SUBMARINE

WW III submarine warfare--solid, detailed, complex. NATO and the Soviets are fighting it out in the water; the West hopes that by taking out 20 regular Soviet subs plus one monster Typhoon sub, they'll dissuade Moscow from escalating the war to nuclear-missile action. So the West sends out two British subs, the ready-to-be-scrapped Orca, captained by Lieutenant Commander Julian Farge, and the modern nuke sub Safari, headed by Farge's rival, Commander Janner Coombes, to locate a Typhoon now being outfitted and ready to enter the Barents Sea. Orders are that Farge is to penetrate the Soviet area where the Typhoon will first appear, then radio the distant Coombes that the Safari should prepare to strike. But, while the Orca waits in Soviet waters, the Safari pops a steam leak that keeps her at a snail's pace. Then the Orca runs afoul of a mine whose wires snag on the ship's rear planes and have to be cut loose by divers, one of whom dies. Still, Orca finally spots the Typhoon, accompanied by two Victor surface defenders, and radios the location to Safari. And Safari and the Typhoon engage in a hair-raising torpedo battle. . . which, as hoped, leads to peace. Authentic thrills for submarine buffs.