Chapter 252
February 15, 2021, 05:30
At the northwestern tip of Nakano Island, Japan, 42km north, latitude 30° 1′ east longitude 129°26′, sea depth (Yang Se-bong (SSP-85))
The Yang Se-bong (SSP-85), which was pursuing the 7th Carrier Strike Group at a depth of 120, folded up secretly and quietly to a distance of 20 km in silent mode. It went closer and closer to the 7th Carrier Strike Group, which was distracted by the intercepting ballistic missiles.
“Where is the US nuclear submarine located?” The most worrisome thing in Captain Kim Jin-jun’s mind was the nuclear submarine, the New Hampshire (SSN-778). So, Captain Kim Jin-jun asked the tactical control officer next to him about the location of the nuclear submarine through silent communication.
-Azimuth 0-3-5, distance 32000, depth 80, currently submerged in the direction of azimuth angle 1-1-5, in the speed of 10 knots.
“Arms operator!”
-Yes, Captain!
“There is no problem with the Black Shark torpedoes in the launchers, correct?”
-Yes, Captain.
“Aim torpedoes one and two to the nearest ship, Shiloh! Aim torpedoes three and four to Lassen! Aim torpedoes five to ten to Ronald Reagan. Aim torpedoes eleven to twelve to Blue Ridge,” Captain Kim Jin-jun continued the order concisely.
“Aim the torpedoes one and two to Shiloh. Aim the torpedoes three and four to Lassen! Aim the torpedoes from five to ten to Ronald Reagan. Aim the torpedoes eleven to twelve to Blue Ridge,” the arms operator repeated the order by silent communication and controlled the console.
Soon, he heard the report that everything was prepared.
-Completely inserting all torpedoes from 1 to 12.
“Fire torpedoes 1, 2, 3, 4 at the same time, and then fire 11, 12, then fire from 5 to 10 one by one.”
-Yes, Captain.
When everything was ready, Lieutenant Colonel Kim Jin-jun swallowed as if he was nervous and checked his watch.
“It’s five thirty-four now,” he thought.
Lieutenant Colonel Kim Jin-jun stared at his watch, tapping his finger. When the second hand pointed to where he was waiting, he gave an order immediately. “Without a separate order, open the muzzle door according to the existing plan from No. 1 to No. 12, and launch the Black Shark torpedoes immediately.”
-Open muzzle doors one to twelve, launch the Black Shark torpedoes.
The armed officer, Captain Lee Hyeong-oh, operated the console while repeating the order.
Twelve torpedo launchers opened at a depth of 120, 19 km away from the 7th Carrier Strike Group’s 7th Fleet. From the first launcher, the torpedo launched out at an instantaneous speed due to the powerful force of the plasma magnetic field. The multiple supercavitating Black Shark torpedo made supercavitation bubbles and sailed almost at subsonic speed. And in succession, the second, third, and fourth torpedoes also popped out and followed it.
A total of 12 black shark torpedoes were all fired in less than 10 seconds. They began to sail toward their targets at an amazing speed of 520 knots in less than 5 seconds after leaving the Yang Se-bong (SSP-85).
-All 12 black shark torpedoes fired normally.
“From now on, the silent submersion is over! Reload the Black Shark torpedoes for the second fire!”
-Dismiss the silent submersion! Reload the Black Shark torpedoes in all launchers!
The interior of the Yang Se-bong (SSP-85) which was dim like a butcher shop with LED lights soon brightly lit. The crew members, who were limited in their actions by silent submersion, moved more freely and performed their respective duties.
“It’s two minutes left from reloading the Black Shark torpedoes,” an action officer of reloading torpedoes reported the progress.
Meanwhile, sonar operators also reported in real-time about the twelve launched Black Shark torpedoes.
“Torpedoes one and two, 71 seconds left to the first target, Shiloh. Torpedoes three and four, 73 seconds left to the second target, Lassen. Torpedoes eleven and twelve, 75 seconds to the third target Blue Ridge. Torpedoes five to ten, 78 seconds to the last target, Ronald Reagan.”
Twelve multiple supercavitating Black Shark torpedoes flew at a tremendous speed comparable to a subsonic missile and split left and right toward their targets.
