World War 1990: Battle of the Three Seas by William Stroock & William Stroock

Author:William Stroock & William Stroock [Stroock, William & Stroock, William]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-04-27T00:00:00+00:00

Awl Flight

Sabrykin led Awl-Flight of four ships over the Barents Sea. Each flew at different altitudes, pressing southwest from the polar cap, simulating Soviet procedure for a TU-22 attack on an American fleet.

A Bear scout preceded them by a hundred kilometers.

Sabrykin radioed, ‘Bear-Ten this is Awl-One.’

‘I have you One.’

‘Report, Federov.’

‘Heading three-zero-zero at fifteen thousand.’

‘Still no contacts?’

‘If I had found the American fleet, I would be dead by now.’

‘True, Federov.’

‘You want me to press in?’

‘Do you feel like you have lived too long?’

‘Maybe one more night, Awl-One.’

‘Then turn around.’

‘I shall.’

Sabrykin ordered the flight to re-form at five thousand meters and come to course one-zero-zero.

‘This is Bear-Ten.’

‘Go ahead.’

‘I am picking up contacts on my six.’

‘Are they pursuing?’

‘Nyet. It feels like a peacetime shadow, Awl-One.’

‘Just being cautious, then, I think.’

‘Da.’

‘Proceed.’

‘Have a bottle waiting for me back at Laktha, Awl-One,’ Federov said to his friend.’

Globan said, ‘Now the Americans know we are hunting them.’

‘They knew that anyway, Globan.’

‘True.’

‘Besides, now we know at what range they will dispatch interceptors.’

‘We knew that already, no?’

‘We knew at what range the Americans would send interceptors in the Norwegian Sea. Since they are so much closer to the Kola…’

‘Ah…’

After touching down at Lakhta Air Base outside of Archangel, Sabrycan taxied his Tupolev to its revetment, Sabrykin waited on the tarmac for Federov.

Sabrykin waved when Federov flew over the base. He landed his Bear and clapped ironically as he taxied past. Sometime during the war Federov and his men painted a human skull on the Bear’s nose. Under the pilot side canopy was a skeleton for each mission the recon plane completed, or survived. Sabrykin counted nineteen skeletons.

After taxiing the crew exited Bear-Ten one by one. Federov was the last out. Short and squat and paunchy, Federov hopped down to the tarmac. He looked at Sabrykin and lit a cigarette.

‘Will you count this as a mission?’ he asked.

Federov said, ’Of course. My navigator is getting his paints now.’

‘Tell him to keep them handy.’

‘Oh?’

‘We’ll be heading out again tomorrow.’

‘Good.’ Federov inhaled deeply and threw his cigarette to the tarmac. ‘I seek out the American fleet, and one day, god-willing, I will see it with mine own eyes.’

The two turned and headed for the debriefing. Sabrykin put his arm around his friend and said, ‘Soon.’

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