Operation Ice Breaker, page 1
Praise For
Operation Ice Breaker
Like its prequel, Operation Ivy Bells, Operation Ice Breaker shows what it’s really like to live and work on a submarine deep beneath the ocean surface. During the Cold War, Lieutenant McDowell and the crew of the USS Teuthis secretly lay cable across the floor of the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans in order to track the movements of Soviet subs. Ultimately, the action builds to a dangerous encounter with divers from a Soviet submarine—an event with international consequences.
This is a novel about the real thing and real events, not traditional Hollywood drama. The author vividly captures what day-to-day existence was like on such a vessel, mixing long periods of boredom with perilous episodes of saturation diving and confrontations with the enemy. Especially appreciated are the humor, romance, vivid, accessible maps, and glossary of terms. The first two lighten and brighten the mood, and the last two enable the reader to follow the action more easily.
– Professor John B. Rosenman, Norfolk State University
Former Chairman of the Board, Horror Writers Association
Author of The Inspector of the Cross Series
Author Robert Williscroft has returned his attention to submarine thrillers in his latest adventure Operation Ice Breaker. The protagonist, Mac McDowell, and several of the lead characters were first introduced in Operation Ivy Bells (highly recommended), but this is a new stand-alone story. The USS Teuthis embarks on a covert mission in the far north. When she encounters Soviet subs, Mac leads his team into deadly battle. Operation Ice Breaker is more than a cat-and-mouse thriller with nail-biting action both above the ice sheets and in the icy depths beneath. The realism is unmatched as Williscroft draws upon his extensive experience in submarines and covert warfare.
Dave Edlund
USA Today bestselling
author of The Peter Savage Series
WOW!! Mac McDowell is back at it again with his team of saturation divers aboard a newly converted SSBN, specifically modified to support his intrepid divers under the Arctic Ice. Secrecy and stealth are the watchwords as they must covertly lay SOSUS arrays to close off the last remaining routes for Soviet submarines to reach open water away from NATO’s prying ears. USS Teuthis goes up against the best subs in Russia’s inventory, an Alfa and a Sierra, playing cat and mouse to break contact and accomplish the secret mission at all costs. Underwater knife fights with the Sierra’s crew members under the ice as well as a giant squid-like creature while on sea trials spice a riveting tale of derring-do in the world’s most unforgiving environment. I honestly could not put down this book once started, and dangling threads at the end entice the reader for the next saga, which can’t come soon enough.
George W. Jackson, Captain USN (Ret.)
aka G. William Weatherly, author of
The Sheppard McCloud Naval Warfare Series
Operation Ice Breaker:
A Mac McDowell Mission
Copyright © 2020
by Robert G. Williscroft
All rights reserved
Fresh Ink Group
An Imprint of:
The Fresh Ink Group, LLC
1021 Blount Avenue, #931
Guntersville, AL 35976
Email: info@FreshInkGroup.com
FreshInkGroup.com
Edition 1.0 2020
Images by Anik / FIG
Artwork by Robert G. Williscroft
Book design by Amit Dey / FIG
Cover design by Stephen Geez / FIG
Names, characters, and incidents in this story are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, names, and people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author and publisher.
Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976 and except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, no portion of this book’s content may be stored in any medium, transmitted in any form, used in whole or part, or sourced for derivative works such as videos, television, and motion pictures, without prior written permission from the publisher.
Cataloging-in-Publication Recommendations:
FIC032000 FICTION / War & Military
FIC031050 FICTION / Thrillers / Military
FIC036000 FICTION / Thrillers / Technological
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020912234
ISBN-13: 978-1-947893-06-1 Papercover
ISBN-13: 978-1-947893-07-8 Hardcover
ISBN-13: 978-1-947893-08-5 Ebooks ISBN-13: 978-1-947893-05-4 Audiobook
USS Teuthis Tracks through the Arctic
Ebook Readers: All ebook editions (Kindle, Nook, Kobo, GooglePlay, iBooks, etc.) have the Cast of Characters, Dedication, and Acknowledgements moved to the end of the story where you will find a Glossary and a lot more.
