Wilson examined the red and purple lines on the geographic display, with new lines appearing every ten seconds. The purple torpedo bearings were marching steadily aft, which eased his concern until he evaluated the red lines. The bearings to the torpedo remained constant.
The Russian captain was well trained, firing a torpedo salvo with a lead torpedo fired slightly ahead of Michigan and a lag torpedo behind. When Wilson increased speed, he’d unwittingly put Michigan on an intercept course with the first torpedo. He needed to maneuver, but if he turned away from the first torpedo, he’d turn into the path of the second. If he turned the other way, he’d head toward the Russian submarine.
There were no good options.
Wilson decided to turn toward his adversary. The Russian captain would soon be occupied, forced to evade Michigan’s incoming torpedo.
“Helm, right full rudder, steady course three-one-zero. Launch countermeasures.”
Michigan turned northwest as Lieutenant Cody launched a second set of torpedo countermeasures. Wilson watched the bearings to both torpedoes intently, and both started drawing aft.
So far, so good.
“Possible target maneuver, Hydroacoustic one-three, due to increase in frequency.”
Captain Second Rank Tratnyek listened to the fire control watchstander’s report. The American submarine had turned, attempting to evade the incoming torpedoes.
First Officer Domashev called out, “Confirm target maneuver, Hydroacoustic one-three.”
Tratnyek approached his First Officer, standing behind the two fire control consoles. Both solutions were converging to a northwest track for their target.
“Insert steer, both torpedoes. Eighty degrees right.”
The Weapons Officer sent the order to the two torpedoes over their guidance wires. Seconds later, both torpedoes acknowledged the order and turned sharply right.
“Conn, Sonar. Upshift in frequency, both torpedoes. Torpedoes have turned toward.”
Wilson acknowledged the Sonar Supervisor’s report, then examined the geographic plot on the nearest combat control console. The Russian captain had steered both torpedoes back onto a corrected-intercept path toward Michigan. The bearings to one torpedo were drawing forward, while the other torpedo drew aft. They had Michigan bracketed. Time to maneuver again.
With the Russian submarine to the north, Wilson decided turn away. “Helm, left full rudder, steady course two-zero-zero. Launch countermeasures.”
The Helm complied and Michigan turned toward the south again as Lieutenant Cody launched a third set of torpedo countermeasures.
As Michigan steadied on its new course, the Weapons Officer called out, “Tube One has enabled,” informing Wilson that the torpedo launched from tube One had gone active. Hopefully, their solution was accurate enough for a kill. They’d likely lose the wire soon, as high-speed maneuvers put stress on the thin copper guidance wire.
In concert with Wilson’s thoughts, the Weapons Officer announced, “Loss of wire, tube One.”
They could no longer steer their weapon, not that it mattered. They’d lost the Russian submarine on sonar. The initial target solution would have to do.
Wilson returned his attention to the two pursuing Russian torpedoes, which were proving difficult to shake. He hoped there was enough time to maneuver out of the way before either torpedo closed to within detection range.
Captain Tratnyek monitored the situation with growing confidence. His crew had kept track of the evading American submarine, guiding their torpedoes toward their prey with a steer, and it wouldn’t be long before both torpedoes reached detection range. Tratnyek had kept his submarine at a steady speed and course, so they didn’t break the guidance wires to their torpedoes.
Hydroacoustic reported, “Possible target maneuver, Hydroacoustic one-three, due to downshift in frequency.”
The American submarine was turning again, trying one last maneuver to evade the incoming torpedoes. Tratnyek focused on the geographic display and was assessing whether another steer was required when his Weapons Officer made the announcement he’d been waiting for.
“Detect! Second fired unit!”
Tratnyek moved behind the Weapon Launch Console, observing as the second torpedo altered course to the left. The torpedo would send a few more pings before confirming the object was a submarine and not a decoy, and Tratnyek looked forward to watching it close the remaining distance.
A report from Hydroacoustic blared across the Command Post speakers. “Torpedo in the water, bearing one-seven-zero!”
Tratnyek spun toward the sonar display as a bright white trace appeared.
“Steersman, ahead flank!” he ordered. “Right full rudder, steady two-eight-zero. Launch countermeasures!”
Their adversary had counterfired while evading, and its torpedo had just gone active. Tratnyek hoped there was sufficient time to evade, but the next report destroyed his hopes.
“Torpedo is increasing speed. Torpedo is homing!”
Tratnyek’s stomach knotted. The American crew had placed their torpedo expertly, providing insufficient time to evade. The Watch Officer was just now launching a decoy. He’d have to wait another minute to launch a jammer, placing a noise field between their submarine and the torpedo, leaving the decoy as bait.
But the incoming torpedo was too close. It would hold both the decoy and Velikiy Novgorod simultaneously, and would easily discern between the six-inch-diameter decoy and the three-thousand-ton submarine.
Tratnyek watched the American torpedo speed past their decoy, altering its course again as it closed on Velikiy Novgorod.
“Steersman. Hard left rudder!”
Tratnyek tried one last maneuver, putting a knuckle in the water to distract the torpedo, letting his submarine slip away. But the torpedo turned sharply left to a new intercept course.
They had only a few seconds left.
Michigan’s torpedo had detected the Russian submarine and was now homing to detonation. However, Wilson was focused on his crew’s survival. The second Russian torpedo had detected Michigan and they might soon share the same fate as their adversary. He glanced at the geographic display and listened for updates from Sonar.
“Torpedo is increasing speed and range-gating! Estimated range, two thousand yards.”
The torpedo had detected Michigan, then adjusted the interval of its sonar pings to more accurately determine the target’s range. It was homing.
“Helm, hard left rudder, steady course zero-nine-zero. Launch countermeasures.”
Lieutenant Cody launched another decoy and jammer while Michigan turned east. Wilson had pointed Michigan toward shallower water for two reasons. The first was that torpedoes had a more difficult time looking upslope than downslope, as the shallowing water made things more difficult for the torpedo’s sonar algorithms. In addition to sonar returns from the target, the torpedo would also receive reflections bouncing off the sea floor and surface, plus returns from rock formations on the bottom, clouding the sonar picture.
The second reason was a pessimistic one. Headed back toward shore, the water would get shallower rather than deeper. If Michigan went to the bottom, it was imperative that the intact compartments not implode from the sea pressure. The surviving crew members could then escape to the surface.