Often overlooked skillset Damage Control
- Thread starter 30-06
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Neutral Zone
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That's very true, the USN has always placed a strong emphasis on damage control, it helped them win the Battle of Midway. USS Yorktown survived a Japanese airstrike, primarily because her radar picked up the incoming attack some 150 miles out. That gave the crew time to secure the ship, shutdown the aviation fuel lines and fill them with carbon dioxide to minimise the risk of explosions. When the attack came, the Yoprktown was badly damaged but she didn't suffer the catasrophic explosions that had happened to the 3 Japanese carriers earlier in the morning. Within an hour Yorktown was able to launch and recover aircraft. When the second Japanese attack wave found a carrier near Yorktown's last position, they (probably not unreasonably), assumed that Yorktown had sunk and this was one of her sister ships. This time the attack was fatal and the Japanese assumed that they had sunk 2 American carriers and therefore had an advantage over the USN. However, Enterprise and Hornet were still alive and their aircraft then caught the last Japanese carrier Hiryu, as she was about to launch another strike on Midway and sunk.
That's how the course of the war in the Pacific was changed, radar and superb damage control!
That's how the course of the war in the Pacific was changed, radar and superb damage control!
I would rate the Royal navy very highly aswell. They have had some recent experience with saving ships. During the Falklands War DC helped save some ships that surely would have sunk had they been left alone. Also HMS Nottingham running aground off Lord Howe Island, I was lucky enough to see the damage and shoring required from close up and they did a great job in saving her.
That is why Sinkex's aren't a good example of judging a ship's survivablilty to damage. Without a crew to plug leaks, fight fires etc, they are quickly over whelmed by the influx of water.
Cheers
Agreed.
One of the things that worries me about the current push in many navies to reduce crew sizes more and more is that it reduces the number of personnel available for damage control work.
Cheers