Re: Explosive force

On Wed, 06 Jul 2005 12:52:24 GMT, "Robert Bunn" <adalger@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
carved upon a tablet of ether:

>
> "MnTigger" <MnTigger@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:11cn9bg7mlcsube@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Anyone know of an algorithm converting G.U.R.P.S. dice of damage to
> pounds
> > of motive force? Specifically, it was the practice of submarine
> captains in
> > mid to late WWII to rig torpedoes to detonate underneath target
> surface
> > ships. The magnetically fused warhead would (ideally) detonate just
> under
> > the keel, raising the ship out of the water and, hopefully, breaking
> her
> > spine.
>
> For the record, this is technically wrong. The explosion did not raise
> the ship, it displaced the water from underneath it, creating a hole for
> the ship to fall into. If the torpedo could generate enough force to
> actually lift the whole ship into the air, it could generate enough
> force to break the keel on a direct hit, obviating the need to develop
> this tactic in the first place. This is a *very* important distinction
> if you wish to attempt to convert damage to force.

As I recall it, the damage wasn't from either of these, but from the
multiple hammering effect of the gas-cloud smashing against the bottom
of the ship several times successively.

Also, it was the intended use of magnetic triggers in torpedos right
from the beginning of the war, but many of the torpedos, or their
triggers were insufficiently realiable for this to be a viable tactic
(US torpedos were particularly poor).


--
Rupert Boleyn <rboleyn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
"Just because the truth will set you free doesn't mean the truth itself
should be free."
.

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