“Sonar reports the American torpedoes are circling; they are in a search mode.”
It would not be long before that search mode took the torpedoes lower and lower, until they penetrated the layer above them.
“Left full rudder! Make your speed twenty knots!” Bocharkov shouted.
“Coghlan reports two ASROC launched, sir,” Burnham reported.
MacDonald looked to his right. The smoke trails of the rocket-fired torpedoes separated from the canisters on the foredeck of the Coghlan. One was heading forward of the Dale. It should splash forward of the submarine.
“Officer of the Deck, left full rudder, all ahead full.”
The Dale tilted to starboard as the destroyer cut a sharp left-hand turn.
The other contrail showed the second ASROC heading near the exact location of the submarine. So far, everything was going according to MacDonald’s plan, but why hadn’t the submarine fired? He would have launched by now.
“Bridge, Combat! We have torpedoes in the water.” The 12MC switched off for a second and then Burnham came back on line. “Their torpedoes, not ours!” he clarified.
MacDonald leaned down to the 12MC. “Lieutenant Burnham, where is the contact now?”
“Sir, last contact had the—”
The Navy Red speaker squawked, the squeal drowning out Burnham. “Dale, this is Coghlan. We have torpedoes inbound. Taking evasive action.”
MacDonald watched the other destroyer lean to starboard as Kennedy put the Coghlan into a hard left turn. MacDonald knew the Coghlan would be accelerating to maximum speed. The left turn was bringing the bow of the destroyer directly toward the inbound torpedoes. Puffs of smoke rose from amidships of the Coghlan as the destroyer deployed decoys port and starboard of itself. The bow of the Coghlan would reduce the noise of the propellers and allow the decoys to act more effectively. He hoped Kennedy was right.
“Combat, this is the captain. Fire remaining over-the-sides.”
At that moment the Dale passed over the underwater obstacle the K-122 had hit earlier.
“Torpedoes launched.”
Out the starboard side window, MacDonald saw the two over-the-sides splash into the water and disappear beneath the slight waves. His stomach tightened. This was the fear the instructors said came with an attack, but ignore it, they preached. Stay to the plan. You fight like you train. Do it by rote if you have to, but keep doing it. The tightness seemed to lessen for a moment.
“Multiple torpedoes in the water. We have a splash ahead of us with fast blade rates!” Orlov reported.
“Come to course one-eight-zero, speed twenty-five knots!” Bocharkov commanded.
“Making my course one-eight-zero, aye.” Orlov turned to the helmsman. “Left full rudder! Make your speed twenty-five knots.”
Behind the K-122, two decoys filled the void as the Soviet Echo submarine sought to sprint away from between the two American destroyers.
“Depth three hundred fifty meters!”
“Where is the layer?” Bocharkov asked.
“Two hundred meters,” Tverdokhleb answered, drawing Bocharkov’s attention for a moment. Tverdokhleb leaned back in his chair, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips. “Two hundred meters,” he repeated.
“Make your speed five knots, come to course two-six-zero!”
“Aye, sir. Making my speed five knots, right turn to two-six-zero.”
“Bring her up to two hundred meters once we are steady on course two-six-zero.”
Taking the submarine up would reduce the noise signature of the shafts and propellers by pointing them downward away from the torpedoes.
“Sonar reports torpedo inbound off our starboard bow, Captain. It is heading our way, sir,” Orlov reported.
“Very well,” Bocharkov said.
The K-122 began to level off as it steadied on the new course.
“Steady on one-eight-zero,” Orlov said.
Bocharkov looked at the gauge. The boat was still going too fast as it decelerated from twenty-five to five knots. He needed to reduce the cavitation the propellers were making in the water.
He had to show confidence. Behind him he had left two decoys and a huge knuckle in the water from the high-speed turn.
Behind the K-122 the two decoys sped aft from where they’d been launched. One ran directly into the sunken derelict K-122 had hit minutes earlier, lodging itself in what remained of a bridge area. The other sped under the Dale, continuing aft.
“Sir!” Lieutenant Burnham said. “We have the submarine behind us. Directly aft of us, sir!”
“How is that possible?” Admiral Green said.
“Left full rudder, speed fifteen knots!” MacDonald ordered. If the contact was behind them, then they would be its next target. He glanced out of the starboard-side hatch. The Coghlan was in a right-bearing drift down the beam of the Dale.
An explosion to the right side of the Coghlan caused everyone to stare out the starboard-bridge-wing side. Water spiraled upward, spreading apart its fingers like some Las Vegas display.
Seconds later the left decoy successfully pulled away the Soviet torpedo, and the explosion sent a similar water fountain display to accent the sound.
“Dale, Coghlan. Unless otherwise ordered intend to launch additional ASROCs!”
MacDonald grabbed the Navy Red handset. “Permission granted!”
That was good. He needed the other destroyer’s ASROCs in the water. The Dale was too close to do any good with its rocket-fired torpedoes.
“Our torpedoes have locked on something, sir.”
“Make sure they don’t lock on us,” MacDonald said quickly.
“No, sir, they are aft of us and heading toward the target.”
The Soviet torpedoes launched from the aft tubes changed course to follow the Dale. They locked onto the destroyer when it went into its sharp left turn at high speed.
The Dale and Coghlan torpedoes locked onto the decoy lodged in the derelict. They immediately changed course, chasing the decoy.
The first explosion was followed almost immediately by three near-instantaneous ones. MacDonald and Green dashed onto the starboard bridge wing. Water exploded skyward, arching out like some wet fireworks display from beneath the sea. The Dale shook and vibrated from being in the vicinity of the explosions.
“Damn,” Green said.
Both officers gripped the top of the railing, holding their balance as the concussions rode through the ship.
MacDonald stuck his head back inside the bridge. “Right full rudder, speed six knots, steady up on reverse course.”
The Navy Red speaker blared to life. “Dale, this is Coghlan. We have multiple explosions behind your position. Do you require any assistance? What is your status?”
“Coming to course zero-zero-zero.”
The sounds of cheering on the topside joined those inside of Combat. MacDonald grinned. The Dale had done its mission.
“Continue left to course one-one-five,” MacDonald corrected. He needed to be back on the reciprocal course they were on when they launched their torpedoes. Now he needed proof they had destroyed or seriously damaged the Soviet submarine.