Rosdivan
17-12-2006, 02:07
OOC: Just a little contribution to the current cold war
They were over a hundred miles from the coast and a thousand feet below the surface of the ocean. Down here the waves had no affect on them as they, the submarine CRNV Kashchei the Immortal and her crew, crept slowly throughly along. They crept slowly for two reasons. The first was the traditional one, a desire not to be detected by the opposition. They weren't within territorial waters, so there was no problem of that sort were they to be detected, but it make things difficult for the other reason they were creeping along. That second reason was accuracy. Mines really didn't have to be placed with the greatest possible accuracy, especially these, but it was helpful, and the sign of a well-trained crew.
As the submarine continued its slow passage along the ocean floor, an object slid out of one of the eight torpedo tubes on the front of the boat. Floating gently down, it made contact with the bottom of the ocean and set itself aright. It was a rather sophisticated anti-shipping mine, of the rising sort. The base contained a passive sonar array which would listen for the sound of an incoming ship, merchant freighters or tankers in this case, and, when they had approached close enough, turn the cylinder attached to it to face the target and fire. At two hundred knots, the rocket would slam into the target only a scant few seconds later. At its maximum range, some six thousand feet, it could strike within 20 seconds of launch. The programming was such that the mine waited to let the ship get as close as possible, preferably right above it before releasing the rocket, which would take only three seconds in that case. The rocket itself was a thing of deadly beauty, a two thousand pound monster with a four hundred pound warhead with which to sink ships. The warhead wasn't strictly necessary, the impact of the rocket itself would suffice to rip a giant hole in the ship. But a much larger one never hurt anyone, except for the target of course.
Of course, one had to make sure that the mine wasn't swept before it could hit its target. To insure that, the mine was actually controlled by an acoustic-influence-pressure mechanism, all three of which had to be satisfied before it would fire the rocket. A ship counter also made this much harder, as it could wait for any number of ships to pass before making its presence known by attacking. Anti-tamper charges would also make the job of minehunters much more difficult. And once the mine had fired, what remained would self-destruct so that it could not be examined and countered. Or traced for that matter.
Unconcerned by all the narration, the submarine crept along on its job, her crew eager to go back home to friends and family. Elsewhere, a bakers dozen of other submarines were planting similar minefields off major ports of Corporate Alliance states. All together they would plant a total of seven hundred mines. It would be three days before those mines activated, three days before men would die in the name of national interests, three days of safety for the ships passing overhead.
They were over a hundred miles from the coast and a thousand feet below the surface of the ocean. Down here the waves had no affect on them as they, the submarine CRNV Kashchei the Immortal and her crew, crept slowly throughly along. They crept slowly for two reasons. The first was the traditional one, a desire not to be detected by the opposition. They weren't within territorial waters, so there was no problem of that sort were they to be detected, but it make things difficult for the other reason they were creeping along. That second reason was accuracy. Mines really didn't have to be placed with the greatest possible accuracy, especially these, but it was helpful, and the sign of a well-trained crew.
As the submarine continued its slow passage along the ocean floor, an object slid out of one of the eight torpedo tubes on the front of the boat. Floating gently down, it made contact with the bottom of the ocean and set itself aright. It was a rather sophisticated anti-shipping mine, of the rising sort. The base contained a passive sonar array which would listen for the sound of an incoming ship, merchant freighters or tankers in this case, and, when they had approached close enough, turn the cylinder attached to it to face the target and fire. At two hundred knots, the rocket would slam into the target only a scant few seconds later. At its maximum range, some six thousand feet, it could strike within 20 seconds of launch. The programming was such that the mine waited to let the ship get as close as possible, preferably right above it before releasing the rocket, which would take only three seconds in that case. The rocket itself was a thing of deadly beauty, a two thousand pound monster with a four hundred pound warhead with which to sink ships. The warhead wasn't strictly necessary, the impact of the rocket itself would suffice to rip a giant hole in the ship. But a much larger one never hurt anyone, except for the target of course.
Of course, one had to make sure that the mine wasn't swept before it could hit its target. To insure that, the mine was actually controlled by an acoustic-influence-pressure mechanism, all three of which had to be satisfied before it would fire the rocket. A ship counter also made this much harder, as it could wait for any number of ships to pass before making its presence known by attacking. Anti-tamper charges would also make the job of minehunters much more difficult. And once the mine had fired, what remained would self-destruct so that it could not be examined and countered. Or traced for that matter.
Unconcerned by all the narration, the submarine crept along on its job, her crew eager to go back home to friends and family. Elsewhere, a bakers dozen of other submarines were planting similar minefields off major ports of Corporate Alliance states. All together they would plant a total of seven hundred mines. It would be three days before those mines activated, three days before men would die in the name of national interests, three days of safety for the ships passing overhead.