That is exactly what it is, both in direct context and deeper meaning. Barton as a PM is different from the Americans across the pond and from the later @ British PMs that tried to ape them, such as Anthony Blair and David Cameron in that he prefers the behind the scenes spade work to flashy public gestures and making it all about him. He doesn't have the 'kindly uncle' ebullience of Callaghan nor the cultivated and ultimately artificial pretence of Wilson as 'a man of the people', but hearkens a bit stylistically towards Attlee in some fashions; he also has some Churchillian tendencies, such as a predominant interest (indeed, the closest he comes to excitement) in military and foreign affairs.
Here, there is a bit of information on the other Commonwealth PMs, a tiny bit on shipping that has some interesting future directions, an unexpected Spanish Inquisition joke, the Special Committee and various superfolk and a precis on Special Forces along with some bits on their future armament. Nothing flashy, but solid.
Dark Earth: A New Jerusalem
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1049
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth: A New Jerusalem
A New Jerusalem Part 10
10 Downing Street
November 30th 1964
“No.”
“No to what, Prime Minister?”
“No to all of them. An honour has got to mean something, Obo. If they are just handed out as pats on the back for long and faithful service, then they are little more than glorified perks.”
“I see you meaning and can quite agree with the general sentiment, but a blanket approach might come across as a tad extreme.”
“I don’t mean to nix all of them, not by a long shot. If someone truly merits an OBE or the like, then they shall get it. I’m talking more to the civil servants and MPs who look upon getting a K as their rightful reward for doing their jobs.”
“This does set something of a precedent, Prime Minister.”
“I’ve no worry with that. As I said, I’ve no issue with good and proper honours. These, however,” Barton gestured at a small pile to his left “need to be rethought.”
“Very good, Prime Minister. Does this extend to the Life Peers?”
“Most certainly. Yes to Florey, but find something more appropriate for the other three. If the House of Lords is to mean anything, then it can’t be a sinecure for captains of industry, or for union chiefs for that matter.”
“You’re not a secret unilateralist, are you Prime Minister?”
“No, Obo, I’ve no grudge against the Lords as an institution, nor as a house of review. Our traditions are what make us strong, when they work as intended and not as a political tool. Let the best get Life Peerages, not the rest.”
“An admirable sentiment, I’m sure, Prime Minister. Now, does this change of policy extend to the Imperial Honours?”
“No, in that we follow the Dominions as they see fit. I have to trust the decision of Sir William on the Canadian names, or there is no equality in our Commonwealth fellows.”
“Very good, Prime Minister.”
“That is a good standard and a good tradition. We keep what is right and nip in the bud that which is not. I don’t want to see knighthoods go to actors, sportsmen or coal barons, not out of disdain for their crafts, but to keep it special. Have them earn it.”
“Now, on the confidential list, there are just a few names this year. A CB for Commander Bond and a KCMG for Brigadier Flashman. You can see the explanations here and here.”
The Cabinet Secretary passed a sheet of vellum across the table, indicating the separate sections with his prehensile tail.
“Hmmm...I can see the case for Bond, but this second chap...I’ve heard of him.”
“Yes, Prime Minister, as have we all. Undoubtedly a cad, and dare I say, a bounder to boot, but this is merited in this case. It seems he did stop a war between Tibet and Shangri-La, even if it was despite himself.”
“Even so, we can’t have the other sort of thing happen, not in this England. Give him a CMG and make him Governor of Pitcairn. That should cool his ardour for a bit.”
“Yes, Prime Minister.”
................................
December 1st 1964
British Pathe Newsreel
"The romance of flight is still a rare pleasure for most of us stuck down here on Terra Firma, but for some, it seems to have become second nature. The Prime Minister only returned from his visit to the United States and Canada just the other day, but here he is back again at the special exhibition of Britain's jet airliners of the future at RAF Farnborough. Luckily this time, he's just visiting, so no need to pack a case!
Those genius boffins at the great air firms have sure come out with some whizz-bang jets. See the new behemoth from Vickers, the VC10. Better cover your ears, Mr. Barton! Few are surprised to learn it can take over five hundred passengers on board. de Havilland's stylish swept-wing offering is so new that it doesn't even have a name yet, just a number - DH.150. Next up we see the elegant supersonic Handley Page HP.125 Jetstream, designed for the longest Empire routes, all in the utmost of luxury. Even Rover looks impressed!
Imagery of a madly barking Scottish Terrier and a laughing audience of dignitaries
We've all marveled at Hawker-Siddeley's revolutionary Concord and the sleek Bristol Type 250, but how about this remarkable aeroplane, the brainchild of Sir Barnes Wallis, a name which need no introduction. She's called the Swallow and although she looks like something that Captain Dan Dare should be flying off to Mars, she's actually for closer to home, such as India and the South Pacific. What a bird!
The future is in the skies - that much is plane to see!
...............................
10 Downing Street
2nd December 1964
Some of the process of a new government was tedious, some was ceremonious, some was portentous and some, altogether too rarely, was pleasant. This would be one of the last category and, although the area was not one that truly grabbed at Stanley Barton by the soul, it was an issue close to the party’s heart.
“This may not be the pot at the end of the rainbow, but the purse strings are well and truly untied, gentlemen. Your task is to see it spent as efficiently as possible. This is our opportunity to show the working men and women of this country what a Labour government can do for them.”
Both men opposite nodded in firm agreement. Tom Stephens, Minister of Social Security, was one of Barton’s young protégés and a rising star in the party, so his concurrence and loyalty was something he could thankfully take for granted, but it was eminently gratifying to have Kenneth Robinson, the Minister of Health, similarly backing him. He had a reputation for quiet competence, a fine mind and calm character that would help sell this section of the Grand Design to the key stakeholders in the NHS. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to employ a bit of tactical encouragement.
“Kenneth, you’ve got the most important part to play and I wouldn’t have anyone else doing it. We’re going to commit to spending a flat 5% of GDP on health, which will deliver a sizeable annual increase if we can win in the push for growth. You’ve also go first priority of all the domestic ministries on the sinking fund for additional capital costs.”
“We can make that work, Prime Minister, but it will take some clever manoeuvring. If we want to eliminate all prescription charges, there will be a steadily growing cost.”
“For that, we can find the money. The three big manifesto promises stand. No charge on prescription, no reduction in beds and no arbitrary limits on treatments. I’ve seen the penny pinchers try and come at all types of treatments since we established the NHS and I’ve no truck with it, no truck whatsoever. Dental, spectacles, physical therapy, even circumcision for goodness sake! They didn’t work then and we’re not having it now we’re in charge, by George!”
“What about the construction plan?”
“I’ve told Denis to find the money for our hospital building programme, so you just have to make sure we use them optimally. Your proposal about doctor’s pay and a Charter of General Practice was very sound and you’ve got my backing to start moving on it straight away.”
“Excellent. And the new drugs and machines from America I outlined?”
“Go for them. Beyond the immediate term, we need to be building them here - kidney machines, body scanners, heart starters, bone builders and even that infant monitor that goes ‘Ping!’ they showed us back during the election. I want us to be self sufficient by 1972, at the latest.”
“I’ll leave that part to my other colleagues, Prime Minister. What I can say is that my professional advisors say we’ll need more and increasingly complex machines by the year.”
“I’m no doctor, Kenneth, nor am I a scientist. We’ll make sure you get the tools; I’ll leave it to you and your department to finish the job. Now, Tom, your job is just as important. The broad outline in your memo was quite in line with both what we've committed to do and the extent to which we can do it.”
“I endeavoured to reach that blessed medium, Prime Minister. The ceilings of 3.5% are going to be middlingly difficult for the first year or so, but provided that there is no dramatic increase in unemployment, current expenditure on welfare can cover the various requirements of the major areas of National Assistance, Family Allowance and Housing Benefit. The sooner we can augment both the general old age pension and war pensions, the better, though."
"As soon as we can, Tom. If we can push for growth, we'll hit all those markers in due course. First order of business is to make sure everyone fit for work can get a job, then we fix up the pension and fund it properly; that'll free us up for more options."
"I think that is reasonably viable, Prime Minister."
"We need to under-promise and over-deliver and do it all while keeping to the plan. Once we achieve our first order of business, then we can think big. I want to eradicate poverty in this country, not just alleviate its ancillary evils. You fellows will be my key lieutenants in that."
It had gone rather well, Barton thought afterwards. His approach was to get the best men in place that he could find and give them the room to carry out their role. Working in a team was more natural to him than all this blasted grandstanding. It was all about finding the right pieces of the puzzle and letting them be put into shape; the only problem was that he alone knew what the big picture would ultimately be. Even then, it was only a shadow.
This particular part of the shadowy puzzle would be an interesting one. He had plans for a major reshaping of the very ministries of government. If Tom Stephens could handle this task, then he was the man he had in mind to head the new super Ministry, combining Social Security, Pensions, Housing and Local Government. There would be other consolidations as well, joining together Trade, Industry and Labour for one. It would all be part of the push for efficiency, for modernity and readiness.
They needed to be ready, Britain needed to be ready. He lead a nation and empire at war, both fiercely hot and icily cold. At any moment, the day might come and then the day after and the day after that, like threads in a web leading onto darkness and silence. It could be the Russians or the other business...but sufficient unto the day thereof was that particular problem. War was his major concern, but he longed for peace. Real peace, a lasting true peace that would allow them to work for a better, fairer, more compassionate society, to build the new Jerusalem.
