Quote:
Originally Posted by Randomizer
A submarine is a pressure vessel, application of a major shock wave to the exterior can result in a significant breach of the hull, countless submarine wrecks demonstrate this; it's how depth charges work. He should know better.
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While this is certainly true, it is not as much so for cold war era boats.
The rounded/teardrop shape of the modern hull, not to mention the advances in metallurgy and hull thickness, disperses a great deal of any shockwave. The majority of the damage is done to the weak points internally. Pipe hangers, fittings, mountings, etc. causing loss of power, steerageway, depth control and flooding. It is just too weight intensive to make everything shock resistant enough to render such measures obsolete. Might as well sail a brick.