Tom Clancy
SSN
Acknowledgments
I’d like to thank my friend and colleague Captain Doug Littlejohns, Royal Navy (Ret.), for his invaluable contributions to the interactive game upon which this book is based. I would also like to thank Commander Craig Etka, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Eric Wertheim, and Mike Harris for their contributions to the creation of the manuscript and for their relentless fact-checking. I would like to acknowledge the assistance of James Adams, Martin H. Greenberg, Larry Segriff, Robert Youdelman, Esq., Tom Mallon, Esq., and the fine folks at The Putnam Berkley Group, including Phyllis Grann, David Shanks, and David Highfill. In addition, this book would not have been possible without the efforts of Elizabeth Mackey, Ken Gordon, and Keith Halper of Simon & Schuster Interactive, Paul Wirth of the Virtus Corporation, Bill Howe of Photri, Inc., and Steve Fahrbach of Magellan Geographix. And as always I would like to thank Robert Gottlieb of the William Morris Agency, my agent and friend, without whom this book and the interactive game would never have been done.
And thanks to you, my readers, who have come to love submarines and the men who man them as much as I do.
Foreword: Note to the Reader
This book is based upon the CD-ROM game Tom Clancy SSN, co-published by Simon & Schuster Interactive, a division of Simon & Schuster, C.I. Entertainment, Inc., and Virtus Corporation. Developed by Tom Clancy with Captain Doug Littlejohns, CBE, British Royal Navy (Ret.), SSN is a groundbreaking, action-packed submarine combat game and a full-screen, live-action cinematic thriller.
This book, however, is intended to serve as more than a faithful adaptation. While based on the game, this book is intended to serve as a strategy guide to submarine warfare, and as such it contains some minor variations from the CD-ROM game: an additional class of enemy submarines, a wider range of weaponry, and a broader spectrum of available tactics and strategies.
Both the game and this book share a common goaclass="underline" to put you, the reader, in charge of a United States nuclear attack submarine at war. If you come away with a taste of what life in the silent service is like, with a better understanding and appreciation of the efforts of those brave sailors who serve aboard boomers and attack submarines everywhere, and with an idea of the dangers these sailors face every day, then this book and the game upon which it is based have done their jobs.
Life aboard a submarine is filled with hard work, close quarters, and the constant threat of silent enemies and the deep, dark pressure of the ocean. Slip into your naval uniform — the one with the golden dolphins on the collar — and step aboard one of the finest submarines in the United States Navy — the USS Cheyenne. But don’t forget your seat belt. There’s a war on, and it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Preface: Prelude to War
Though the name may sound obscure, the Spratly Islands have been a cause of conflict in East Asia for quite some time. Sovereignty over all or part of this potentially resource-rich archipelago in the South China Sea is presently contested by Vietnam, China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Taiwan. Although the Manila Declaration by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 1992 promised to resolve this dispute peacefully, the nations involved have yet to arrive at a consensus about the future of this territory. In the past few months, tensions have mounted between the East Asian nations, and the need to have the United Nations serve as a mediating force has been suggested. At this point in time, many of the countries have stationed troops on the islands and some have begun to build their own infrastructures, causing further disagreements.
“The dispute over the Spratly Islands has served as a further impediment to healing many of the rifts existing within East Asia. This issue needs to be addressed on an international level before it escalates into higher forms of conflict. The Special Political and Decolonization Committee will attempt to consolidate the interests of all parties involved and hopefully diminish a source of growing regional conflict in the world.”
— The New American
“China’s aggressive search for oil near the Spratly Islands of Vietnam’s coast has become the most serious threat of war along China’s frontier.”
— Jim Landers, The Dallas Morning News
Chinese leader dies, power struggle anticipated
July 19, 1997
Web posted at: 12:00 P.M. EST (1700 GMT)
From Beijing bureau chief Julie Meyer
BEIJING (TCN) — Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping died today at the age of ninety-two. Having suffered multiple strokes in the previous two years, Deng had reportedly been living in a military hospital for the past eighteen months and was said to have been barely able to speak for much of that time.
Deng’s successor, President Jiang Zemin, was chosen by Deng himself over a year ago, yet could not assert full leadership rights until Deng, as “paramount leader,” had died. Now that Deng is dead, many experts feel that Jiang’s position will be challenged by his peers among the Chinese government, and that a power struggle will ensue.
Among the suspected challengers to Jiang is Premier Li Peng, a Marxist conservative who played a major role in the quashing of the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations. Li is said to be intent on scaling back China’s economic growth, which he feels to be unstable, should he take control.
Another possible contender is Zhu Rongji, senior vice premier and the liberal economist responsible for much of China’s economic growth under Deng. However, Zhu has alienated much of the Chinese bureaucracy with his infamous temper and acidic comments, and experts believe that he does not enjoy the support necessary to win the leadership battle.
When asked for an opinion regarding the power shift in China, prominent Tufts University international relations professor and Asian affairs expert Adrian Mann stated that great “political instability” lay ahead and that “there is a very good chance that the power struggle may lead to a Soviet-style breakup of China,” a view shared by many senior White House political advisers.
The President, who is currently vacationing at Camp David, issued a statement earlier today saying that “the United States offers her sincere condolences to the people of China on the loss of their esteemed leader” and that “we have every confidence that the new Chinese leadership will assume office with the minimum of disturbance.” When asked the President’s position on the possible power struggle within the Chinese government, a White House aide stated that “the President is watching with great interest.”
United Fuels Corp. discovers oil, stock soars
July 21, 1997
Web posted at: 2:00 P.M. EST (1900 GMT)
From New York financial correspondent Bill Mossette
NEW YORK (TCNfn) — A spokesman for United Fuels Corporation stated today that the company had recently located a large and, until now, undiscovered oil deposit six miles from Mischief Reef, one of the Spratly Islands chain located in the South China Sea.
The deposit is thought to be the largest of its type yet discovered, with a conservative estimated yield of close to one trillion barrels. This information caused a massive surge in United Fuels stock, which peaked today at eighty-nine dollars a share, up nearly 200 percent. Experts predict that the stock will continue to skyrocket if the find is fully substantiated.