.................................................
An address by Prime Minister Stanley Barton at Westminster Hall
November 8th 1964
“Britain today stands on the cusp. On the cusp of incredible change, on the cusp of tremendous challenge and on the cusp of great opportunity. We must take up the test that confronts us.
It is our way, it is our duty, it is our destiny.
Should we not, should we recoil into the soothing refuge of insularity, of lesser things and of comfortable mediocrity, then we betray all of the greatness of our past and of our future for the illusion of solace. We have never recoiled from challenge or glory as a nation and an Empire and we will not now.
Should we take up the challenge of the 1960s and beyond, should we take up the struggle to still be great, to be mightier yet, then we face difficult days and trying times, but beyond that, there is something new. A parting of the clouds to reveal a city of gold, a New Jerusalem for us all.
It is a better Britain.
It is a land where every child receives the best education in the world and can make the most of the finest opportunities in life. This Labour Government will build more schools than any before us and make all of the ones we have even better than they are today. We will invest in our universities to provide the scientists, technicians, engineers, doctors and experts to lead our country and Empire into the future.
It is a land where the welfare of all is provided, from the cradle to the grave. The sick, the bereaved, the orphan and all those in need shall be fully provided for and defended against privation and want. We will ensure that those in need will get all that they require to live lives of freedom, opportunity and potential. We will provide the elderly with increased pensions so that their golden years are exactly that.
It is a country where everyone can have a beautiful house well equipped with all of the modern necessities of life, keeping the ties of community and of goodness in orderly structured neighbourhoods. We are too great a nation to tolerate the existence of slums in our towns and cities and too good a nation to forget and set aside the people of our villages and countryside. We are too proud a people to be content with second best, whether it be in our roads, ports and railways or in the provision of the best quality and most affordable foodstuffs in the world.
It is a people freed from the last terrible vestiges of disease and sickness. We have made great advances since the advent of the National Health Service, but there are many more to go. We can now take the battle to new germs and new plagues and banish them to the past with smallpox and consumption. Our knights will be our doctors and nurses and our castles the hospitals of a better Britain and we must and will have more of both. Our people will live longer and live well.
It is an economy where energy to power our industry, light our streets and warm our homes will do bountiful and so cheap as make the costs of today seem only a dream in comparison. Our coal will power the world and work the steelworks and mills of our industry at home. Our oil will secure our future prosperity and security, enriching all Britons and building our great motor industry. We will harness the power of the atom as we have the waves of the ocean and use it to build a new tomorrow and to power the railways, aeroplanes and ships of today.
It is a society where the labourers, the shopkeepers and the factory workers, men and women alike, join with the owners of businesses, factories and companies to work for a fairer and more prosperous future. One where our labour unions have a seat and a say in our national plan alongside the captains of industry and finance. Our challenge is to grow - grow in wealth, grow in productivity, grow in innovation and grow in determined harmony. There is nothing that this country cannot achieve, cannot build, cannot make. We can win the future battles and wars of economy through science and through cooperation; together, we build the future we deserve.
It is these things and more, much more.
It is an Empire, not if slavery, but of those who set slaves free. It is an Empire not of walls and prisons, of barbed wire and control of minds, but of brotherhood, of freedom, of choice and of stern defence of all that is good and right. The world we live in is divided by more than economics and more than ideology, though those are great among the barriers that keep mankind divided into two worlds. It is divided by the simple idea of freedom. The British Empire has ever been built on that idea and now as we look forward to a new millennium, we must redouble our determination and our aim, strong in peace and ever willing to defend it. The battle for a better tomorrow here at home is just one part of the greater crusade for all under God’s heaven.
It is our destiny. We shall not falter, whatever the trials we face. We shall not turn from hardship or from obstacles, for we know what lies ahead. It is not enough to build a better Britain or even a better world alone. We know what we have done before and what we can do again. The future lies in the stars and we should never shirk our destiny among them.
For on the vast oceans of space, just as on the seven seas of this home, Britannia shall rule the waves.”
10 Downing Street
November 30th 1964
“No.”
“No to what, Prime Minister?”
“No to all of them. An honour has got to mean something, Obo. If they are just handed out as pats on the back for long and faithful service, then they are little more than glorified perks.”
“I see you meaning and can quite agree with the general sentiment, but a blanket approach might come across as a tad extreme.”
“I don’t mean to nix all of them, not by a long shot. If someone truly merits an OBE or the like, then they shall get it. I’m talking more to the civil servants and MPs who look upon getting a K as their rightful reward for doing their jobs.”
“This does set something of a precedent, Prime Minister.”
“I’ve no worry with that. As I said, I’ve no issue with good and proper honours. These, however,” Barton gestured at a small pile to his left “need to be rethought.”
“Very good, Prime Minister. Does this extend to the Life Peers?”
“Most certainly. Yes to Florey, but find something more appropriate for the other three. If the House of Lords is to mean anything, then it can’t be a sinecure for captains of industry, or for union chiefs for that matter.”
“You’re not a secret unilateralist, are you Prime Minister?”
“No, Obo, I’ve no grudge against the Lords as an institution, nor as a house of review. Our traditions are what make us strong, when they work as intended and not as a political tool. Let the best get Life Peerages, not the rest.”
“An admirable sentiment, I’m sure, Prime Minister. Now, does this change of policy extend to the Imperial Honours?”
“No, in that we follow the Dominions as they see fit. I have to trust the decision of Sir William on the Canadian names, or there is no equality in our Commonwealth fellows.”
“Very good, Prime Minister.”
“That is a good standard and a good tradition. We keep what is right and nip in the bud that which is not. I don’t want to see knighthoods go to actors, sportsmen or coal barons, not out of disdain for their crafts, but to keep it special. Have them earn it.”
“Now, on the confidential list, there are just a few names this year. A CB for Commander Bond and a KCMG for Brigadier Flashman. You can see the explanations here and here.”
The Cabinet Secretary passed a sheet of vellum across the table, indicating the separate sections with his prehensile tail.
“Hmmm...I can see the case for Bond, but this second chap...I’ve heard of him.”
“Yes, Prime Minister, as have we all. Undoubtedly a cad, and dare I say, a bounder to boot, but this is merited in this case. It seems he did stop a war between Tibet and Shangri-La, even if it was despite himself.”
“Even so, we can’t have the other sort of thing happen, not in this England. Give him a CMG and make him Governor of Pitcairn. That should cool his ardour for a bit.”
“Yes, Prime Minister.”
................................
December 1st 1964
British Pathe Newsreel
"The romance of flight is still a rare pleasure for most of us stuck down here on Terra Firma, but for some, it seems to have become second nature. The Prime Minister only returned from his visit to the United States and Canada just the other day, but here he is back again at the special exhibition of Britain's jet airliners of the future at RAF Farnborough. Luckily this time, he's just visiting, so no need to pack a case!
Those genius boffins at the great air firms have sure come out with some whizz-bang jets. See the new behemoth from Vickers, the VC10. Better cover your ears, Mr. Barton! Few are surprised to learn it can take over five hundred passengers on board. de Havilland's stylish swept-wing offering is so new that it doesn't even have a name yet, just a number - DH.150. Next up we see the elegant supersonic Handley Page HP.125 Jetstream, designed for the longest Empire routes, all in the utmost of luxury. Even Rover looks impressed!
Imagery of a madly barking Scottish Terrier and a laughing audience of dignitaries
We've all marveled at Hawker-Siddeley's revolutionary Concord and the sleek Bristol Type 250, but how about this remarkable aeroplane, the brainchild of Sir Barnes Wallis, a name which need no introduction. She's called the Swallow and although she looks like something that Captain Dan Dare should be flying off to Mars, she's actually for closer to home, such as India and the South Pacific. What a bird!
The future is in the skies - that much is plane to see!
...............................
10 Downing Street
2nd December 1964
Some of the process of a new government was tedious, some was ceremonious, some was portentous and some, altogether too rarely, was pleasant. This would be one of the last category and, although the area was not one that truly grabbed at Stanley Barton by the soul, it was an issue close to the party’s heart.
“This may not be the pot at the end of the rainbow, but the purse strings are well and truly untied, gentlemen. Your task is to see it spent as efficiently as possible. This is our opportunity to show the working men and women of this country what a Labour government can do for them.”
Both men opposite nodded in firm agreement. Tom Stephens, Minister of Social Security, was one of Barton’s young protégés and a rising star in the party, so his concurrence and loyalty was something he could thankfully take for granted, but it was eminently gratifying to have Kenneth Robinson, the Minister of Health, similarly backing him. He had a reputation for quiet competence, a fine mind and calm character that would help sell this section of the Grand Design to the key stakeholders in the NHS. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to employ a bit of tactical encouragement.
“Kenneth, you’ve got the most important part to play and I wouldn’t have anyone else doing it. We’re going to commit to spending a flat 5% of GDP on health, which will deliver a sizeable annual increase if we can win in the push for growth. You’ve also go first priority of all the domestic ministries on the sinking fund for additional capital costs.”
