charge was FOUR powder bags. For medium-range engagements with capital ships (which never actually happened), doctrine was to use three powder bags. The really brutal loading duty was actually in the light cruisers. The 6" shells were "only" about 110lbs...but they were loaded with pure muscle power! The gun fired automatically as soon as the breech was closed, and the reloading standard was 5-6 SECONDS. After a few shots, a CL in rapid-fire wasn't shooting salvos, but a steady stream of fire. A couple of them-particularly the Brooklyn-class-were reported to have suffered magazine explosions when seen firing a full 15-gun broadside with standard powder.
Actually the 16"/50 gun was loaded with six bags. Re: 6" gun Light Cruisers, They were excellent ships on the gun line during the Vietnam War. They were able to provide excellent NSFS in a danger close situation which was usually the norm. They could take out VC bunkers which a 500 lb. Mk. 82 bomb couldn't take out. You have to have a little kinetic energy to take out some targets. 6"/47 (15.2 cm) Mark 16 -> http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_6-47_mk16.php 6"/47DP (15.2 cm) Mark 16 -> http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_6-47DP_mk16.php
