The Seventh Angel - Страница 18

One of the most successful developments of the Nazi rocket program was the Vergeltungswaffe 1, or V-1 rocket. Also known as the buzz bomb or doodlebug, the V-1 was powered by a pulse jet engine, and guided by a gyro-magnetic autopilot system. The first test flights occurred in late 1941 or early 1942. After some initial guidance problems were ironed out, the V-1 proved to be an incredibly powerful weapon. Many military historians classify it as the first cruise missile.

By 1944, Germany was launching V-1 rockets at England, literally by the thousands. According to a report written by American General Clayton Bissell in December of 1944, about 8,025 self-guided V-1 rockets were launched at targets in England during a nine-week period of that year. As a result of this unrelenting barrage of rockets, more than a million houses and other buildings were destroyed or damaged, and tens of thousands of people were killed.

The rocket, which had been a formidable engine of war almost from the outset, was becoming the first weapon of mass destruction.

The V-2 rocket program (Vergeltungswaffe 2) ran concurrently with the V-1 project, but the V-2s were much more technologically advanced. Under the engineering expertise of Wernher von Braun and Arthur Rudolph, the V-2 rocket became the first true ballistic missile, and the first man-made object to reach sub-orbital space.

After climbing to the fringes of outer space, a V-2 rocket would tip over and drop back down into the atmosphere, diving toward its target at four times the speed of sound with a 2,150 pound warhead of highly-explosive Amatol. The combination of extreme altitude and supersonic speed made the rockets invulnerable to anti-aircraft guns and fighter planes, and the enormous warheads made the rockets exceptionally powerful. A single V-2 rocket could reduce an entire city block to ankle-high rubble.

In terms of technological achievement, the V-2 was a quantum leap forward. In terms of tactical effectiveness, it was somewhat less impressive. Despite its speed, range, and warhead capacity, the V-2 was not very accurate. Also, the V-2 became operational too late in the war to have much impact on the outcome of the fighting. Of the more than 6,000 V-2 rockets built, only about half were ever launched as weapons. The remainder were destroyed, expended by testing, or captured by the Allies at the end of World War II.

The war in Europe came to an end on May 7, 1945, when Generaloberst Alfred Jodl signed the documents of unconditional surrender on behalf of the German High Command. Adolf Hitler lay dead by his own hand, and his beloved Berlin was in flames. Hitler’s dream of world domination had fallen to ashes, along with much of his erstwhile Nazi empire.

Hitler’s super rockets had come too late to turn the tide of the war, but no one could deny that the V-1 and V-2 really were the super rockets that he had threatened to build.

On the other side of the world, the war in the Pacific was entering its bloodiest phase. The defeat of Imperial Japan was considered a certainty, but the Japanese were preparing to fight to the very last man, woman, or child. Japan would not surrender.

But everything changed in August of 1945. On the sixth day of that month, an American B-29 bomber obliterated the Japanese city of Hiroshima with a single atomic bomb. More than 70,000 people were killed instantly, and nearly a quarter of a million more would die from the effects of nuclear radiation over the next few years.

Three days after the destruction of Hiroshima, while Japan was still reeling from the shock of losing an entire city to a single bomb, America followed up with a second nuclear attack on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. Once again, a single atomic bomb was used, and once again the devastation was complete. Somewhere between 40,000 and 75,000 people were killed by the direct effects of the explosion. And — as with Hiroshima — tens of thousands more would die over the following years.

Representatives of the Japanese Emperor formally signed the documents of surrender on September 2, 1945, aboard the battleship USS Missouri, at anchor in Tokyo Bay. The Second World War was officially over. The nations of the earth were ready to turn towards peace. But the threat was not ended.

Germany’s rocket scientists had shown the world how to build missiles and rockets capable of reaching space, and spanning the distances between nations. America’s own scientists had discovered the secret to building nuclear weapons. It was only a matter of time before the two deadliest technologies in history merged to become a single weapon with unimaginable destructive power.

The weapons of World War II had given rise to the weapons of World War III. For the first time, mankind had the knowledge and the ability to destroy all life on planet earth.

