Chapter 7: Operation Pocket Money
Yankee Station, 17° 30' N, 108° 30' E
The sun had just begun to rise over the South China Sea, as its rays glistened on the playful waves. The main battle group and command group of CTF 77 were steaming towards Haiphong, having been relieved by the Kitty Hawk carriers USS Constellation and USS America, which were accompanied by their own cruiser and destroyer escorts.
Aiko was already awake in her quarters and had begun to do some morning stretches. The captain's quarters were much larger and far more luxurious than her XO quarters, having their own upholstered furniture and carpet. The young XO greatly appreciated borrowing the captain's room, as she went through her yoga routine. Once or twice an officer had come by to deliver paperwork and been rather confused about her practices, since yoga was not common in the western world. Eventually she got to her breakfast, before heading up to the bridge.
The bridge was already bustling, as radio officers relayed messages and coordinated between friendly ships. Upstairs, the air boss was busy preparing Carrier Air Wing 5 for deployment, and simultaneously relaying orders to the bomber witches.
Theresa was still in the waiting room near the medical ward, and had barely slept a wink, worrying all night about Denise. The smell of food from the mess hall drifted by her nose, as Holly walked in with a tray of sausage, instant eggs, and biscuits. Coupled with a glass of orange juice, Holly smiled at Theresa, even as dark circles had formed under the Hispanic witch's eyes. Holly set the tray down on another chair and sat down next to Theresa.
"Any word on Denise?" She asked worriedly.
"Nothing… They haven't told me anything." Theresa mumbled groggily, wiping another tear from her eyes.
"I'm sorry for trying to stop you. Believe me when I say I'm as concerned for your safety as I am for hers." Holly assured. "It would be even more devastating if you were hurt too."
"I know…" Theresa admitted, choking back more tears.
Holly was about to hug Theresa, when a high-pitched scream pierced through the medical ward.
"DENISE!" Theresa shrieked, jumping up and throwing open the doors to the ICU.
The nurse refrained from trying to stop Theresa, aware that she'd been waiting all night, and stood to the side with her clipboard. Holly cautiously followed Theresa, and they were both shocked at the sight. Denise was laying on a hospital bed, with her arm still in a splint as it was suspended by a wire. There were bandages on her face that ran around her head and over her eyes, which completely obstructed her vision. An IV drip bag was suspended next to the bed, as the medicine flowed into her blood stream. The doctor was by her side, finishing up some paperwork.
"Relax. You're in the USS Midway's medical ward. I'm Dr. Franklin, here to take care of you. You've been out for at least 7 hours, and your body is still quite weak, so please try not to move too much." The doctor said.
"What happened… I can't see anything…" Denise whimpered. "Am I going to die?"
"No, 2nd Lieutenant Eilers, you're going to live. You sustained quite the impact up on the flight deck… If not for your reflexes and having your arms out in front, you could have ended up in a way worse shape. But you're going to be just fine, give your arm time to heal and you'll be back to normal in no time. Being a witch, your estimated recovery time is even shorter than that of a regular human."
"Please… I can't see… Can you help me?" Denise sobbed.
Doctor Franklin was reluctant at first, but then called for the nurse to help him.
"We're going to take your face bandages off slowly, so your eyes can adjust to the light. However, you still have some severe burn marks, so try to avoid touching your face, it will take some time for that to heal." Franklin advised.
They slowly unraveled the bandages from Denise's head, and eventually her blue eyes peered out at the doctor. Denise looked around slowly, squinting as her pupils adjusted, and then her eyes came to rest on Theresa and Holly.
"Major Jones… Theresa…" Denise smiled weakly.
"Good to see you again, Denise." Holly returned the smile.
"Are you feeling any better?" Theresa asked, sniffling as tears ran down her face.
"Getting there… I think. I was so scared, opening my eyes and being unable to see anything. I thought I'd gone blind." Denise sighed in relief.
"You're very lucky," Holly remarked. "and we're so glad you're still with us."
"But… I won't be part of the mission?" Denise asked worriedly. "Do you think Shannon can handle the support role without me?"
"Don't you worry." Theresa reassured. "You just focus on getting better."
"And what of my unit?" Denise inquired. "Is she… totaled?"
