Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!ucsd!rutgers!att!cbnews!wbralick@BLACKBIRD.AFIT.AF.MIL
From: wbralick@BLACKBIRD.AFIT.AF.MIL (Will Bralick)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: Ship armor
Message-ID: <6095@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Date: 1 May 89 03:01:30 GMT
References: <5929@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM
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Approved: military@att.att.com



From: wbralick@BLACKBIRD.AFIT.AF.MIL (Will Bralick)

In article <5929@cbnews.ATT.COM> military@att.att.com (Bill Thacker) writes:
>
>Of course, as Henry Spencer pointed out, the Iowas aren't armored 
>everywhere;  the bows and stern, for example, are unarmored, and

Doesn't this have to do with the (a) the structure of the bow (long and
narrow hence more likely to deflect incoming munitions) and (b) the
method of engaging the enemy by turning one's side to the enemy
to bring the most firepower to bear (in a broadside)?  Thus it is the 
_side_ of the vessel which (a) presents a broad, open, flat expanse 
of metal for weapons to smack into and (b) is most likely to be facing 
an enemy during an engagement. 

[mod.note: Let's not misunderstand each other.  I'm referring to the
sides of the bow and stern.  The mail belt, and armored decks, run from
the forward magazines to the aft magazines; basically, a little
past the endmost turrets.  These are capped, fore and aft, by armored 
bulkheads. 

The entire bow and stern structures are unarmored (save for armored boxes
around the rudder and shafts in the stern).  Armor is sacrificed here
simply because it would be far too heavy; it would roughly double the
weight of armor carried by the ships which, according to Breyer, is 
already some 41% of the Iowa's displacement. - Bill ]

>could be demolished by missiles; meaning that the junior officers
>cabins will be gone.  Even with fully-flooded bow and stern,
>though, the ship should still be able to float, and probably even fight
>and maneuver.

How could one _possibly_ manuever, much less fight, without junior 
officers??  :-) :-)
-- 
Will Bralick  ( O-3 )                 |  ... when princes think more of
     wbralick@blackbird.afit.af.mil   |  luxury than of arms, they lose
     wbralick@afit-ab.arpa            |  their state.
with disclaimer;  use disclaimer;     |             - Niccolo Machiavelli