3 ms·
When I hear about a collision between a warship and an oil tanker, I'd expect the warship to rip straight through the oil tanker, with devastating results. I t
by dagw 8y ago
When I hear about a collision between a warship and an oil tanker, I'd expect the warship to rip straight through the oil tanker, with devastating results.
I think you're seriously underestimating how big and heavy oil tanker are. The oil tanker in this case weighed roughly 20 times (with cargo) what the warship did. From the warships point of view they might as well have rammed an island.
- mcv 8y agoI don't doubt the tanker is big, but I'd expect it to be a lot less armored, and built as cheaply as possible. In any case, I'm glad my expectations are wrong.
- Tor3 8y agoModern tankers have double hulls, to avoid (or trying to avoid) disastrous oil spills in case of accidents. In addition to other strengthening measures. Quite the opposite of built as cheap as possible. Warships, on the other hand, are often built for speed, and something has to give. I remember visiting a (smaller) warship once, it could reach 40 knots, and it had a normal hull (not a catamaran or trimaran). The crew said the whole ship was made of very lightweight material.
- dagw 8y agoI doubt they put much armor or modern warships, as speed and maneuverability is probably a far more important asset and modern munitions could probably punch through any reasonable armor you could put on a ship and still make it sail.