I won't even go there, as I have over 200 of the little sods!.

A pretty aircraft but: "...an absolutely marvellous aircraft." - anonymous RAF Wing Leader, a few weeks before all Swift F.1s were grounded because of various accidents and crashes.

I'd rather be on the said destroyer than one facing down a Skyhawk with a clutch of Snakeyes. The Falkland proved that they are the better weapon for attacking large ships, by far.

AG, I am of course talking in regard to the situation in the 60's & not later. I can assure you that the sight of a pod of Zuni's being launched & then hitting their target is a tad spectacular. Especially when the launch is at flight deck level about 200 meters from the ship.!!

"AG, I am of course talking in regard to the situation in the 60's & not later. I can assure you that the sight of a pod of Zuni's being launched & then hitting their target is a tad spectacular. Especially when the launch is at flight deck level about 200 meters from the ship.!" The Snakeye has been around since at least the 60's, with iron bombs in general having a much better chance of sinking a destroyer than a clutch of Zunis. I'm sure they are spectacular to watch going off, but the real question is whether they are going to sink a large ship. I'm pretty sure that most 3000tonne class ships could shrug off a clutch of Zunis with repairable damage topside. The same can't be said for a 500pounder.

"The same can't be said for a 500pounder" I would say that would depend on a fair few factors, a 500lb bomb not really containing that much explosives. A 500kg bomb is a different matter.

"I would say that would depend on a fair few factors, a 500lb bomb not really containing that much explosives." The Argentine Navy used 500 pound Snakeyes with devestating success in the Falklands. Basically, a 3000-4000 class ship hit by one or more of those is out of commission, if not permanantly then at least long enough to keep it participating in a small war.

technically a pig pavetacked a 500 pounder LGB on a CVN during one of our test exercises with our mates across the pond. IIRC it did enough theoretical damage to put the CVN out of the game for a few hours.

"Argentine Navy used 500 pound Snakeyes with devestating success in the Falklands" I think using the word "devestating" is a fairly large exageration. How many ships were sunk or put ouf of commision by a loan 500lb bomb then? As far as I know none were sunk in such a way.

You are right in that the Argentine navy generally landed several bombs on target. However, don't forget that Sea Skimming anti-ship missiles generally have a smaller warhead than a 500lb'er and we know the results of one of them hitting. A 500lb'er landing topside will generally blow a bloody big hole in whatever part of the ship it hits and set the ship on fire, the real killer of warships. In any case, as several bombs are generally dropped together from one plane, a ship will generally take several hits, so the effects of the bombs are multiplied.