A Westinghouse, Mk-50 lightweight torpedo dropped clear of the Sea Hawk, its 750lb bulk splashing below the surface.
For the Irkutsk their dash had been the last option open to them, they were down to 40 % battery power. The Mk-50 dived below the layer where its passive sensors detected the vessel’s propeller noise and going active it accelerated to 46 knots, easily overhauling the Russian diesel boat.
High above HMS Prince of Wales, her dedicated AEW Sea King detected the Chinese A-50s radar pulse and knew that they had been found. The Searchwater radar did not have the power of the giants radome but that did not matter in this case.
Calling up HMS Cuchullainn and the frigate USS Dry Springs far below, she informed them of the contact.
Both had two helicopters apiece, one each on ‘loan’ from Prince of Wales, that hot refuelled from the ships when need be without touching down, the helicopters now took station at the bows and stern of the ships, increasing their radar profiles. Behind each ship were a series of radar reflectors, towed along behind.
Aboard the A-50 the operators saw large ships with two smaller targets behind, they took the bait, assuming that this was the Royal Navy carrier, the American AEGIS Ticonderoga class cruiser and two escorts. They called up the Mao and Kuznetsov, giving course and speed. The real group was 25 miles further distant and the command staff had to estimate how long it would take the enemy air raids to arrive at the decoys.
Timing was critical.
John F Kennedy’s air wing would provide a squadron of precious F-14s to the smaller combat groups defence; if they approached too soon they would lose the element of surprise and run low on gas.
No plan ever survives first contact and this was no exception, as an A-50 also detected John F Kennedy’s AEW Hawkeye’s radar energy. The Blackjacks, Backfires and Su-27 escorts were already in the air and awaiting a target location.
Aboard USS John F Kennedy, CV-63, the last aircraft of air wing five was being launched.
Lt Nikki Pelham and her squadron were about to head north to assist the Sea Harriers of Prince of Wales when the E-2 Hawkeye picked up the first flight of the Backfires Su-27 escorts, forging in at 380 miles out, Pelham’s Squadron was nearest to the intruders.
“Oh shit, there goes a perfectly good plan.” The TAO, tactical action officer, had his hands on his hips as the Hawkeye’s downlink conveyed the information to the John F Kennedy‘s CIC, where the combat systems suite’s SPS-48E three-dimensional fire control, TAS missile targeting and SPS-49 long-range air search radar systems gave him a real-time picture.
“Inform Prince of Wales we are under air attack… tell them they are on their own.” I hate being totally defensive, was the thought running through his mind.
“Start feeding tactical data to Bobby Quinn’s F-14s, they are weapons free to engage.” He tried to put himself in the attackers shoes, visualise what the game play would be, but it was too early, too many variables.
“They won’t be alone, whoever they are… tell the Vipers’ they are to head north as back-stop to deal with any leakers.” Placing one of their F/A-18D squadrons in a second line, between the threat and the carrier group. It left him two squadrons; one of F-14s overhead, as a reserve and the second squadron of F/A-18Ds ranging across their flanks.
The carrier group was arrayed with her frigates as outlying picket ships and the destroyers as a second line of defence. The core of the formation held the John F Kennedy, the cruisers USS Vincennes and USS Chancellorville in addition to the fleet support ships. At present, all radars were on standby as they received the E-2s information via high frequency data-link, seeing what it saw. The ships had been at action stations since before dawn when the diesel boat shadowing them had been detected. It was believed that the Prince of Wales, which was between themselves and the threat, would be discovered and attacked first, before both groups could unite, but that wasn’t how it happened.
Eager to avenge the Irkutsk, the captain of the missile submarine, Admiral Dumlev, was already at launch depth and aware of the John F Kennedys location from her own sonar department. She had not transmitted it due to the risk of detection and now she was preparing to fire. The plan called for her to launch on receipt of a code word from an A-50 that was providing airborne control for the mission, when the Backfires had launched. The Dumlev’s captain was not prepared to wait the extra minutes and gave the order to launch. He wanted first blood, in memory of the Irkutsk.
Charlie Whiskey 01 was in the process of hot footing back to the carrier group when the first Chelomey SS-N-19, Granit broke the surface a half mile ahead. Of the twenty-four anti-ship missiles aboard the Admiral Dumlev, the first twenty were armed with 750 kg, high explosive warheads; the last four had 500 kT nuclear warheads. The Sea Hawk helicopter had only one Mk 50 torpedo left. Calling on the other pair of Sea Hawks, Charlie Whiskey 01 dropped on the submerged SSGN.
Seven SS-N-19s had broken the surface and begun their 1.5 mach journeys when the Mk 50 torpedo slammed into the Oscar II.
John F Kennedy received the heads up and all the groups’ air defences went active. A minute later CIC had them.
“Vampires, vampires… range 279 miles, bearing 006’, speed Mach plus .5… scope shows seven inbounds on that bearing!”
The missiles had an initial range and bearing to fly before their own inertial guidance took over. Dumlev had planned on swamping the US air defences with the conventional weapons to give the nuclear tipped warheads a better chance of success. The groups second line of aircraft locked up the inbounds with AIM-120 AMRAAMs and launched. The missiles could intercept cruise missiles flying at Mach 4 and all seven relatively slow Granit missiles fell to the F/A-18Ds AMRAAMs.
Charlie Whiskey 01s Mk 50 torpedoes 100lb warhead lacked the punch of its grown-up relatives. The torpedo strike terminated the launch of the remaining seventeen weapons, despite the captain and his crew’s best efforts; the fire control system was down. They still had propulsion and whilst two compartments were flooded and the port ballast tank ruptured, the vessel could still manoeuvre although it could not go deep. Under the circumstances, the Oscar II could well have escaped and made port for repairs but for the return of the other two UH-60B Sea Hawks that had conducted the search for Irkutsk. A second Mk-50 found its engine compartment, flooded it and deprived the submarine of the power to run or surface. With the enemy air raid closing in the UH-60Bs beat feet, leaving the Admiral Dumlev to slowly sink toward the bottom. At 853 feet the weakened hull imploded, leaving only an oil slick and flotsam to mark her grave.
The F-14s of Nikki’s squadron bore in toward the Su-27s who were flying interference for the bombers. Under E-2 control they launched an AIM-54 Phoenix apiece at the fighters and their second at the Backfires that had appeared beyond them. With their own AWG-9 radars freed up, the Tomcats closed to knife fight range with the Sukhois, on the way they took advantage of their Phoenix missiles arrival which had broken up the PLAAF formation, each aircraft weaved to evade the AIM-54s. At 20 miles range the F-14s pickled off their AIM-120 AMRAAM missiles. Seven AIM-54s had found a target as had fourteen of the twenty AMRAAMs launched.