Seal Team Seven #20: Attack Mode Read Online Free
Author: Keith Douglass
ten or twelve miles away from the target and run us into a specific beach or waterway, where it swims to shore and rolls up on dry land.”
“Looks like it’s got flat tires,” Jaybird said.
“Yeah, half-flat and twice as wide as a car’s tires,” Murdock said. “Lets them roll right through soft sand and mud and still charge along at fifty-five miles per hour on a good road.”
The SEALs began crawling over the rig. It had a bow, hull, and closed bow that ended with a slanted steel panelthat extended up two feet, where the windshield should be. There were four view slots in it.
“Must be sixteen feet long,” Howard said. “Didn’t we see this before with a fifty-caliber on it?”
Murdock looked at a spec sheet. “She has a fifty topside just behind the driver. She’s unsinkable. Fill her with water and she’ll still float and function. She has Cadloy steel armor plate over all that protects her from anything up to 7.62 rifle fire. The wheels gyro down when she hits the sand and give you a two-foot obstacle clearance when she’s on land.”
“Twice as big as a Rubber Duck,” Canzoneri said. “What about her speed in the water?”
“Does twelve knots and is relatively quiet, with a Cummins V-504 diesel engine that kicks out two hundred and two horsepower.”
“I still don’t see no fifty-caliber,” Howard said.
Murdock scanned the spec sheet again. “Yeah, the fifty raises hydraulically when you want to shoot, which gives the gunner a three-hundred-sixty-degree field of fire.”
“Damn near a whole circle,” Jaybird said. Somebody threw a rock at him.
“How do you switch her from water to land?” Senior Chief Sadler asked.
“Don’t have to,” Murdock said. “It’s all automatic. She has sensors on the wheels. As soon as they hit sand or mud, the computer signals the drive shaft, which switches in half a second from prop to wheels and you’re off and driving.
“Now for some more data about her. She rides low in the water to give radar men fits. Has only eighteen inches of freeboard. The let-down sides button up tight on top to make her waterproof for rough water. Inside she has bench seats along the sides and a swivel chair for the driver up front. The dashboard looks more like a car than a boat, with the usual readouts for overheating, low oil, generating, and a fuel gauge. Automatic transmission.”
“So we gonna get to work out with her or is this just a beauty contest?” Bill Bradford asked.
“Oh, we’re working out. We have all morning. I want each of you to drive this Turtle out through the surf and back in. Every man has to be able to operate this vehicle. We’ll be here until all of you can make it purr like a kitten. Any questions?” There were none. “This is another piece of our equipment. It’s like our weapons and gear. We get the best results from them with repeated and quality training. So let’s get at it. Senior Chief, load up Alpha Squad and take them out for a run. She has a steering wheel and brakes. Go.”
Alpha Squad piled into the Turtle. Murdock showed Sadler how to start the engine and work the gears. It even had a reverse and two speeds forward. Then he stepped out.
“Go out a half mile, turn around. Alpha Squad, you bail out and swim back. Senior Chief drives in alone. I don’t want to see even a face mask until you’re within fifty feet of the beach. Then come in on the breakers and play dead driftwood logs washed up by the waves until the beach is cleared by your scouts. Go.”
Murdock watched the Turtle work out through the wet sand, then the foam from the waves, and at last take a three-foot breaker head-on and dive through it. Quickly the Turtle was beyond the surfline and turning. The rig was too large to fit inside the Navy’s choppers, but could be airlifted by heavy choppers from one ship to another. So far the SEALs hadn’t put the little craft into operation. It would hold just eight men, so they would need two of them for a
“Looks like it’s got flat tires,” Jaybird said.
“Yeah, half-flat and twice as wide as a car’s tires,” Murdock said. “Lets them roll right through soft sand and mud and still charge along at fifty-five miles per hour on a good road.”
The SEALs began crawling over the rig. It had a bow, hull, and closed bow that ended with a slanted steel panelthat extended up two feet, where the windshield should be. There were four view slots in it.
“Must be sixteen feet long,” Howard said. “Didn’t we see this before with a fifty-caliber on it?”
Murdock looked at a spec sheet. “She has a fifty topside just behind the driver. She’s unsinkable. Fill her with water and she’ll still float and function. She has Cadloy steel armor plate over all that protects her from anything up to 7.62 rifle fire. The wheels gyro down when she hits the sand and give you a two-foot obstacle clearance when she’s on land.”
“Twice as big as a Rubber Duck,” Canzoneri said. “What about her speed in the water?”
“Does twelve knots and is relatively quiet, with a Cummins V-504 diesel engine that kicks out two hundred and two horsepower.”
“I still don’t see no fifty-caliber,” Howard said.
Murdock scanned the spec sheet again. “Yeah, the fifty raises hydraulically when you want to shoot, which gives the gunner a three-hundred-sixty-degree field of fire.”
“Damn near a whole circle,” Jaybird said. Somebody threw a rock at him.
“How do you switch her from water to land?” Senior Chief Sadler asked.
“Don’t have to,” Murdock said. “It’s all automatic. She has sensors on the wheels. As soon as they hit sand or mud, the computer signals the drive shaft, which switches in half a second from prop to wheels and you’re off and driving.
“Now for some more data about her. She rides low in the water to give radar men fits. Has only eighteen inches of freeboard. The let-down sides button up tight on top to make her waterproof for rough water. Inside she has bench seats along the sides and a swivel chair for the driver up front. The dashboard looks more like a car than a boat, with the usual readouts for overheating, low oil, generating, and a fuel gauge. Automatic transmission.”
“So we gonna get to work out with her or is this just a beauty contest?” Bill Bradford asked.
“Oh, we’re working out. We have all morning. I want each of you to drive this Turtle out through the surf and back in. Every man has to be able to operate this vehicle. We’ll be here until all of you can make it purr like a kitten. Any questions?” There were none. “This is another piece of our equipment. It’s like our weapons and gear. We get the best results from them with repeated and quality training. So let’s get at it. Senior Chief, load up Alpha Squad and take them out for a run. She has a steering wheel and brakes. Go.”
Alpha Squad piled into the Turtle. Murdock showed Sadler how to start the engine and work the gears. It even had a reverse and two speeds forward. Then he stepped out.
“Go out a half mile, turn around. Alpha Squad, you bail out and swim back. Senior Chief drives in alone. I don’t want to see even a face mask until you’re within fifty feet of the beach. Then come in on the breakers and play dead driftwood logs washed up by the waves until the beach is cleared by your scouts. Go.”
Murdock watched the Turtle work out through the wet sand, then the foam from the waves, and at last take a three-foot breaker head-on and dive through it. Quickly the Turtle was beyond the surfline and turning. The rig was too large to fit inside the Navy’s choppers, but could be airlifted by heavy choppers from one ship to another. So far the SEALs hadn’t put the little craft into operation. It would hold just eight men, so they would need two of them for a
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