by Dale Brown
Phalanx cannons, one on each side, which were automatic radar-guided
Gatling guns designed to destroy incoming missiles at close range.
Ironic that they would be used to engage American missiles. "Sir! Three
B-52 bombers that were reported turning west and disengaging-they are
now turning northbound and appear to be re-engaging. They are at
forty-three nautical miles, at extreme HQ-91 range." Damn them! Jhijun
cursed to himself. There were just too many of them. Well, the bombers
were out of range-at least he still had a chance to get the cruise
missiles before they started attacking the landing ships. "Message to
all units: at least three, perhaps as many as six B-52s and at least one
B-2 inbound from the south of Davao Gulf. Destroyer Jinan is unable to
engage because of Tomahawk cruise missiles coming in from the southeast.
Request fighter and surface support." He received a reply moments
later: "Sir, destroyer Hong Lung will provide support. Admiral Yin
sends his compliments and advises you that the Tomahawk missiles are
your priority. . . your personal priority." Captain Jhijun swallowed
hard when he heard the name Hong Lung, but when he got the message from
Yin himself, his skin turned to ice. Every cruise missile he allowed to
pass him, he knew, would mean a year in prison or a full reduction in
grade. His career-more precisely, his lIje-rested on his performance
now. DESTROYER HONG LUNG, SIXTY MILES WEST OF DESTROYER 1/NAN Aboard the
flag bridge of the flagship of the South Philippines Task Force, three
large grease boards were kept constantly updated on the deployment of
warships in this operation. It was beginning to resemble a child's
crayon-drawn rendering of a beehive-Mindanao-with swarms of angry bees
surrounding it. And the bees were getting closer and closer to the hive
every minute. ... Admiral Yin Po L'un could easily see the American
tactic now: strike at the Chinese fleet from simultaneous, multiple axes
of attack. Along with the reported B-2s and B-52s coming in from the
south and the Tomahawk cruise missiles from the southeast, he had also
received word of more B-52s from the east and B- Is from the northeast,
followed by more B-52s and faster bombers, possibly FIlls, accompanying
them. Jamming was heavy in all areas, so obviously a few of the aircraft
were not strikers but electronic-countermeasure planes. Captain Sun Ji
Guoming, Yin's chief of staff, said, "A rough estimate so far is
twenty-six B-52 bombers, six B-I bombers, four B-2 bombers-one
reportedly shot down already by ]inan-possibly two EF-I I I
electronic-countermeasure planes, and perhaps four to six F- I I I
fighter-bombers involved in this raid. If this is so, the First Air
Battle Wing has committed at least three-fourths and possibly as much as
four-fifths of its force on this one escapade." Sun smiled knowingly.
"We can crush the American Air Force in one night's work."
"Is that so, Captain?" Yin asked in a low voice. "You say we have shot
down only one plane so far, yet they have sunk one destroyer and one
frigate, damaged two other frigates, and sunk or damaged nearly two
dozen patrol boats. In less than thirty minutes they can be over Davao
Gulf itself. I see no evidence of anyone being crushed so far."
"They have suffered a great loss well before striking the target area or
even coming within range of concentrated firepower, " Sun explained.
"They will suffer tremendous losses when they come within range of the
destroyers Yinchuan and Dalian near Davao itself. The American forces
are undisciplined-they are launching antiradar and other guided weapons
at every small patrol boat they encounter, without bothering to save
their weapons for the frigates, destroyers, or landing-craft carriers.
It was sheer luck that they sunk Huangshi and Kazjeng, and Yingtan is
still operational..."
"You failed to adequately take into account the possibility of a
Tomahawk cruise missile attack, " Admiral Yin said angrily. "They were
able to overwhelm our outer defenses too easily. And why was I never
advised of the presence of B-2 stealth bombers on Guam. . .?"
"Sir, the fleet intelligence center reported that the Ranger's battle
group was still in Manado and that Indonesia had not given permission
for offensive operations, " Sun explained. "If those cruisers launched
their missiles from Indonesian waters, that is an illegal act . Yin
glared at Sun, not satisfied with that explanation at all. "Admiral,
Hong Lung is engaging B-52 bombers at extreme range, " the
communications officer reported. They could feel the distant rumble of
the destroyer's two big combination diesel-turbine engines spooling up
to maximum speed, and the ship made a hard turn to starboard briefly
before settling down. "Antiship missiles launched... jamming
ineffective at this range, good radar contact, intercept confidence is
high on all tracks." Yin looked away from Captain Sun, finding it hard
to fault Sun too much-had he not suggested that Hong Lung travel east to
assist in the invasion defense, all these aged American bombers might
well be attacking his Marines by now. "Report on the invasion force, "
Yin ordered. "Are they ready to land?"
"All vessels in position, " Captain Sun reported. "The bombardment was
to commence in two hours, and the invasion was to begin in three..."
"It can no longer wait, " Yin said. "Order the landing craft to head
ashore immediately."