***
February 15, 2021, 05:40
192km offshore in the southwestern part of Kyushu, Japan (the 7th Carrier Strike Group)
Using all their available power, the 7th Carrier Strike Group was busily defending Japan from Russian warheads and Corean tactical ballistic missiles. At that time, they sensed multiple supercavitating Black Shark torpedoes from all around their ships. The reports rang in hysterical yells in the Blue Ridge (LCC-19), the flagship of the 7th Carrier Strike Group.
As the reports poured in, Lieutenant General Michael Sam, the captain of the 7th Fleet, frowned and looked around at the staff.
At present, the most critical was the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan (CVN-76). It was the target of a total of six torpedoes. To protect the ship, the Cowpens (CG-63) and McCampbell (DDG-85), which were excluded from the primary attack, actively started antisubmarine protective operations.
“The Cowpens and McCampbell have started the defense mode of Reagan.”
Lieutenant General Michael Sam had a lot in his mind while he was listening to the report of Officer Harley. Only a few countries had submarine capabilities that were capable of carrying out torpedoes attack simultaneously on aircraft carriers and surface ships by approaching this close without being noticed. Corea always showed remarkable abilities during RIMPAC training exercises among Japan, Russia, and other western allies.
“Is anything confirmed about enemy submarines?”
“The exact location has not been confirmed yet.”
“Captain, I think it is highly likely a Corean submarine since it approached and launched torpedoes this quietly.”
When Colonel Kevin Dylan, captain of the Blue Ridge (LCC-19), spoke, Lieutenant General Michael Sam knitted his eyebrows and responded positively, “You have similar thoughts to me. First of all, let’s focus on defense as we are under torpedo attacks.”
Even in the midst of a few words of conversation, the unidentified torpedoes quickly moved. So, the four targeted ships fired Decoy and Nixie to start a soft kill evasion steering. The rest of the surface ships launched Mark 55 interceptor torpedoes, which were developed exclusively for hard kills and were deployed on all surface ships from 2018. Mark 55 exited the launchers and submerged underwater in turns.
The U.S. Navy, which had the world’s No. 1 maritime power, had been sunk helplessly by a submarine’s torpedo attack during each RIMPAC maritime training. It had been concluded that it was more vulnerable to torpedo attacks than anti-aircraft defense, so it tried to establish a response system against torpedo attacks in earnest. Therefore, for the past five years, Lockheed Martin had been developing a torpedo. It was the Mark 55 interceptor torpedo.
Mark 55 interceptor torpedo was a medium to large size torpedo that had the same concept as a cluster bomb dropped from the air. Mark 55 used a radio-guided method to sail toward enemy torpedoes. 80 underwater bombs were mounted on the torpedo body and they were equipped with acoustic sensors to sense enemy torpedoes. Mark 55 could spray 40 bombs twice in a 360-degree direction. They would scatter like a two-layer net and would gradually explode to create huge bubble storms in the area to intercept the torpedoes or damage the sensors attached to the torpedoes. The one-ply underwater bomb net could spread evenly over a 30m radius.
In fact, Mark 55 interceptor torpedo showed the best defense against a supercavitating torpedo. The supercavitating torpedo had a high speed, so its ability to turn was poor. Using this weakness, Mark 55 could catch the supercavitating torpedo by spraying underwater bombs like a net.
Twenty-four medium and large Mark 55 interceptor torpedoes, reaching 8m, were launched. Soon, they launched underwater bombs to where the Black Shark supercavitating torpedoes would pass.
The net was spread in front of the two Black Shark torpedoes which were sailing toward Shiloh (CG-67). When Mark 55 was about to launch the bombs for the second time, two Black Shark torpedoes’ body covers began to separate. And then, each of the eight small round torpedoes bounced off, rotating clockwise.
The two Black Shark torpedo bodies, which were only shells after shooting the small torpedoes, landed in the secondary bomb net. Then, the underwater bomb’s sensor activated and exploded in a chain. When 80 underwater bombs exploded in a short time of less than 2 seconds, a huge bubble storm shook the surrounding area.
