Anticipation has a way of stretching time, and like the track runner in the blocks who knows the seconds between the words “Get set.” and the starters gun, can seem as long as minutes, so the officers and ratings felt time slow down.
At last Kentleigh nodded emphatically
“Clear of the layer sir.”
“Thank you.” The captain raised his voice.
“Go active on the sonar, three pulses only and standby torpedoes.”
Had the Chuntian been moving at a stealthy three knots she could have locked down the Royal Navy submarines position to within two feet when the waves of active sonar pounded out, but she was at flank speed and was therefore aware of the sources approximate direction only, and she would not even know for certain she had been launched on until she slowed, so her captain ordered his vessel to come back to ten knots, finishing the sprint well short of where he had originally planned.
The Xia on the other hand did the opposite, she was like a burglar tiptoeing towards a house over the back garden in the dead of night when suddenly the security lights come on, she froze for a heartbeat and then bolted, but at 7000 tons submerged that description was in rather relative terms.
“Contact bearing one eight zero, range seven four zero zero, depth eight zero zero.”
The operator had only reported a sonar echo reported the position of something large enough to reflect sound waves back at them, something large like a whale, a large school of fish or a submarine. There were no allied submarines in the area apart from the Tucson and she was too far north at the moment.
“Tube Three, match bearings and shoot.”
A slight tremble through the deck plates evidenced the launch and lights on the Weapons Officers panel confirmed the fact.
“Weapon running correctly, sir.”
“Thank you…sonar?”
“Sir?”
“Tell me about the Chuntian?”
“Sir, bearing two nine eight, heading one seven zero, range nine thousand, speed twenty four knots and slowing, depth four nine zero…five zero five, she’s joining us below the layer sir.”
“Tubes One and Two then please, while she’s still too fast to hear the launch…shoot!”
Again, the vibrations in the deck plate, and confirmation of the weapons status a moment later.
“Captain, we have a solution on the Xia. Bearing one eight zero on a heading of one seven nine, range seven three nine zero, depth eight zero zero, speed nine knots and rising?”
He nodded in acknowledgement.
“Very good…runtime on weapon number three please?”
“Fifty five seconds, sir.”
Looking at his wristwatch the captain allowed the second hand to progress another twenty seconds, he knew the Xia would launch counter measures and he was hoping the interval would be sufficient to ensure that both weapons were not foxed by the same noisemaker.
“Tube four, match bearings and shoot.”
For the fourth time in less than a minute and a half the vessel vibrated slightly as compressed air boosted a torpedo out into the open water. The Spearfish torpedo accelerated into the blackness of the Pacific’s depths steered toward its target by impulses travelling along the wafer thin cable that unravelled behind it. Its own sensor package was in standby mode as a weapons operator aboard the Hood sent guidance instructions that placed the weapon in a tail chase with the fleeing ballistic missile submarine. The Spearfish from tube four was kilometres behind the Xia but like tubes three’s weapon ahead of it; it was outpacing the big submarine. Hood’s captain was quite happy for the Xia to keep going as it was in a straight line as fast as it could, his operators had steered both Spearfish into her six o’clock, every submarines blind spot.
There was little for him do now except wait for something happen.
He took a look around the control room at his officers and ratings, all of whom were hard at their own particular trades. He wondered if any of them knew that the outcome of the war could quite possibly rest in their hands? They were all far too busy to stop and think of the consequences of failure.
“Captain, sonar…” it was time to get back to work. “….aspect change on Xia, course change fifteen degrees to port, now heading one six four.”
So the Xia’s captain had turned to allow his sonar to look behind. They would run now to their best speed and begin chucking out countermeasures.
“Very good…come left to one seven zero, maintain this depth and speed, please.”
“Aye aye, coming left to one seven zero, maintaining depth and speed, sir.”
“Captain, weapons?”
“Go ahead ‘Weps’?”
“Sorry captain, weapon three is now showing a red light.”
At fifteen knots he would not have been surprised if at least one wire had snapped due to the additional stresses, but that was not what the weapons operator was reporting.
“What is the nature of the fault?” he demanded, wanting further information before he would order another weapon launched.
“Sir, the system is telling me it is a non-specified error…sir, I now have a green light once more.”
The captain did not immediately respond as he considered cutting the weapon loose anyway. There was a lot riding on this attack and it was not something he could allow to pass without considering the odds. Had the Hood been built with six tubes he would indeed have ordered a further weapon launched at the Xia, but it only had four and they were all in use.
“Thank you weapons, if the error repeats itself on that Spearfish cut the wire and reload immediately, understood?”
“Aye aye, captain.”
No sooner had that operator finished then a sonar operator was calling for his attention. Weapon four had eaten up the distance now and the PLAN crew was reacting.
“Captain, sonar…Xia launching countermeasures and coming right to two one three.”
“Thank you sonar…Weapons, status of weapon four please?”
“Sir, weapon four running correctly and now twelve hundred metres from the Xia.”
It was time to accelerate the spearfish. “Increase speed on both weapons please but retain control.”
Ahead of them the Chinese boomer as if hearing his words launched two torpedoes of its own before ejecting more countermeasures and making a radical turn to port.
The weapons operator controlling number four steered the Spearfish around to follow the turn whilst number threes operator used the opportunity to make up distance by cutting the corner, steering straight toward the vessel.
The Xia reversed its turn and number fours operator cursed under his breath.
“Sir, the wire to number four has broken, but the weapon is guiding independently.”
“Very good…” Any relief he felt on the assurance that weapon four was guiding began to wilt with the next report.
“Control room, sonar…Xia has launched another decoy.”
The captain just knew what was coming next.
“Captain, weapon four is rapid pinging…weapon four is accelerating and tracking the decoy, sir.”
The plot showed the Xia continuing its starboard turn whilst the decoy continued straight ahead, with the Spearfish from tube four completely fooled and closing rapidly.
“Status on weapon three, please?”
“Weapon three is still under control and closing on the Xia, captain.”