SSN

    It took several moments for Cheyenne to slow down enough to start listening once more. Mack slowly turned to the northeast to clear his baffles.

    "Sonar, conn, report all contacts," Mack said, once they had slowed enough. He wanted to know who was out there and exactly where they were.

    "Conn, sonar, report all contacts, aye, sir," the sonar supervisor acknowledged.

    Less than five minutes had passed since the first Chinese Mk 46 had been fired at them, but to the officers and crew on board Cheyenne it seemed like only five seconds. It was ironic, Mack thought. The minutes it took for their own torpedoes to acquire and complete their runs seemed to stretch into hours, but when hostile torpedoes were coming toward Cheyenne, time passed much faster.

    "Conn, sonar, we've got three contacts, Captain," said the sonar supervisor. "One Kilo class submarine bearing 278, making turns for fifteen knots. One Romeo class submarine bearing 020, making turns for about six and a half knots. The third contact is a Chinese Luda class destroyer, which is probably where that helo came from, bearing 350. The destroyer is also heading in our direction. The TB-23 doesn't hold the helicopter above us, which may be because we're too deep, but my guess is that it's rearming on board the destroyer." Mack would be sure to mention his battle stations sonar supervisor in his patrol report.

    The BSY-1 operators confirmed the sonar supervisor's expert calls. The Romeo was previous Master 25 and the Luda was previously Master 26. However, the Kilo's bearing was too far to the left for it to be the previous Master 28, which Cheyenne shot at earlier. Master 28 was added to the kill list and the new Kilo was designated Master 29.

    "We'll take out the Kilo, Master 29, first," Mack said. It was the closest target, and potentially the quietest, and Mack wanted it out of the picture. He gave the orders to prepare tube two in all respects, including opening the outer door. As soon as his orders were acknowledged and confirmed, he gave the command to match sonar bearings and shoot tube two, Master 29.

    Seconds later, the combat systems officer reported, "Tube two fired electrically, sir."

    "Conn, sonar, unit from tube two running hot, straight, and normal."

    The Kilo knew the moment the torpedo entered the water. It tried to turn and to run in the opposite direction, but the Chinese submarine had little chance. The Kilo had been closing on Cheyenne at top speed, and with a torpedo heading its way, it didn't have much room to maneuver.

    The Kilo zigged and zagged, tossing its crew about as the Chinese captain tried to confuse the torpedo at the same time that he tried to reverse his heading. The Chinese submarine released a noisemaker decoy to buy time, but Mack, listening to the reports from sonar, didn't think it would work this time. He was right.

    "Conn, sonar, the Mk 48 passed right by their noise-maker. It's still on course, bearing 275."

    Several minutes later sonar reported hearing the explosion. The 650-pound explosive warhead literally peeled open the Kilo's back end, beginning with its screw. The Chinese Kilo roamed the sea no more.

    "Reload tube two with a Harpoon," Mack ordered. There was no time to relish the victory. He wanted the destroyer, Master 26, next. With luck, the helo would still be on board. "Diving officer, make your depth one hundred feet." Mack needed to get closer to the surface so that they could launch the missile.

    "Reload tube two with a Harpoon," acknowledged the fire-control coordinator.

    "Make my depth one hundred feet, aye, sir," the helmsman finished the round of repeat backs, acknowledging the diving officer's order.

    The Luda II class destroyer was a fairly large target, so Mack was going to fire two weapons at it. He would have preferred to make them both Harpoons, but Cheyenne had already fired three of her four antishipping missiles in previous actions. He would have to attack the Luda with only one Harpoon and one Mk 48. The torpedo had a bigger warhead, but it also had a much shorter range.

    "What's the current range to the destroyer?" "Range to Master 26 is 30,500 yards, bearing 354," the fire-control coordinator answered. "And what's the range on the Romeo?" "BSY-1 computes 28,000 yards, sir. Master 25 is not moving. I think they figure that if they move, we'll hear them and kill them."

    Mack ran through the situation in his mind and quickly made his decision. "Make tubes one and two ready in all respects, including opening the outer doors," he said. "Firing point procedures, tube two, Master 26; tube one, Master 25."

    He waited for those orders to be acknowledged and executed and then said, "Match sonar bearings and shoot tube two, Master 26 and tube one, Master 25."

    Torpedo tube two, containing Cheyenne's last remaining UGM-84 Harpoon, fired first. Tube one was fired as soon as the ejection pump ram had returned to battery.