Vixen 03
Encyclopedia
Vixen 03 is an adventure novel
by Clive Cussler
. This is the 4th book to feature the author’s primary protagonist Dirk Pitt
.
Boeing
C-97 Stratofreighter
codenamed Vixen 03 takes off from the Buckley Naval Air Station
in Colorado on a late-night flight transporting a top-secret cargo from the Rocky Mountain Arsenal
to testing grounds near the Bikini Atoll
in the Pacific Ocean. The plane never arrives in the Pacific, and, despite a massive four-month search by the Navy and Coast Guard, no trace of Vixen 03 is discovered.
The story then jumps forward 34 years, where Dirk Pitt, Special Projects Director for the National Underwater and Marine Agency, is vacationing with Colorado Congresswoman Loren Smith at her father’s cabin in the Sawatch Mountains
. Pitt discovers some aircraft parts in the cabin garage and follows this lead until he intuits that there is an aircraft crash site in the local lake, Table Lake. Calling for his friend and Assistant Special Projects Director Al Giordino to fly in specialized NUMA equipment, they survey the lake and quickly find the wreck of Vixen 03.
Discovering clues found on the wreck, Pitt follows the evidence to retired Admiral Walter Bass, United States Navy
, who was the commander who ordered Vixen 03 on its top-secret mission. Bass first denies any knowledge of the plane, but after Pitt convinces him that he really has found the wreck, the Admiral reveals that the plane was carrying a cargo of 16-inch battleship shells loaded with a deadly biological doomsday organism. The organism, nicknamed QD for quick death, is a virulent bacterial weapon that causes nearly instant death. The strain is described as being so deadly that just five ounces air-dropped over Manhattan Island would kill 98% of all human life, and, because the strain actually grows stronger over time, would render the island uninhabitable for up to 300 years.
Determined that this doomsday organism that he hoped was lost forever must never fall into the hands of the government that someday may decide to use it, Admiral Bass convinces Pitt, Admiral Sandecker and the rest of the NUMA team that they must secretly raise Vixen 03 and destroy the deadly cargo. The team raises the wreck and discovers that eight of the 36 shells are missing, apparently salvaged by local divers and sold to the Phalanx Arms Company. Pitt follows the trail and is able to recover six of the eight shells, but discovers that the last two were mistakenly sold as part of a large shipment to the African Army of Revolution.
The African Army of Revolution is an organization of black African militants led by expatriate American Hiram Lusana with the stated goal of overthrowing the minority white government of the Republic of South Africa
using international public opinion and force against military targets. Pieter de Vaal, Minister of the South African Defense Force, is determined to stop the AAR and develops a plan to both rid himself of the AAR and topple the existing government and put himself in power.
The plan, code-named Operation Wild Rose, is a plot to use black mercenaries in a terrorist attack on the United States to discredit the AAR and win sympathy for the white minority government in South Africa. De Vaal recruits Captain Patrick McKenzie Fawkes, late of the Royal Navy
, who believes his family was slaughtered by the AAR, to lead the plan. The audacious plan calls for Fawkes to take control of the former U.S. battleship Iowa
, which was sold for scrap and purchased by an AAR holding company, to undergo a major gutting, raising her draft and allowing her to ride much higher in the water. Raising the draft enables Fawkes to sail the ship up the Potomac River
and proceed with the plan for a terrorist attack by shelling Washington D.C..
With the help of Dale Jarvis, Director of the National Security Agency
, Pitt discovers the plot to shell Washington with 16-inch battleship shells and, unbeknownst to anyone but Pitt and a few others, unleash the deadly QD organism on the nation’s capitol by accident. While the President and the Joint Chiefs launch a plan to take the ship and capture the shells intact, Pitt hopes to keep his promise to Admiral Bass and launches a daring mission of his own to destroy the QD warheads before they can be used, by the terrorists or the government.
appear briefly in fictional roles.
References to the development of the Hydrogen Bomb and the military testing conducted on the Bikini Atoll
appear during the story as a disguise for the testing of the QD device.
Adventure novel
The adventure novel is a genre of novels that has adventure, an exciting undertaking involving risk and physical danger, as its main theme.-History:...
by Clive Cussler
Clive Cussler
Clive Eric Cussler is an American adventure novelist and marine archaeologist. His thriller novels, many featuring the character Dirk Pitt, have reached The New York Times fiction best-seller list more than seventeen times...
