Roll Over Play Dead

by Dan Milton

  Next morning, after a quick breakfast at the Lodge, they helped the pilot load the aircraft, dropped the van off at the Lodge and then headed down to the dock. Ernie hopped on board and started the engine while Jeff untied and coiled the securing lines. They had not noticed the man in the shadows of the lodge porch watching their departure. It was the same man sitting next to them at dinner last night.

  They headed out of the small harbor and into the lake. The water was relatively calm with just a slight breeze blowing. Temperature was in the low 60’s. Ernie said, “We’ll head East for Hat Island. It’s just outside Knutson Bay, at the upper end of the lake. We’ll look for a spot on the Island to set up a base camp. It will also give us a chance to familiarize ourselves with the operation of the boat. We should get there around one.”

  About an hour out, as they were passing Eagle Bay Island, Ernie noticed that the oil pressure was dropping rapidly. The needle was on its way to zero. He cut the throttle and killed the engine. He said, “Jeff, take the wheel while I check the engine—oil pressure has dropped.” Ernie lifted the hatch cover on the engine compartment and to his chagrin found oil spewed all over the engine and the compartment. “We have a real problem. Looks like a break in the line. We’ve lost a lot of oil.”

  “Think it’s something you can fix?”

  “I’ll need to take a closer look.”

  It took only a few minutes for Ernie to spot the broken line. “I’ll have to pull the line and get it welded. Radio the Lodge in Iliamna and see if one of the fishing boats can come out and tow us in.” After a short while, Ernie had the broken line disconnected.

  About two hours later Jeff saw a boat approaching from the direction of Iliamna. He said, “Looks like our tow is here.”

  The captain of the fishing boat said, “Throw us a line, and I’ll send the towing rope over.”

  Ernie said, “Here it comes.” He heaved the line onto the stern of the fishing boat. The captain tied on the tow rope. Ernie hauled it back and tied it securely to one of the bow cleats.

  On the slow way back to Iliamna, Ernie said, “Jeff. When I checked the engine yesterday, I inspected all the lines, and there were no breaks I could see. I may have missed one, but I don’t think so. It seems a little strange. Well, so much for our first day—an absolute bust!”

  As they entered the harbor at Iliamna, Ernie said, “After we tie up, I’ll walk up to the Lodge and find someone that can weld the break.”

  “Alright, I’ll stay on board and rustle something up for dinner.”

  A few hours later Ernie came back with the repaired oil line and said, “After we had the break in the line cleaned and ready for welding, we discovered a partial cut in the line. Enough so the engine vibration would cause it to break. I’m a little concerned that someone doesn’t want us to get our work done.”

  “I was just wondering… that hunter at the table next to us last night was a little too interested in our conversations. He left about a half hour before we bid goodnight to the pilot and headed to the boat. That’s long enough for him to have done something. Maybe I’m just a little paranoid. I stopped to inquire at the Lodge. The Lodge owner said that this is the first time he has stayed at the lodge, and he doesn’t know much about him. He arrived in Iliamna on a private flight from Anchorage. He left this morning for a four-day trek in the Lake Clark area. We’ll need to be a little more cautious. Let’s make sure the Navy equipment is locked down. We’ll put the small boxes of test equipment in the compartments under our bunks.”

  Next morning they headed to Hat Island at sunrise. It was another one of those spectacular days you see only once in a while. It seemed as though the weather was trying to make up for the bad day they had yesterday. The trip to Hat Island was uneventful. They arrived within four hours of leaving Iliamna. Ernie said, “Let’s do a little exploring. I’ll circle the Island. Watch the Echo-Sounder. Make sure we have enough depth. Shout out if it’s getting too shallow. Once we find a likely spot for a camp and a safe place to anchor, we can take the skiff to the beach to explore further. It’s great having gravel beaches.”

  They found a little cove on the east or lee side of the Island. The boat would be safe at anchor as the storms typically come from the Aleutians that are west of the Island. They would have protection from the main force of any wind and rain.

