16
Blinding Light
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.
—Roman philosopher Seneca
Captain Tucker of the South Dakota continued to suppress much of his excitement as he gave the command, “Fire One!”
“Torpedo away.”
The sonar operator gave a running count as the torpedo hummed toward the Chiron.
Unlike the torpedoes of WWII, modern torpedoes did not try to hit the target. Rather, the newer weapons went underneath the target and exploded when their sensors suggested they had reached the centerline under the keel. The goal was to break the ship’s back, leaving the fore and aft sections to sink independently, much like the Titanic’s pieces had sunk after its fatal encounter with an iceberg.
The submarine captains of America’s fleet had spent a substantial amount of ti
