“Some kind of cutting-edge electronics and radar and target ID and tracking system?” Ed DeWitt asked.
“Not a chance,” Stroh said. “Our people have ruled out any late-tech stuff. They say the things have to be some sort of torpedo to get from down there up here.”
“So, what kind of a torpedo?”
“Who the hell knows?” Stroh said. “Oh, the Iraqi know, but they don’t return any of my phone calls.”
“Ed, remember those torpedo classes we had to take at the academy? They had some on World War II torpedoes. Not nearly as sophisticated as what we have today. But wasn’t there something about one the Germans developed late in the war but didn’t get to use?”
Ed scowled for a minute. “Yes, some kind of a mine that activated, fired a torpedo that then charged into the ship. Yes, the devices were set on the sea floor. Designed for the North Sea and shelves around British ports. They never got to use them. Two to four hundred feet depth. It fits, but where would Iraq get German torpedoes from World War II?”
Stroh kept nodding. “Yes, yes, yes. It fits. Why don’t we get the Ardent on the phone and talk to them.”
“Stroh, these are the torpedo specialists. They must know all about those German mines and how they work.”
“Know, but maybe they forgot. I’m calling. Don’t go away.”
They got through on the radiophone, and a few minutes later, Murdock was talking with Commander Johnson on the mine sweeper.
“Commander, I know you’ve thought of this, but what you have there sounds a lot like the German torpedo mines they developed near the end of World War II.”
There was a moment of silence. “Keeeeereist. You’re right. The same type of setup. They had them programmed in some hand-wired way with electronics and a kind of target-seeking device we didn’t understand. That fits the parameters. But where the hell would Saddam get German torpedo mines from WW Deuce?”
“That and the fact that they would be nearly fifty-five years old,” Murdock said. “Would they even work?”
Commander Johnson’s hand shook so much he almost dropped the phone. “Now, why didn’t we come up with something like this?”
“You’re too advanced in your field,” Murdock said, laughing. “Hey, I’m just a SEAL hoping I don’t have to dive to three hundred and fifty feet and deactivate nine mines.”
“So how… how did you come up with this?”
“We were just kicking around the problem. All that mine would need is a magnetometer. They’ve been around for a hundred and fifty years. So the Germans would have them. Then the electrical circuits, and a primitive circuit board, some propellant, and you’ve got it.”
“But how would the torpedo track the ship once it gets a big dose of magnetic signature that its system required?”
“Not the slightest, Commander. Unless maybe it has some way to home in on the magnetic source. Some of your people might know. But it isn’t important. All you need to do is ram a high frequency of magnetic force into the strait toward those mines, and they should fire and come to the surface.”
“Sure, and blow up any boat they can find.”
“True. You have something that could send a magnetic signal into the water?”
“Well, we usually don’t do that, but I guess we could. Yeah, possible.”
“Only don’t do it from a ship. Drop a lead into the water from a chopper and send it that way. The little brain inside that mine gets the magnetic signal, it’s large enough to be the right magnetic signature for the firing device to work, and it blasts off and looks for the source of the signal. The thing must have a contact fuse so it couldn’t be set off by a foot-square box.”
Commander Johnson’s voice rose with his excitement. “Yes, yes, it could work. We have a few choppers in the area to launch a missile at the torpedo once it surfaces and starts hunting.”
“Good idea, Commander. I just hope I haven’t upset your whole schedule.”
“Hey, with this we will have a schedule.” The officer paused. “If this works, I want you to be on board when we activate it. This is a rush project. We’ve got over seventy-five tankers lined up on both sides of the strait. Washington says do it today. You’re on the Enterprise?”
“Right, Commander.”
“Who’s your boss?”
“Gent named Stroh. He’s right here.”
“Let me talk to him.”
Two hours later, Murdock and Ed DeWitt stepped off a chopper to the deck of a frigate that roamed an area a mile off the line of mines the minesweepers had located. The frigate’s choppers were refueled and had full loads of missiles ready to go.
Murdock was called to the phone. It was Commander Johnson.
“Sorry, Commander, as close as I can get you. We don’t have landing pads on these mine ships. We’ve been busy. We have our target picked out. In an hour, one of the choppers from your frigate will come over for a wild pickup on a hook and take up a device we’re sure will activate the mines. I’ve talked to the brass and the chopper pilot. He’ll have a fifty-foot lead, drop the device into the water directly over the mine, and broadcast those intense magnetic signals down to the mine. If it doesn’t work, it’s all your fault.” Commander Johnson gave a short, nervous laugh. “Just kidding. You can imagine the intensity of the tension around here.”
“One suggestion, Commander. The mines must have a good pickup range. Why not aim your signals directly between two of them. That way you might get two to take the bait at the same time.”
The line was silent for a moment. “Gawddamned if you ain’t right, Commander. We’ll give it a try. We just had the pickup of the device and we’ll position the chopper.
“We’re about ready to get this moving. We’re about a quarter of a mile off the line of mines, but I don’t think one could sniff us out with a bird dog. The chopper is in position, and we have two other choppers from the frigates working their torpedo-finding gear. Here we go.”
Murdock could see the choppers in the distance. The frigate captain had been ordered to stay at least a mile away.
Murdock put the radio signal on a speaker, and half the ship’s crew listened.
“Okay, we have contact with the water; the device is sending a huge magnetic signal down to that magnetometer that must be in the shell of the mine somewhere. We’ll keep sending for three minutes.”
The energy level of the magnetic signal decayed the deeper it went, but by the time it reached the mine, it was still strong enough to pulse the acoustic diaphragm on top of the mine. The sensitive diaphragm made a small compression in the heavy oil reservoir just beneath it, which moved a piston through a magnetic coil and generated an electrical current in direct proportion to the strength of the sound.
Electrical circuits in the mine studied the frequencies of the energy, judged the fundamental frequencies of the complex waveform to the discrimination standards hardwired into it. The mechanical device determined there was a match. It was a large ship. The device moved on to the next step by determining the strength of the signal to see if the target was close enough. It was.
A relay tripped as all parameters were met for a firing. Power surged into the mine’s firing circuit, first arming the torpedo-shaped charge, then activating a small electric motor, which provided the propulsion. The torpedo shot away from the metal casing that had housed the detection devices for so long, determined the direction of the massive electromagnetic signal, and automatically homed in on it.