  After launching the skiff, Jeff said, “I’ll grab the Winchester. Don’t know what we might run into.” They started the outboard motor and headed to the beach. They pulled up onto the gravel and secured the skiff to a large piece of driftwood.

  The Winchester Jeff brought with him was the Model 94—a lever action that fired 38-55 caliber ammunition. It was a good bear rifle they hoped they would never have to use.

  After hiking around the island for a couple of hours, they headed back to the cove. They found a protected area within a grove of trees about 100 yards from the beach and up a little rise. It gave them a view of their boat at anchor as well as a spectacular view of Knutson Bay. They also found a good source of fresh water on the Island.

  After multiple trips with the skiff, between the anchored boat and the beach, they were able to unload all the camp equipment and set up the tents they would use for living and working areas.

  They decided to fix dinner and stay the night on the boat. Tomorrow they would finish setting up camp and lay out the detailed plans for the first week of testing the Navy’s advanced side scan sonar.

  The Navy chose the Lake Iliamna area for testing because it provided two very diverse environments. Testing in Lake Iliamna would be conducted in a pristine environment. The mineral content is almost nil, and the visibility is extreme. Testing in Lake Clark, just a short distance from Lake Iliamna, would be in a very high mineral content environment (glaciers feed Lake Clark). Also, because of the clarity of Lake Iliamna, visual observations of the towed sonar would be possible.

  The first week of testing was to establish the exact area in which to conduct the Lake Iliamna tests, to check out and calibrate all the test and recording equipment and to calibrate the environment. The environmental calibration included tests for water clarity, gradient temperatures, H/V visibility and sound absorption.

  They made several runs into Knutson Bay to determine the compass directions for the towed tests. After several test dives, they located several beach areas that would allow them to set up their recording gear. Included was an underwater still camera, a 35mm Nokia, a motion picture camera, a 16mm Bolex, as well as acoustic recording equipment—usable at depths up to 100 feet. Conducted later, in open water, would be the sea sled observation tests. They would also need to check the steering capability of the sled.

  Ernie said, “Looks like we’ve done as much as we can to set up the proper testing environment. Let’s pack it up and head back to base camp.

  After anchoring in the cove at base camp, they headed toward shore in the skiff. Just as they pulled onto the gravel beach, a float plane flew low over their base camp. They did not recognize the aircraft. After several passes, the plane turned and headed west. Ernie and Jeff wondered what was going on. Was it someone just sightseeing? Or, was it someone checking on them? They had told no one the location of their camp or their plans. No one knew they were testing secret equipment for the Navy.

  Dinner that night used up the last of the fresh food they had brought with them. From here on it would be out of cans. They had canned ham, chicken, beef, and of course the number one choice of the gourmets, spam.

  After recording the day’s activities, they set plans for the next day’s work. They decided to make some test runs with the towed sonar. There was an extended beach area in Knutson Bay with a depth of 25 to 35 feet. Jeff would position himself to observe about midway along the beach at a depth of 25 feet about 50 yards off shore. Ernie would make a slow pass with the trailing sonar at a depth of 20 feet. They would anchor a buoy at Jeff’s location. They both agreed it was a sound plan. Both were tired and decided to call it a day.


  Early next morning they headed for Knutson Bay. They found a spot where Jeff would observe. He dropped the buoy anchor over the side. Jeff donned a wetsuit, US Divers Aqualung with twin hose regulator and weight belt. He sat on the transom while he put on his fins and face mask. He then rolled backward into the cold clear water near the buoy. He took a minute to take his mask off spit into it and wipe the spit around so it would not fog up. Holding onto the buoy anchor line, he headed down. It took just a few kicks to reach the bottom. He estimated visibility to be around a hundred feet horizontally. They had not made actual measurements yet.

