Ex- USS David Ray SINKEX assessment

[Molon Labe]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7523147.stm

The keel is clearly broken. But they cut out the whole section in the middle of the video that would have been valuable in assessing the extent of the damage.

Now, it's hard to tell, but after the explosion, I can see parts of the superstructure aft of the explosion tumbling to the port side. Is this just crap that's been shaken loose by the shockwave sliding off the ship, or is this evidence of the aft capsizing separately from the bow?

Another question I have for the experts is whether it's customary to have the watertight doors open or closed during a SINKEX.

Just trying to get a feel for whether it was possible for this ship to survive and get a tow back to port if this had proper watertight integrity and a decent DC team.

[Molon Labe]

Found my own answers. :rock:

The stern was not rotating freely in the video. Here is a still image from after the explosion subsides.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v101/He219/photobucket/06.jpg

But, the ship was cut in half. As it was sinking, the stern did rotate separately from the bow.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v101/He219/photobucket/07.jpg
Note the orientation of the antennas on the aft superstructure.

So I guess the only question is whether the ship was immediately doomed or whether the snapping off of the stern was caused in part by the ship beginning to sink. My guess is dooooooooooommmmmeed!

[SandyCaesar]

This is probably inconsequential, but: my guess was that it was an UTK detonation, since those are the ones that usually cut ships in half (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Mark_48_Torpedo_testing.jpg). However, the video shows a somewhat asymmetrical explosion, with most of the blast on the starboard side, which seems to indicate a hull hit.

Did the explosion happen just a tad late? Or was it an impact hit?

[Molon Labe]

It's definitely a UTK hit. Just not perfectly centered.