. This is the 4th book to feature the author’s primary protagonist Dirk Pitt
Dirk Pitt
Dirk Pitt is a fictional character, the protagonist of a series of bestselling adventure novels written by Clive Cussler. The name Dirk Pitt is a registered trademark of Clive Cussler.-Character information and the supporting cast:...
.
Plot introduction
In 1954 Vixen 03, a top-secret flight bound for the military’s testing grounds in the South Pacific, crashes and is never recovered. Thirty-four years later while on vacation Dirk Pitt, Special Projects Director for the National Underwater and Marine Agency, finds the remains of Vixen 03 and her top-secret cargo. His salvage efforts turn up some anomalies, including a body that is not from the original crew, and send Pitt on a chase to stop a terrorist plot that could potentially leave millions dead.Explanation of the novel's title
Vixen 03 is the code name for a military aircraft lost while on a top-secret mission.Plot summary
In January 1954 a United States Air ForceUnited States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
C-97 Stratofreighter
C-97 Stratofreighter
The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter was a long range heavy military cargo aircraft based on the B-29 bomber. Design work began in 1942, with the prototype's first flight being on 9 November 1944, and the first production aircraft entered service in 1947. Between 1947 and 1958, 888 C-97s in several...
codenamed Vixen 03 takes off from the Buckley Naval Air Station
Buckley Air Force Base
Buckley Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in Aurora, Colorado, that was established by the U.S. Army in 1943. The base was named in honor of the World War I Army pilot 1LT John Harold Buckley.-Overview:...
in Colorado on a late-night flight transporting a top-secret cargo from the Rocky Mountain Arsenal
Rocky Mountain Arsenal
The Rocky Mountain Arsenal was a United States chemical weapons manufacturing center located in the Denver Metropolitan Area in Commerce City, Colorado...
to testing grounds near the Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....
in the Pacific Ocean. The plane never arrives in the Pacific, and, despite a massive four-month search by the Navy and Coast Guard, no trace of Vixen 03 is discovered.
The story then jumps forward 34 years, where Dirk Pitt, Special Projects Director for the National Underwater and Marine Agency, is vacationing with Colorado Congresswoman Loren Smith at her father’s cabin in the Sawatch Mountains
Sawatch Range
The Sawatch Range is a mountain range in central Colorado which includes eight of the twenty highest peaks in the Rocky Mountains, including Mount Elbert, at elevation, the highest peak in the Rockies....
. Pitt discovers some aircraft parts in the cabin garage and follows this lead until he intuits that there is an aircraft crash site in the local lake, Table Lake. Calling for his friend and Assistant Special Projects Director Al Giordino to fly in specialized NUMA equipment, they survey the lake and quickly find the wreck of Vixen 03.
Discovering clues found on the wreck, Pitt follows the evidence to retired Admiral Walter Bass, United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, who was the commander who ordered Vixen 03 on its top-secret mission. Bass first denies any knowledge of the plane, but after Pitt convinces him that he really has found the wreck, the Admiral reveals that the plane was carrying a cargo of 16-inch battleship shells loaded with a deadly biological doomsday organism. The organism, nicknamed QD for quick death, is a virulent bacterial weapon that causes nearly instant death. The strain is described as being so deadly that just five ounces air-dropped over Manhattan Island would kill 98% of all human life, and, because the strain actually grows stronger over time, would render the island uninhabitable for up to 300 years.
Determined that this doomsday organism that he hoped was lost forever must never fall into the hands of the government that someday may decide to use it, Admiral Bass convinces Pitt, Admiral Sandecker and the rest of the NUMA team that they must secretly raise Vixen 03 and destroy the deadly cargo. The team raises the wreck and discovers that eight of the 36 shells are missing, apparently salvaged by local divers and sold to the Phalanx Arms Company. Pitt follows the trail and is able to recover six of the eight shells, but discovers that the last two were mistakenly sold as part of a large shipment to the African Army of Revolution.
The African Army of Revolution is an organization of black African militants led by expatriate American Hiram Lusana with the stated goal of overthrowing the minority white government of the Republic of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
using international public opinion and force against military targets. Pieter de Vaal, Minister of the South African Defense Force, is determined to stop the AAR and develops a plan to both rid himself of the AAR and topple the existing government and put himself in power.
