Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ukma!rutgers!att!cbnews!military From: royf@roxanne.StPaul.GOV (Roy Forsstrom) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: U S torpedo defense Message-ID: <6410@cbnews.ATT.COM> Date: 10 May 89 01:24:35 GMT References: <6318@cbnews.ATT.COM> Sender: military@cbnews.ATT.COM Organization: St. Paul Public Works, Computer Services, St. Paul, MN 55102 Lines: 50 Approved: military@att.att.com From: royf@roxanne.StPaul.GOV (Roy Forsstrom) In article <6318@cbnews.ATT.COM> jkmedcal%uokmax@uokmax.uucp (Jeff Medcalf) writes: > > >From: Jeff Medcalf >It might not be practical to actually shoot something at an incoming torpedo, >but whether or not it is, the Navy has some torpedo defenses. > >Is it Navy doctrine that the 20mm and 30mm guns fitted in singles to the bridge >wings of some ships would attempt to take out torpedos? They must be there to shoot at something, but you need someone who can aim! Story follows... The California, CGN-36, had 50 caliber guns mounted on the bridge just before we sailed back to our second visit to Gonzo Station, just outside the Straits of Hormuzk, in '81. We were supposed to go through the Suez, and had made it to Italy, when we were denied permission and had to sail all the way around Africa. The America and escorts were permitted through the canal. We were told the 50 cal guns were to protect the ship against ground fire from the shore while transiting the canal. However, after we arrived on station, we were told the guns were to shoot at incoming missles, ala Phalanx close-in-support. The America already had her cannons by then. One morning the guns were put to the test. We rescued several crewman from a burning Greek freighter who were in a liferaft about 40 south of the fire. Instead of pulling up the raft (you don't leave empty life rafts floating around) the OOD decided to sink it to get some target practice for his boson's with the 50 cals. After nearly 1 hour of shooting at the raft at ranges from 100 yrds to 1/4 mile, the raft was still afloat. It suffered only a couple of hits. A boat was put over the side to retrieve the raft. The combination of poor training, motion of the ship and motion of the raft resulted in a rather disappointing demonstration. A missile or torpedo with only a 1 square foot presentation makes a terribly difficult target for a manually aimed gun. =============================================================================== Roy Forsstrom uucp: pwcs!royf Public Works Computer Services internet: royf@pwcs.StPaul.GOV 25 W. 4th Street rboc: 612-298-5569 St. Paul, MN 56102 ===============================================================================