Table of Contents
Praise For Operation Ice Breaker
Part One: Carey Øer
Prolog
U.S. Missile Sub Submerged—Off Cádiz, Spain, early 1970s
Surfaced—Off Cádiz, Spain
Atlantic Submarine Force Headquarters—Norfolk, Virginia—Two Months Later
Mare Island Naval Shipyard—Vallejo, California—Five Years Later
Chapter One—USS Teuthis
General Dynamics Electric Boat—Groton, Connecticut
Test Operations Group—USS Teuthis
USS Teuthis—General Dynamics EB Division
Figure 1—Kirby-Morgan Superlite 17 Diving Helmet
USS Teuthis—General Dynamics EB Division
Figure 2—USS Teuthis—Cross-section
Figure 3—USS Teuthis—Cutaway
USS Teuthis—General Dynamics EB Division
The Oasis—New London, Connecticut
Chapter Two—Angles & Dangles
Fast Cruise—USS Teuthis—General Dynamics EB Division
USS Teuthis—Sea Trials—Hudson Canyon
USS Teuthis—Angles & Dangles—Hudson Canyon
Chapter Three—Sat System Test
USS Teuthis—Encounter With Cameroceras—Hudson Canyon.
USS Teuthis—General Dynamics EB Division
The Oasis—New London, Connecticut
Chapter Four—Transit to Carey Øer
USS Teuthis—Block Island Sound & Northward
USS Teuthis—Baffin Bay
USS Teuthis—Carey Øer
Chapter Five—The Chase
USS Teuthis—Lancaster Sound
Hecla & Fury Islands—On the Ocean Bottom
USS Teuthis—Labrador Narrows
Chapter Six—Carey Øer
USS Teuthis—Carey Øer
On The Seafloor—West of Nordvest and Fire Øer
USS Teuthis—Underway off Carey Øer
Part Two: Arctic Transit
Chapter Seven—Parry Channel
USS Teuthis—Lancaster Sound
USS Teuthis—Barrow Strait
USS Teuthis—Viscount Melville Sound
Chapter Eight—Prince of Wales Strait
USS Teuthis—McClure Strait
USS Teuthis—Princess Royal Islands
USS Teuthis—Amundsen Gulf
Chapter Nine—Beaufort Sea
USS Teuthis—Leaving Amundsen Gulf
USS Teuthis—Pingos Transit
USS Teuthis—Demarcation Point
Chapter Ten—Point Hope
USS Teuthis—Chukchi Sea
USS Teuthis—Point Hope
On the Seafloor—West of Point Hope
USS Teuthis—West of Point Hope
On the Seafloor—One Mile West of Point Hope
Part Three: The Alfa
Chapter Eleven—The Hole
USS Teuthis—Transit Toward Point Barrow
USS Teuthis—Off Point Barrow
USS Teuthis—Bottomed 8 Nautical Miles NW of Point Barrow.
Chapter Twelve—The Sting
USS Teuthis—Bottomed 8 Nautical Miles NW of Point Barrow.
On the Seafloor—8 Nautical Miles NW of Point Barrow
USS Teuthis—Bottomed 8 Nautical Miles NW of Point Barrow.