The plan, code-named Operation Wild Rose, is a plot to use black mercenaries in a terrorist attack on the United States to discredit the AAR and win sympathy for the white minority government in South Africa. De Vaal recruits Captain Patrick McKenzie Fawkes, late of the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
, who believes his family was slaughtered by the AAR, to lead the plan. The audacious plan calls for Fawkes to take control of the former U.S. battleship Iowa
USS Iowa (BB-61)
USS Iowa was the lead ship of her class of battleship and the fourth in the United States Navy to be named in honor of the 29th state...
, which was sold for scrap and purchased by an AAR holding company, to undergo a major gutting, raising her draft and allowing her to ride much higher in the water. Raising the draft enables Fawkes to sail the ship up the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
and proceed with the plan for a terrorist attack by shelling Washington D.C..
With the help of Dale Jarvis, Director of the National Security Agency
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
, Pitt discovers the plot to shell Washington with 16-inch battleship shells and, unbeknownst to anyone but Pitt and a few others, unleash the deadly QD organism on the nation’s capitol by accident. While the President and the Joint Chiefs launch a plan to take the ship and capture the shells intact, Pitt hopes to keep his promise to Admiral Bass and launches a daring mission of his own to destroy the QD warheads before they can be used, by the terrorists or the government.
Characters in Vixen 03
- Dirk PittDirk PittDirk Pitt is a fictional character, the protagonist of a series of bestselling adventure novels written by Clive Cussler. The name Dirk Pitt is a registered trademark of Clive Cussler.-Character information and the supporting cast:...
– Special Projects Director for the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) - Admiral James Sandecker – Chief Director of NUMA
- Al GiordinoAl GiordinoAlbert Cassius Giordino is a fictional character in a series of adventure novels by Clive Cussler; he first appears in The Mediterranean Caper . He is described as being of Italian ancestry, 5'4" in height, 175 lb, with dark curly hair, swarthy skin, dark Etruscan eyes, and a Roman nose. He...
– Assistant Special Projects Director for NUMA. - Admiral Walter Horatio Bass – United States Navy Admiral in charge of the top-secret program that was thought destroyed when Vixen 03 disappeared.
- Captain Patrick McKenzie Fawkes – Retired Captain of the British Royal Navy who is tricked into leading the terrorist attack on the United States after the slaughter of his family, supposedly by troops of the African Army of Revolution.
- Colonel Abe Steiger – United States Air Force officer in charge of investigating downed military aircraft
- Congressman Frederick Daggat – Democratic African-American Congressman who is a supporter of the AAR and Hiram Lusana and attempts to blackmail Congresswoman Loren Smith into voting in support of granting American aid to the AAR by threatening to expose her affair with Dirk Pitt.
- Congresswoman Loren Smith – Independent Party Congresswoman from the state of Colorado and the on again - off again lover of Dirk Pitt.
- Dale Jarvis – Director of the National Security Agency
- Hiram Lusana – American born leader of the African Army of Revolution who is leading a political and military war against the white minority government of South Africa.
- Pieter De Vaal – Minister of the South African Defense Force and the man who conceives Operation Wild Rose as a means to overthrow the current leadership of South Africa and place him in power.
Allusions/references to actual history, geography and current science
A feature common to works by Clive Cussler is a prologue set in a period prior to the primary time setting. In Vixen 03 the prologue is quite short and deals mostly with the preparation leading up to the departure of the top-secret flight. During this sequence President Dwight David Eisenhower and U.S. Secretary of Defense Charles WilsonCharles Erwin Wilson
Charles Erwin Wilson , American businessman and politician, was United States Secretary of Defense from 1953 to 1957 under President Eisenhower. Known as "Engine Charlie", he previously worked as CEO for General Motors. In the wake of the Korean War, he cut the defense budget significantly.-Early...
appear briefly in fictional roles.
References to the development of the Hydrogen Bomb and the military testing conducted on the Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....
appear during the story as a disguise for the testing of the QD device.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
No film, television or theatrical adaptations have yet been produced from this novel.Release details
- 1978, United States, Viking Press, ISBN 0-670-74741-6, June 1978, HardcoverHardcoverA hardcover, hardback or hardbound is a book bound with rigid protective covers...
. - 1984, United States, Bantam (reissue edition), ISBN 0-553-27390-6, August 1, 1984, PaperbackPaperbackPaperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
. - 2006, United States, Bantam (mass market), ISBN 0-553-58944-X, July 25, 2006, PaperbackPaperbackPaperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
.