The bombardment raked the quays and docks with fire, but 130mm rounds were not all that heavy, and did not have much thump. Dock crews had been warned of this impending attack long ago, and most any equipment of value had been evacuated inland. If the guns had been bigger like those on the old WWII battleships, they might have pounded those docks in minutes, but here, half an hour into the bombardment, it was still like throwing pebbles at them.
Rounds were sending up tall sprays of water, others making direct hits. Some sailed wildly over the docks into the warehouses and marshalling yards beyond, blasting long rows of containers lined up there. The four destroyers fired for an hour, the shell casings bouncing onto their forward decks, guns reloading from the magazines, and firing again. They continued pecking away, like icepicks against great bergs, but it would take at least 240 good hits to really destroy just one of those heavy concrete docks. The results were so bad that the Admiral had to recall his Red Sea squadron and have it join the bombardment with six more destroyers.
After two hours shelling the harbor, one of the four major docks lay in smoking ruins, the others being damaged but none hit badly enough to prevent repairs. Admiral Sun Wei’s plan had run up against the limitations of the 130mm deck guns, and while he had put harm on the port, his blow was far from fatal.
Now he had a decision to make, where to go?
If I turn west for Aden, the fleet could be trapped there. I would, in effect, be retiring, and giving up the field of battle. Going to Aden would re-unite the entire fleet, strengthening my force, but then the Americans would get between us and the Gulf. No, I will not concede.
So I must follow the lead of the Arabian Sea Squadron, and move northeast instead. Even if it means I leave the Aden group behind, we move to block the entrance to the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf. And we also gain the support of our bases in Pakistan, and perhaps even the Pakistani Navy. So we go northeast. There is time yet. They cannot rearm and strike for some hours, which may give me time to refuel some of the destroyers. I will now absorb the Red Sea Squadron into the Flag Group for better defense. We must move quickly. Time is of the essence.
Captain Simpson on the Roosevelt had been unhappy with the big strike. Debriefing showed that the Air Force Raptors had not coordinated well, and two had failed to release their bombs after coming under SAM fire when their position was discovered. As soon as the first planes released, the Chinese had just flung HQ-9s in that direction, and some went after the planes.
He also learned that one full train of British Spears had gone astray, missed its target, attempted retargeting and then ran out of energy. All told, they had hurt the enemy, but they should have done more. Checking the magazines, he had only three GBU-53’s left, and so had to order up underway replenishment from AOE Camden. They would airlift about 120 of those bombs, and some additional missiles for the fighters. So while Sun Wei was refueling, Roosevelt was replenishing, and then the race for the Gulf of Oman would be on.
“Sir,” said XO Ripley, “Independence is now 500 miles east of Sri Lanka, which puts them about 1800 miles from our position.”
“Good, but that’s sour grapes.”
“Well, word from Salaha is that only one of the four docks was damaged beyond easy repair. They’re already working on the other three. Salaha may still be an option for the Marines.”
“We’ll cross that bridge later,” said Simpson. “The Chinese have ships at Aden, and their main group now looks to be heading northeast.”
“Gulf of Oman, sir. They want to head us off, and get Pakistan to cover their backs.”
“Not if we get up there first. Ripley, you tell the destroyers we’re going to start turning the screws in another half hour—ahead flank. I’m not going to let them cut us off and block access to the Gulf.”
So as the Chinese fleet ran northeast along the coast, the Allied fleet was 330 miles out to sea, but on a parallel course. Between the two forces, there were three submarines, HMS Anson, USS Seawolf and Seatiger, all trying to get into position to ambush the Chinese as they advanced. Another kill, and Captain Drake would be top dog in the undersea world, and with the Chinese ships running at 25 knots, they would not hear these stealthy boats easily.
What Admiral Sun Wei dearly needed now was some air cover. He had three J-20’s at Ras Karma on Socotra, but the runway access point was a deep crater surrounded by bubble, and there were no earth movers at hand. The work had to be done the old fashioned way, with pick and shovel, and that took time. So those three Dragoons were shut in for the foreseeable future.
A Squadron of twelve J-10’s was based at Riyan airport, and six of those took off to cover the movement of the wounded frigate Liuzhou, which had been making for the coast near Al Ghaydah in north Yemen. There were AEW assets at that field, but they could not fly without fighter cover. So that J-10 flight would be reassigned to Al Ghaydah, There were six J-10’s left at Al Anad AFB near Aden, six more at Massawa on the Red Sea coast, and 15 at Sana’a, but that was 6550 miles to the west. No J-20’s were available at all on the Arabian Peninsula or Red Sea district. Any that remained were in Pakistan, at Gwadar and Jinnah near Karachi.
The planes at Gwadar, a dozen J-20’s, were the only assets he might call on as he moved northeast, and he angrily thought they would not be enough.
The Americans will have fighters at Muscat, and closer at Masirah. Those planes would be able to intercept anything flying south from Gwadar. This is simply unacceptable! And I have been remiss. Hong Buchan was to have brought his Bengal Bay Squadron to join our main fleet, but he stubbornly stayed well east of our position, thinking he ruled the Arabian Sea. Look what that got him. Now his ships are at the bottom of the sea, and he complains to Beijing that we failed to support him.
The Admiral was so upset that he sent a terse coded signal to Naval Headquarters in China:
“We have put heavy damage on the port of Salaha, and now move to interdict Muscat and the Gulf of Oman. Yet victory will elude us for lack of adequate air support. The enemy carriers strike us at will! This is unacceptable. Requesting all available J-20 Squadrons be transferred to Pakistan at once in support of this fleet before further losses are inflicted by enemy air strikes. Furthermore, request all units of Arabian Sea Fleet to be under my immediate command.”
Admiral Shen Jinlong, Commander in Chief of the Chinese Navy, made this request to the air force, demanding support, and made certain that the message was copied to appropriate civilian leadership. Wang Ziwen, Chief of the Air Force, had most of his better squadrons assigned to the Siberian front, and he might have said that no J-20 squadrons were available, but the drawdown of hostilities there was the excuse he needed to answer this call.
To make such a transfer, the planes would first have to fly all the way over the Taklamakan Desert to the farthest reaches of Xinjiang Province. There were no regular bases there, but two reserve fields could be used to refuel the planes, one at Kashi near Kashgar, and another at the old desert Silk Road city of Khotan (or Hotan). From there it would be an air ferry of a little over 1000 nautical miles to Gwadar or Karachi, up over the roof of the world in the Himalayas. Transport aircraft would also have to lift in more missiles for the planes, and diplomatic channels had to clear the way first with Pakistan.