SSN - Tom Clancy [104]
"Unit one unit two also, both units have now acquired," reported the combat systems officer.
"Cut the wires," Mack ordered. "I want to be as far away as possible when those torpedoes explode." The 650-pound warhead, Mack was aware, could damage any submarine, Chinese or not, if it was close when the torpedo detonated. "Shut the outer doors and reload tubes one and two with Mk 48s."
When they were far enough away, Mack slowed Cheyenne to four knots. They were still close to Chinese home waters and he didn't want to risk detection again. With the loss of the Kilo, they'd probably figure out soon enough that there was an enemy submarine in the area, but Mack felt reasonably comfortable that he could avoid detection by running quietly.
Mack was also confident that the Kilo itself had nowhere to run. On one side was the Chinese coastline; on the other was a large, deadly minefield. Once the Mk 48s had acquired the Kilo, Mack was sure that the Chinese submarine was doomed.
"Conn, sonar," the Sonar Supervisor reported, "the Kilo is drawing left again, heading in the direction of the Chinese minefield. The Mk 48s are stilt following it."
Mack was calm as he acknowledged the report, but he had to admit to a certain grudging respect for the Chinese captain. Desperate, knowing that his ship had no chance to survive the torpedoes bearing down on it, he had taken the one gamble left open to him.
"Conn, sonar, explosion in the water, bearing 110." Mack tensed, waiting for the end of the report. "Captain, we just lost unit one. The first Mk 48 hit a mine."
Mack nodded, his admiration for his opponent growing slightly. The desperate gamble had paid off-so far. But there was still one more Mk 48 out there, and it was locked on to the Kilo.
The twin explosions of the first Mk 48 and the mine it had detonated sent shock waves through the entire minefield. Because the Chinese had, in some locations, laid the mines too close together, the pressure from the first explosions began touching off other explosions, and two more mines exploded within seconds.
Moments later, the sonar room reported a third explosion. The sonar supervisor assumed it was also a Chinese mine because the second Mk 48 was still chasing its prey.
"Conn, sonar, another explosion," the sonar supervisor said a short time later. "We've lost contact with unit two. I think it just hit a mine."
The desperate gamble had paid off. The Kilo had avoided both torpedoes, but it was still in trouble. It was deep in the middle of a minefield, and it knew there was an enemy out there somewhere, stalking it.
Less than one minute after the second Mk 48 hit a mine, sonar detected two more explosions.
"Conn, sonar, two more explosions, bearing 112. I'm hearing breaking-up noises. The Kilo, Master 112, must have run itself into a mine."
The sound of groaning metal was unmistakable. As the Kilo sank, Mack thought about what had just happened. Desperate times called for desperate measures, he knew, but sometimes they just didn't work.
The irony was that this time it had worked-it just hadn't worked well enough. It wasn't one of the Mk 48s that had killed the Kilo; it was the Chinese's own low-tech mines.
Cheyenne's entire crew had now seen firsthand what damage a Chinese minefield could do to a submarine. The problem, however, was that the narrow path that Cheyenne was following could easily turn into a "killing zone" for her just as it had for the Kilo.
But Mack didn't have much choice. If he was to accomplish his mission, he had to take Cheyenne along this route. He just hoped he had better luck than the unfortunate Kilo's captain.
Eight hours later, Cheyenne was still running at four knots and had her TB-16 towed array deployed to the short stay. Eight sonar contacts had been evaluated as non-threats.
"Conn, sonar, after clearing our baffles, we've got two more contacts bearing 004. Sounds like surface