“We can make that work, Prime Minister, but it will take some clever manoeuvring. If we want to eliminate all prescription charges, there will be a steadily growing cost.”
“For that, we can find the money. The three big manifesto promises stand. No charge on prescription, no reduction in beds and no arbitrary limits on treatments. I’ve seen the penny pinchers try and come at all types of treatments since we established the NHS and I’ve no truck with it, no truck whatsoever. Dental, spectacles, physical therapy, even circumcision for goodness sake! They didn’t work then and we’re not having it now we’re in charge, by George!”
“What about the construction plan?”
“I’ve told Denis to find the money for our hospital building programme, so you just have to make sure we use them optimally. Your proposal about doctor’s pay and a Charter of General Practice was very sound and you’ve got my backing to start moving on it straight away.”
“Excellent. And the new drugs and machines from America I outlined?”
“Go for them. Beyond the immediate term, we need to be building them here - kidney machines, body scanners, heart starters, bone builders and even that infant monitor that goes ‘Ping!’ they showed us back during the election. I want us to be self sufficient by 1972, at the latest.”
“I’ll leave that part to my other colleagues, Prime Minister. What I can say is that my professional advisors say we’ll need more and increasingly complex machines by the year.”
“I’m no doctor, Kenneth, nor am I a scientist. We’ll make sure you get the tools; I’ll leave it to you and your department to finish the job. Now, Tom, your job is just as important. The broad outline in your memo was quite in line with both what we've committed to do and the extent to which we can do it.”
“I endeavoured to reach that blessed medium, Prime Minister. The ceilings of 3.5% are going to be middlingly difficult for the first year or so, but provided that there is no dramatic increase in unemployment, current expenditure on welfare can cover the various requirements of the major areas of National Assistance, Family Allowance and Housing Benefit. The sooner we can augment both the general old age pension and war pensions, the better, though."
"As soon as we can, Tom. If we can push for growth, we'll hit all those markers in due course. First order of business is to make sure everyone fit for work can get a job, then we fix up the pension and fund it properly; that'll free us up for more options."
"I think that is reasonably viable, Prime Minister."
"We need to under-promise and over-deliver and do it all while keeping to the plan. Once we achieve our first order of business, then we can think big. I want to eradicate poverty in this country, not just alleviate its ancillary evils. You fellows will be my key lieutenants in that."
It had gone rather well, Barton thought afterwards. His approach was to get the best men in place that he could find and give them the room to carry out their role. Working in a team was more natural to him than all this blasted grandstanding. It was all about finding the right pieces of the puzzle and letting them be put into shape; the only problem was that he alone knew what the big picture would ultimately be. Even then, it was only a shadow.
This particular part of the shadowy puzzle would be an interesting one. He had plans for a major reshaping of the very ministries of government. If Tom Stephens could handle this task, then he was the man he had in mind to head the new super Ministry, combining Social Security, Pensions, Housing and Local Government. There would be other consolidations as well, joining together Trade, Industry and Labour for one. It would all be part of the push for efficiency, for modernity and readiness.
They needed to be ready, Britain needed to be ready. He lead a nation and empire at war, both fiercely hot and icily cold. At any moment, the day might come and then the day after and the day after that, like threads in a web leading onto darkness and silence. It could be the Russians or the other business...but sufficient unto the day thereof was that particular problem. War was his major concern, but he longed for peace. Real peace, a lasting true peace that would allow them to work for a better, fairer, more compassionate society, to build the new Jerusalem.
.................................................
An address by Prime Minister Stanley Barton at Westminster Hall
November 8th 1964
“Britain today stands on the cusp. On the cusp of incredible change, on the cusp of tremendous challenge and on the cusp of great opportunity. We must take up the test that confronts us.
It is our way, it is our duty, it is our destiny.
Should we not, should we recoil into the soothing refuge of insularity, of lesser things and of comfortable mediocrity, then we betray all of the greatness of our past and of our future for the illusion of solace. We have never recoiled from challenge or glory as a nation and an Empire and we will not now.
Should we take up the challenge of the 1960s and beyond, should we take up the struggle to still be great, to be mightier yet, then we face difficult days and trying times, but beyond that, there is something new. A parting of the clouds to reveal a city of gold, a New Jerusalem for us all.
It is a better Britain.
It is a land where every child receives the best education in the world and can make the most of the finest opportunities in life. This Labour Government will build more schools than any before us and make all of the ones we have even better than they are today. We will invest in our universities to provide the scientists, technicians, engineers, doctors and experts to lead our country and Empire into the future.
It is a land where the welfare of all is provided, from the cradle to the grave. The sick, the bereaved, the orphan and all those in need shall be fully provided for and defended against privation and want. We will ensure that those in need will get all that they require to live lives of freedom, opportunity and potential. We will provide the elderly with increased pensions so that their golden years are exactly that.
It is a country where everyone can have a beautiful house well equipped with all of the modern necessities of life, keeping the ties of community and of goodness in orderly structured neighbourhoods. We are too great a nation to tolerate the existence of slums in our towns and cities and too good a nation to forget and set aside the people of our villages and countryside. We are too proud a people to be content with second best, whether it be in our roads, ports and railways or in the provision of the best quality and most affordable foodstuffs in the world.
It is a people freed from the last terrible vestiges of disease and sickness. We have made great advances since the advent of the National Health Service, but there are many more to go. We can now take the battle to new germs and new plagues and banish them to the past with smallpox and consumption. Our knights will be our doctors and nurses and our castles the hospitals of a better Britain and we must and will have more of both. Our people will live longer and live well.
It is an economy where energy to power our industry, light our streets and warm our homes will do bountiful and so cheap as make the costs of today seem only a dream in comparison. Our coal will power the world and work the steelworks and mills of our industry at home. Our oil will secure our future prosperity and security, enriching all Britons and building our great motor industry. We will harness the power of the atom as we have the waves of the ocean and use it to build a new tomorrow and to power the railways, aeroplanes and ships of today.
It is a society where the labourers, the shopkeepers and the factory workers, men and women alike, join with the owners of businesses, factories and companies to work for a fairer and more prosperous future. One where our labour unions have a seat and a say in our national plan alongside the captains of industry and finance. Our challenge is to grow - grow in wealth, grow in productivity, grow in innovation and grow in determined harmony. There is nothing that this country cannot achieve, cannot build, cannot make. We can win the future battles and wars of economy through science and through cooperation; together, we build the future we deserve.
It is these things and more, much more.
It is an Empire, not if slavery, but of those who set slaves free. It is an Empire not of walls and prisons, of barbed wire and control of minds, but of brotherhood, of freedom, of choice and of stern defence of all that is good and right. The world we live in is divided by more than economics and more than ideology, though those are great among the barriers that keep mankind divided into two worlds. It is divided by the simple idea of freedom. The British Empire has ever been built on that idea and now as we look forward to a new millennium, we must redouble our determination and our aim, strong in peace and ever willing to defend it. The battle for a better tomorrow here at home is just one part of the greater crusade for all under God’s heaven.
It is our destiny. We shall not falter, whatever the trials we face. We shall not turn from hardship or from obstacles, for we know what lies ahead. It is not enough to build a better Britain or even a better world alone. We know what we have done before and what we can do again. The future lies in the stars and we should never shirk our destiny among them.
For on the vast oceans of space, just as on the seven seas of this home, Britannia shall rule the waves.”
Last edited by Simon Darkshade on Sat Jan 27, 2024 3:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
-
jemhouston
- Posts: 3837
- Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2022 12:38 am
Re: Dark Earth: A New Jerusalem
You can be surprised by what you can do when you don't care who gets credit for it.
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Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1049
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth: A New Jerusalem
A New Jerusalem Part 11
No responsibility lay greater upon the shoulders of the leader of any government than the defence of the realm and Stanley Barton certainly felt that today. Oh, the weight was never far from him on every day that he had spent in office thus far, as the Prime Minister's Gladstone bag was never far from him, but this day was somewhat different, more focused. This would be the initial special meeting of the Army Council to discuss strategy and prospective requirements prior to the development of the Defence White Paper, attended by the commanders-in-chief of all of the major British Army commands to provide for their perspectives in the great questions of armament and planning. He knew something of what they would seek in each case from Pendragon’s initial flying visits to their headquarters and their subsequent correspondence through the War Office and the Imperial General Staff. Sharpe in Germany wanted more medium and heavy artillery, tanks, helicopters and strike missiles, in addition to absolute priority on the new MACVs; these were all quite natural given the role of the British Army of the Rhine as Britain’s foremost field army. However, balancing it with the competing and overlapping needs of the other major commands in such a way that none were seriously left behind was going to be a tough goal. Sir Geoffrey Baker requested more tanks and helicopters for Home Forces, but above all emphasised the utility and advantages both tactical and strategic that would result from an increase in mobility, particularly from the proposed family of wheeled armoured fighting vehicles. Field Marshal Sir Richard Anderson in the Middle East was also extremely desirous of large numbers of mobile vehicles for his own command, however, in addition to long range artillery, upgraded air defence systems and of course more helicopters. Far East Command under Sir Michael Carver was the only Army command fighting no less than four active campaigns, including a full blown war in South Vietnam, and that did add substantial cachet to his requests for tanks, more artillery, long range electronic reconnaissance equipment, rocket artillery, increased stocks of chemical warfare agents and, naturally, a substantial increase in helicopters and Rotodynes.
