MK48 demo from 4/13/04

[novagator]

This is the ex-USS John Young, (DD 973) and the MK 48 shot was fired from USS Pasadena (SSN 752) in Hawaiian waters 13 April 04.

[novagator]

I got those from another

I got those from another forum. Enjoy.

That says a lot about the MK 48 but not much about our destroyers.

[interpol]

But how old was that

But how old was that destroyer?

Also, where was the rest of the fleet? I doubt you will find a lone destroyer in the middle of the ocean to attack with a MK48 torpedo.

That sub would almost be assured of instant death after firing that torpedo.

[novagator]

But how old was that

But how old was that destroyer?

Also, where was the rest of the fleet? I doubt you will find a lone destroyer in the middle of the ocean to attack with a MK48 torpedo.

That sub would almost be assured of instant death after firing that torpedo.

It was 24 years old, and I don't have any other info on the test. I would say the test was to test the capability of the mk48.

[interpol]

Still pretty scary, considering that

Still pretty scary, considering that that destroyer basically folded in half after the torpedo hit it.

[koeze]

Technically the torpedo didn't hit

Technically the torpedo didn't hit it.
A torpedo goes off below the ship.
The initial pressure wave does 2 things.
1 Push the ship upwards
2 create a large "hole"in the water.
When the ship falls back down it is no longer supported by water in the middle. The front and backends are. Result is that the ship breaks.

There's also very cool footage of an Australian Collins class sub sending another ship off to become a reef.

Look around for it.

EJK

[mkeatingss]

"Sub........ assured of instant death"?

"Sub........ assured of instant death"? I don't think so. First of all, there'd be at least 4 more fish in the water. Each headed to a different target. That means, that, within minutes, there'll be 4 dying ships in the water. the boat will have gone deep to reload. If the Sub was a Seawolf or Connecticut Class, make that, possibly, 6 dying ships.
If she's deep, she'll be below the layer and very difficult to find.
If she stayed shallow she'll be making her stinger mast ready to hunt helos, while she reloads and will have saved her last two fish for the first skipper, brave enough, to go for her.
If her skipper is real cautious, she'll have fired all "ready" fish and gone deep. She'll now sprint ahead of the fleet, intercepting it, a few hours later, to send four, or 6, more to the bottom.
The biggist danger she would face would be another sub. And, if any had been present, she would have gotten it/them, first.
Modern boats are the most dangerous thing in the sea. A boat finding an enemy fleet would loiter in the area until all her weapons, or the enemy fleet, were gone.
The firing boat would be in no real, immediate danger. Nor would she be, unless the enemy gets very lucky, or her skipper messes up.
Mike

[interpol]

So why do we bother

So why do we bother with all the anti-submarine ships and planes?

You make it sound like the subs are the only ships with any "new" technology in them, which certainly isn't the case, and I would hope you don't seriously believe that.

I guess there's no real point in all of our ASW training, since subs are invincible and all.

[mkeatingss]

Actually you're closer to being

Actually you're closer to being right than you may realize. A report several months ago showed that the US navy has let ASW slide, since the USSR collapsed.
The thing a nuke boat skipper fears most, is a diesel boat. They are dead quiet. But they have neither the speed, nor the legs, for fleet operations. But they are great for coastal and seaport protection.
Any nuke that tries to sneak into an area, covered by a diesel, is in deep do-do.
I've ridden DDs, DERs, CVAs, SSs, and SSNs. ASW is a threat, but a manageable one.
Sixty years ago Dealy, Morton, and others, proved, that, on a one to one (DD vs SS), the "Can" was at a serious disadvantage.
In today's world, that Sub can hit your shore installations with Tomahawks, your ships with torpedoes, Harpoons, etc. and pop choppers with stingers. Not to mention sitting off your coast, slinging mines into your harbors.
While, as you say, subs aren't invincible, a single Boat, under a competent skipper, can be a threat to an entire Task Force. A sub is the most deadly warship ever floated.
The most effective ASW force you have is other submarines. That's why all US groups, whether a Destroyer Division or a full Battle Group, will, if possible, be escorted by one or more Subs.
Without submarine escort, a surface group dependent on surface ASW, alone, is like a group of guys, crossing an unmarked mine field, using bayonets to search for mines.
At the present time ASW is far behind the Subs.
As I pointed out earlier, I've done served on both sides of the equation, if I ever had to go back to sea, in a shooting war, a Boat is the only thing I'd ride. They have the advantage, hands down!
Mike

[ben cook]

With all due respect, there

With all due respect, there are not many subs that stand a chance against a competent P-3 crew. The P-3C BMUP, that I am a crewman on with VP-66, is agruably the most lethal ASW platform in the world (besides another sub). I'll agree that the hard part is finding the boat, but once we do, it's dead. As far as finding it, there are plenty of intel. gadgets to let us know where to look. Once we find her, it will quickly be dispatched by either the Mk 46 or Mk 54 torp's, or the Mk 80 series depth bombs or mines or AGM-84 Harpoon missiles(surface). Everybody always seems to forget about the P-3, some people may not thinks she's pretty, but she still has sharp teeth. Just my opinion.

AO2(NAC) Ben Cook
CAC-11, VP-66

[mkeatingss]

Ben's dead right, about P-3s.

Ben's dead right, about P-3s. A boat doesn't want to be within ten miles of one, anywhere near the surface <500 feet.
But I wasn't thinking about P-3s. They're US Navy.
I never ran across anything like them, from anybody we worried about.
And I have to admit the Canadian and Brit ASW could raise a sweat, too. The Brits are especially savvy on ASW. All they ask is one little-bitty mistake, and they'll eat your lunch.
Mike

[safrole]

Don't let me get the

Don't let me get the debate off-track, but here is another, older shot with some pics that may interest you. There are some different camera angles.



http://www.vetsoutreach.com/GNey/Mark48/



Edited By safrole on 1083868638

[koeze]

The video i was referring

The video i was referring to earlier. (same as in the above photo's)

http://www.navy.gov.au/gallery/video/mk48.mov (100kb)

Or in slightly better resolution

http://www.submarinesdoitdeeper.nl/p.../sinkex_hi.mov (17MB)

EJK

[safrole]

The video i was referring

The video i was referring to earlier. (same as in the above photo's)

Wow, great video and even with sound!