Brigade XO wrote:About the only thing that PT boats don't share with Manticore LACs is that the PTs were NOT carried and launched from a mothership.
These were small, highly mobile ships that fought WAY above their weight class. It's the torpedos (in the Honorverse it's the shipkiller missiles). They also regularly were outfitted with twin .50cal machine guns in turrets and a with 20mm cannon on a mount on the rear deck. The torpedos could (at least) cripple a captial ship and sink most things smaller.
While PTs (and MTBs) could be effective in fast attacks- that was their inital use against capital ships in WW I- they were often most effective on creaping in quietly, lauching the "fish" at a target and then quietly motor away- at least until the fish hit something and then it was all three throttles to the wall and get the hell out of Dodge.
In a system defence role, the LACs are exactly like PT Boats. Small craft that are really difficult to pick up on sensors, very difficult to target, slink around to get into attack position and then deliver devistating hits- and run away very effectively (meaning they could avoid being killed by their larger targets by virture of size, speed and manuvarablity) .
Actually I'd argue that analogizing the LAC missile to a torpedo isn't very accurate as they are far less deadly to a capitol ship than a torpedo. (Though yes, both types carry only a few missiles or torpedoes)
Even a single torpedo hit landed anywhere on even the biggest warships ever to float is significant damage that will need non-trivial yard time, soon, to repair. (Though it's unlikely for a single hit, barring a golden BB from a WWII era torpedo to sink any battleship with a modern torpedo defense system. And a single hit may not even immediately force the battleship to break off operations and return -- but it won't stay on station any longer than it has to)
In stark contrast the weak little warheads on a LAC missile will have marginal effect on a DN or SD unless they get a perfect golden-BB - a down the throat hit that angles past the heavy physical armor of the hammerhead to strike the least armored parts of the ship, it's dorsal or ventral surfaces. Normally the sidewalls will blunt it and the meters of armor will absorb and scatter most, if not all, of it. The waller might lose some surface mounted sensors or a single mount, but be able to continue to fight indefinitely.
Another, probably less important difference, is that once a torpedo was launched the target's only real defense was to attempt to avoid it. But a LAC's missiles are subject to interception and destruction starting with CMs over the later 17% or so of their range, plus PDLCs over 2-3x the range of their own laserheads. So the LAC is probably far less likely to score a hit on a capital ship than a PT boat.
In terms of weapon effectiveness I tend to view LACs as being somewhat more analogous to the MGB (motor gun boat) as it mounts weapons that are threat to smaller warships, but are unlikely to be particularly effective again heavy ships.