In addition to these major and varying needs, the question of small arms also needed consideration. The preliminary consensus was that there was a pressing need for a modern light machine gun to replace the old reliable Brens, a new general purpose machine gun and a fully modern submachine gun for close quarter battle; there was general satisfaction with the Army's battle rifle and assault rifle. There was a growing perception that standardisation of fuel, weapon systems, spare parts and ammunition among the Allies was the way forward, with the potential for commonality seen as the way of the future. Perhaps the likes of the 125mm Light Gun would provide the path forward for Britain and its fellow allies in what some termed 'NATO', but it would be a considerable challenge to standardise the small arms calibres of so many different states. All in all, it would be an interesting process of carefully weighing competing priorities with the broader picture. He nodded to Pendragon that he was ready to begin.
“Very well, gentlemen. We have reviewed each of your initial submissions on equipment requirements. As the first order of business for today, we would like your positions on the necessary force requirements to carry out your assigned missions. Now, that doesn’t mean the bare minimum, but the level that would provide enough margin to address any foreseeable complications. Field Marshal Sharpe?”
“To successfully carry out the defence of Germany in the northern sector, we need the full 12 divisions, the TA round-out forces, our assigned brigade and battalion level units, the proposed heavy tank regiments and the full logistical train to support such a force. We estimate that casualty replacements will amount to a significant proportion of our full standing force, in the region of 2% per week, which is just within what we can handle. To take on and defeat the Russians, we need to firmly reestablish our qualitative edge in tanks and have more armour full stop, both in the field and as attritional reserves both at home and in in Europe. However, to really blunt their edge, there is one simple measure we can take - guns. If we move to a standardised divisional artillery brigade of three 6” and 8” self-propelled howitzer regiments, as the Germans effectively had in their panzer and panzergrenadier divisions in Warhammer last year, then we significantly outgun and significantly out range the Reds.”
“You’ve only just got the upgunned Abbots and have sung their praises to this point. What has changed to make you want to get rid of them?” Barton asked bluntly.
“Not get rid of them, Prime Minister, nor am I calling for it to implemented either immediately or universally. We can start with our armoured divisions, bringing them in line with the Americans, French and Germans. Only once our production of both guns and ammunition is sufficient should we consider the mechanised infantry. From there, if we decide on the heavy option, we shouldn’t waste the Abbots at all, but move them to the brigades as direct fire support with a secondary anti tank role, nominally to begin with.”
“An interesting proposal, but one where we’d have to examine the cost and see how the Commonwealth forces think. It would add to our ammunition requirements on one level, but on another, we already field both types.” Pendragon’s face was coolly neutral. “In any case, we wouldn’t be in any position to field the amount of new 6” equipments until 1970 or so, based on the projections in Appendix E of the Future Production Report.”
“Do we have anti-tank ammunition in 125mm yet?” Barton asked with a slightly raised eyebrow
“Only a relatively small stock at Larkhill, Prime Minister. The initial testing is very positive, but the main production focus thus far has been on HE and ACM; both of the special rounds will be ready in mid 1966.”
“Anything else apart from artillery and tanks, Field Marshal?”
“Rockets, missiles and helicopters in the main, as I wrote, along with the new wheeled APCs for my infantry. Mobility for the men and the ability to hit the enemy well beyond their effective range. We’re in the process of negotiating the precise operational circumstances of German support to our field forces under the Wartime Host Nation Support program and we should have one brigade-sized Unterstuetzungskommando for each of our four corps within four years. I’d like to begin discussions on the further integration of German forces into our own formations across the Northern Army Group in order to further increase our local knowledge and fighting power. In addition to the TA battalions attached to each division in their mobilised state, we will need at least another four battalions for line of communications security; the Parachute Regiment Group and the Commandos are better suited to general reserve. A brigade or two of Gurkhas would solve most of my remaining issues of light troops, which we need a lot of for urban combat. Northern Germany has plenty of towns and villages that we plan to use as strongpoints.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t think Nepal is quite large enough to provide that for every major command, but we can see what can be done. Middle East Land Forces?”
“To hold the Middle East against Soviet invasion, we would need a minimum of two corps and four heavy divisions, in addition to an airborne division and a Royal Marine division for rapid reaction and a pair of top line Imperial infantry divisions, such as Sikhs or Zulus. With planned Commonwealth reinforcements, the Israeli Army, the Arabs and Persians, it would be enough, provided the full assets of a field army with appropriate reinforcement of staff and headquarters units. If we couldn’t count on Arab cooperation and Turkish neutrality, we would have a problem, to put it mildly. In terms of equipment, our standing regional forces have sufficient armour for now, but could definitely benefit from substantially more long range artillery and helicopters. Our area of operations is the largest of any Command in the Imperial armies, which means we need reach and speed of manoeuvre. In the World Wars, we could count on cavalry, but now we need to go faster and further than any horse.”
“What would that entail in your view?”
“Specifically, I would like to see deployment of the Westland armed combat helicopter gunships when they enter service and either heavy gun or rocket artillery systems with the range to hit enemy rear targets of opportunity. In terms of movement, we have much the same need as the Desert Army in the last war - wheeled and tracked vehicles that can cross the desert at speed. That brings me onto perhaps my most pressing requirement.”
“What would that be, Field Marshal?” Barton held a steady gaze on Anderson, silent calculations spinning through his mind.
“Mobile air defence, Prime Minister. If I’ve got to push a fast column through to Damascus or Baghdad from the Galilee, similar to ‘56, then I need to be able to provide them with protection and not just depend on our fighters. They can’t be everywhere, after all. We know that the Reds have not just mobile guns like the Shilkas and Sparkas, but short and medium ranged guided missiles on tracked and wheeled vehicles; we need a similar capability due to the sheer range we must cover in our area of operations and how thinly our fighters would be spread.”
“Very good; that does align with some of our other thinking, so we will examine the matter further. What next, Secretary of State for War?”
“Far East Land Forces, Prime Minister.”
“Field Marshal Carver, your initial requirements report did make for interesting reading.”
“Naturally, Prime Minister. We face a very different tactical environment in the Orient and have far less need for heavy forces and equipment as a result. In total, we will require 240 tanks and five regiments of medium and heavy artillery in order to bring our forces to full armament. In the event of a full regional war, we would need five divisions to carry out our mission - one in Borneo, one in Hong Kong, one in Singers and two in Malaya - provided we received appropriate Commonwealth reinforcements. On top of that, we need the equivalent of two divisions to carry out our role in the defence of South Vietnam and keep a division in Australia until their new units are trained. Our specific technical requests are largely related to the campaigns in Vietnam and Borneo; the new chemical agents are to replace older stock which has decayed in the heat of the tropics, for example.”
“That all seems rather straightforward. What would you say your most pressing needs are?”
“Men and aerial mobility, sir. Ours are battles and wars in the jungles, rice paddies and hills and there is no substitute for well supported light infantry. We experience a higher casualty rate as a function of that geography and the differing intensities of our campaigns and having more men able to rotate through the field is very valuable for morale, collective knowledge and experience and combat effectiveness. We’ll need at least eight more battalions by the end of next year. Just as important are helicopters and Rotodynes - as many as can be spared. It gives us a far more effective reaction time to Indonesian provocations in Borneo and neutralises enemy advantages in Vietnam.”
“We could address that last issue very quickly, Prime Minister. The Royal Flying Corps has completed the process of taking over two former RAF Rotodyne squadrons quite recently and they are equipped with the heavier armoured variant.”
“That does sound workable. I’ll also speak with the Secretary of State for Air; I do recall seeing quite a few Wessexes in storage when I was out at Boscombe Down. Would that be useful, Field Marshal?”
“Certainly, Prime Minister.”
"Good. Now, onto Home Forces.”
“We don’t have the same frontline role, nor the same immediate threat as the combat commands, Prime Minister, but our position is just as vital. Our primary role are support of overseas deployed forces, training and replacement and the organisation of mobilisation cadre units, with a secondary role of home defence and coordination. In the former case, we command both Regular and TA independent units, as well as the ready reserve divisions organised using National Servicemen and specific training formations; none of those require additional equipment above and beyond that scheduled to be filtered down in the appropriate course of time. Whilst our main mission is to supply reinforcement of the field forces, we retain the capacity to generate combat-capable formations in the event of a protracted conflict or a lengthy period of mobilisation prior to that. To maintain this capacity, we do require stockpiles of modern equipment and sufficient ammunition, facilities and supplies for training. The absolute minimum force we require for the defence of the British Isles comprises the TA units attached to the twelve military regions and six mobile divisions - these formations would react to any airborne or seaborne attacks or unconventional operations by enemy special forces. The only real threat of invasion to the British Isles at this time is the Soviet Union and it is a distant one at that; however, whilst it may be unlikely in the extreme, the sheer numbers and capabilities deployed by Moscow mean that we need to be ready to respond to them. Their increases in the VDV and Naval Infantry present a potential threat, as do their rifle divisions. The most likely major contingency would be a limited raid on Scotland or Northern England rather than even the farcical German attempt of 1940, but even in that case, we've got a large amount of territory to cover in order to bring overwhelming force to bear on any landing zone. Home Forces also command Anti-Aircraft Command and Coastal Defences in circumstances of full mobilisation, but both of those are in the process of being phased out. To defend Britain, we don't necessarily need more tanks or even Chieftains in any urgency, as there are sufficient depot and training units above and beyond the TA armour assigned to the military regions. What we do need is very simple - increased numbers of helicopters. They do not even particularly need to be frontline aircraft, as home defence does not necessitate high levels of protection."
