Are modern warships armour plated?
Discussion
I've just finished 'Alarm Starboard', a highly recommended autobiography of a WW2 naval officer.
It got me wondering, as one another heavily armoured ship sank after another, do modern navies still armour plate their ships, or is this now just obsolete weight, given the energy of modern anti ship weapons?
It got me wondering, as one another heavily armoured ship sank after another, do modern navies still armour plate their ships, or is this now just obsolete weight, given the energy of modern anti ship weapons?
Piginapoke said:
I've just finished 'Alarm Starboard', a highly recommended autobiography of a WW2 naval officer.
It got me wondering, as one another heavily armoured ship sank after another, do modern navies still armour plate their ships, or is this now just obsolete weight, given the energy of modern anti ship weapons?
My guess would be they are more lightweight [ie no to the armour] but use defensive counter measures insteadIt got me wondering, as one another heavily armoured ship sank after another, do modern navies still armour plate their ships, or is this now just obsolete weight, given the energy of modern anti ship weapons?
Aside from special cases (like the nuclear-powered vessels mentioned) they are not. And even the nuke ships don't have armour in the same way as a battleship, designed to 'shrug off' firepower from an equivalent vessel.
Modern anti-ship weapons are so powerful that to effectively armour a ship against them would make even the smallest corvette or frigate monstrously heavy (and therefore large), leaving it pretty much useless at anything other than being a vaguely-mobile sea fort.
So the emphasis is on using air defence destroyers and hunter-killer submarines to keep anti-ship threats away from the valuable stuff (carriers, amphibious assault ships) and all ships having means to destroy missiles before they reach the ship. There's also a much greater emphasis (both in design and training) on damage control.
Modern anti-ship weapons are so powerful that to effectively armour a ship against them would make even the smallest corvette or frigate monstrously heavy (and therefore large), leaving it pretty much useless at anything other than being a vaguely-mobile sea fort.
So the emphasis is on using air defence destroyers and hunter-killer submarines to keep anti-ship threats away from the valuable stuff (carriers, amphibious assault ships) and all ships having means to destroy missiles before they reach the ship. There's also a much greater emphasis (both in design and training) on damage control.
Yes and no.
Armour is used in specific locations but as a rule not across the entire vessel.
As mentioned above, the defence is now a balance of active and passive deterrents with these deployed in layers. Armour is one of the last layers of defence and it is heavy and costly so only used where necessary.
Armour is used in specific locations but as a rule not across the entire vessel.
As mentioned above, the defence is now a balance of active and passive deterrents with these deployed in layers. Armour is one of the last layers of defence and it is heavy and costly so only used where necessary.
citizensm1th said:
armour in ships is worthless now days
Is this advice based on how a pre war ship with over 40 years of corrosion was sunk by a pre war torpedo, or is it based on actual knowledge of modern warship design, modern armour technology and modern weapons?Edited by jkh112 on Thursday 11th January 22:17
jkh112 said:
citizensm1th said:
armour in ships is worthless now days
Is this advice based on how a pre war ship was sunk by a pre war torpedo, or is it based on actual knowledge of modern warship design and modern weapons?The point i was making is amour doesn't stop ships getting hit let alone sunk
jkh112 said:
Are you referring to the UK Royal Navy which has armour fitted to its latest generation aircraft carriers and destroyers or another Royal Navy?
Around certain areas agreed but not to the point that it would stop a ship from sinking/or being disabled.That i would argue doesn't make a armoured warship.
If the armour doesn’t stop the ship being disabled or sinking then what is it there for?
There will always be threats developed which can go beyond the design limitations of a particular protection system, but the armour used in modern warship design is selected and placed to maintain the fight, move, float capabilities when the ship is hit by specified threats. With the new armour in place the ship will survive a hit by these threats, without the armour the ship would not survive.
There will always be threats developed which can go beyond the design limitations of a particular protection system, but the armour used in modern warship design is selected and placed to maintain the fight, move, float capabilities when the ship is hit by specified threats. With the new armour in place the ship will survive a hit by these threats, without the armour the ship would not survive.
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