Holly and Theresa looked at each other nervously, and then spent a moment trying to avoid Denise's gaze.
"Oh my god…" Denise sobbed.
"I mean, most of the pieces fell off the deck and sank into the sea… Those which we could recover were irreparably scorched and twisted into oblivion." Holly began.
"Don't worry Denise," Theresa interjected. "We'll get you another unit, one even better than before!"
Holly jabbed Theresa lightly with her elbow, giving a disapproving stare.
"You know we don't have that authority." Holly said through her teeth.
"It's all right, we'll figure something out, I guess." Denise admitted. "You should get going, the Teki won't kick their own asses."
The girls stifled a laugh, as Dr. Franklin glared impatiently. Theresa gave Denise a quick kiss on the head, as they turned for the door. Denise stopped Theresa short.
"Theresa… Don't be mad at Glenda. Promise me you'll forgive her." Denise demanded.
"Ok…" Theresa grumbled.
The bomber witches assembled in the main hangar deck, a tremendous enclosed space crammed with A-4 Skyhawks, F-4 Phantoms, S-3 Vikings, and A-6 Intruders. They looked different, with their wings folded up which saved space in the cramped hangar bay. The bomber unit docks were situated at the wall adjacent to the port side elevator, a massive platform that would push aircraft up to the flight deck. The girls walked past the various aircraft, as pilots mounted their cockpits, munitions were attached to weapons pylons, and the planes were fueled up for the mission.
There were two empty spots in the bomber unit docks, one being Denise's and the other being Hailey's since she had left early in the morning on reconnaissance. Theresa stopped to look at Denise's empty dock, worrying about her friend. Holly came alongside her and put her arm around Theresa. "Don't worry, she'll be back before you know it." Holly reassured.
"Thanks." Theresa sniffled.
The girls did their pre-flight checks and inspected their weapons, as the carrier squadrons were lifted to the deck and launched, one after the other. Before they knew it, only the Vikings were left in the hangar, since they weren't needed specifically for this mission. The bomber witches mounted their units and equipped their weapons, advancing to the elevator.
For the flight deck crew, it was a strange sight to see the elevator come up, with a bunch of girls on it instead of a plane. Holly took the lead, taxiing down the flight deck to catapult no.1. She took a knee, like a track runner on the starting block, as her bomber unit was aligned with the catapult shuttle. The carrier maintenance team had installed special attachments to the bomber units, so they could hook into the catapult shuttle. The barrier rose out of the deck, a large steel wall that shielded everyone from her jet thrust, as she throttled up.
"Memphis Belle II, you are cleared for takeoff." The air boss announced.
"Roger that. Memphis Belle II, launching!" Holly replied, as she pushed to maximum thrust. The catapult shuttle helped to propel her forward up to 139 knots in just a matter of seconds, as she leaped off the edge of the deck and climbed into the sky.
The other bomber witches followed suit, each one having their weight pre-measured and calculated by the catapult crew, so that each launch had the exact amount of high-pressure steam for takeoff. Soon the girls were in the air, following the carrier air wing to Haiphong.
The naval assault was already beginning, just as the air groups arrived in Haiphong's air space. The destroyers lay in wait further to the north, while the cruisers shielded the friendly battleships, who were preparing to shell the harbor.
"This is Captain Kurosawa of USS Midway; all ships are present and accounted for – prepare for assault. Hailey's aerial reconnaissance has revealed multiple guns on Cat Ba island within Cannon Fort – an old fortress built on Cat Ba during WW2. Most of these guns are 305mm naval guns, with the smaller pillboxes on Haiphong housing 130mm naval guns, complemented by multiple dugouts hiding 85mm guns at the shore. There is a surface-to-air missile battery of SA-2 Guideline's further into the harbor, which complements their quadruple 23mm AA guns. New Jersey, Alabama, Massachusetts, Alaska, and Guam will be shelling Cat Ba island to reduce their surface to surface firepower. Once the big guns are cleared, Galveston, Canberra, Indianapolis, and Newport News will shell the smaller pillboxes and anti-aircraft batteries so the flyboys will have a clear path. Air groups, your objective is to destroy the smaller caliber guns that are dug in at the shore and provide air cover as necessary for the fleet. Tucson, Reno, and Long Beach have stayed behind to defend the carrier group against possible air attacks but be ready for recall if we need you. Once the guns have been cleared, the destroyers will swing in from the northeast, torpedo the ammunition transports, and then lay mines at the harbor entrances, but watch out for the small islands between Cat Ba island and the mainland. Is everyone clear on the objective?" Kurosawa asked.