"Excellent, Field Marshal Baker. There should be the capacity to supply at least some older helicopters for your purposes; you may recall, Prime Minister, of the discussion we had regarding the disposition of the former Fleet Air Arm Wessex fleet?"
"Indeed. That could cover the requirement quite neatly. Well, this has all been extremely illuminating. Gentlemen, we shall endeavour to seek a solution that ensures that each command receives what it needs to execute its mission and to do so at an affordable expense and in a timely fashion. This White Paper will not involve any egregious cuts, on that you have my word."
No responsibility lay greater upon the shoulders of the leader of any government than the defence of the realm and Stanley Barton certainly felt that today. Oh, the weight was never far from him on every day that he had spent in office thus far, as the Prime Minister's Gladstone bag was never far from him, but this day was somewhat different, more focused. This would be the initial special meeting of the Army Council to discuss strategy and prospective requirements prior to the development of the Defence White Paper, attended by the commanders-in-chief of all of the major British Army commands to provide for their perspectives in the great questions of armament and planning. He knew something of what they would seek in each case from Pendragon’s initial flying visits to their headquarters and their subsequent correspondence through the War Office and the Imperial General Staff. Sharpe in Germany wanted more medium and heavy artillery, tanks, helicopters and strike missiles, in addition to absolute priority on the new MACVs; these were all quite natural given the role of the British Army of the Rhine as Britain’s foremost field army. However, balancing it with the competing and overlapping needs of the other major commands in such a way that none were seriously left behind was going to be a tough goal. Sir Geoffrey Baker requested more tanks and helicopters for Home Forces, but above all emphasised the utility and advantages both tactical and strategic that would result from an increase in mobility, particularly from the proposed family of wheeled armoured fighting vehicles. Field Marshal Sir Richard Anderson in the Middle East was also extremely desirous of large numbers of mobile vehicles for his own command, however, in addition to long range artillery, upgraded air defence systems and of course more helicopters. Far East Command under Sir Michael Carver was the only Army command fighting no less than four active campaigns, including a full blown war in South Vietnam, and that did add substantial cachet to his requests for tanks, more artillery, long range electronic reconnaissance equipment, rocket artillery, increased stocks of chemical warfare agents and, naturally, a substantial increase in helicopters and Rotodynes.
In addition to these major and varying needs, the question of small arms also needed consideration. The preliminary consensus was that there was a pressing need for a modern light machine gun to replace the old reliable Brens, a new general purpose machine gun and a fully modern submachine gun for close quarter battle; there was general satisfaction with the Army's battle rifle and assault rifle. There was a growing perception that standardisation of fuel, weapon systems, spare parts and ammunition among the Allies was the way forward, with the potential for commonality seen as the way of the future. Perhaps the likes of the 125mm Light Gun would provide the path forward for Britain and its fellow allies in what some termed 'NATO', but it would be a considerable challenge to standardise the small arms calibres of so many different states. All in all, it would be an interesting process of carefully weighing competing priorities with the broader picture. He nodded to Pendragon that he was ready to begin.
“Very well, gentlemen. We have reviewed each of your initial submissions on equipment requirements. As the first order of business for today, we would like your positions on the necessary force requirements to carry out your assigned missions. Now, that doesn’t mean the bare minimum, but the level that would provide enough margin to address any foreseeable complications. Field Marshal Sharpe?”
“To successfully carry out the defence of Germany in the northern sector, we need the full 12 divisions, the TA round-out forces, our assigned brigade and battalion level units, the proposed heavy tank regiments and the full logistical train to support such a force. We estimate that casualty replacements will amount to a significant proportion of our full standing force, in the region of 2% per week, which is just within what we can handle. To take on and defeat the Russians, we need to firmly reestablish our qualitative edge in tanks and have more armour full stop, both in the field and as attritional reserves both at home and in in Europe. However, to really blunt their edge, there is one simple measure we can take - guns. If we move to a standardised divisional artillery brigade of three 6” and 8” self-propelled howitzer regiments, as the Germans effectively had in their panzer and panzergrenadier divisions in Warhammer last year, then we significantly outgun and significantly out range the Reds.”
“You’ve only just got the upgunned Abbots and have sung their praises to this point. What has changed to make you want to get rid of them?” Barton asked bluntly.
“Not get rid of them, Prime Minister, nor am I calling for it to implemented either immediately or universally. We can start with our armoured divisions, bringing them in line with the Americans, French and Germans. Only once our production of both guns and ammunition is sufficient should we consider the mechanised infantry. From there, if we decide on the heavy option, we shouldn’t waste the Abbots at all, but move them to the brigades as direct fire support with a secondary anti tank role, nominally to begin with.”
“An interesting proposal, but one where we’d have to examine the cost and see how the Commonwealth forces think. It would add to our ammunition requirements on one level, but on another, we already field both types.” Pendragon’s face was coolly neutral. “In any case, we wouldn’t be in any position to field the amount of new 6” equipments until 1970 or so, based on the projections in Appendix E of the Future Production Report.”
“Do we have anti-tank ammunition in 125mm yet?” Barton asked with a slightly raised eyebrow
“Only a relatively small stock at Larkhill, Prime Minister. The initial testing is very positive, but the main production focus thus far has been on HE and ACM; both of the special rounds will be ready in mid 1966.”
“Anything else apart from artillery and tanks, Field Marshal?”
“Rockets, missiles and helicopters in the main, as I wrote, along with the new wheeled APCs for my infantry. Mobility for the men and the ability to hit the enemy well beyond their effective range. We’re in the process of negotiating the precise operational circumstances of German support to our field forces under the Wartime Host Nation Support program and we should have one brigade-sized Unterstuetzungskommando for each of our four corps within four years. I’d like to begin discussions on the further integration of German forces into our own formations across the Northern Army Group in order to further increase our local knowledge and fighting power. In addition to the TA battalions attached to each division in their mobilised state, we will need at least another four battalions for line of communications security; the Parachute Regiment Group and the Commandos are better suited to general reserve. A brigade or two of Gurkhas would solve most of my remaining issues of light troops, which we need a lot of for urban combat. Northern Germany has plenty of towns and villages that we plan to use as strongpoints.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t think Nepal is quite large enough to provide that for every major command, but we can see what can be done. Middle East Land Forces?”
“To hold the Middle East against Soviet invasion, we would need a minimum of two corps and four heavy divisions, in addition to an airborne division and a Royal Marine division for rapid reaction and a pair of top line Imperial infantry divisions, such as Sikhs or Zulus. With planned Commonwealth reinforcements, the Israeli Army, the Arabs and Persians, it would be enough, provided the full assets of a field army with appropriate reinforcement of staff and headquarters units. If we couldn’t count on Arab cooperation and Turkish neutrality, we would have a problem, to put it mildly. In terms of equipment, our standing regional forces have sufficient armour for now, but could definitely benefit from substantially more long range artillery and helicopters. Our area of operations is the largest of any Command in the Imperial armies, which means we need reach and speed of manoeuvre. In the World Wars, we could count on cavalry, but now we need to go faster and further than any horse.”
“What would that entail in your view?”
“Specifically, I would like to see deployment of the Westland armed combat helicopter gunships when they enter service and either heavy gun or rocket artillery systems with the range to hit enemy rear targets of opportunity. In terms of movement, we have much the same need as the Desert Army in the last war - wheeled and tracked vehicles that can cross the desert at speed. That brings me onto perhaps my most pressing requirement.”
“What would that be, Field Marshal?” Barton held a steady gaze on Anderson, silent calculations spinning through his mind.
“Mobile air defence, Prime Minister. If I’ve got to push a fast column through to Damascus or Baghdad from the Galilee, similar to ‘56, then I need to be able to provide them with protection and not just depend on our fighters. They can’t be everywhere, after all. We know that the Reds have not just mobile guns like the Shilkas and Sparkas, but short and medium ranged guided missiles on tracked and wheeled vehicles; we need a similar capability due to the sheer range we must cover in our area of operations and how thinly our fighters would be spread.”
“Very good; that does align with some of our other thinking, so we will examine the matter further. What next, Secretary of State for War?”
“Far East Land Forces, Prime Minister.”
“Field Marshal Carver, your initial requirements report did make for interesting reading.”
“Naturally, Prime Minister. We face a very different tactical environment in the Orient and have far less need for heavy forces and equipment as a result. In total, we will require 240 tanks and five regiments of medium and heavy artillery in order to bring our forces to full armament. In the event of a full regional war, we would need five divisions to carry out our mission - one in Borneo, one in Hong Kong, one in Singers and two in Malaya - provided we received appropriate Commonwealth reinforcements. On top of that, we need the equivalent of two divisions to carry out our role in the defence of South Vietnam and keep a division in Australia until their new units are trained. Our specific technical requests are largely related to the campaigns in Vietnam and Borneo; the new chemical agents are to replace older stock which has decayed in the heat of the tropics, for example.”
