The Commander, called “Captain” since he was the senior officer aboard, decided to enjoy the afternoon just seeing what the ship would do. The Engineer had been running drills and tomorrow they would have a gunshoot. Things were very peaceful when the Engineer said he was ready to do a full power run. The Captain gave permission and within a minute, the enunciators were shifted to flank speed with 9-9-9 indicated for revolutions.
That was when things started to happen. They started out at 15 knots. Suddenly the Captain heard the whine of forced draft blowers as they sped up to their maximum revolutions. Dark smoke poured from the stacks only to disappear to a soft haze almost immediately as the men below adjusted the fuel/air mixture to get the optimum heat and steam out of the old boilers. The stern gave a shudder as the twin screws began to thrash their way faster and faster, turning the blue-white wake into a wild, bright white froth. The back of the ship began to dip lower into the water and people standing could sense the ship’s speed increase. The bow began to rise, and the spray from the bow wave shot farther out and higher into the air. The waves and chop started passing the ship more rapidly now and on occasion when going over a swell, the ship seemed to leap forward, throwing water into the air as she cut through.
The Captain looked at his Officer of the Deck. “What’s the speed?” he asked.
“We just passed thirty knots, Captain,” the young lieutenant said nervously.
Not bad, the Captain thought, especially for such an old ship.
Down in “Main Control” the Chief Engineer watched the instruments and especially the torque gages on the shafts. The one thing he did not want to do was torque off a shaft. The engine and firerooms were hotter than three shades of hell, and the men clustered under blowers that belched cold air from the air conditioning system straight down on them at a furious pace. Despite it all, sweat poured off the men. But this was what real engineers understood. The heat, noise, smell, and vibrations were a part of their very being. The Chief Engineer felt at home. Everything was well within tolerances and he was determined to show these rookies what a real tin can could do. He reached up and grabbed the microphone for the sound powered phones that were also amplified to serve as an announcing system down in the holes. “How we doing aft?”
“Lookin’ good here. Vacuum at 28 inches and steady, all pressures good,” came the reply.
“Okay, let’s crack her open and see what she’s got. Watch the torque gauges and your water levels,” he ordered. After a quick acknowledgement, he turned to the throttleman. “Open it one full turn,” he yelled in his ear.
The throttleman was a second class petty officer in his mid-thirties. He had volunteered to return to duty to get back in just such an engine room. He followed his instructions and opened the throttle one full revolution and watched the steam pressure rise in the intake of the high pressure turbine, followed by the low pressure turbine. He also kept an eye on the vacuum as the steam was totally spent in the turbines and entered the main condenser, where the steam flashed back into a liquid called condensate and began the continuous process of becoming feed water and boiled into steam again in a never ending loop. They watched as the revolutions on the shafts passed 300. The whole ship was shaking now, especially the stern as the screws pulled the ship ever faster. It was getting difficult to stand back aft and it seemed as if the water was actually above the deck edge.
Now it was one hour after the ship began its run. The pit log showed the ship turning 36 knots. The wind was howling across the length of the ship as it sliced its way. Sailors had stopped going on the main deck and only stood on the O-1 level or higher. Everyone was seemingly topside to witness the spectacle. Only twenty minutes before, the lookouts had spotted another ship. Looking through the “big eyes,” a set of huge binoculars, they could see one of the newer cruisers on her way back from the Med. As the ship came closer, light signals were exchanged and the niceties to senior officers observed, but the Rooks never slowed. She passed USS Port Royal as if she was standing still. After moving five minutes beyond, the captain ordered a right five degree rudder to change course. The ship heeled over while the screws continued to bite into the sea, turning the ship rapidly and coming back up on the Port Royal’s stern. The CO of the Port Royal saw the turn and ordered his engineers to open up the stops on his ship as well, and the mighty LM2500 gas turbines spun rapidly up to full speed. But it was no use. The Rooks passed the big cruiser with a nearly 10 knot advantage and kept going.
Later that evening the ship had returned to her cruising speed to conserve what fuel she had, but the crew was abuzz with the excitement of the day. Many had not really cared about being put on such an old ship. After what just happened, however, they were getting to like the old girl. After dinner the men drifted topside and watched the sunset much like their fathers and grandfathers had on ships like these. Tomorrow, they would shoot the four 5-inch guns. If they could shoot as good as they could run this would be a kick-ass ship.
Chapter 8
The interrogation had taken two days. Every detail from the attack at the DMZ to the final sprint over the wooden temporary bridge was taken down and analyzed in infinite detail. Where had the first rounds come from, what kind of rounds, how many men, what kinds of weapons had they been carrying, how many had been in the motorpool, how mutilated Charlie’s body had been — all of it was discussed again and again. At the same time, Hufham was able to find out a few things on his own. The North had come through in five different places in the Zone, none of which were actually above ground. They had quickly moved through the night taking positions, towns, and even cities with relative ease for the first 24 hours. Then things began to bog down even though there was little in the way of resistance. Because of the EMP, the South Korean forces and Americans had difficulty moving rapidly to respond. Tanks and trucks were running on borrowed time. The EMP had disabled the computers actually helping to run the engines. The few that had started were jury rigged by smart mechanics to get them on the road. In some cases, the jury rig lasted about 10 miles. Some trucks just kept on running. Tanks were limited to old M-60s still in theater. Their diesels were all mechanical, and not as fast as an M-1. For the most part, everything moved as fast as someone could walk.
It seemed the biggest hold up to the DPR army’s advance was the DPR itself. The North Koreans were not well equipped to keep an army moving. Trucks were pouring supplies across the DMZ, but in no order or priority. Some units had more bullets than they could use, while others had practically none. The worst part had been food. Almost none had any priority and some was stockpiled in the rear while ammo moved forward. The DPR army had to stop to forage for food and fuel. Many times trucks arrived at the front with their supplies and were stuck there because they didn’t have fuel for a return trip. The supply lines began to dry up, especially since the South Koreans began to use a tactic the Russians had used on several occasions — scorched earth.
As the North came down, the South burned their fields, fuel, food, anything that might remotely be useful to the North. In retaliation, the North murdered hundreds. Anyone suspected of striking a match much less fighting for the South was shot as a warning to others. Refugees clogged the roads, making their own delaying action by making it harder for the DPR army to move. All of this helped buy time for the American and ROK army to get organized and set up defenses.
The line was finally drawn 130 miles south of the DMZ. The line held there for three days before the North mustered enough forces to push them back a couple of kilometers. The line held again at the Han-gang River near Tanyang. The river was a good natural barrier, but every day more troops and machines were seen on the other side. The Americans wanted to use artillery day and night, but there were not enough shells in theater to last more than a few days. The Air Force wasn’t even in the air.