On the Seafloor—8 nm Nautical Miles of Point Barrow
Chapter Thirteen—Transit to Kodiak
USS Teuthis—Transit to Bering Strait
USS Teuthis—Bering Sea
USS Teuthis—Unimak Pass
USS Teuthis—Transit to Kodiak Island
Chapter Fourteen—Kodiak Island
Kodiak—Woman’s Bay—Mystic
Kodiak—Woman’s Bay—Paraffin
Kodiak—Breaker’s Bar
Kodiak—Rendezvous
Chapter Fifteen—Transit to Point Barrow
USS Teuthis—Woman’s Bay
USS Teuthis—Unimak Pass
USS Teuthis—Transit to Bering Strait
USS Teuthis—Transit to Point Barrow
Part Four: The Carp
Chapter Sixteen—The Alfa
USS Teuthis—Bottomed at the Alfa
On the Seafloor—At the Alfa
On the Seafloor—Mystic Ops
On the Seafloor—Inside the Alfa
USS Teuthis—Bottomed at the Alfa
Chapter Seventeen—Carp Encounter
USS Teuthis—Bottomed at the Alfa
USS Teuthis—Bottomed at the Alfa
On The Seafloor—Near the Alfa
On The Seafloor—Near Carp
USS Teuthis—Bottomed at the Alfa
On The Seafloor—Near the Alfa
&
USS Teuthis—Bottomed at the Alfa
USS Teuthis—Transit to Kodiak Island
Epilog
Coast Guard Base Kodiak—Armory Auditorium
CBC News Article from November 2, 2016—Byline Jimmy Thomson
A Note About Saturation Diving
USS Teuthis (SSNR 2) Organizational Chart
Excerpt from Operation Ivy Bells
Post a Review
Acknowledgments
Foreword
Cast of Characters
Other Works by Robert Williscroft
Connect with Robert Williscroft
About the Author
Glossary for Operation Ice Breaker
PROLOG
U.S. MISSILE SUB SUBMERGED—OFF CÁDIZ, SPAIN, EARLY 1970s
“Lieutenant McDowell, Sir…My planes are jammed at full dive!” “Diving Officer, get a handle on that!” I ordered while checking my depth. Three hundred feet and dropping. I was doing twenty knots—depth was increasing fast. The stern planes frozen at full dive caused the 425-foot-long fleet ballistic missile sub to pitch down by the bow twenty-five degrees.
“Stern planes are still jammed!” My Diving Officer, Lieutenant junior grade (Lt.j.g.) Dick Franconi said. “Manual bypass doesn’t solve the problem.”
“Chief-of-the-Watch…” I said.
“Working on it,” Master Chief George Sedrick said. “Sonofabitch isn’t responding!”
I checked the depth. “All stop!” I ordered as the sub passed 500 feet. “Back full!” Maybe I could shake it loose—whatever it was.
As the sub began to shudder from the reverse turns, the captain charged out of his stateroom in his skivvies. “What the fuck’s going on, Mac?”
I briefed him quickly as we passed 600 feet. “All stop!” I ordered. “Chief…?”
“Still jammed, Sir.”
“Pump all forward tanks to sea!” I ordered. Perhaps I could bring the bow up that way. “Full rise on the Fairwater planes! Try to get us level.” We still had some forward motion, so that might help. I punched the Sonar intercom. “Give me your contacts, Sonar.”
“Clear three-sixty, Conn. We had a tug off the starboard bow a half-hour ago, but he’s gone now.”
Seven hundred feet.
“Get the captain’s jumpsuit from his stateroom,” I told the messenger. Turning to the Fairwater Planesman who controlled the fairwater planes, the rudder, and the engine order telegraph, I ordered, “Ahead one third!”
The captain and I watched the bubble. We were still down about fifteen degrees. As the screw took a bite, the bow dropped another four degrees. “Ahead slow—make bare steerageway! Chief…pump water from all tanks!”
As the captain donned his jumpsuit, a loud screech penetrated the hull from somewhere aft. A second later, the Control Center sound-powered phone warbled. With a nod, the captain indicated I should answer it.
“EOW here…something’s scraping along the port hull back here. Making a hell-of-a-noise.”
“Yeah, Jer…We hear it up here. Any ideas?”
“Nada, Mac, no fucking idea.”
“Passing one-thousand feet, Sir!” The Chief-of-the-Watch announced.
“Can you free up the stern planes?” I asked the EOW.
“They’re jammed tight. Never seen anything like it,” Lt. Jerry Dunston said. He was the Reactor Control Assistant—number two in the Engineering Department and the current Engineering-Officer-of-the-Watch. “Nothing we can do here right now, Mac, nothing.”
“Passing eleven-hundred-fifty feet!” Master Chief Sedrick announced. “Tanks are dry…we’re still headed down.”
About a minute passed.
“Passing test-depth, thirteen-hundred feet.”
Around us, the sub creaked loudly as the hull compressed from the extreme outside pressure. I looked at the skipper. “You have the watch, Mac,” he said, “and you’re running out of options. You know what to do.”
I picked up the 1MC mike and looked at the skipper again. He smiled grimly and nodded. I was glad he was at my side ready to counter anything stupid I might do, but it was pretty clear the skipper wanted me to do it.