“That all seems rather straightforward. What would you say your most pressing needs are?”
“Men and aerial mobility, sir. Ours are battles and wars in the jungles, rice paddies and hills and there is no substitute for well supported light infantry. We experience a higher casualty rate as a function of that geography and the differing intensities of our campaigns and having more men able to rotate through the field is very valuable for morale, collective knowledge and experience and combat effectiveness. We’ll need at least eight more battalions by the end of next year. Just as important are helicopters and Rotodynes - as many as can be spared. It gives us a far more effective reaction time to Indonesian provocations in Borneo and neutralises enemy advantages in Vietnam.”
“We could address that last issue very quickly, Prime Minister. The Royal Flying Corps has completed the process of taking over two former RAF Rotodyne squadrons quite recently and they are equipped with the heavier armoured variant.”
“That does sound workable. I’ll also speak with the Secretary of State for Air; I do recall seeing quite a few Wessexes in storage when I was out at Boscombe Down. Would that be useful, Field Marshal?”
“Certainly, Prime Minister.”
"Good. Now, onto Home Forces.”
“We don’t have the same frontline role, nor the same immediate threat as the combat commands, Prime Minister, but our position is just as vital. Our primary role are support of overseas deployed forces, training and replacement and the organisation of mobilisation cadre units, with a secondary role of home defence and coordination. In the former case, we command both Regular and TA independent units, as well as the ready reserve divisions organised using National Servicemen and specific training formations; none of those require additional equipment above and beyond that scheduled to be filtered down in the appropriate course of time. Whilst our main mission is to supply reinforcement of the field forces, we retain the capacity to generate combat-capable formations in the event of a protracted conflict or a lengthy period of mobilisation prior to that. To maintain this capacity, we do require stockpiles of modern equipment and sufficient ammunition, facilities and supplies for training. The absolute minimum force we require for the defence of the British Isles comprises the TA units attached to the twelve military regions and six mobile divisions - these formations would react to any airborne or seaborne attacks or unconventional operations by enemy special forces. The only real threat of invasion to the British Isles at this time is the Soviet Union and it is a distant one at that; however, whilst it may be unlikely in the extreme, the sheer numbers and capabilities deployed by Moscow mean that we need to be ready to respond to them. Their increases in the VDV and Naval Infantry present a potential threat, as do their rifle divisions. The most likely major contingency would be a limited raid on Scotland or Northern England rather than even the farcical German attempt of 1940, but even in that case, we've got a large amount of territory to cover in order to bring overwhelming force to bear on any landing zone. Home Forces also command Anti-Aircraft Command and Coastal Defences in circumstances of full mobilisation, but both of those are in the process of being phased out. To defend Britain, we don't necessarily need more tanks or even Chieftains in any urgency, as there are sufficient depot and training units above and beyond the TA armour assigned to the military regions. What we do need is very simple - increased numbers of helicopters. They do not even particularly need to be frontline aircraft, as home defence does not necessitate high levels of protection."
"Excellent, Field Marshal Baker. There should be the capacity to supply at least some older helicopters for your purposes; you may recall, Prime Minister, of the discussion we had regarding the disposition of the former Fleet Air Arm Wessex fleet?"
"Indeed. That could cover the requirement quite neatly. Well, this has all been extremely illuminating. Gentlemen, we shall endeavour to seek a solution that ensures that each command receives what it needs to execute its mission and to do so at an affordable expense and in a timely fashion. This White Paper will not involve any egregious cuts, on that you have my word."
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Simon Darkshade
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Re: Dark Earth: A New Jerusalem
A New Jerusalem Part 12
The sounds of a military band striking up Soldiers of the Queen drifted into Stanley Barton’s study from out on the other side of Horse Guards. Somewhat ironic, really. For every piece that lauded Britain’s long roll of honour in battles on every continent or hailed the empire of the clouds, there were two more that spoke of her traditional strength, of the hearts of oak and hardy tars of the Royal Navy. Despite being an Army man himself, Barton had a deep and long love for the Andrew, and viewed it as something of a regret that he had never held the office of the man who now sat opposite.
“We’ve got a dickens of a task, First Lord, but we’ll do it. On that I have no doubt.”
“Of course, Prime Minister. I do hope that my note did not give the impression that I was skeptical of our capacity, as it were; however, it will be something of an uphill struggle.
Barton ground his teeth and stared at Christopher Mayhew, the First Lord of the Admiralty, for a long moment.
“Yesterday, I told the Army that the purse strings had been untied. The same goes for the Navy, only the purse is deeper. We are an island nation and a seagoing empire. Our fates lie with the waves. Based on what you’ve seen and heard, what more is required to achieve our naval goals?”
Mayhew paused to gather his answer and choose the best words to answer his Prime Minister. Barton was many things, but one of the most seemingly unlikely was his wholehearted enthusiasm for all things naval, which was exceeded only by that of the Duke of London in terms of all Britain’s Prime Ministers of the last century. He had risen to prominence in part in speeches, articles and newspaper articles on the Navy and its paramount importance, after all. Labour’s naval policy heading into the election had thus been suitably ambitious and expansive, calling for the Royal Navy to outbuild and outmatch any of her foes, to ride the crest of the bold new wave of the technological revolution, to be able to fight both hot and cold wars and to project British power across the world. Ambitious, yet sufficiently broad in large parts of its rhetoric to avoid commitment to any truly impossible goals, such as truly ruling the waves in this epoch of the Pax Americana.
“We will not have any difficulty in building up to the first stages of the New Fleet Plan, Prime Minister, but that will not supplant the Red Navy from its current position within that period. They have increased their construction, just as they face the same block obsolescence problem that confronts us, the Americans, the French and others. The raw numbers fielded by the Soviets aren’t the great threat once thought, when we consider that they are divided between four widely dispersed fleets.”
“The White Sea Canal suggests otherwise, at least in part.”
“Yes, that is quite true, Prime Minister. It still doesn’t get the Black Sea Fleet out past Constantinople and through the Straits into the Med, or change the situation of their Pacific Fleet from being outnumbered and outpositioned on the other side of the world. Ship for ship, we are better than the bulk of their fleet.”
“What did Mountbatten and the Admiralty view as their most significant dangers?”
“First and foremost, their nuclear submarine fleet - it is growing and getting better by the year to boot and their ballistic missile boats are starting to reach troublesome numbers and capabilities. Secondly, their big guided missile capital ships, particularly the Stalin class battlewagons. Thirdly, their aircraft carrier force, although we assess them as being qualitatively behind our own by perhaps fifteen years. Last of all, their newest missile cruiser and destroyer types, based on current information, if it is accurate.”
“If indeed.” Barton knew it to be quite, quite accurate, although he could not let on in any way to Mayhew, naturally.
“Insofar as their older vessels go, the Skoryys and their earliest frigates are extremely good conventional gun escorts, but were caught just behind the pace of change a decade ago; today, they are very much obsolescent against modern threats and weapons. The Sverdlovs may have worried the daylights out of us in 1946, but their major threat window closed during the Korean War with the Brigands, Super Helmover and the guided Highballs.”
“They are still large and fast ships, though, with potential for upgrading with quite a few modern missiles and guided weapons beyond their current partial conversions - your note made that very point.”
“If they do go down that path, Prime Minister, there is potential there, but our reports indicate that they’d really need to give them a thorough rebuild to approach anything of the operational efficiency of the Kazans, let alone our own missile conversions or those of the USN. It would add 10-15 years to their operational lifespan.”
“Hmm. Even as second class combatants, that is still food for thought; they may not be able to go up against a Leander, but they’d give an unwary convoy a right beasting. I don’t think we can write them off just yet; the newest of them is well under a decade old, after all. What about their Whiskeys?”
“Their sheer numbers are a worry, but nothing like how they were perceived a dozen years ago or so. Even when combined with their Romeos, the older Red boats present a challenge of time, rather than a bona fide threat. All the measures we’ve taken since 1950 have considerably reduced what conventional subs with wartime technology can accomplish, to put it mildly. Our indications are that they are working on a new hull form for the successor to the Foxtrot class, but until then, their non-nuclear subs hold no inordinate terrors for us.”
“Good. We’re not going to lack any preparation this time around, not if I have anything to do with it. Now, let’s move on from what the dashed Russians might do to what we can do.”
“Very good, Prime Minister. We currently deploy a smaller fleet than in 1960, when there was the last major mobilisation, or 1956, when we last went to war, but in every respect, it is a more powerful one. That is a result of some long-sighted decisions in the past decade or so to prioritise quality over numbers, as well as a natural consequence of history - by virtue of being the first to rearm in the 1930s, our ships have come to the end of their line sooner than the Americans, for example.”
“We can’t change that. Neither can we rely on it in the future. We’ve timed our build up of the fleet prior to each world war quite well, but there is no such guarantee this time around.”
“I agree, naturally - that is why the old plans of breaking out the reserve fleet don’t quite cut the mustard anymore. We might not get the time to reactivate and prepare 20 year old ships, nor can they bring the same sort of impact to a modern war that they could in Korea.”
“Your recommendations were quite plain, Christopher, and they match my own. Don’t keep what we can’t use. They must be replaced though. Not in kind, but in power.”
