Page 225 - NAVAL SCIENCE 3 TEXTBOOK

NAVA L WEAPONS AND AIRCRA FT 231

Aboard \\'{Il'ships. the combat systems department has respon- Ship Weapons Selection
sibility for all matters pertaining to ordnance. The department
The primary consideration that governs what type of weapons
head is calied the combat systems officer. Depending on the ship
a ship will have is its combat missions. A guided missile cruiser
type, that officer will havc a number of assistants, among which
(CG) employed in escorting nnd protecting aircraft GIrrier strike
arc the fire-control officer, missile officer. gunnery assist.mt. ilnd
groups (CSGs) will «Irr)' a balanced armnment of nntiair warfare.
USWofficer.
antisurface warfare. nnd undersea warfare weapons. An amphibi-
On ships whose tncticnl chnracteristics arc not primarily related
ous ship such as a dock lonciing ship (LSD) will corr), ol1ly such
to ordnance or aircraft, deck responsibilities take precedence O\'er
self-defense weapolls as the Phalam,: close-in wcapons system ilnd
"'en pOllS. These arc the auxiliary ships in the amphibious and
machine guns, because the ship is 110t designed to be a weapons
mobile replenishment forces. In such ships, the fi rst lieutenant is
platform but a carrier of troops and vehicles. Small patrol vessels,
assigned as head of the deck department, and one of the assistants
destroyers, and cruisers ma)' calT)' surface-to-surface missiles for
may be the gunnery officer. Enlisted personnel assigned to the
attacks against surface ships. They may also carr)' antiaircraft guns
combat systems or gunnery department/divisions are the gunner's
and missiles to protect against the air threat, and machine gUlls for
mates. fire-control technicians, torpedomen. and missile techni-
defellsc against sl11all crnft. Destroyers, frigates, .Ind cruisers carry
cinns, again depending on the ship's arm<lJllent.
antisubmarine torpedoes tor use against submarines.
Two tactical concepts nrc of major importance in the design of
Range of Weapons gun and missile systems.
Area defense. If a ship's primary mission is to provide defense
from the earliest guns, which had ranges of only a few hundred
as far distant from n formation of ships as possible. its sensors and
feet, the range of naval guns increased to morc than 40.000 yards
wen pOllS will be designed to cO\'er an area extending some distance
(20 miles) by the end of World War II. Since then. rocket-propelled
from it. The weapons of ships of this kind provide protection for the
projectiles, aircmft. and guided missiles have increased weapon
entire formation, and the weapons are therefore called area defense
ranges greatly beyond this.
weopOIIS. Guided missile destroycrs and cruisers are ships of this
The most significant resuits of the increased range of seaborne
type. They can cover a Inrge area with their air and surface search
\\'eapolls have been an increase in the importance of naval fire-
and fire-control radars, and they ha\'e weapons C<lp<.lble of engaging
power in land wartare, an increase in the eficctivencss of naval
all)' target that enters this defensive envelope. Likewise. destroyers
as compared with land-based firepower. and an increase in the
and frigates prm'ide arca defense against enem), submarines.
importance of amphibious wart:tre. Modern nnval gunfire. mis-
Point defense. The concept of point defense involves provid-
siles. and aircraft can re,lCh mall)' miles inland to attack specific
ing self-protection for a single unit. regardless of the ship type. t\
targets. to supplement land artillery in supporting land forces, and
ship armcd tor point defense will attempt to destroy an)' target
to support amphibious operations.
that penetrates a close defensive perimeter centered 011 the ship.
Increases in weapons range have stcadily extended the dis-
Iis gUlls ,md missites Illllst be effective at vcry close ranges to pre-
tances between combatant forces in battle. The extreme in this
vent the attacker from damaging the ship. Almost all combatant
trend toward greater separation between attacker and target is
ships and many fleet i.llIxiliaries are armed with short-range. point-
represented by modern missiles, which can cross whole oceans to
defense weapons.
reach their targets.
The development of nuclear fission and nlsion revolutionized
not onl), weapons but also war itsclC in light of the possible adverse Weapon Systems
cffects 0 11 human beings ill general. Ol1e can point out, however,
A weapoll system is the combination of a weapon. or weapOIlS,
that wartitre has often been revolutionized before. The discovery
and the equipment used to bring it to bear ngainst the enemy. The
of gunpowder. for example. was once thought to forecast the end
weapon S)'5tel11, taken as n whole, mllst include the following:
of civilization.
The increased lethal range of nuclear weapons has required the Elements that detect, locate. and idelltii)' the t<lrget (Cor exam-
introduction of the tactic of dispersion of military forces to min- ple, radar and sonar equipment)
imize combat damage. Also, improvements ill aircraft, undersea Elements that deliver or initiate deliveq' of the destructive
cmft. and missiles have forced the development and use of e<.1I'1), payload of the \\'capon to the target (for example. a gun deliv-
warning s),stems involving both ships and nircraft on patrol f~lr ers a projectile to thl' target and a mine itself explodes when a
from the main <lrea of operations. passing ship detonatl's it)