"This is Captain Snyder of the New Jersey, leader for the shore bombardment group. Orders received, ready to begin the mission Captain Kurosawa."
"This is Major Jones, callsign Memphis Belle II. Orders received and awaiting the all clear." Holly chimed in.
"Roger. Commence Operation Pocket Money!" Kurosawa commanded, placing her left hand on her hip and stretching out her right arm in a striking pose.
"Captain, with all due respect, you know they can't see you." The helmsman commented.
"Don't ruin the moment for me." Aiko smirked.
The carriers began turning north, with Midway and Coral Sea at the front. The other carriers Bennington, Intrepid, Saratoga, Ticonderoga, Princeton, and Iwo Jima followed them as Reno, Tucson, Arlington, Hawaii, and Long Beach flanked the outer edges.
The battleships and battlecruisers adjusted course to present a full broadside toward Haiphong, elevating their guns and traversing turrets skyward. There was a sound like tremendous thunder, as twenty-seven 406mm and eighteen 305mm guns ripped the silent air, filling the sky with steel rain. The lookouts on USS New Jersey pulled out their binoculars, watching from the 'crow's nest' as the shells impacted around Cannon Fort. It didn't seem like much – being a fairly anachronic castle structure, at least until the guns emerged from the fortress wall.
"Enemy movement detected. They know we're here!" The first lookout responded.
"Of course they know!" The second lookout replied. "They'd be stupid to ignore that salvo."
The fortress guns traversed towards the battleships – some guns were in formal gun pits on carriage mounts, while others protruded from the fort itself, seeming like a giant sea urchin. There were several bright muzzle flashes, as the guns opened fire, straddling the cruiser Canberra with 12-inch shells.
"This is Captain Early on the Canberra. It seems they're on to us…!" He radioed nervously.
"Hang in there, we're loading as fast as we can." Captain Snyder replied calmly. "Your 8-inch guns won't do much to those concrete and stone walls, so just let us take care of it."
"Ro-ger." The captain of Canberra replied uneasily.
The battleship and battlecruiser line fired a second volley, and the lookouts watched as shells sailed right through the walls, in a much tighter grouping than before. One of Alabama's shells struck a powder magazine on the fort's western corridor, as the castle was engulfed in a fireball.
"Hoo-Rah. Good hit, boys." Captain Wilson exclaimed from the bridge of USS Alabama.
"In the matter of effective fire upon Cannon Fort, to Alabama well done. I say again, from New Jersey to Alabama very well done." Captain Snyder radioed, a grin appearing on his face.
"This is Captain Roland of Newport News. Commencing attack on the enemy pillboxes." Roland radioed.
Nine 203mm and six 152mm shells were fired from the cruisers, as their first volley streamed toward Haiphong's shore. Newport News and Canberra's shells struck the pillboxes with armor piercing, while Galveston fired her high explosive shells at the anti-aircraft sites. One of Galveston's volleys hit the heavy AA gun pits, disabling multiple 130mm AA guns.
"This is Captain Slack on the USS Galveston. Heavy AA artillery has been destroyed, attempting to disable SA-2 missile battery now."
Before Galveston could fire their next volley, one of the SA-2's ignited, flying off the guide rail as it barreled towards Carrier Air Wing 5, which was still over USS Alabama, en route to target.
"This is Captain Wilson on the Alabama. Enemy missile incoming! Fighters, take evasive action!"
The air groups broke formation, as USS Alabama opened fire on the SA-2 with her anti-aircraft guns. The sky was filled with tracers from Alabama's 5-inch dual purpose artillery and her 40mm Bofors guns, as they tried to track the warhead.
"Firefly, engaging!" Shannon radioed, as she zoomed to the front of the group and revved up her 20mm XM197 minigun. Her minigun was able to track the sub-sonic missile, even more so after Alabama's fragmentation rounds inflicted minimal damage to its control fins. Shannon's rounds struck home, detonating the warhead tip as the missile exploded mid-air.