“We’ve inherited a fairly good process of exactly that. In our capital ships, there hasn’t been a noticeable decline due to the policy of rotation and if we continue this, which I recommend we should, then we push the useful service life of our battlefleet to the late 1970s. Within the next year, the last of the wartime light cruisers will leave service, making us the first major navy to have a purely guided missile cruiser fleet. Our destroyer numbers have declined and will continue to drop sharply as the Battles are retired, but our new construction ships are considerably more capable in both anti-submarine and anti-air warfare. That is the good side of the current fleet...”
“Meaning that there is also a bad side?”
“I’m not sure that is the best term for it; there are aspects of the fleet that aren’t what they should be, though. Aircraft carriers, submarines and frigates, Prime Minister. Our atomic submarine programme is going quite smoothly, averaging two new attack boats per year, but we are starting to really fall back from the other superpowers, removing whatever advantage we have had from Dreadnought’s head start.”
“We’re going to double that rate and increase the R class from eight to twelve, to begin with. I also want you to get the D.N.C. to pick up the pace on the S class design. With the modifications we desired.”
Mayhew nodded. The S class were to be Britain’s largest fleet submarines yet, save for the bombers, and were certainly the most complex to boot. Barton’s suggestions to have them altered to carry long range missiles, coming as they did very early in his time in office, added to that complexity, but he had been quite insistent that the Royal Navy have such a capacity. The Director of Naval Construction was understandably vexed, but the logic was clear enough to the First Lord of the Admiralty, who had been party to the development and fine tuning of the New Fleet Plan. Long range attack missiles would give the Andrew’s submarines both an ace in the hole against the growing Soviet and Chinese fleets and also allow them to play a role in the ‘cold war missions’ around the Empire. The bigger picture sometimes obscured the complexity of the smaller details needed to create it, though, with the wood sometimes obscuring the trees.
“As you wish, Prime Minister. Moving along to the surface fleet, it isn’t a matter of the ships themselves lacking quality, as we’re right up with the best in the world for each, but the problem is twofold for the frigates and carriers. Firstly, we already hit the block obsolescence problem with each, cutting back on the numbers and forcing us to push our smaller force harder. As well as this, the retirement of the light carriers has increased the complexity of the role of our frigate force and diverts our fleet carriers from their main role.”
“That reinforces everything we’ve been saying for years. The Admiralty has been doing the same and the Tories tried to do something about it, but the money simply wasn’t there under the caps set in the last White Paper. Those are now gone. I intend to rebuild the Royal Navy. We’ll bring forward the 1966 light antisubmarine carriers to next year and then increase orders from there. Frigates will be a bit more difficult, as we’ve pinned our hopes on the Type 21s and can’t significantly accelerate the pace of their development, but prepare a paper on our options regarding them. By my calculations, even with them, we fall short on our required escort force goals by almost 80 ships.”
“Those goals were set prior to the restoration of the Atlantic Pact, though, Prime Minister, as well as being the cost of disposing of the Battles, which is the right decision. We can factor in some degree reduced need due to Allied vessels in the Atlantic and Mediterranean without seriously endangering our status or commitments, I should think.”
“You’re quite right on one level. That’s just what the Americans were saying in Washington as well at the Combined Chiefs of Staff meeting. It makes sense if our main or major commitment was the Allies, or “NATO” as the cousins are now want to say.” Barton paused, inwardly bemused on the irony of that particular nomenclature, yet unable to share or explain it, for obvious reasons.
“Excerpt that they say it one moment and then seek concrete commitments to allocated escorts on the other; we can always draw down on our forces beyond the Atlantic. It makes sense and is right for them. It can’t be, though, not for us, not for Britain, not if we want to retain our full capacity for freedom of action anywhere in the world, no matter who is with us. We’ve got to restore that margin, First Lord, as that is what lets us stay up front and centre with the Commonwealth and the Newly Emerging Forces, no matter what is said or thought in Washington or Paris.”
“I leave the grand strategy and policy of the Empire to you and your fellows, Prime Minister; I merely suggest that we don’t need to bear the lion’s share of the burden on our side of the Atlantic when our allies can now do their bit. In such a case, though, our current options would be to build more Rivers, order a cheaper variant of the Tribals or increase our plans for the Type 21. The last would be pushing well beyond our planned spending and cut into other parts of the fleet programme, but if you wish, I can...”
“Prepare a feasibility study. Do so. Now, what do you have next?”
“Aircraft, Prime Minister, then the ‘secret weapon’ we’ve discussed.”
“Excellent.”
“The RNAS plan mainly focuses on modernisation of the maritime patrol aircraft fleet and their land based fighters. The last of the Shackletons will go next year and the Albions by 1967, with a view towards consolidating further on the Nimrod and Sydney in an all jet force. That gives us a powerful mix, with no great loss in endurance over the Mid Atlantic, given our bases. Crucially, the Nimrod can operate from the Floating Fortresses, although with a quite small margin. The flying boats give us a certain degree of basing flexibility in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. There have already been some back channel approaches from the South Americans regarding acquiring the Albion fleet.”
“That will be a job for the Foreign Office when they make their formal approach, but so long as it doesn’t disturb the balance of power down there, I can see no issue with it. What of the Poseidons then?”
“Australia and New Zealand will take 120 and 30 and the rest will go to India as part of their naval modernisation. All of them were quite keen on the longer range it offers and the transfers can be streamlined through existing Commonwealth arrangements. Our own longer range arrangements will be addressed with the commissioning of the first of the new RN skyships next year.
“They will be essential parts of our strategy, First Lord, and you’ll get the full programme, despite the fuss that the Air Ministry is kicking up about it taking up too much of our supply of levian metals and cavorite. These aren’t going to take any roles from their skyship carriers or aerodreadnoughts, after all.”
“When we get them all, Prime Minister, then we can start put Skyweb into active service. With that, the anti-submarine battle in the Atlantic will shift further in our favour. Moving to the fighter question, our first order of priority will converting the land based air defence squadrons to Phantoms, which will allow for commonality with the Fleet Air Arm carrier squadrons. If we were to also consider equipping the maritime strike fighter squadrons with Phantom, then there would be a further efficiency saving, at the cost of some range and performance compared with the Tornado.”
“I can see the logic in that argument, but I’m somewhat hesitant to put all our eggs in the Phantom basket for a number of reasons. The Tornado is longer ranged and carries a heavier bomb load to begin with, and the RNAS maritime strike wings are primarily meant to fight up over the Norwegian and Baltic Seas where that matters more than the Med. We are also looking to sell the maritime strike variant of the Tornado to a number of allied states, notably Germany, so we don’t want to do the saleswork for our Atlantic chums at our own expense. It is going to be enough of a job to maintain a two Phantom forces in the face of a Treasury that doesn’t like the armament programme as it stands. Ultimately, the land based planes are more for the Empire and the Floating Forts, but give us the opportunity to maintain extra carrier capable pilots and aeroplanes to back up the fleet.”
“The first point alone should suffice against anything that comes up in Parliament, Prime Minister, and the second should keep the Treasury sharks at bay. On that point, it could be worth considering whether to cancel the RNAS Valiant replacement programme - it would save at least £250 million and could be played as a responsible savings measure.”
“An interesting proposal. There is less of a case for the Navy to have a strategic bomber than the 40s, given what the Excalibur can do off the carriers. It isn’t urgent though, so have the Admiralty put together a paper on our options. Now, Fleet Air Arm.”
“We find ourselves in the somewhat lucky position of not having any expensive development or procurement programmes on the horizon for the next decade or so, allowing us to concentrate on building our strength of existing types and a few new key planes. In the Vanguard, we have an excellent air superiority and fleet defence fighter with a range long enough to give the Reds conniptions, so there are no substantive issues there, save for a few minor RDF teething issues that have cropped up in escort missions over South Vietnam. The Supermarine Excalibur is the best carrier bomber in the world, which it should be for its price. The Buccaneers and Merlins cover the attack and strike missions extremely well. Replacing the de Havilland Spectre with the Phantom is the biggest change that will be occurring over the next five years; it is a newer and consequently better plane and the extra legs will be useful.”
There was more to it than simply performance, Barton thought. He had bristled at the initial talk of buying the American fighter when it was first rumoured several years ago, but that all ended once Prime Minister Eden had invited him around to Number 10 for a late night drink. The Phantom deal had more wheels within wheels than the Antikythera Mechanism, but it came down to three main factors - a complicated series of Anglo-American quid pro quo agreements for licenced production of different aircraft on either side of the Atlantic; the need to lead the Commonwealth into the matter, rather than be left behind at a time when Australia, New Avalon and Israel had their minds set on the Phantom; and freeing up the substantial numbers of still highly competitive Spectres for a calculated swamping of the Middle Eastern and South American markets. That last twist in the tale was already yielding substantial dividends.
“Range. That is the important part. With long ranges carrier groups, we can project ourselves inland in Africa and Asia in such strength that we rapidly control arising situations. That is the prize on offer.”
“A heady one indeed, Prime Minister. I pursued the question of the Sea Harrier on the fleet carriers as you requested, but the general consensus is that it would not be of any operational benefit, given that very issue of range. Their best place is on the light anti-submarine and commando carriers, although there is a not insubstantial minority that advocates their permanent deployment on the battleships as well.”
