Missile Fire A True Story

This is a true story that happened sometime in mid 2000. I was a naval pilot and used to be flying extensively over the sea, living on a ship, taking off and landing back on naval ship's deck for months at a time.

Have you ever seen a P-15 Termit Missile ever? P-15 was an Anti-Ship Missile fitted on old ships. P-15 Missile was 2.5 tons in weight, 6 meters in length, 75 centimeters in diameter and with a half a ton warhead containing high explosives.

On our ship, the P-15 missile was mounted horizontal in the front of the ship with a 15 degrees elevation. When the missile is launched, the front and rear end covers open upwards. The missile flies to the forward of the ship and a very long tail of severe heat and flame shooting through the rear end of the missile container.

This long flame hits the 10mm steel Bulkhead or wall. On the other side of this 10 mm steel plate wall is Officer's bathroom. It is in this bathroom, where this Missile Fire Bath Story unfolded.

As usual we were embarked with a helicopter in a Frigate Class of ship fitted with four p-15 Termit Missiles. The previous night, I had flown a mission over the sea from midnight till 4 am and once again from 8:00 am till 12:30 pm. Flying a helicopter over the sea for four and a half hours at a stretch is a tough job. It tires you out thoroughly.

On landing I was told that at 6:00 pm, there is another four hour flight planned for me, this time too the landing will be by night like the previous night. I was already tired and after that night, I am going to be fully tired unless I sleep for a few long hours.

In anticipation of the evening flight, I had an early lunch and was came back to my cabin to sleep for a few hours. The sea state was about 3, fairly rough and the ship was rolling, pitching as well as heaving up and down quite a bit. I hit my bunk at around 1:00 pm to take rest so that I am fresh for the night launch. I switched off my light and I was so tired that I slept off almost instantly.

I woke up hearing some announcement on the ship broadcast speaker in my cabin. I didn't really hear what was the announcement as I woke up from a deep sleep and was still feeling sleepy.

I switched on the light in my cabin and looked at my wrist watch. My watch showed the time was 5:45. I had lost count of time and I couldn't make out if it is am or pm. So, as usual I presumed I have woken up in the morning.

I wore my bath robe, took my toilet items and proceeded to the washroom. I stepped out to the alleyway, and I was surprised to see that a ship with over 300 men had an empty alleyway. It didn't ring alarm in my brain. I was still a bit sleepy and nothing looked unusual to me.

Early morning there should have been people going to the washroom. But, today there was not a single soul to be seen. The ship looked dead silent. I entered the washroom and here too I found no one. And again, it did not ring an alarm in my brain.

I finished all my routines quickly and then got into the shower. Even though, there is a broadcast speaker in the bathroom, no announcement came through that either. There was an eerie silence. Something was not right.

At hands call when water is switched on, the ship fitted with steam engines, also opens the steam. But, I noticed the steam is not coming in the shower. So, I stood in the cold shower still quite sleepy.

Missile Fire True Story Happens

I was half way through my bath with soap all over my body, when all the hell broke loose. There was an ear shattering rumble followed by an unusually loud sound as it a bullet has fired. The firing sound that almost made me deaf.

I felt the whole ship shaking violently for a moment. All the lights in the bathroom went off with bullet firing sound as all the tube lights fell down with glass shattering all around. I was now standing naked in the darkness, my body dripping soap.

I regained my senses, as I came to an alert state from my sleepiness in a second. I quickly finished my bath. I felt the bathroom started getting warmer. To get my direction in the darkness, I touched the bulkheads and found that one bulkhead (metal wall) was so hot that my cold wet hand almost burned making me suddenly withdraw my hand involuntarily.

It was scary. I started thinking that our ship has been hit by a missile or something and is probably on fire. I tried to listen to some commotion, but heard nothing. I could not hear any voices or any announcements on the ship's broadcast speakers either.

I knew that this bathroom was the forwardmost compartment on that deck. So, I presumed that the bulkhead was hot due to the Sun. But, how can the sun heat up the bulkhead to such high temperature baffled me. Also, my brain told me that it was 5:45 am and the Sun is yet to rise. I was a bit confused now and was in a hurry to get out of the hot bathroom.

I groped in the darkness, found and put on my bathrobe, and somehow managed to come out of the bathroom. Some glass pieces of the tube lights on the bathroom floor made creepy crushing sounds breaking the silence as I walked over them.

It was dark outside the bathroom on the alleyway too. Probably, the ship's lighting system also had tripped. But, the emergency lamps on the two ends of the alleyway was the only dim source of light that guided me back to my cabin. Inside the airconditioned spaces of a ship made of steel, it is impossible to make out if it is day or night outside.

I went inside my cabin, groped around to find some clothes, and got in to my flying overalls as fast as I could. I came out of my cabin and walked through the alleyway to the helicopter hangar. As I reached the aircraft hangar, I saw the sun almost setting behind the ship.

My men looked at me surprised and one of them asked, "Sir, where were you? The aircraft hangar was the nominated shelter station for all the flight crew."

I didn't quite understand and replied, "Shelter station for what event?"

A sailor said, "Sir, for the Ship's Missile Firing".

There are about three to four shelter stations in any war ship, where the ship's men have to assemble during events like an enemy attack on the ship and dangerous events like missile firing.

This is a precaution taken so that in case of a missile malfunctions, and explodes on the ship itself or it fails to take off. One missile explodes and causes the other three missiles also to explode. The aim of the shelter station is that, should something go wrong, the men are safe and can survive unharmed.

In the middle of the sea, there is no where to run if the ship is hit, a fire breaks out or the ship starts sinking. That is why shelter stations, abandon ship, boat stations etc are practiced onboard. Today was "Hands to Missile Stations".

That is when for the first time I realized that I was bathing naked just 5 feet behind the huge 2.5 ton, 6 meter long Anti-Ship Missile, with a 15 meter long tail of super hot rocket fire during its launch, that could have actually melted the 10 mm thick steel wall protecting me had it got stuck in the missile container, as I stood naked in the bathroom, taking a bath, just 5 feet behind a P-15 anti-ship missile fire, that I had survived, 3 minutes ago.

An involuntary shiver went through me as I tried to replay the scene in my mind. What if the missile had malfunctioned or failed to take off as programmed? What if the missile had exploded in its container there itself? What if the super hot missile tail fire was to melt down the steel bulkhead of the bathroom that was the only wall shielding me from the super hot fire of the missile, that could have instantly evaporated me into thin air.

I had to behave brave to men. I am an officer and a pilot whom my men look up to. They have a lot of respect for me. I gave a smile to my men and walked towards my helicopter to inspect it and prepare it for the night mission, as if nothing had happened.

Next Story