PeakOilPete,

The main protection of our larger warships is precisely that. They are large. So it would come down, in my mind, to two things.

1. where did it hit/explode? If it is the bow, not unusual for a mine, the power plant probably stays intact and the ship survives.

2. a hit that is amidships and goes deep into a warship, such as from a missile, like the Sunburn, the damage is much worse.

And of course, one of the worst things the USN is at is mine-clearing and most damage since the end of WWII to our warships has been from mine related type stuff. I forget the exact figure but it is like 15 our 19 damaged warships since the end of WWII has been due to mine-related weapons.

Armor plate is out of fashion these days.

There is the factor here that our older ships were built with the wrong material (light weight stuff that gets hot easily and burns too) while the newer warships are supposed to be better.

But you still run the risk of nuclear contamination. But it is not the end of the world.

One final thought, the size of crews on the new ships, especially those being built right now, have small to tiny crews compared to the old days. Less hands to do damage control. . . . it is a factor being debated in the halls of Washington and the Pentagon.