would have meant the Army would have refused to go ashore. Because without air cover they would have had Dunkirk all over again, being pounded by Argentine bombs instead of those of Hitler.”
“Hmmmm,” said the President. “And why did the Argentinians not go for the carrier? And end it?”
“Mainly because they couldn’t get to it. The South Atlantic is a very, very big place, and that Royal Navy Admiral was a very, very cunning Commander. He made damn sure they would never reach it. He never brought the carrier within range, except at night, when he knew the Argentinian Air Force did not fly.”
“Well, if the same war happened again, how would they get to the carrier this time?”
“With great difficulty, sir. Unless they had a very quiet, very skillfully handled submarine that could locate and track it. But that’s extremely hard to do, and I don’t think the Argentines have the skill.”
“Does anyone?”
“Possibly. But the Royal Navy Commanders are traditionally very good at this type of thing. Getting in close to a ship of that size would be damn near impossible. All carriers are permanently protected by an electronic ring of underwater surveillance. I suppose the Americans might get in and perhaps fire a torpedo, but even that’s doubtful.”
“How about our Navy? Could we do it?”
“The issue is, sir, could we do it without getting caught and sunk? I would not put my life savings on it. ’Specially against the Royal Navy…but you know, sir, I think the problem this time might not be quite so grave. Because I think modern advancements in rockets, missiles, and even bombs is so great, any commander would prefer to sink a carrier from the air.
“The damn things carry about a billion gallons of fuel. If you get in close enough, with a modern supersonic sea-skimming missile, that’s the trick.”
“And where would that leave the Argentinians—same as before?”
“Not if they could get a submarine in, maybe seven miles from the carrier, and take an accurate GPS reading on its precise position on the ocean. Then they could vector their fighter-bombers straight at it.”
“And do they have that submarine capacity?”
“I don’t think so, sir. The Royal Navy would almost certainly locate and sink them.”
“If Argentina were to recruit an ally, to help them with this critical aspect of submarine warfare, who do they need?”
“The USA, sir.”
“How about China?” asked the President, shrewdly trying to keep his Admiral off his own critical path.
“China! Christ, no. The Brits would pick them up before they reached Cape Town.”
“How about France?”
“Possibly, but they lack experience. The French have never fought a war with submarines.”
“Neither have we.”
“No, sir. But I’d still make us the second choice if I were the C-in-C of the Argentinian Navy. We still have top flight commanders, and we probably have the ship that could do the job…”
“Oh, which one…?”
“Well, I’d go for one of our Akula-class nuclear boats myself. Hunter-killers, about ninety-five hundred tons, packed with missiles and torpedoes, excellent radar and sonar. The most modern ones are ten to fifteen years old, but lightly used, and very quiet.”
“Where do we keep ’em?”
“Oh, there’s a couple in the Pacific Fleet, two more in the Northern Fleet up near Murmansk.”
“Do you know the ships personally? I mean are they ready to go?”
“One came out of refit last spring, sir. She’s on sea trials right now, just completing. A very good ship, sir. I went out in her a month ago.”
“Aha, and what’s her name, this Akula-class hunter-killer?”
“She’s Viper , sir. Viper K-157. ”
“Thank you, Admiral. That will be all for the moment.”
4:30 P.M., MONDAY, OCTOBER 11
FLORIDA GARDEN CONFITERIA
CORDOBA AVENUE DISTRICT, BUENOS AIRES
It was always a favorite haunt of the military junta that ruled Argentina so spectacularly badly in the late 1970s and very
“Hmmmm,” said the President. “And why did the Argentinians not go for the carrier? And end it?”
“Mainly because they couldn’t get to it. The South Atlantic is a very, very big place, and that Royal Navy Admiral was a very, very cunning Commander. He made damn sure they would never reach it. He never brought the carrier within range, except at night, when he knew the Argentinian Air Force did not fly.”
“Well, if the same war happened again, how would they get to the carrier this time?”
“With great difficulty, sir. Unless they had a very quiet, very skillfully handled submarine that could locate and track it. But that’s extremely hard to do, and I don’t think the Argentines have the skill.”
“Does anyone?”
“Possibly. But the Royal Navy Commanders are traditionally very good at this type of thing. Getting in close to a ship of that size would be damn near impossible. All carriers are permanently protected by an electronic ring of underwater surveillance. I suppose the Americans might get in and perhaps fire a torpedo, but even that’s doubtful.”
“How about our Navy? Could we do it?”
“The issue is, sir, could we do it without getting caught and sunk? I would not put my life savings on it. ’Specially against the Royal Navy…but you know, sir, I think the problem this time might not be quite so grave. Because I think modern advancements in rockets, missiles, and even bombs is so great, any commander would prefer to sink a carrier from the air.
“The damn things carry about a billion gallons of fuel. If you get in close enough, with a modern supersonic sea-skimming missile, that’s the trick.”
“And where would that leave the Argentinians—same as before?”
“Not if they could get a submarine in, maybe seven miles from the carrier, and take an accurate GPS reading on its precise position on the ocean. Then they could vector their fighter-bombers straight at it.”
“And do they have that submarine capacity?”
“I don’t think so, sir. The Royal Navy would almost certainly locate and sink them.”
“If Argentina were to recruit an ally, to help them with this critical aspect of submarine warfare, who do they need?”
“The USA, sir.”
“How about China?” asked the President, shrewdly trying to keep his Admiral off his own critical path.
“China! Christ, no. The Brits would pick them up before they reached Cape Town.”
“How about France?”
“Possibly, but they lack experience. The French have never fought a war with submarines.”
“Neither have we.”
“No, sir. But I’d still make us the second choice if I were the C-in-C of the Argentinian Navy. We still have top flight commanders, and we probably have the ship that could do the job…”
“Oh, which one…?”
“Well, I’d go for one of our Akula-class nuclear boats myself. Hunter-killers, about ninety-five hundred tons, packed with missiles and torpedoes, excellent radar and sonar. The most modern ones are ten to fifteen years old, but lightly used, and very quiet.”
“Where do we keep ’em?”
“Oh, there’s a couple in the Pacific Fleet, two more in the Northern Fleet up near Murmansk.”
“Do you know the ships personally? I mean are they ready to go?”
“One came out of refit last spring, sir. She’s on sea trials right now, just completing. A very good ship, sir. I went out in her a month ago.”
“Aha, and what’s her name, this Akula-class hunter-killer?”
“She’s Viper , sir. Viper K-157. ”
“Thank you, Admiral. That will be all for the moment.”
4:30 P.M., MONDAY, OCTOBER 11
FLORIDA GARDEN CONFITERIA
CORDOBA AVENUE DISTRICT, BUENOS AIRES
It was always a favorite haunt of the military junta that ruled Argentina so spectacularly badly in the late 1970s and very
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