CHAPTER 14

AVACHA BAY COMMERCIAL SEA PORT FACILITY (OJSC)

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKI, RUSSIA

WEDNESDAY; 27 FEBRUARY

1814 hours (6:14 PM)

TIME ZONE +12 ‘MIKE’

The sun was just beginning to dip below the volcanic peaks to the west of the city, when Customs Officer Evgeny Petrov spotted the militia car. The big black Volga squeaked to a stop near the head of the pier, about thirty meters from where the customs man was standing.

Arms wrapped around himself for warmth, Petrov hunkered farther down into his heavy wool greatcoat, and trudged toward the car, his boots crunching through the layer of rime ice and snow that covered the cement quay. He had called for militia backup nearly two hours ago, and the idiots were just now getting here.

A car door opened and a man climbed out and tightened his own coat, as Petrov covered the remaining distance to the car. The driver wore the uniform and insignia of a major in the militia.

A major? That much was good, at least. The militia man was going to need some clout to handle this situation. But where were his men? Had the fool come alone?

The militia officer straightened his hat and turned up the collar of his coat against the wind. “I am Major Noviko,” he said. “Are you Petrov?”

Petrov nodded. “Yes.” He looked around. “Where are your men?”

“A truck is coming behind me,” Noviko said. “It should be along in a minute or two. In the meantime, why don’t you tell me what the problem is?”

Petrov pointed toward the pier. “There is the problem,” he said.

Moored to the pier were two ships: enormous boxy vessels, the size of skyscrapers laid on their sides. The ships were car carriers, both of the same design, with blue-painted hulls and white superstructures.

The vessel closest to the head of the pier had the name Shunfeng lettered on the hull near the bow. The second ship had the name Jifeng painted in the same location.

Both ships had large open cargo doors, and steel ramps extended down to the pier. As the two men watched, strange-looking six-wheeled vehicles drove down the ramps of both ships, and fell into line behind long rows of similar vehicles that were already parked on the pier.

There were perhaps a hundred vehicles on the pier already, their motors all running as they sat idling on the snow-encrusted concrete. They were all painted dark green, and they all had angular profiles and heavy construction. Some were relatively featureless. Others bristled with antennas, or were topped by what were unmistakably guns. They were obviously military vehicles.

“These ships have no authorization,” Petrov said. “We have spoken to the masters of both vessels, and they claim that these vehicles are for delivery to the naval base at Rybachiy. But they have produced no proof of clearance, no manifest transfers, no delivery authorization of any kind.”

Petrov nodded toward the still growing ranks of military vehicles. “I have formally notified both masters that it is against the law to offload their cargoes without customs clearance.” He scowled. “As you can see, they ignore our warnings.”

The major nodded gravely. “Yes, I see. And how many men do you have in your charge, here?”

“Three,” Petrov said. “Myself, and two other customs agents.” As he watched, another pair of the angular six-wheeled vehicles rolled onto the pier. These were topped by what seemed to be rocket launchers.

“So far, they are remaining inside the fence of the customs area,” Petrov said. “But we can’t keep them here if they decide to leave. That’s why I called the militia for reinforcements.”

“A prudent move,” Major Noviko said. He checked his watch and frowned. “My men should be here by now.”

“Perhaps you should call them, to check,” Petrov said.

“I will,” Noviko agreed. “But first, please summon your other two agents.” He surveyed the lines of military vehicles. “We’re going to need a much larger response force to contain this. I want to have more information before I call in the request.”

Petrov nodded and unclipped a tape-swaddled radio from his belt. The pier lights were flickering on now, and the sun was nearly gone behind the peak of Koryaksky mountain.

As he summoned his men by radio, Petrov noted that the stream of vehicles had finally halted. They sat idling on the pier, clouds of vapor rising from their exhaust pipes.

Shubin arrived almost immediately. Borodin took a couple of minutes longer. He’d been down at the far end of the pier, and he was breathing heavily when he stumped over to stand near his supervisor and the militia officer.

Major Noviko nodded. “Is this everyone?”