Replying to a message of Richard B. to Phil Payne:

 RB> From: Richard B. 

 RB> On Thu, 27 Mar 2003 18:08:24 +0100, Phil Payne
 RB>  wrote:

 >> FLAK shrapnel doesn't knock ten-foot holes in the floor, blow people to
 >> smithereens and set entire districts on fire.

 RB> How about a SAM? Do they just go thud when they impact the ground?

I suspect they'd break up and burn on impact, possibly cooking off the
warhead.  But there really isn't all that much explosive in a SAM warhead,
which is really a big shrapnel grenade.

Back in the sixties a fellow I was stationed with said the North Vietnamese
would take out the New Jersey with SAMs if she sailed up the coast.  I had
to enlighten him a bit, any damage a SAM would do to a battleship could be
repaired with a broom and paintbrush,  and AAMOF one of the Iowas (forget
which, most likely Iowa or New Jersey since Wisconsin and Missouri didn't
join the fleet until late 1944, Illinois and Kentucky were laid down but
never completed although Kentucky was launched) was hit by a Japanese
kamikaze on the port side just ahead of number 3 turret.  They put out the
fire and swept the debris over the side, except for the top half of the
pilot's body (they didn't find the other half) which was given a formal
burial at sea.  One of the airplane's machine guns somehow went barrel
first into one of the nearby 40mm battery gun barrels.  There was no
significant damage to the ship.

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