  While Jeff waited on the bottom, Ernie put the engine in gear and made a sweeping turn to place the boat about a mile south of the buoy. When he was close to the required position, he idled the engine. He detached the sonar from its cradle and secured it to the winch cable. He lifted it over the side and dropped it down to a depth of 20 feet. He put the boat in gear and started forward at a speed of four knots. He had previously calculated the amount of cable to let out at that speed to have the sonar remain at the 20 foot depth. At about a quarter mile from the buoy, and following the path to parallel the beach, the towed sonar became stable.

  Jeff continued to watch for the boat and sonar. He could hear the boat and the steady sound of its approach. At about a distance of 150 feet, he saw the bow of the boat. By his calculation, he would have about 30 seconds of visual observation time if he picked the towed sonar up at a distance of about 100 feet.

  On a knoll under a group of fir trees, a short distance from the testing site, a pair of binoculars was trained on the testing activity. The man from the lodge had pulled his boat ashore during the darkest part of the night in a small cove off Pedro Bay. In his overflight of the Hat Island base camp days before he had scouted out trails that led him to the spot overlooking the Knutson Bay test area.

  Just after the bow of the boat passed his line of sight Jeff sighted in on the sonar. He held tight to the buoy anchor line as he pivoted around it to keep the sonar in sight. He saw some things that he would have to discuss later with Ernie. After the sonar was out of sight, Jeff began his ascent up the anchor line. As his head broke the surface, he, fortunately, happened to be facing away from the beach. He noticed a flash and instinctively dropped under the surface. He heard a dull thud near his head as the buoy jumped five feet away from him.

  Ernie heard the shot as he was reeling in the winch cable. He lifted the towed sonar with the winch and dropped it into its cradle. As soon as he had the sonar tied down, he grabbed the Winchester and a box of cartridges, pushed the engine throttle forward, swung the boat around and headed for the buoy.

  By the time Ernie reached the buoy, the man from the lodge had already covered a significant distance in returning to his boat. Slung over his back was the Mosin-Nagant M91/30 Sniper rifle with its 3.5 power German scope.

  Jeff surfaced on the outward side of the boat. Ernie grabbed Jeff’s arm and helped him on board. A little shaken by the experience, Jeff said, “What’s going on? Who is shooting at us? He only missed me by inches. I saw a flash as I surfaced and dropped under just in time. He hit the buoy.”

  Ernie said, “I don’t know what’s going on. But I intend to find out. There have been too many things happening this past week. Maybe we had better head to Iliamna later today.”

  After arriving at Iliamna, Ernie and Jeff walked to the Lodge. They asked the owner about the next flight to King Salmon. They found out that a bush pilot was picking up a couple of fishermen and flying them to King Salmon early tomorrow morning. Ernie asked the Lodge manager to let the pilot know there would be another passenger. After eating a ‘real’ meal at the Lodge, Jeff walked back to the boat while Ernie spoke with the Lodge manager in his office. Ernie said, “We had some trouble today, while on the Lake, which included gunfire. Fortunately, the person shooting missed us both. We had a float plane buzz us making several passes the other day. Have you heard anything that may help? Has anyone been asking questions about us?”

  The Lodge manager was taken by surprise, explaining, “I haven’t heard anything nor has anyone here been asking questions about you. We haven’t had any trouble around the lake in some time. The only problem, we sometimes have, is that someone may have too much to drink and starts a fight. Usually doesn’t cause any serious issue. Do you want to get the law involved?”

  “No. If you do hear anything or get suspicious, please radio us. I probably won’t be back until tomorrow or the next day from King Salmon. Depends on when I can catch a ride. Jeff met the missionaries and got invited over tomorrow. What can you tell us about them? How long have they had a mission here?”

  The Lodge manager told Ernie the story of the missionaries at Lake Iliamna. Ernie thanked him and bade him goodbye.

  Back on the boat, Ernie said, “Jeff, I will be flying to King Salmon tomorrow and will return as soon as I can catch a flight. When you are with the missionaries tomorrow find out if they have heard anything about who might be interested in us.”

