SSN - Tom Clancy [20]
These questions troubled him as he prepared to proceed to periscope depth to get information concerning Independence.
"Conn, sonar," the sonar supervisor reported, "the towed-array picked up a helicopter overhead. We can tell it's a helo because of the high turbine rpm."
Hearing this, Mack ordered an immediate excursion to 325 feet, He soon heard the ping of the helicopter's active dipping sonar through Cheyenne's hull, and the sound sent chills up his spine. He began to worry, once again, about the wisdom of his earlier decision to attack the Chinese task group.
"Conn, sonar, we just detected a submarine on the surface. It's beginning to submerge!"
Mack remanned battle stations. The atmosphere in the sonar room grew very tense as everyone waited for the next contact evaluation. It wasn't long in coming, and it wasn't good news.
"Conn, sonar, we've got another contact," reported the sonar supervisor. "This one sounds like a Romeo. It must have been waiting for us, playing dead in the water, because we didn't hear it before the active sonar from that helo."
Sonar designated the helo as sonar contact Sierra 179. Mack designated the Romeo as Master 21.
Antisubmarine helicopters were always a danger. They were hard for submarines to detect, and their dipping sonars and sonobuoys could provide enemy forces with valuable data on the location of Cheyenne. And that was exactly what this one seemed to be doing.
And if the helicopter was within its torpedo range, Mack realized, they could also drop a torpedo in the water. That would definitely ruin our day, he thought.
"Range to the Romeo, Master 21, is seventeen thousand yards, bearing 025," the fire-control coordinator reported.
"Sonar, conn, what's the classification on the one that just submerged?" Mack asked.
"Conn, sonar, it sounds like another Romeo. It sounds closer, bearing 027, sir. Designate Master 22?"
The BSY-I operators quickly determined that two enemy submarines were five thousand yards from one another. Cheyenne, it turned out, was on a bearing directly between them, the reciprocal bearing 206 if they detected her.
At that moment, the helicopter's dipping sonar was active again, and this time it was directly overhead.
Mack smiled. That helo pilot had just done them a favor. The two Chinese submarines may have already acquired Cheyenne-which meant that the latest "ping" didn't help them at all. But the sound energy reflecting off their hulls into Cheyenne's waiting sonars and the BSY-l computers gave her accurate firing solutions for both Romeo class submarines.
"Make tubes one and two ready in all respects," Mack ordered. "Open the outer doors. Firing point procedures, tube one, Master 21, and tube two, Master 22," Mack wanted the first torpedo going after the closer submarine and the second torpedo aimed at the other.
His orders were confirmed quickly and efficiently.
Match sonar bearings and shoot, tune one, Master zi and tube two, Master 22," he ordered.
"Match bearings and shoot, tube one, Master 21, and tube two, Master 22, aye, Captain."
Both torpedoes quickly acquired.
Mack acknowledged the reports. "Now, let's get the heii out of here before we get attacked by that helo. Cut the wires, shut the outer doors, and reload tubes one and two. Ahead flank, right full rudder, make your depth 800 feet, steady on course 180." Mack was calm as the directed commands were repeated by the persons intended for them. Cheyenne had become a fine-tuned fighting machine. Each man knew what was expected of him.
Above them, high in the sky, a lone F-14 flying from the aircraft carrier Independence saw the target blip on its radar long before the Chinese helicopter had any idea what was about to happen. With permission of the flag watch officer aboard Independence, the 000-045 sector F-14 pilot was allowed to advance his sector since he had radar contact on the Chinese