Q&A · 8:19:15-8:19:29

Would ejecting a reactor protect a damaged warship?

A proposed reactor-ejection arrangement exchanges one survivability problem for a weakness in the hull.

Nuclear Propulsion Ship Design Warship Survivability

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Question

Could a warship eject its reactor through the bottom of the hull?

Short answer

In theory, but the arrangement could create an exploitable structural weak point.

Notes

Ejecting a reactor through the bottom of a warship is entertained as a theoretical possibility. The objection is that an opening or release arrangement would create a weak point in the hull that an enemy could exploit.