Near Korea Bay, Yellow Sea
The Korean petty officer on the bow planes announced the boat was steady at the ordered depth, and the quartermaster of the watch hit an overhead switch to raise the periscope. The captain of the Son Won II Class diesel-electric submarine stepped up to the scope and made a quick 360-degree sweep for North Korean patrol boats. Passive sonar monitors declared the area free of threat vessels, but the captain was an experienced hand at clandestine operations in the Yellow Sea and not the kind of sailor who took unnecessary chances in those waters no matter how much reassurance he got from his technicians.
“Fifteen seconds, Captain.” The quartermaster on the other side of the instrument let his CO know how much time the periscope mast had been exposed above the surf
