There is nobody on deck when they are launching missiles. The only ones who know what is going on work in the fire control center. The number of sailors who would actually anything would be limited to a few men with elevated security clearances.
GingisK wrote: “There is nobody on deck when they are launching missiles. The only ones who know what is going on work in the fire control center. The number of sailors who would actually anything would be limited to a few men with elevated security clearances.”
Everyone on the ship would know when SM-2 missile is launched. If you doubt that, review a few videos of such a launch. It’s not like shooting a bottle rocket.
You can't be serious. When a missile is fired off of a Navy ship, *EVERYONE* can hear it and feel it as it launches off the ship. You can't hide the fact that a missile was launched from anyone aboard the ship who launched it.
No missile was fired from a Navy ship. Iranian mercenaries fired the missile off of a boat, and the Navy had nothing to do with it.
This is simply not true. I served as Weapons Officer (on none other than USS Normandy a few years before TWA 800) and have been involved in missile tests and exercises on many occasions during my time in the Navy. I can assure you that any time a missile is fired EVERY sailor on the ship knows it. It is not a secret. The sound alone is immense, and can be heard throughout the ship. And, having served with thousands of sailors throughout my career, there is no way someone wouldn't have spilled the beans. Submarines might be the "silent service", but the surface Navy is another thing altogether. As someone who is a subject matter expert in Navy SM-2 missile command and control -- from that particular era-- I can assure you there are numerous reasons why the Navy missile theory holds no water.
The Iranian terrorist attack/MANPAD theory is most likely IMHO.
“There is nobody on deck when they are launching missiles. “
Interesting that none were suspicious that a plane “was shot down” when they were all below decks for a missile launch ...
Baloney. That would’ve been the talk of the ship.