Abstract: Objectives This paper aims to explore the response law of ship-borne equipment with cracks under the impact load of underwater non-contact explosion. Methods Taking the compressor component of a certain type of shipborne gas turbine as the research object, the impact resistance test of the crack-free compressor was carried out. Subsequently, a time-domain simulation method based on the cohesive element was proposed to study the impact response law of the cracked compressor. Results The results show that the support legs are the weak links of the compressor. When a single support leg fractures, the stress peaks of the casing structure and the shaft structure increase by 16.08% and 17.06% respectively compared to those without cracks, and the stress peak of the support structure of the compressor reaches 215 MPa. When multiple support legs crack, the changes of the casing and shaft structures with the number of broken support legs are not obvious, but the stress peak of the support structure first increases and then decreases with the number of broken support legs. And when two legs of the compressor crack simultaneously, the stress response is the greatest, with a peak value of 282 MPa. Conclusions The research results have important guiding significance for the study of the shock response law of shipborne equipment containing cracks.