When I lived in Subic Bay as a kid, the aft end of the USS Frank Evans was tied up, and I passed it every day, the gory interior with ripped off pipes, and torn off watertight doors clearly visible from the road. She was cut in half by the HMAS Melbourne.
And I was on the USS Kennedy after she got out of the yards after hitting the USS Belknap. Her entire superstructure melted and ran down the sides of the vessel.
And I was on deck the night she collided in the North Atlantic with the USS Bordelon. I think small ships would steer clear of the Kennedy...
So, yes...those big ships ARE can openers.
My ship spent about a month in the Tonkin Gulf cruising with an amphibious ready group. After the stress of being an officer of the deck for formation steaming, I looked forward to having the first watch when we left the other ships.
Well, we were right in the middle of the carrier and escorts launching planes for strikes that day. The carrier and escorts raced down my port side to the horizon. Then the ships turned 180 degrees and came right at me. By international rules of the road the passage should have been port to port, but that meant I had to cross in front of that 30-knot carrier with my 12-knot LST. Instead I ran off to port as far as I could go. Still the ship passed about 3,000 yards off the starboard quarter as it launched its strike.