Meanwhile, 9 out of the 16 small-sized torpedoes that were ejected from the Black Sharks escaped from the bubble storm and sailed toward the Shiloh (CG-67). The Shiloh (CG-67) tried to defend for the last time by ejecting the second Nixie and Decoy, but only one small-sized torpedo was deceived by Nixie. The remaining eight small-sized torpedoes went to the right side of the Shiloh (CG-67).
The last surface combatants were the same. If the Black Shark torpedoes were not multi-firing type torpedoes, they would have been all exploded by the Mark 55 interceptor torpedoes. However, they ejected eight small-sized torpedoes by rotating clockwise and could escape from the submersible nets of the Mark 55.
Boom! Boom! Bam! Boom! Boom!
Eight explosions rang where the 7th Carrier Strike Group was. The warhead of a small torpedo was only 80 kg. The explosive expandability was weak, but the cohesive destructive power was very strong, so even the thickest armor could be easily pierced. This was enough to easily blow away the side armor of the Shiloh (CG-67).
A strange sound resonated throughout the Shiloh (CG-67) along with the explosion. It was the sound of the ship sinking as eight large holes were made on the right side of the ship.
There was no internal explosion, but the ship inclined at an angle close to 40 degrees as the eight holes were inflicted at the same time. Crew members escaped from the hull and deck and plunged into the sea.
This scene was clearly seen on the bridge of the Blue Ridge (LCC-19), the flagship of the 7th Fleet. Lieutenant General Michael Sam closed his eyes with a desperate expression. Reports of the results of the torpedo interception situation were busily pouring in.
Lieutenant General Michael Sam thought that no matter how fast the supercavitating torpedo was, the Mark 55 interceptor torpedo could defend against it. However, the shocking report of unexpected multiple torpedoes made him give up everything and do nothing but just close his eyes.
“Captain! This is the report from the Commander of the 7th Carrier Strike Group.”
Currently, the captain of the 7th Carrier Strike Group was on the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan (CVN-76).
“It is said that he ordered to take off all the ship planes.”
As reports continued, another huge explosion sounded throughout the ship. The Arleigh Burke-class (Flight IIA) Aegis destroyer, Lassen (DDG-82), was also sharply leaning toward the starboard.
“Be prepared for a shock! Prepare for a shock!” someone shouted.
“Two enemy torpedoes! Five seconds until this ship is hit! 4 seconds! 3 seconds! 2 seconds! 1 second!”
Boom! Bam! Bam!
A considerable impact came from the front part of the starboard, and the 18,000t class Blue Ridge (LCC-19) shook greatly from side to side. Fortunately, only three small torpedoes struck the Blue Ridge (LCC-19). Although it tilted slightly toward the starboard, it didn’t sink. The problem was the Ronald Reagan (CVN-76). Lieutenant General Michael Sam, who had lost balance and fallen to the floor, grabbed the handle of the console and raised his upper body to look at the Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) out of the bridge window.
On the flight deck of the Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), an aircraft quickly took off. At this time, about 10 white splashes were seen in the middle of the sea.
48 small torpedoes ejected from the six Black Shark torpedoes that were aiming for the Ronald Reagan (CVN-76). Only 18 of them survived from the nets of the Mark 55 interceptor torpedoes. These 18 small torpedoes hit the starboard of the Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) one after another.
Boom! Wham! Bam! Boom! Bam! Boom!
A spray was raging around the starboard of the Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), weighing 100,000 tons. A shock accompanied by a massive explosion shook the Ronald Reagan (CVN-76). One of the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter jets lost its hold, got stuck on the flight deck, and exploded. Other ship planes that were waiting to take off also hit each other and caused multiple explosions. As jet fuel leaked in all directions, flames spread throughout the flight deck.
As the flames soared on the flight deck of the Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), seawater constantly poured in through the cracked armor of the starboard hull. The bulkheads were urgently blocked, but there were too many holes. It was useless. Finally, the ship gradually tilted to the starboard and sank.
In the midst of this, about 10 MH-60R (Block II) antisubmarine helicopters flew to where the supercavitating torpedoes had sailed. They dropped dipping sonars and sonar buoys to find the Yang Se-bong (SSP-85). The nuclear submarine, New Hampshire (SSN-778), also began to shot ping of active sonar, even risking revealing its location, to avenge for the other ships.
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