"But sir, we have not had time to prepare the beachhead for our forces,
" Sun argued. "There could be anything waiting for them. We should
proceed with the bombardment first and shell the beachhead for at least
an hour before-"
"We may not have an hour before those bombers and cruise missiles are on
top of them, " Yin said. "Issue the orders and get those Marines on the
beach."
"There is no need for haste, sir, " Sun tried one last time. "We should
wait to see if any of the American bombers go overhead-perhaps the
American bombers will even bomb the beach for us. In any case, our
forces should not be on the beach when the bombers come in. "Neither
should they be in the landing craft on Davao Gulf, " Yin said, his voice
louder and sharper this time. Sun knew enough to hold his tongue then.
The uncomfortable silence in the flag staff was broken by the
combat-alert horn as the destroyer began prosecuting its attack on the
B-52s swarming around them. ... FORTY MILES EAST OF THE CHINESE
DESTROYER HONG LUNG The six B-52 G-model Stratofortress bombers in the
southern strike group were threading the needle here in the worst
possible sense-trapped between two Chinese destroyers, with no place to
hide except for an electronic curtain of jammers. Their only hope:
throttles to military power, altitude pegged at one hundred feet, and
hope to make landfall at Balut Island or Sarangani Island, twenty miles
ahead, before the crush of Chinese antiair missiles found them. Although
they were not receiving any missile fire-control signals from the
eastern destroyer, it had still someho
w shot down the B-2 with a
missilethey were going to give both destroyers as much space as
possible. "Trick Zero-Two, this is One, " the lead B-52 pilot called out
on the tactical frequency. "We've got a radar fix on those ships to the
west. I've got four Harpoons left. We're going for it." As soon as the
navigators plotted the position of the ships, they commanded a climb to
three hundred feet and launched their last four AGM-84 Harpoon missiles
at the ships. The first two Harpoons were the original air-launched
model, which flew directly toward the ships at five hundred and fifty
miles per hour; the second two missiles were the advanced AGM-84E SLAM
missile, which was far more flexible in selecting an evasive course and
attacking from multiple directions and altitudes. While the first two
Harpoons sped directly for Hong Lung, the second two split north and
south of the destroyer, so in effect the Hong Lung was attacked from
three sides simultaneously. The engagement worked-the southerly missile,
being steered by the first B-52's radar navigator, impacted just above
the waterline on the starboard side of the escort frigate Change De,
putting it out of action immediately, and one minesweeper]patrol boat
riding point for the Hong Lung was hit by a Harpoon missile. The other
Harpoon and SLAM missiles were destroyed by gunfire from Hong Lung and
its surviving escorts. But the counterattack by Hong Lung was
devastating-the sky filled with antiair missiles as soon as the B-52
attacked. Releasing all four of its remaining Harpoon missiles on the
Hong Lung battle group created a big, bright "arrow" to point the way
for the Chinese fire-control operators, and Hong Lung released four HQ-9
I air-to-air missiles at the B-52 within a few seconds, followed by a
volley of four more. "Time to get the hell out of here, " the pilot of
the first B-52 shouted-for his own benefit more than for his copilot or
the rest of the crew. "Get rid of those mines and let's split!" The
last of the conventional B-52's weapons were four Mk 60 CAPTOR torpedoes
on clip racks in the forward part of the bomb bay. CAPTOR, which stood
for Encapsulated Torpedo, was a large canister containing an Mk 46
torpedo and complex sensor gear. As the B-52 began a tight right turn
away from the western destroyer, it began sowing the CAPTOR mines in the
eastern Celebes Sea. After activation, the canisters would lie on the
seabed or hang suspended in the water until a warship passed by. When
the sound, pressure, and magnetic parameters matched its pre-programmed
settings, the mine would track the target and launch the torpedo. The
torpedo had a range of six miles, and one CAPTOR by itself could sink
all but the largest class of Chinese surface ships or submarines. In two
minutes, all four CAPTOR mines were released, and the airspeed of the
B-52 increased dramatically. Now weaponless, it dropped a cloud of
radar-decoying chaff and continued its right turn to a safe southerly
heading. But at its high speed the tightest turn the bomber could make
was still twenty-five miles-directly in the path of two of the stricken
destroyer Jinan 's patrol-boat escorts. Guided byjinan 's one remaining
air-search radar and using infrared sights, the patrol boats opened fire
on the bomber with 57-millimeter, 37-millimeter, and 25-millimeter
gunfire, rattling every inch of the big jet with shells. The B-52's
cockpit windows shattered, decapitating the two pilots and sending the
stricken aircraft crashing into the sea. The crash of the B-52 not more
than three kilometers away was the most incredible sight any of the
seventy-man crew of the Haijui-class patrol boat Yingkou had ever seen.
