ship,” he
pointed, “is even older! It looks like HMS Furious , sir, in service with
the Royal Navy until 1948. You see? The typical island superstructure is completely
missing. No one has designed anything like that for decades. Look at the way
the forward edge of the flight deck is curved above that long, narrow bow. It’s
the Furious . I’m certain of it, Captain.”
Karpov
was not persuaded “This is no time to be foolish, Fedorov. Talk sense! Don’t
try to tell me these ships were dragged out of the shipping yards and put back
in service. We may have to resort to such measures, but our fat capitalists
here do not.”
“No
sir, I’m telling you these ships were scrapped —years ago! There is no
way they could be put back in service.” Fedorov had a look of complete
amazement on his face. “Good lord, what in the world is going on here?”
Karpov
just stared at him. “You’ve spent too many hours with your nose in those
history books of yours, Lieutenant, and like any good liar you begin to believe
your own vranyo. This is not possible. There has to be another
explanation.” Karpov refused to believe what his navigator was telling him.
These had to be modern British aircraft carriers, and he said as much. But
Fedorov was quick to correct him.
“With
all due respect, sir, the only ship in the Royal Navy that might look anything
like this carrier here,” he pointed, “would be their new HMS Queen Elizabeth .
And look, sir, there’s not even any discernable island on that other carrier.
There’s no modern British carrier in such a design. That has to be HMS Furious ,
sir. She was just a converted battlecruiser with a single deck running the full
length of the hull.”
“Nonsense,”
said Karpov, shaking his head.
“But
sir, Queen Elizabeth is a full fleet sized carrier. 65,000 tons, and the
ship we have on video is just a light carrier by comparison. Perhaps 22,000
tons. Queen Elizabeth is the newest addition to the British fleet, and
her signature would be unmistakable to us on radar. We've already cataloged her
ESM emissions long ago. And if that were Queen Elizabeth , the airspace
above her would be well patrolled. Yet this fleet is moving in complete
silence, with virtually no radio or radar emissions of any type. No air cover.
These are simply not modern vessels, sir. I am certain of it.”
Admiral
Volsky was standing behind the two men, his eyes fixed on the view screen, his
mind also struggling to comprehend what he was seeing and hearing. He liked
Fedorov, and often talked with him about the old war, and he had come to
respect the young man’s passion and knowledge on the subject. So instead of
dismissing him, as Karpov clearly did, he pressed for more information. “Those
other ships?” He asked, pointing at two sizable vessels steaming to either side
of the two carriers.
Fedorov
squinted at the screen, then smiled, amazed, but certain of what he was seeing.
“Admiral, those are two Kent class British cruisers, 14,000 tons full
load. Look, those turrets there on the forward section are mounting heavy 8
inch guns. No ship has carried that kind of armament since the Second World
War. In fact, the keels on those ships were laid down in the mid-1920s, and
they mostly entered service by 1926. Many survived the war, but not a single
one escaped the salvage yards, sir. The ships simply do not exist any
longer.”
“You
are certain of this?”
“Yes,
sir, the three stacks amidships are unmistakable. I would know that silhouette
anywhere.”
“Then
we are looking at a ghost fleet?” Karpov protested. “This is preposterous! I
have heard a lot of guff in my day, Fedorov, but this tops it all. It's
nonsense, I tell you.”
“It's
there,” said Admiral Volsky gesturing at the video. “Or are you suggesting the
British are feeding us this video footage with some new electronic warfare
gizmo?”
Karpov
raised his eyebrows, thinking a moment. “That may be possible, sir.” His
pointed, “is even older! It looks like HMS Furious , sir, in service with
the Royal Navy until 1948. You see? The typical island superstructure is completely
missing. No one has designed anything like that for decades. Look at the way
the forward edge of the flight deck is curved above that long, narrow bow. It’s
the Furious . I’m certain of it, Captain.”
Karpov
was not persuaded “This is no time to be foolish, Fedorov. Talk sense! Don’t
try to tell me these ships were dragged out of the shipping yards and put back
in service. We may have to resort to such measures, but our fat capitalists
here do not.”
“No
sir, I’m telling you these ships were scrapped —years ago! There is no
way they could be put back in service.” Fedorov had a look of complete
amazement on his face. “Good lord, what in the world is going on here?”
Karpov
just stared at him. “You’ve spent too many hours with your nose in those
history books of yours, Lieutenant, and like any good liar you begin to believe
your own vranyo. This is not possible. There has to be another
explanation.” Karpov refused to believe what his navigator was telling him.
These had to be modern British aircraft carriers, and he said as much. But
Fedorov was quick to correct him.
“With
all due respect, sir, the only ship in the Royal Navy that might look anything
like this carrier here,” he pointed, “would be their new HMS Queen Elizabeth .
And look, sir, there’s not even any discernable island on that other carrier.
There’s no modern British carrier in such a design. That has to be HMS Furious ,
sir. She was just a converted battlecruiser with a single deck running the full
length of the hull.”
“Nonsense,”
said Karpov, shaking his head.
“But
sir, Queen Elizabeth is a full fleet sized carrier. 65,000 tons, and the
ship we have on video is just a light carrier by comparison. Perhaps 22,000
tons. Queen Elizabeth is the newest addition to the British fleet, and
her signature would be unmistakable to us on radar. We've already cataloged her
ESM emissions long ago. And if that were Queen Elizabeth , the airspace
above her would be well patrolled. Yet this fleet is moving in complete
silence, with virtually no radio or radar emissions of any type. No air cover.
These are simply not modern vessels, sir. I am certain of it.”
Admiral
Volsky was standing behind the two men, his eyes fixed on the view screen, his
mind also struggling to comprehend what he was seeing and hearing. He liked
Fedorov, and often talked with him about the old war, and he had come to
respect the young man’s passion and knowledge on the subject. So instead of
dismissing him, as Karpov clearly did, he pressed for more information. “Those
other ships?” He asked, pointing at two sizable vessels steaming to either side
of the two carriers.
Fedorov
squinted at the screen, then smiled, amazed, but certain of what he was seeing.
“Admiral, those are two Kent class British cruisers, 14,000 tons full
load. Look, those turrets there on the forward section are mounting heavy 8
inch guns. No ship has carried that kind of armament since the Second World
War. In fact, the keels on those ships were laid down in the mid-1920s, and
they mostly entered service by 1926. Many survived the war, but not a single
one escaped the salvage yards, sir. The ships simply do not exist any
longer.”
“You
are certain of this?”
“Yes,
sir, the three stacks amidships are unmistakable. I would know that silhouette
anywhere.”
“Then
we are looking at a ghost fleet?” Karpov protested. “This is preposterous! I
have heard a lot of guff in my day, Fedorov, but this tops it all. It's
nonsense, I tell you.”
“It's
there,” said Admiral Volsky gesturing at the video. “Or are you suggesting the
British are feeding us this video footage with some new electronic warfare
gizmo?”
Karpov
raised his eyebrows, thinking a moment. “That may be possible, sir.” His
Similar Books
