Kilo Class

Patrick Robinson Nimitz Class

This book is respectfully dedicated to the US Navy’s Submarine Service — to the men who wear the dolphins and who operate in the deepest waters

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My principal adviser for this second novel was Admiral Sir John “Sandy” Woodward, the Battle Group Commander of the Royal Navy Task Force in the 1982 Battle for the Falkland Islands. After the war in the South Atlantic, he was Flag Officer Submarines, and in later years he became Commander in Chief, Navy Home Command. It would scarcely have been possible to work with a more knowledgeable and experienced officer, the only man to have commanded in a major sea battle in the last forty years.

Kilo Class is a thriller about submarines, and it required months and months of planning. My office was permanently engulfed by charts, maps, and reference books, in the middle of which stood Admiral Sandy, relishing the weaving of the various plots. I was actually quite surprised at his devious cunning and careful attention to the smallest detail. Generally speaking I think the West should be profoundly glad he’s not Chinese.

I also owe a debt of gratitude to Lesley Chamberlain, the English author of the most beautifully written, scholarly book about Russia, Volga Volga. Lesley guided me and my Kilo Class submarines all along the great river and was more than generous recounting her memories of days spent as a lecturer in the tour ships of the Russian lakes.

In the USA I was assisted by a great many Naval officers, many of them still serving. I am deeply grateful for the many hours they all spent checking my work, correcting my errors, keeping me “real.”

To them, I owe much. But to Admiral Sandy, I owe the book.

— PATRICK ROBINSON

CAST OF PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS

Senior Command

The President of the United States (Commander in Chief US Armed Forces)

Vice-Admiral Arnold Morgan (National Security Adviser)

Admiral Scott F. Dunsmore (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs)

Harcourt Travis (Secretary of State)

Rear-Admiral George R. Morris (Director, National Security Agency)

US Navy Senior Command

Admiral Joseph Mulligan (Chief of Naval Operations)

Vice Admiral John F. Dixon (Commander Atlantic Submarine Force)

Rear Admiral John Bergstrom (Commander, Special War Command, SPECWARCOM)

USS Columbia

Commander Cale “Boomer” Dunning (Commanding Officer)

Lieutenant Commander Mike Krause (Executive Officer)

Lieutenant Commander Lee O’Brien (Marine Engineering Officer)

Chief Petty Officer Rick Ames (Lieutenant Commander O’Brien’s Number Two)

Petty Officer Earl Connard (Chief Mechanic)

Lieutenant Commander Jerry Curran (Combat Systems Officer)

Lieutenant Bobby Ramsden (Sonar Officer)

Lieutenant David Wingate (Navigation Officer)

Lieutenant Abe Dickson (Officer of the Deck)

US Navy SEALs

Lieutenant Commander Rick Hunter (SEAL Team Leader and Mission Controller)

Lieutenant Junior Grade Ray Schaeffer

Chief Petty Officer Fred Cernic

Petty Officer Harry Starck

Seaman Jason Murray

US Air Force B-52H Bomber

Lieutenant Colonel Al Jaxtimer (Pilot, Fifth Bomb Wing, Minot Air Base, North Dakota)

Major Mike Parker (Copilot)

Lieutenant Chuck Ryder (Navigator)

Central Intelligence Agency

Frank Reidel (Head of the Far Eastern Desk)

Carl Chimei (Field Agent, Taiwan Submarine Base)

Angela Rivera (Field Agent, Eastern Europe and Moscow)

Military High Command of China

The Paramount Ruler (Commander in Chief, People’s Liberation Army)

General Qiao Jiyun (Chief of General Staff)

Admiral Zhang Yushu (Commander in Chief, People’s Liberation Army-Navy, PLAN)

Vice Admiral Sang Ye (Chief of Naval Staff)

Vice Admiral Yibo Yunsheng (Commander, East Sea Fleet)

Vice Admiral Zu Jicai (Commander, South Sea Fleet)

Vice Admiral Yang Zhenying (Political Commissar)

Captain Kan Yu-fang (Senior Submarine Commanding Officer)

Russian Navy

Admiral Vitaly Rankov (Chief of the Main Staff)

Lieutenant Commander Levitsky

Lieutenant Commander Kazakov

Russian Seamen

Captain Igor Volkov (Master of the Tolkach)

Ivan Volkov (his son and for’ard helmsman)

Colonel Borsov (former KGB staff, senior officer on the Yuri Andropov)

Pieter (wine steward)

Torbin (head waiter)