“Sound the Collision Alarm! Emergency-blow all main ballast!”
A three-second rising sweep-tone filled the sub. Immediately after that, high-pressure air forcing its way into the ballast tanks surrounding the bow and stern drowned out every other sound.
“Passing fourteen-hundred feet!” Master Chief Sedrick announced. “Slowing…”
The skipper and I stood quietly on the raised platform of the Conn, watching the depth gauge as the bow lifted to nearly level.
“Passing twelve-hundred feet!” Master Chief Sedrick announced.
“Secure the blow!” I ordered as the sub continued its rise.
As the sound of rushing air subsided, the three-second rising sweep-tone of the Collision Alarm once again filled the sub.
“Passing nine-hundred feet,” Master Chief Sedrick announced, “rising fast!”
“Sonar, you got anything?” I asked over the intercom.
“Negative, Conn. Too much sound. I’m deaf.”
“Secure the Collision Alarm,” the skipper told me. Then he reached for the 1MC mike. “This is the captain. We are on an uncontrolled ascent to the surface. We don’t know what’s above us, so grab hold of something and hang on!”
SURFACED—OFF CÁDIZ, SPAIN
It seemed to take forever, but in actuality, it took only about a minute. One moment we were rising like a skyscraper elevator, and the next, we slammed into something and stopped dead, surrounded by the awful sound of shrieking, tearing metal.
I tried raising the attack periscope, but it didn’t move. The skipper tried the navigation scope, got it to rise about a foot, and that was it.
“Mac, go to the Bridge and see what’s going on,” the skipper told me. “Captain’s got the Conn,” he announced to the Control Room personnel as I donned a headset with boom-mike and started up the ladder leading to the Bridge.
I opened the lower trunk hatch. It swung up into the trunk. “Trunk’s dry,” I announced to the Control Room. I climbed the rest of the way and cracked the upper hatch. “Just a few drops of water,” I announced as I let the spring open it all the way. I squinted into the bright noon sun. “Conn, Bridge,” I said over the circuit, “it looks like we surfaced directly beneath something—a barge maybe. I can’t tell for sure. Whatever we struck must have sunk.” I scanned around the surfaced sub, gently rocking in the nearly calm sea off Cádiz, clearly visible to the northeast. “There’s a tug two hundred yards off the port bow. A guy on the stern is chopping frantically at a steel tow hawser. It’s stretched taut pulling down the tug’s stern.” I watched for several seconds. “The hawser just parted…disappeared below the surface immediately. The tug’s on an even keel. Now the guy is screaming bloody murder, shaking his fists at us.”
“I’m sending lookouts to the Bridge,” the skipper said in my ears, “and the photographer.”
“There’s more,” I said. “Two missile hatches are sprung, and the Bridge is pretty much a twisted mess.”
“The screw and rudder work,” the skipper said. “You got the Conn. Keep us away from anything else, but stay as close to where you are as possible. I’m on my way to the Bridge.”
ATLANTIC SUBMARINE FORCE HEADQUARTERS—NORFOLK, VIRGINIA—TWO MONTHS LATER
It was a formal hearing—just the skipper and me. It seems the tug was towing an old WWII Victory Ship to a Mediterranean destination to be scrapped. The tug went DIW (that’s dead in the water for you non-Navy types), and the Victory ship drifted up on the tug. Sonar didn’t hear anything because the tug had shut down its engines, and the Victory ship didn’t have any. The steel hawser catenary dropped down 300 feet and wedged between our port stern planes and the sub’s hull. That caused the hydraulics system to force the planes to full dive and keep them there. When we emergency-surfaced, we did so directly under the Victory ship, piercing its hull with the ice-hardened submarine sail, and sinking her. It was an unfortunate accident with no assignment of fault. That was the official finding of the Navy inquiry.
The skipper received a special commendation for saving the billion-dollar ballistic missile submarine with no loss of life, and I was given an official pat on the back and the opportunity to choose my next duty assignment. I chose the Man-in-the-Sea Program, not having any idea what it was really all about. I ended up as the Officer-in-Charge of a team of saturation divers. We shipped out on the USS Halibut for a highly classified mission that changed the course of the Cold War (as related in my account, Operation Ivy Bells).
