Damage to Cole

James R. Holmes seems to be forgetting a couple of key points in his Oct. 25 commentary, “The High-Tech Cole Was Highly Vulnerable.” He is trying to compare a 8,600-ton fully loaded destroyer to a 55,000-plus-ton fully loaded battleship. When anybody detonates 600 pounds of high-grade explosive next to the hull of a ship there is going to be significant damage. Even the battleship Iowa would have had its outer void tanks ripped open.

The fact that the Cole is still floating is incredible. The best way to resist a large explosion like a torpedo hit or suicide bomber is to have large hull, with deep multiple voids between the outer hull and the inner parts of the ship. It just simply isn’t possible to do this on an 8,600-ton ship. The U.S. Navy will always need smaller ships under 10,000 tons, and those ships will always be vulnerable to large explosions like a torpedo hit or suicide boat.

GREG BRANCE

Santa Margarita