Missile Ship

missile ship

[′mis·əl ‚ship]

(naval architecture)

guided-missile ship

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Missile Ship

 

a class of surface warship whose principal weapon is missiles. The ships are designed to destroy large enemy surface warships and transports by means of missiles.

In the navies of the capitalist states, ships of the existing classes (such as cruisers, destroyers, and frigates) are armed with antiaircraft, antisubmarine, and multipurpose missile complexes. These vessels are used for a variety of combat missions at sea, including destroying enemy ships. They are often called guided missile ships (for example, guided missile cruisers and guided missile frigates). Missile boats are also being built.

The first time in the history of combat at sea that missile boats were used in battle was during the struggle of the Arab states against Israeli aggression. On Oct. 21, 1967, two missile boats of the Egyptian Navy sank the Israeli destroyer Elath with one missile salvo.

B. F. BALEV

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.