WASHINGTON (AP) _ The USS Cole, a 505-foot U.S. Navy destroyer, was well-equipped to protect itself against almost anything _ except the small, bomb-carrying boat the Navy says rammed into the Cole during a routine mooring.
The massive but speedy $1 billion USS Cole, powered by four jet engines similar to those used in airliners, is one of the Navy's most advanced warships, built around the high-tech Aegis combat system which employs the latest anti-aircraft and anti-submarine technology.
Its weapons includes batteries of anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles, a cannon that can launch five-inch shells more than 10 miles and two Gatling guns that each can fire 50 bullets a second.
Admiral Vernon Clark, chief of naval operations, said Thursday the Cole's crew was "fighting for their ship," bailing water as it listed slightly with a gaping hole in its side.
Clark said the ship's hull varies in thickness but is made of half-inch steel at the waterline, capable of withstanding 51,000 pounds per square inch where the powerful explosion ripped it open.
The ship's "vital spaces" are protected by 70 tons of armor, according to Jane's Fighting Ships. Most of its exterior walls are slanted so they are less easily detected by enemy radar.
The primary mission of the USS Cole, and Arleigh-Burke-class guided missile destroyer, is to defend some the Navy's biggest ships in aircraft carrier battle groups from multiple air, surface and submarine attacks.
It was blown open in the Yemen port of Aden early Thursday by one of the smallest crafts on the water. An early eyewitness accounts from an Army major who works at the U.S. Embassy in Yemen described the attacking vessel as a small rubber boat.
The destroyer, based at Norfolk, Va., carries a crew of about 350 officers and enlisted personnel. It is assigned to the USS George Washington carrier battle group now operating in the Persian Gulf region.
The Cole left Norfolk in June for a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf. It has a top speed of more than 33 mph.
Named for the mythical shield of Zeus, the Aegis system is a suite of computer-linked radar and weaponry.
Unlike the standard radar with a rotating wand, Aegis's SPY-1D phased-array radar sends out a blizzard of impulses to create a digitized image of an operational area on large blue screens. Its computers can identify, prioritize and destroy incoming enemy missiles or aircraft as far as 200 miles away.
The USS Cole is among 101 U.S. Navy ships and one of 35 Burke-class guided missile destroyers.
Commissioned in 1996, the Cole was named for the first U.S. Marine killed at Iwo Jima, Sgt. Darrell S. Cole of Flat River, Mo. Its motto is "Determined Warrior." Cmdr. Kirk S. Lippold has been the ship's commanding officer since June 1999.
Cole was a machine gunner when he was killed in action on Feb. 19, 1945, the day 30,000 Marines landed on the southeast coast of the Japanese-held island.
Following an ancient shipbuilding tradition, the ultramodern Cole reportedly carries coins embedded in its mast by Cole relatives: 67 cents for its hull number, including 1920 and 1945 quarters for the years its namesake was born and died.
Tradition says the coins will ensure payment of the crew for the voyage home in the event of mishap.
(Copyright 2000 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
