Since 99% of modern anti-ship missiles use low-altitude penetration and waterline hits to attack ships, the waterline protection of the Nimitz class can be described as nothing more than that. The waterline is equipped with a continuous armor belt of 2-3 meters. , The average thickness is 203mm, the defense capability of the same thickness is twice that of ordinary steel, and the key parts such as the ammunition depot and power zone are 550mm. Such a strong protection capability can basically be immune to most of the current anti-ship missiles, such as the famous Russia For the "Granite" anti-ship missile, the penetration speed of Mach 2.5 and the semi-armor-piercing warhead of 750 kg can penetrate 500mm thick armor, which is the best anti-ship missile today.
However, it is impossible to strengthen all parts of the aircraft carrier so as not to be penetrated. Therefore, in order to protect those weak parts, the Nimitz class adopts the principle of multi-layer armor gap protection. There are 4 longitudinal partitions on each side below the waterline. The bulkheads and the horizontal partition walls from 23 to 12 meters apart form eight layers with more than 2000 watertight compartments. Since the warheads of anti-ship missiles are mostly armor-piercing projectiles and heads, the "trickle" of the armor-piercing projectiles is basically invalid. Through the underwater protection of the aircraft carrier, the lightning protection index of the Nimitz class is astonishing. The single-sided lightning protection compartment of the " kitty-class " has increased from 6 to 9 channels. At present, the 533mm heavy torpedoes commonly equipped in various countries have a charge of about 500 kg. They face Nimitz. The protection level of 1000 kilograms is basically itching.
Of course, the Nimitz-class protection is not foolproof. Compared with the almost abnormal protection ability on the surface and underwater, its horizontal armor is very poor. In order to prevent the horizontal armor from being too thick and causing the center of gravity to be unstable, the Nimitz-class The horizontal deck is only 50mm, so weak protection is almost a streaking presence when under attack. In 1967, the deck of the USS Forester was accidentally exploded due to a rocket bomb. Several large holes were blown into the 50mm-thick deck. This accident caused the USS Forester to completely lose its combat effectiveness for six months. Since the flight deck is responsible for the most important aviation operation capabilities, it contains key facilities such as islands, catapults, and landing assistance systems. Once attacked, the aircraft carrier can quickly lose its combat capability. This is why China has to vigorously develop Dongfeng 21D and Dongfeng 26, the anti-ship ballistic missile that can carry out initiation attacks. After all, the way to fall from the sky is to kill the enemy.
However, although the aircraft carrier can be hit hard by attacking the flight deck in theory, it is almost impossible to sink it, because sinking the aircraft carrier must attack the waterline and underwater parts, causing a lot of water ingress, but as mentioned earlier, Faced with the perverted waterline and underwater protection capabilities of Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, any so-called carrier killer can only be a toy for joy. For example, in the last century, China's Z1Z modern-class destroyer imported from Russia, especially its so-called carrier killer "sunburn" anti-ship missiles, may have the greatest effect on the morale of that era.