The mushroom cloud of fire had to be a kilometer high, and flames were
so big and so hot that the captain could swear he felt the heat from
inside the bridge. The fireball skipped across the water, rolling and
rushing along like a huge orange-and-red tidal wave. It was utterly
spectacular. After a few minutes of awe, the bridge crew broke out into
wild cheers as the flames began to die away-and then the crew ran for
cover as bits of flying metal and thick clouds of smoke rolled across
the water. "Radar contact, second and third B-52 bombers, " came the
report from his fire-control officer. "I have a good track on both
planes-they should be turning this way just like the first. Five
minutes before the next one passes close enough." This was going to be
incredible, the captain thought-he might easily kill a second, and
perhaps even a third B-52 with his 57-millimeter gun tonight. He would
certainly get his own frigate after tonight... "Move farther west, " he
ordered his helmsman. "I want to be as close as possible to these last
twO bombers." The helmsman went to flank speed in order to get a few
meters closer to the bomber's track-every hundred meters closer was
another dozen rounds on target. "Second bomber turning east, range
decreasing . . . he's coming this way, sir... I'm getting jamming on
my fire-control radar . . . forward 57 switching to electro-optical
sights with data link from Jinan. . . target reacquired, forward 57-
and port 30-millimeter report ready." This was perfect, really perfect.
The other patrol boat escorting the destroyer Jinan had no data link
with the destroyer $ air-search radar, so all he could do was follow
Yingkou 's tracers. He would never be credited with a kill... "Thirty
seconds... twenty seconds... all gun mounts report ready. . . fifteen
seconds. . . all guns stand. He never finished the sentence. The
first CAPTOR torpedo mine had armed immediately upon hitting the water
and, despite the incredible sounds of destruction from the B-52 crash,
had locked onto the engine sounds of the Haijui-class patrol boat as
soon as he gunned his engine, and ejected its deadly torpedo. The
torpedo switched on its active sonar, acquired and locked onto the
patrol boat, accelerated to nearly fifty miles per hour, and hit the
patrol boat near the engine compartment one foot below the waterline. A
shaped charge rammed a titanium nosecap through the patrol boat's hull,
and the torpedo actually swam three feet inside the port engine room
before its eight-hundred-pound warhead exploded. With most of its stern
blown apart, Yingkou slipped under the surface in less than two
minutes-about as long as it took the last of the burning debris of Trick
Zero-One to hit the water. The other two B-52s in the first south
attack group avenged their leader's death with a flurry of Harpoon
missile launches, and within minutes three more of Jinan 's patrol boats
had been destroyed. Jinan itself, overwhelmed by Harpoon missiles from
the south as well as the flight of Tomahawk cruise missiles from the
southeast, was hit by both a Tomahawk and a Harpoon and was put out of
action. ABOARD THE EB-52C MEGAFORTRESS DIAMOND ONE-ONE It was a surprise
for Major Kelvin Carter to see the COLA (Computer Generated Lowest
Altitude) computer command a climb after so many hours at one relatively
stable altitude, but as the Megafortress approached the tall, rock
y
peaks of the Nenusa Archipelago islands, the EB-52 wanted to climb six
hundred feet to clear the tallest peak. Carter edged his Megafortress
slightly south of the tiny radar dots, and, after the computer realized
it would safely clear all the terrain, the Megafortress sank back to one
hundred feet above the eastern Celebes Sea. Alicia Kellerman was busily
plotting the positions of the other planes in the strike team as she
heard position reports come over the radio. "All right!" she said.
"All six BUFFS in the number-two east group and Diamond One-Two made it
through. They're two minutes ahead of us."
"What about the others?" Carter asked. "The south group got hit real
bad, " Kellerman summarized. "One of the B-2s and a B-52 from Castle
got shot down..." "Our B-2? Cobb and McLanahan?"
"Cobb and McLanahan made it through OK. It was a Whiteman bird. One
other 509th Black Knight from the north group aborted when they lost an
engine; all the other planes from the north group made it. "The other
five B-52s from the south group look like they took out that destroyer
to their east and a few patrol boats, so they might make it through.
There's another destroyer battle group coming in from the west-that
might be a problem when the strike package egresses to the south. No
other reports: everyone else appears to be heading in on schedule. Kane
on the EB-52 escorting the east number-two strike group got two Chinese
fighters."
"Search radar at eleven o'clock, " Atkins reported. "Golfband search .
. . Sea Eagle 3-D air-search radar, Luda-class destroyer. GCI signals,
possibly more fighters coming in from the northwest."
"That destroyer's at forty miles, and he's got five escorts with him, "
Kellerman added, checking her updated ISAR radar display. "We'll be
going in about sixty seconds ahead of the south B-52s. We're within
TACIT RAINBOW range, EW. Line em up and let's get those suckers."
BANGOY STRAIT, NEAR DAVAO, MINDANAO, THE PHILIPPINES SAME TIME It was
the largest assembly of Chinese warships since the Korean Conflict, all
concentrated within ten miles of the city of Davao-and they were ready
