tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171012115957975378.post3344431954907912377..comments2023-10-22T04:49:33.902-07:00Comments on The ◊ Pantheon ◊ Journal: Pirates, They Be Everywhere, Harrrr!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4171012115957975378.post-18060459073766755342008-11-19T05:29:00.000-08:002008-11-19T05:29:00.000-08:00One wonders whether any navy has considered bringi...One wonders whether any navy has considered bringing back some old concepts to fight the increased piracy, particularly around the african coast:<BR/><BR/>[1] Convoying. This is a tried and true method for blunting the power of an enemy targeting one's merchant shipping.<BR/><BR/>[2] Q-ships. Convert some merchantment to armed vessels with hidden weaponry, e.g. gatling guns or anti-tank missiles, to destroy the lightly armed pirate speedboats.<BR/><BR/>Convoying has a long history, dating back at least to the 18th century, with almost universal success. Basically you make the pirates come to the navy by gathering all the merchantmen into groups which are escorted by naval vessels, so the only way to get to the merchantmen is through the escorts. Particularly with the current disparity in firepower between a lightly armed speedboat and a modern naval vessel, the result of a conflict would generally be disadvantageous to the pirate. <BR/><BR/>Q-ships as such date back to the first world war, and had some success against submarines. At that time they usually had cannons hidden behind drop-away walls. Variants of this approach with more modern, lethal, and lightweight weaponry might be useful.<BR/><BR/>If one combines convoys for the majority of the merchantmen, with a sprinkling of Q-ships in the unescorted merchantmen, then you make the job of the pirate much more dicey.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com