I've often wondered if the bulk of our fleet, particularly the capital ships, carriers and cruisers, operated inside or outside the Straits of Hormuz. Those are indeed very restricted and shallow waters and ships there would be very vulnerable to missiles, mines, aerial attack, or even suicide raids with small craft. The nearby borders would make it very difficult to deploy an effective screen and there would be little room to maneuver or even build up a relative wind for flight ops.
From a purely tactical point of view, I would expect "in Persian Gulf waters" probably means outside the straits, except for a few destroyer and frigate patrols in the Gulf itself. But you can't rule out a deliberate provocation, such as moving a big ship into the Gulf in the hope that someone would attack it. Where were the Starke (destroyer) and the Vincennes (Cruiser) when they were attacked?
In 1898, the Americans blamed the Spaniards for the attack on the Maine, the Spaniards blamed the Cubans, and the Cubans blamed the Americans. Officially, that is. Everybody really knew it was an accidental coal dust explosion.
Current Events » in reply to If just the destination part of the story is true...
re: If just the destination part of the story is true...
The whole thread (30 posts)
- US Navy sends armada of ships to the Persian Gulf, including the nuclear aircraft carrier Eisenhower
- re: US Navy sends armada of ships to the Persian Gulf, including the nuclear aircraft carrier Eisenhower
- re: US Navy sends armada of ships to the Persian Gulf, including the nuclear aircraft carrier Eisenhower
- Remember what happened to the Armada.
- re: Eisenhower