Panic Switch полностью

As hurricane Helen barrels in toward the Virginia coastline, the U.S. Navy’s Commander-in-Chief Atlantic Fleet orders all vessels to scramble to sea, including Burke Dillinger’s Hampton and Peter Vornado’s Texas. But this is no mere storm evacuation. There is something sinister going on in the eastern Atlantic. The Navy’s eyes are on the ballistic missile submarine force, the “boomer” submarines loaded to the gills with intercontinental nuclear warheads. The French boomer submarine Le Vigilant has “gone bad,” hijacked by an Algerian terrorist who dreams of completing the circle of revenge and using French nuclear weapons on the French who imprisoned his father. As terrorist Issam Zauabri’s forces learn how to employ the nuclear missiles, Vornado’s Texas and Dillinger’s Hampton close in on the threat, but Issam knows how to use torpedoes as well as he does the missiles, and Le Vigilant is one of the quietest submarines ever built. Once the American subs are on the bottom, his attack can proceed on Paris, but since it was Americans who interfered, Issam will save one missile for New York.

Lieutenant Junior Grade Anthony Pacino reports aboard the “project boat” USS Vermont two years after having survived the catastrophic sinking of the Piranha. Vermont’s mission: to intercept and steal the Iranian Navy Kilo-class diesel-electric sub Panther, which is outfitted with a Russian fast reactor, the Russians using the Iranians for a dangerous test of the revolutionary reactor, a unit so potentially unstable that it could go prompt critical and explode. Anthony Pacino is chosen to be the second-in-command of the mission to hijack the Panther. The Russian Republic, expecting to monitor the nuclear reactor test, has sent two frontline Yasen-M-class nuclear fast attack submarines to escort the Panther during her test, but realizing the Americans are guilty of piracy on the high seas, the Russians have orders to seek and destroy both the Panther and the Vermont. The crew of Vermont soon realize that escaping with Panther has become a near impossibility. At the point that weapons fly, which submarines will survive and which sink is anyone’s guess.

For those hungry to understand the technology of the nuclear submarine, this nonfiction guide describes the machinery, operations and personnel of a modern nuke. You’ll learn how to make a periscope approach on a “skimmer,” sneak up on a submerged target, program and launch a torpedo, scram and recover the reactor, and even flush the toilet at test depth. You’ll see why a submarine can submerge without sinking, how nuclear power works, and how the steam plant makes the screw turn. You’ll learn the main characters, from the COW to the Eng to the XO. Written in a humorous and engaging fashion, this book is an easy and fun read, yet packs all the information of an official U.S. Navy Submarine School tech manual.