3 ms·
> Can’t they just fire like 50 missiles in the carriers general area to airblast detonate? A supercarrier would not sink from a nuclear airblast in the general
by credit_guy 5y ago
> Can’t they just fire like 50 missiles in the carriers general area to airblast detonate?
A supercarrier would not sink from a nuclear airblast in the general vicinity.
In 1946, the US performed an experiment to see how such an airblast would destroy or damage ships, in the operation Crossroads, test Able. The bomb was a 23 kT one (so a bit higher yield than Hiroshima). It detonated at a hight of 158m. The light aircraft carrier USS Independence (10k tons) was only about 500m from the point of the detonation, and although severely damaged, it did not sink. The fleet carrier USS Saratoga (37k tons) was about 2 km from point zero. It suffered even less damage.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Crossroads#Able_target_array https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Crossroads#Able_targ...
- beambot 5y agoEven if the ship survived, can the crew survive at less than 500m from ground zero?
- slavik81 5y agoQuite possibly. The classic nuclear weapons did their damage mostly through heat and pressure. They were relatively ineffective against troops in armoured vehicles, which is why alternatives like the neutron bomb were developed. That said, the Hiroshima bomb was small by modern standards. A single Minuteman III missile can carry three W78 warheads, each with a yield of ~340 kT. China has similar nuclear capabilities. It would be an unmitigated global catastrophe if those sorts of missiles started flying. Nobody would be safe.