Damaged Equals Killed Part II

Across the board in the Third World War, damage control officers and sailors worked heroically to save their stricken ships. Some efforts were ultimately successful while others were not. In many cases owing to circumstances beyond their control. For the officers and sailors who were able to extinguish fires and restore stability and buoyancy, their efforts provided enough to allow their ships to reach the nearest friendly port.  The real work began after damage experts and shipyard workers came aboard. More often than not, it was determined extensive repairs were going to be necessary before a ship could be returned to duty. Unbeknownst in mid-July of 1987, the war would conclude in a matter of weeks. By 2 August, repair work had yet to get underway on over sixty percent of the damaged frigates, destroyers and cruisers belonging to the US, French and British (Royal) navies. Had the war continued for another 30-45 days and remained conventional it is doubtful very many of these ships would’ve had their repairs completed and been returned to duty.

The Falklands War provided a precursor of what was to come five years later in 1987. The threat posed to warships and merchants by anti-ship missiles and modern attack fighters was made evident in the waters of the South Atlantic in May and June of 1982. The effectiveness of modern nuclear attack submarines against surface ships was also previewed with HMS Conqueror’s dispatch of the General Belgrano. The US Navy and navies of other NATO countries took note and started improvements to shipboard defenses and damage control as soon as the war ended. However, the primary anti-ship missile used in the Falklands was the French-made Exocet, comparable to the US Harpoon. Most of the Soviet air, surface and sub-launched antiship missiles used in the Third World War were of longer range and carried larger warheads. As a result, the damage inflicted upon NATO ships from a direct hit was always extensive.

On D+9 the USS O’Bannon (DD-987) was struck by an SS-9 Siren fired by a Soviet Charlie II class SSGN in the North Atlantic. She suffered considerable damage that knocked out most of her sensor compliment as well as her weapon systems. Damage control efforts saved the stricken ship and allowed her to return to the east coast with the assistance of an ocean tug. But O’Bannon’s first wartime patrol would be her last due to the amount of damage absorbed. The initial estimate was for a restoration period of eighteen months before O’Bannon would be fit for operations again. Although only damaged, the destroyer was out of the war for good. Just as effective as a kill. On the other side of the spectrum many warships suffered glancing blows from enemy weapons that caused little more than superficial damage requiring minor repairs. Most of these ships returned to action before the war’s conclusion and made valuable contributions.

The Soviet Union faced a more desperate situation. The number of damaged surface ships and submarines that made it back to Soviet naval bases was limited. The long distances involved in many instances, coupled with near constant harassment by NATO attack submarines and aircraft increased the danger a damaged warship and its crew had to navigate on the journey home. NATO weapons also turned out to be more powerful and effective. This translated to more damage inflicted on a Soviet warship’s critical spaces, sensors, weapon launchers and magazines. To say nothing of the effects on structural integrity and stability. The fortunate damaged ships that made it back to port then had to contend with shipyards missing critical equipment or supplies essential to repairing a warship in a short amount of time. Suffice to say, the number of damaged Soviet ships that returned to duty before the close of the Third World War was small.