"Yeah!" Shannon exclaimed. "I wish Denise was here to see that…" She said, feeling a bit glum suddenly.
"No time for that. We have a job to do." Holly interrupted, as the carrier air group reformed for the attack run.
The Skyhawks dove out of the sky with their 127mm Zuni rockets, ripple firing at the remaining AA guns to clear some space for the heavier attackers. The F-4 Phantoms swooped in low with their unguided 500lb bombs, dropping them on the SA-2 missile sites and providing additional strafing against the AA gun pits. Finally, the A-6 Intruders came in low with 500lb tail retarding bombs, for high speed low altitude bombing runs. The munitions were released from the weapons pylons and extended four fins from each weapon as they slowed down, which prevented any damage to the host aircraft. The 85mm field guns were destroyed in their dugouts, as the carrier aircraft began climbing back to altitude.
Once the field guns were down, the destroyers began moving around Cat Ba island, heading towards Haiphong Harbor for their mining run.
"This is Captain Groves of the USS Hoel. We're beginning our attack run now."
The Charles F Adams class destroyer surged forward, followed by USS Waddell, USS Morton, USS Turner Joy, USS Maddox, and USS Ozbourn. The small ships bobbed up and down in the warm waters, as they churned through the narrow channel between Cat Ba and Haiphong. Captain Groves was focused straight ahead, until his lookout got on the radio.
"Enemy PT boats! They're hiding behind the small islands!" The lookout frantically exclaimed.
"Blast. All destroyers, traverse main battery and open fire! Don't let those PT boats get in firing range!" Groves commanded.
The destroyers all turned their 5-inch guns, firing in rapid succession. But the PT boats were so small, it made them almost impossible to hit.
"This is USS Hoel. We're under attack from small enemy craft, requesting immediate close air support!" Captain Groves radioed urgently.
"7th JSF, that's our cue." Holly ordered, rolling to the left as she dove toward the destroyer flotilla.
The other girls followed suit, as the PT boats surged out from behind their rocky cover. Addison fired a spread of four AGM-65 Mavericks ahead of them, as the missiles streamed toward their target. All four missiles hit, and four PT boats sank into the water, sputtering with steam as their engines flooded. Holly opened fire with her M60D, landing a few armor-piercing incendiary rounds on an enemy torpedo launcher. The boat practically leaped out of the water, as the torpedoes detonated in a catastrophic explosion. Finally, Theresa swooped in lengthwise against the PT boats, as her eyes glowed bright yellow.
"All Guns Blazing!" She shouted, opening fire with her 20mm Hispano, as two disposable 7,62mm gatling pods appeared under her bomber unit wings and began firing. Theresa came down the channel at incredible speed, firing all her guns as she strafed the remaining boats. At the end of her run, the red hot gatling pods wound down, and she released them into the water. Theresa was panting, as she hovered a meter above the water and tried to catch her breath.
"You all good?" Candice asked.
"Never better." Theresa smiled.
"Alright girls, lets get back to the Midway. Our job here is done." Holly said, observing the destroyer flotilla as they entered the harbor.
The ammunition ships were hit by multiple 533mm and 324mm torpedoes, as they detonated in spectacular fashion and sank into the harbor. The destroyers began laying mines across the entrances, as they exited the harbor and regrouped with the friendly battle group. By this time, Alaska and Guam had assisted the battleships in reducing Cannon Fort to rubble, and the other cruisers finished sweeping up the enemy pillboxes. Carrier Air Wing 5 was already returning to the carriers, as the Bomber Witches trailed behind them.
It was getting rather late in the day, as the radar officer confirmed the return of the allied squadrons. The cloud of planes appeared in the Asiatic sky, and the carrier pilots were relieved to see the carrier fleet again.
"Captain, the attack squadrons are returning. We're beginning landing procedures." The air boss radioed in.
"That's good, thank you. At least that's one operation over." Aiko sighed.
The planes began landing one by one, but just as Addison was preparing to enter the landing pattern, she heard a sound in her headset.
*PING* The sound echoed through her head, causing her to shudder. A few seconds passed. "Maybe it's just my imagination." She thought to herself.
*PIIIIING* The sound reverberated again.
