Modern ships are basically designed as one hit wonders. They are supposed to avoid being hit. If that fails... :-(
One hit wonders ... In the Year 2525
Exactly! how are these ships supposed to survive attack? I remember a couple of years ago when a similar event happened with another super new, super modern ship, its bow started burning and they could not stop it.
How come they are using aluminum or other metals for the ship? What about steel?. The older aircraft carriers had a 3" steel deck. Just like the movie 'Battleship' I would rather fight with a museum ship retrofitted with new cannons rather than some of the new BS ship designs.
I would disagree, though I think with some of the vessels we have, that may indeed be true.
In a ship at battle stations, initial watertight integrity, and damage control teams at the ready, modern warships would be be able to take a hit.
Modern carriers, such as the Nimitz class, are at least as good as or better than the Forrestal from a construction perspective.
When you look at the Forrestal, she had something like 10 or 11 bombs detonate in less than five or ten minutes along with a host of smaller munitions. The greatest majority of those bombs were 1000 lb bombs, which are nothing to sneeze at.
And they learned lessons and modified the vessels going forward. One of the interesting things I didn’t know is that the Liquid Oxygen generation system that supplied the air wing was completely enclosed on the Forrestal and it was surrounded by fire, and there was a guy in there the entire time. It was stationary and could not be moved. If it had gone up, it would have in all likelihood have taken the stern off the ship.
After that event, the Navy refitted all the LOX generators on their carriers to sit on rails, and if that happened again, there was a way they could open the side of the ship and roll it into the ocean.
And they learned a lot about the USS America SINKEX. I heard a rumor that she went down hard, that they put a LOT of ordinance into her, far more than was thought to be necessary. They incorporated those lessons learned into the Gerald Ford design.
In any case, I think it isn’t true the they are all one-hit wonders (great but somewhat depressing label) but I think some are.
Modern US warships are designed to take severe damage, brought back to dry dock, repaired and fight again.