  Next morning, Ernie and the two fishermen linked up with a bush pilot and were flown to Kink Salmon. On arrival, Ernie called the King Salmon Air Force Station, identified himself and asked to speak to the Station Commander. When Major Bowman came on the line, Ernie explained to Major Bowman that he needed to talk to Commander Carothers at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on a secure line.

  Major Bowman said, “We’ll set up a line for you. In the meantime, I’ll send a jeep over to pick you up.”

  “Thank you, Major.”

  Ernie briefed Commander Carothers on all that had happened. Carothers said, “I’ll contact our intelligence group and ask what they know. Russian involvement is possible. They have fallen behind in their sonar research. Use extreme caution until we find out. I will get a message back to you at the Lake.”

  A car took Ernie back to the King Salmon airport where he was able to catch a flight later that day to Iliamna.

  On arriving at Iliamna, Jeff picked up the pilot, a fisherman, and Ernie and drove them to the Lodge. Ernie and Jeff walked to the boat. Ernie told Jeff what Commander Carothers had said.

  Next morning, Ernie and Jeff headed back to their base camp at Hat Island. During the trip, Jeff said, “When observing the towed sonar, I noticed excessive cavitation on one side of the device. One of the reasons could include damaged or locked down fins. It was also causing a porpoise effect.”

  Ernie said, “When we anchor tonight let’s take a look at it.”

  Jeff said, “The missionaries had no insight into who would be interested in us or why. They did tell me a fascinating story. It was about a young Russian boy who, with the help of the Russian Orthodox Church, had brought a very valuable package to the Lake during the second world war. He was responsible for keeping the package safe from the German Army as it was about to overrun their small village. Rumor has it that the package contained the entire wealth of his village. The boat carrying him and his parcel across the lake to Kokhanok sank during a violent storm. The boat Captain’s body washed up on shore. A fisherman found it after the spring thaw. No one has ever found any trace of the young Russian boy or what he was carrying.”

  “Also, to make our diving more exciting, the missionaries casually mentioned that there is an Indian legend of a large creature that inhabits the lake. They spoke of several small boats and kayaks being attacked. With the lake 75 miles long, 25 miles wide and 1,000 feet deep at the upper end it may be more than just a legend!”

  Vladivostok Connection – two months earlier

  Several floors below the ground level of the Soviet Pacific Fleet headquarters in Vladivostok was a small secure office. Two Naval GRU agents were inside the room discussing an upcoming highly secret mission. The senior of the two agents said, “His code name is Peter Lewis. He is our Spetsnaz Naval GRU operative in Alaska and is very familiar with Lake Iliamna and its surrounding area.”

  The second agent said, “What’s his background?”

  “He
was born in Vladivostok but immigrated to America with his parents as a young man sometime before WWII. He speaks Russian and English fluently. He worked for US Army intelligence as a Russian/English interpreter during WWII. He stayed for a while in Russia after WWII and after being selected by the GRU, received Spetsnaz training. He is a double agent, but his loyalties are to mother Russia. He is very capable and should be able to carry out the mission.”

  The senior agent continued, “We have received word that the Americans will be conducting live tests on the US Navy’s latest towed sonar on Lake Iliamna and Lake Clark in Alaska. The object of this mission is to steal the sonar’s electronics package from the Americans and deliver it to our Naval Sonar testing facility here. We are way behind the Americans in Sonar research. When we reverse engineer the electronics package, and incorporate their latest technology, we will be able to match their capabilities.”

  He extracted several documents from his briefcase and passed them across the table to the Second agent.

  “Here is the latest information we have on their towed sonar research and the two Americans who will be carrying out the testing.”

  “We don’t want the Americans to know that we have their latest technology. Lewis will make it look like an accidental loss of the towed array in the deep area of the lake.”

  “I want you to put together a detailed plan for Lewis. It must be sent off in a diplomatic pouch, within two weeks, to the Naval Attaché at our embassy in Washington, DC. He will fly to Anchorage for the exchange with Lewis. Lewis will keep the Naval Attaché informed. We will receive regular reports via diplomatic pouch.”