nak@cbnews.ATT.COM (Neil A. Kirby) (04/11/89)
From: nak@cbnews.ATT.COM (Neil A. Kirby)
They aren't too far under the water when they launch, and they
aren't standing still. At least that's what the PR film for the
Tomahawk showed when I saw it. You couldn't see the sub, but the water
wasn't still. Who knows what shenanigans General Dynamics did when
filming it though.
I've read that the propellant for trident and other missiles is by
itself quite a bomb if something bad happens to it. If this happens
under water [shouldn't, rocket doesn't ignite till it gets above the
water] say from a missile that failed and fell back, then the sub is in
for a severe pounding, if not destruction, from the blast. Think about
how much energy it takes to lob a few tons of warheads halfway around
the globe. One heck of a depth charge, I'd say, if it went off.
Neil Kirby
...cbsck!nakmaniac%garnet.Berkeley.EDU@ (George W. Herbert) (04/13/89)
From: maniac%garnet.Berkeley.EDU@ (George W. Herbert) In article <5549@cbnews.ATT.COM> nak@cbnews.ATT.COM (Neil A. Kirby) writes: > I've read that the propellant for trident and other missiles is by > itself quite a bomb if something bad happens to it. If this happens > under water [shouldn't, rocket doesn't ignite till it gets above the > water] say from a missile that failed and fell back, then the sub is in > for a severe pounding, if not destruction, from the blast. Think about > how much energy it takes to lob a few tons of warheads halfway around > the globe. One heck of a depth charge, I'd say, if it went off. By their very nature, solid fuel rockets can explode if they get cracks in the propellant. This is an overburning explosion, however, not a detonation.And as such, it will produce significantly less shock waves. Probably much lessthan the pressure of water down 1200 feet. george william herbert maniac@garnet.berkeley.edu
dale@cs.odu.edu (Dale Ross Maurice) (04/15/89)
From: dale@cs.odu.edu (Dale Ross Maurice) In article <5604@cbnews.ATT.COM> maniac%garnet.Berkeley.EDU@ (George W. Herbert) writes: :In article <5549@cbnews.ATT.COM> nak@cbnews.ATT.COM (Neil A. Kirby) writes: :> I've read that the propellant for trident and other missiles is by :> itself quite a bomb if something bad happens to it. If this happens :> under water [shouldn't, rocket doesn't ignite till it gets above the :> water] say from a missile that failed and fell back, then the sub is in :> for a severe pounding, if not destruction, from the blast. Think about :> how much energy it takes to lob a few tons of warheads halfway around :> the globe. One heck of a depth charge, I'd say, if it went off. : :By their very nature, solid fuel rockets can explode if they get cracks :in the propellant. This is an overburning explosion, however, not a :detonation.And as such, it will produce significantly less shock waves. :Probably much lessthan the pressure of water down 1200 feet. Ahh, but... If you will remember your physics you'll recall the the presure of an explosion underwater would be greatly multiplied. dale -- Dale Ross Maurice | dale@xanth.cs.odu.edu dale@cs.odu.edu Old Dominion University | dale@xanth.uucp [128.82.8.1]
maniac%garnet.Berkeley.EDU@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (George W. Herbert) (04/18/89)
From: maniac%garnet.Berkeley.EDU@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU (George W. Herbert) In article <5668@cbnews.ATT.COM> dale@cs.odu.edu (Dale Ross Maurice) writes: >:By their very nature, solid fuel rockets can explode if they get cracks >:in the propellant. This is an overburning explosion, however, not a >:detonation.And as such, it will produce significantly less shock waves. >:Probably much lessthan the pressure of water down 1200 feet. > >Ahh, but... If you will remember your physics you'll recall the the presure >of an explosion underwater would be greatly multiplied. The pressure of a deep-water explosion is so multiplied. If the missile is poking its nose out of the water it will vent the energy mostly that way. And SLBM's are launched from shallow enough that the energy should go mostly up. Note that I don't claim that subs are invulnerable to such damage: i merely want to point out that they're a lot more survivable than you might think. george william herbert maniac...