Table 7-7.—Possible Damage from Air Blast, Underwater Shock, or Water Wavesto ships at a distance of several miles. Underwater of ship damage. Flooding may occur throughshock travels much faster than an air blast; it canarrive in from less than 1 second up to 10 seconds.Hull damage will occur in the form of dishedand ruptured plating and damaged supportingstructures. Light equipment may be tossed about,causing damage to other equipment and injury topersonnel. Engineering piping systems, shafting,and boiler brickwork are especially sensitive tounderwater shock.Damage by Water WavesWater waves from a surface or underwaterburst of a nuclear weapon maybe over a hundredfeet in height. In deep water, waves may be acontributing source of damage at ranges of over1 mile from a nominal nuclear weapon andpossibly over 10 miles from a megaton-weaponburst. Arrival time of the waves is from one-half minute to several minutes, depending onthe distance from the burst. Only in isolatedinstances will water waves be the primary sourceweather doors-that have been damaged by an airblast.PROTECTION AGAINST AIR BLAST,HEAT, AND UNDERWATER SHOCKAn air blast produces injuries among topsidepersonnel primarily by bodily displacement(picking them up and throwing them about) andamong below-deck personnel by displacement ofpersonnel and loose gear. The severity of injuriescan be reduced if personnel hold on to solid shipstructures and loose gear is secured.Heat (also called thermal radiation) producesinjuries (skin burns and eye damage) amongtopside personnel and can ignite clothing or othercombustibles. The severity of potential thermalinjury may be reduced if personnel quickly coverexposed skin surfaces while dropping out of sightof the fireball or curling up on the deck topresent a minimum target to the fireball.7-21
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