Volsky smiled. “Good to hear that. Am I to understand you are the firing officer for the Vodopad torpedo system we are now discussing?”
“Sir? Yes sir. The Vodopad system. I have that on my board. My inventory reads nine torpedoes.”
“Good enough. Do we have range on this system yet, Mister Tasarov?”
“Yes sir. We can fire now with the Vodopads, or use the UGST type 53 at 50 kilometers.”
“Very well. Vodopad system. Target the heart of the enemy formation. Salvo of four torpedoes please.”
“Aye sir.” Tasarov finally had something to do.
When the torpedoes fired they appeared again as rockets in the sky. The Italians were on edge and began firing at the oncoming streaks as soon as they saw them, the battleships putting out a barrage of flak that was totally useless. They did not know that however, and when the torpedoes completed their rocket assisted phase and fell into the sea, there were cheers on the bridge of the Littorio and throughout the fleet.
“See there!” said Iachino. Our gunners have a keen eye today! These new British rocket weapons can be stopped after all.”
He had no idea what was happening, that four lethal torpedoes were now boring in on his formation at 50 miles per hour. The torpedoes made a wakeless approach, and homed in by seeking the frothing wakes of the ships they targeted. The cruiser Pola was the first to feel their bite, with a large explosion aft from the big 300kg warhead that nearly blew the entire stern off the ship. The cruiser was still fighting fires in the van from the missile hit it had taken, then it suddenly exploded.
Before the shock and surprise had set in, Caio Duilio took a hit. The torpedo had run up beneath the battleship’s hull, exploding to send a massive shock dome of water that was intended to break the ship’s back. These were not torpedoes that would aim to strike a ship on the side and simply blow holes in the torpedo bulwark. The old ship was severely shaken by the heavy explosion, her hull breached at the bottom of the ship and water flooding in.
A destroyer was unfortunate to be the third victim. There were fourteen hovering about, largely on the flanks of Iachino’s formation, and the Folgore was the fish that was speared, with an explosion that did break the ships back, sending the ship into the dark sea within minutes. Admiral Iachino’s battleship Littorio took the fourth hit, right on her rudders and screws, with catastrophic damage there. The Vodopads had acquitted themselves, but Iachino believed he had been hit by lurking submarines!
Outraged by the attack, he bawled orders to his destroyer captains, which immediately set the ships frothing about and pinging wildly with their sonar sets to look for the suspected British submarine. None would be found. The culprit was fifty kilometers away, and a grim smile slowly settled onto Admiral Volsky’s face when Rodenko reported four more hits, and two on primary contacts. Within ten minutes Rodenko was able to report that a second capital ship had dramatically slowed and appeared to be wallowing, then a third.
The Italians had suffered a severe blow, and all without ever seeing an enemy ship. Conte Cavour was still burning badly, her boilers involved, and unable to make more than 12 knots. She had fallen out of Iachino’s battle line and was now attended by four destroyers. Cruiser Pola was gone, Caio Duilio wallowing with a near broken back aft of her mid section. Now Littorio had lost all propulsion on three screws, and had severe rudder damage that sent her into a wide, slow circle.
Iachino was forced to transfer his flag to the nearest ship, battleship Veneto following right behind the Littorio. Admiral Bergamini had also decided to move to the battleship Andrea Doria, which had only taken one rocket hit and had managed to control the resulting fire. Now three battleships were decidedly out of the action, and it was a naval disaster of the highest order. Iachino knew he would be foolish to proceed under these circumstances, and set about issuing orders for heavy cruisers to take the stricken battleships in tow. He would form a new covering force with his remaining three battleships, Roma, Veneto and Andrea Doria, but this fight was over, all thoughts of seeking the enemy now banished from his mind. Instead it would be all he could do to try to get these wounded warriors safely back to a friendly port before he lost a battleship.
But that was not to be.
Pleased with his torpedo attack, Admiral Volsky informed Tovey that if he so desired, the battle was now his, and Tovey was quick into action.
HMS Invincible was an awesome beast when it bared its fangs that morning. Tovey had rejoined Cunningham’s fleet, then decided to scout on out in front with Invincible and a couple fast heavy cruisers. He took York and Kent, leaving Berwick with Cunningham, though he also borrowed a fist full of destroyers. The remaining three British battleships increased speed, and the hunt was on.
