Here’s a book review that gets my recommendation less for
its story than for the niche subject, a Pegasus class hydrofoil, and the
thought provoking usage of the vessel.[1]
Target: Subic Bay, by Mack Tanner, is a fictional story whose premise is a North
Korean instigated overthrow of the Philippine government through the use of a
few nuclear weapons and a rogue Philippine rebel acting as a front and an
American admiral’s use of the Pegasus class vessel’s capabilities to attempt to
thwart the coup. Think about it … how
would you go about thwarting a North Korean and nuclear weapons-backed coup
with just a single Pegasus class hydrofoil?
The storyline, to be honest, is solidly entertaining but
nothing special. What is special is the
author’s descriptions of the many capabilities of the vessel (special ops landings,
a UAV, the SLAM land attack version of the Harpoon, Harpoons, sonobuoys, the 76
mm gun, and the vessel’s extreme speed, etc.) and how a little unorthodox
thinking can take advantage of those capabilities. One’s thoughts can’t help but be drawn into
the world of unconventional naval tactics and comparing those tactics against
the unimaginative – and generally ineffective – actions of today’s risk averse
Navy.
A very minor point is that the cover artwork does nothing
for the book and is a disappointment.
One hopes it would have depicted a Pegasus vessel doing heroic things
but such is not the case. Of course, the
cover artwork has no bearing on the value of the book, itself!
The Pegasus class hydrofoil was a fascinating and unique
craft that stirs the imagination, even today.
The class was never given a chance to shine and that’s a shame. This book offers a window into the possible
uses of such a vessel and the book is worth the read for that, alone.
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[1]Tanner, Mack, Target: Subic Bay, Zebra
Books/Kensington Publishing Co., 1992, ISBN: 0-8217-3936-0
Will add it to the list!!
ReplyDeleteAgree that the Pegasus are fascinating, as are their predecessors!! Im about 75 miles from the remains of the Plainveiw, and have visited it many times. Back when our Navy thinking outside the box didnt equate to "stupid", we did a lot of amazing things!!!
I think a lot of the problem was the foil hydraulics. The last ship I was on (a Knox) had stabilizer fins. The hydraulic system leaked like a sieve. We usually just put then in a neutral position and locked them there. The Stiletto M hull design was a very good design that would be a great test bed for a larger weapons fit, like the Pegasus. But the Navy never seems to have any future thinkers.
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