"Shit. Holy shit…" Addison fumbled for her radio, as she was filled with shock and fear. "Attention all allied warships, sonar contact confirmed. Unknown vessel detected beneath my position! Picking up another sound, suggesting the unknown vessel is flooding a torpedo tube! They're preparing to fire!"
"What in John Paul Jones…" Aiko muttered. "Destroyer squadron, move to intercept! Prepare for anti-submarine warfare! All other ships, hard to starboard and full speed! Get some distance from the harbor and launch ASW air squadrons!" Aiko commanded.
"This is the air boss. We're still retrieving strike craft - do you really want to launch ASW now?" He asked, in a rather irritated voice.
"Get them in the air." Aiko demanded.
"This is Carrier Air Wing 5, we're bingo on fuel. We need to land soon, or we'll be in the drink." The squad leader radioed.
"We can't do both. Your call, Captain Kurosawa." The air boss said.
Aiko paced the floor and thought for a few seconds. "Launch the KA-6D tanker planes, we can refuel the strike planes in mid-air while the ASW squadrons get under way."
There was a long sigh from the air boss' radio. "…Alright. Hey! Drop what you're doing! Get the KA-6 up!" He barked to the air crews.
The KA-6D was a rather crude airplane, modified from the Grumman A-6 Intruder naval bomber. Its weapon pylons were replaced with external tanks filled with jet fuel, and a refueling probe protruded from the tail which could refuel other aircraft in mid-air. The bulky planes were heavily laden with fuel tanks, as they were taken up to the deck, locked into the catapult, and launched into the air. As soon as the KA-6D's were all away, the air boss began launching S-3 Vikings to assist Addison. The S-3's engines made a low-pitched humming noise, like a 'Hoover' vacuum cleaner, as they were elevated to the deck and launched.
As they launched, one of the Vikings picked up a 21-inch torpedo in the water, which appeared to be heading toward USS Hawaii.
"Sea Wolf 3 here, fish in the water! Hawaii, take evasive action!"
"This is USS Hawaii, turning to heading one-niner, full speed ahead."
The command ship began turning, which was not a forte of the Alaska class cruiser it was based on. The single rudder was not quite enough to force the ship to starboard, as the torpedo gently grazed alongside the port side and exploded near midships.
"This is Hawaii! We've been holed below the water line! Severe flooding in the engine room! We're losing power! Scrambling the damage control teams!"
"This is Kurosawa. Tucson, come alongside the Hawaii and assist in any way you can."
"Tucson here, roger that Midway."
"This is Addison, callsign 'Yellow Rose.' Positive ID on the enemy sonar contact. …It's the missing Delta III." She gulped hard.
"Stay calm, Yellow Rose. We need you to provide eyes for the other Vikings." Holly reminded.
"Roger…" Addison replied uneasily. "Activating AN/ASQ-81 Magnetic Anomaly Detector."
The protruding boom on her unit's tail activated, searching for the exact location of the enemy submarine. Addison waited patiently, shutting her eyes tight as she tried to focus on any source of magnetic abnormality. Suddenly she saw it in her mind, a dark cigar-shaped object deep beneath the South China Sea.
"Enemy submarine located! Dropping a new sonobuoy, stand by." Addison confirmed, dropping a white cylinder into the water, as it parachuted into the sea. Once the location was locked in, she transmitted the submarine's position to the other two S-3 Vikings, as they also dropped sonobuoys to triangulate the enemy's exact location.
"Target confirmed. Dropping depth charges – one away, two away, three away!" Addison called out, as she dropped several torpex warheads into the water.
Three columns of water rose from the water, as Addison listened to the sonobuoy data. "Confirmed damage on the enemy submarine… I'm losing the contact! Drop another sonobuoy." Addison barked.
Even after another instrument was dropped, Addison could no longer pick up the submarine's signature, as it faded from sonar. "Yellow Rose to Midway. Enemy submarine has fled, damage status unknown." Addison said defeatedly.
"Let them run." Kurosawa gritted her teeth. "We'll have other chances to sink that Delta. For now, return to the carrier and get some rest. I'll call up Subic Bay, Hawaii was able to stop the flooding, but she's going to need significant repairs. Otherwise, good work people." She said, as the last wave of strike craft landed on the deck.