“All hands! Abandon ship!” came the call, and it was the last thing the Captain would say on this earth. He would die there on the bridge, in spite of a gallant effort by the crew to save him. Two more missiles swept through the heavy smoke, finding no target as Illustrious keeled over and began to sink. The last found destroyer Lookout, setting her torpedo mounts off in another big explosion, and then igniting the helicopter magazine aft. That ship would soon be dead in the water, and that would leave the three hapless frigates with the unenviable job of trying to recover the survivors.
Aboard HMS Invincible, Captain Hargood was peering through his field glasses when he saw the big explosion broil up on the horizon. Another followed soon after, and he knew that Captain Snow’s TF had taken heavy hits. There was silence on the bridge for some time, until a signalman turned to the Captain, his face grim.
“It’s Illustrious, sir. She’s going under, and Lookout right along with her….”
“Damn,” said Hargood.
There had been just over 1000 officers and crew on Illustrious, and another 200 on the Lookout. The frigates could not hope to even get as many as 100 out of the water, but close at hand, cruising about 35 miles to the southwest, TF Ocean was centered on that big amphibious assault ship, and with several more frigates.
The loss of Illustrious now placed the burden of the tactical command on Captain Hargood. Admiral Pearson, was aboard HMS Ocean, and given this setback, Hargood decided to request further orders. Speaking on the secure radio channel, the two men would soon discuss the gloomy situation they were now facing.
“Just got the signal,” said Pearson. “We’re losing Illustrious.”
“I’m afraid so, sir, and there may be hundreds of men in the water out there now. The frigates can’t handle that, and that group reports they have just 24 Sea Ceptors left between the three ships. Lookout is on fire, and out of the action. I’m afraid we’ll lose her as well, sir.”
“Damn bloody business,” said Pearson. “And the enemy?”
“Well sir, we were just engaging their forward screen, a group of six destroyers. We put one under, damaged a second, and the whole lot has turned to break off to the north, but we have contacts on five more enemy surface groups out there. This thing is just getting started, and We haven’t a single Aster left on Loyal. It’s all on the frigates now.”
The Admiral knew his fleet was in a bad situation. “Captain, I think it best if we withdraw towards Singapore. The RSN has sortied from Tuas Naval Base with the bulk of their fleet. So your orders are to fall back on home port, and try to keep out of range. The Chinese are getting close, about 100 miles out, and we believe they have most of their missile strength limited to that range at the moment, except for the two Type 055’s. You’ll come under further attack, but we need to open the range.”
“What about those men in the water out there, sir?”
“We’re sending every helicopter we have. Get the frigates out of there. Understand? Turn Invincible immediately.”
“Aye sir.”
Captain Hargood gave those orders, and the ships began to turn, but the Admiral’s prediction had been accurate. Off to the northeast, safe from all harm at a range of 215 miles, the South Seas detachment was being led by the Type 052D class destroyer Changsha, and it was carrying the deadly YJ-18, with the range to strike. Eight of sixteen missiles were fired at Invincible as the British ships turned, and the first group of four came in so fast at 1900 knots that the British Sea Ceptors could simply not engage. That spelled the end for Type 26 Class frigate Newcastle, struck amidships with a fatal blow by the first group of four enemy Sizzlers.
As there were no Asters remaining on Loyal, the frigates were simply targets, having only their close in guns for any defense. Destroyer Liverpool was the only ship that could engage, being an older Type 42 class with the Sea Dart. As the second group of four Sizzlers came in, it began to fire, catching one of the speedy Vampires and splashing it into the sea. A second was spoofed by a bloom of chaff from Loyal, and the last two were taken down at very close range by the weight of all the Gatling guns.
The Royal Navy had yet to really come to grips with the weight of the Chinese Fleet, but by 16:00, the retreat to Singapore was on.
Aboard the carrier Zhendong, Admiral Wu Jinlong was wrapped in stoic calm. His mind was on other things—he had sunk an aircraft carrier! In truth, none of his ships accomplished that feat, the killing missiles had come from the land-based TEL on Riau Island, firing YJ-12’s, but he was overall theater Commander, and he would be more than happy to take credit for the kill.
The Vietnamese destroyers fought well, he thought. They saw half their flotilla sunk or damaged, but there presence in the vanguard was decisive. The British wasted so many missiles trying to knock down the land attack cruise missiles, that I now believe they are easy prey for my cruise missiles. They know this as well, which is why they now withdraw so we cannot close the range and overwhelm them. At present, only a few of my ships have the range to engage them now. As per earlier reports from the action in the Med, our YJ-18 is proving to be our most effective missile. The enemy close range defense missiles are unable to stop it, and I now have 40 of those demons available, all within striking range.
It is time to turn this early advantage we have obtained into a crushing defeat for the enemy. I will order my destroyers to fire, but first we must refresh the locations of the enemy ships. That is work for Zhendong….
Chapter 6
DDG Changshan still had eight more YJ-18’s, cruising far to the east off the jutting cape of Borneo as it reached out towards the Riau Islands. That ship would target the last enemy carrier and its escorts, selecting two ships in that group. Further north, in the support group behind Zhendong, the Type 052D destroyer Hefei had 16 Sizzlers in its VLS cells, and was ordered to target the three British frigates that were now withdrawing from the wreck of Illustrious at high speed.
Let us see if we can draw blood with those claws, thought Admiral Wu Jinlong. I will launch four J-31’s to find and paint the targets. Then we will see what our missiles do before I make a decision on whether or not to fire a second salvo.
The attack on the frigates would see the first four missiles find and kill Sheffield, even after three of the four Vampires were defeated by chaff and guns. Two more groups came on in a tight formation of four missiles each. About 25 miles out, they went into their high speed terminal run, accelerating rapidly to 1900 knots. Within minutes, they would find and kill both Portland and Trinidad, nothing more than helpless targets at sea against the Sizzlers, with no missile that could catch the Vampires. All three ships would sink within minutes, putting over 500 more men and women in the sea, and not long after, DDG Lookout, which had been foundering, would take yet another hit by a YJ-83, and sink for good. Illustrious and all her escorts were gone….
Advantage has been forged into victory, thought Admiral Wu. The enemy setback has now become defeat, and if I press them, I can make this even worse—a disaster at sea that will make headlines all across the globe. So now I will show the world how a Chinese carrier can fight.