“Have them run a few more tests then, but don’t commit to anything binding either way. Anything on the new aircraft?”
“Fairey estimates that the Cormorant will be flying by the end of next year, Armstrong-Whitworth are aiming for 1967 for the Argonaut and Bristol can get the Sparrowhawk ready within six months.”
“Good. Very good. Right on time. As for the secret weapon, it is rather bemusing to regard it as such, but they really will be, if not already are, the greatest keystones of the security and survival of the British Empire at sea. I’m going to be taking the proposal to the Imperial Conference for full discussion, but getting the groundwork done with the Commonwealth navies will make the process a swifter one.”
Stanley Barton referred to one of great hobbyhorses, the regional Imperial commands around the globe made up of British and Commonwealth naval units. Their origin lay in the ambitious rearrangements put in place by the Jellicoe Report after the Great War, although the relative strength of the Dominion navies had greatly increased compared to the Royal Navy squadrons deployed beyond the three major fleets. Their distribution was both their strength and their weakness, but this was something that would change under the plan currently being discussed. New integrated fleets would be formed in the Pacific and Indian Oceans as new counterparts to the great Imperial armadas at Singapore and Alexandria, whilst command arrangements in the Atlantic would receive a timely modernisation. Barton had kept his idea of a general strategic reserve fleet in South Africa to himself for the time being, as before it could be contemplated, it would require the quite difficult political measure of a general agreement on operational integration of the R.N. and the Commonwealth navies under a more unified command structure. This would not take the form of the single structure theoretically planned in the event of general mobilisation and, heaven forfend, another world war, but more along the lines of the arrangements that were proving quite successful in Europe.
“The two most straightforward items, for the formal establishment of standing joint task forces around the current fleet units and operational integration of supply and support, been met with unanimous endorsement from the Dominions in our initial discussions, but the command arrangements are proving as vexsome as ever and the final measure is going to take a fair bit of pressure and argument to get through.”
“Who are the big holdouts? India?”
“It isn’t quite like that, Prime Minister, but they are the most vocal in expressing their issues with both the grand concept and the execution of it. In any case, neither the R.I.N. nor the East Indies Station in general are what could truly be termed as frontline fleets. Surprisingly, it has been the Aussies who’ve been most vehement about representation in the command structure, on account of the circumstances they face with their neighbours. The Canadians are quite supportive, with the unspoken caveat that, if they provide forces beyond their immediate area, they would expect a rise in their representation.”
“That all sounds very reasonable. If they put in the price, then they must get their due. The principle of proportionality will be at the forefront of how we do it; I’m more focused on why and what happens after that. The Americans have a new term for the concept of increasing the value of a group beyond its base capability - ‘force multiplication’. When we add the new modern ships and planes we’ll be building to what the Commonwealth fleets already deploy, we’ll see that alright. That is what we need, First Lord - flexibility, modernity and audacity.”
The sounds of a military band striking up Soldiers of the Queen drifted into Stanley Barton’s study from out on the other side of Horse Guards. Somewhat ironic, really. For every piece that lauded Britain’s long roll of honour in battles on every continent or hailed the empire of the clouds, there were two more that spoke of her traditional strength, of the hearts of oak and hardy tars of the Royal Navy. Despite being an Army man himself, Barton had a deep and long love for the Andrew, and viewed it as something of a regret that he had never held the office of the man who now sat opposite.
“We’ve got a dickens of a task, First Lord, but we’ll do it. On that I have no doubt.”
“Of course, Prime Minister. I do hope that my note did not give the impression that I was skeptical of our capacity, as it were; however, it will be something of an uphill struggle.
Barton ground his teeth and stared at Christopher Mayhew, the First Lord of the Admiralty, for a long moment.
“Yesterday, I told the Army that the purse strings had been untied. The same goes for the Navy, only the purse is deeper. We are an island nation and a seagoing empire. Our fates lie with the waves. Based on what you’ve seen and heard, what more is required to achieve our naval goals?”
Mayhew paused to gather his answer and choose the best words to answer his Prime Minister. Barton was many things, but one of the most seemingly unlikely was his wholehearted enthusiasm for all things naval, which was exceeded only by that of the Duke of London in terms of all Britain’s Prime Ministers of the last century. He had risen to prominence in part in speeches, articles and newspaper articles on the Navy and its paramount importance, after all. Labour’s naval policy heading into the election had thus been suitably ambitious and expansive, calling for the Royal Navy to outbuild and outmatch any of her foes, to ride the crest of the bold new wave of the technological revolution, to be able to fight both hot and cold wars and to project British power across the world. Ambitious, yet sufficiently broad in large parts of its rhetoric to avoid commitment to any truly impossible goals, such as truly ruling the waves in this epoch of the Pax Americana.
“We will not have any difficulty in building up to the first stages of the New Fleet Plan, Prime Minister, but that will not supplant the Red Navy from its current position within that period. They have increased their construction, just as they face the same block obsolescence problem that confronts us, the Americans, the French and others. The raw numbers fielded by the Soviets aren’t the great threat once thought, when we consider that they are divided between four widely dispersed fleets.”
“The White Sea Canal suggests otherwise, at least in part.”
“Yes, that is quite true, Prime Minister. It still doesn’t get the Black Sea Fleet out past Constantinople and through the Straits into the Med, or change the situation of their Pacific Fleet from being outnumbered and outpositioned on the other side of the world. Ship for ship, we are better than the bulk of their fleet.”
“What did Mountbatten and the Admiralty view as their most significant dangers?”
“First and foremost, their nuclear submarine fleet - it is growing and getting better by the year to boot and their ballistic missile boats are starting to reach troublesome numbers and capabilities. Secondly, their big guided missile capital ships, particularly the Stalin class battlewagons. Thirdly, their aircraft carrier force, although we assess them as being qualitatively behind our own by perhaps fifteen years. Last of all, their newest missile cruiser and destroyer types, based on current information, if it is accurate.”
“If indeed.” Barton knew it to be quite, quite accurate, although he could not let on in any way to Mayhew, naturally.
“Insofar as their older vessels go, the Skoryys and their earliest frigates are extremely good conventional gun escorts, but were caught just behind the pace of change a decade ago; today, they are very much obsolescent against modern threats and weapons. The Sverdlovs may have worried the daylights out of us in 1946, but their major threat window closed during the Korean War with the Brigands, Super Helmover and the guided Highballs.”
“They are still large and fast ships, though, with potential for upgrading with quite a few modern missiles and guided weapons beyond their current partial conversions - your note made that very point.”
“If they do go down that path, Prime Minister, there is potential there, but our reports indicate that they’d really need to give them a thorough rebuild to approach anything of the operational efficiency of the Kazans, let alone our own missile conversions or those of the USN. It would add 10-15 years to their operational lifespan.”
“Hmm. Even as second class combatants, that is still food for thought; they may not be able to go up against a Leander, but they’d give an unwary convoy a right beasting. I don’t think we can write them off just yet; the newest of them is well under a decade old, after all. What about their Whiskeys?”
“Their sheer numbers are a worry, but nothing like how they were perceived a dozen years ago or so. Even when combined with their Romeos, the older Red boats present a challenge of time, rather than a bona fide threat. All the measures we’ve taken since 1950 have considerably reduced what conventional subs with wartime technology can accomplish, to put it mildly. Our indications are that they are working on a new hull form for the successor to the Foxtrot class, but until then, their non-nuclear subs hold no inordinate terrors for us.”
“Good. We’re not going to lack any preparation this time around, not if I have anything to do with it. Now, let’s move on from what the dashed Russians might do to what we can do.”
“Very good, Prime Minister. We currently deploy a smaller fleet than in 1960, when there was the last major mobilisation, or 1956, when we last went to war, but in every respect, it is a more powerful one. That is a result of some long-sighted decisions in the past decade or so to prioritise quality over numbers, as well as a natural consequence of history - by virtue of being the first to rearm in the 1930s, our ships have come to the end of their line sooner than the Americans, for example.”
“We can’t change that. Neither can we rely on it in the future. We’ve timed our build up of the fleet prior to each world war quite well, but there is no such guarantee this time around.”
“I agree, naturally - that is why the old plans of breaking out the reserve fleet don’t quite cut the mustard anymore. We might not get the time to reactivate and prepare 20 year old ships, nor can they bring the same sort of impact to a modern war that they could in Korea.”
“Your recommendations were quite plain, Christopher, and they match my own. Don’t keep what we can’t use. They must be replaced though. Not in kind, but in power.”
“We’ve inherited a fairly good process of exactly that. In our capital ships, there hasn’t been a noticeable decline due to the policy of rotation and if we continue this, which I recommend we should, then we push the useful service life of our battlefleet to the late 1970s. Within the next year, the last of the wartime light cruisers will leave service, making us the first major navy to have a purely guided missile cruiser fleet. Our destroyer numbers have declined and will continue to drop sharply as the Battles are retired, but our new construction ships are considerably more capable in both anti-submarine and anti-air warfare. That is the good side of the current fleet...”
“Meaning that there is also a bad side?”
“I’m not sure that is the best term for it; there are aspects of the fleet that aren’t what they should be, though. Aircraft carriers, submarines and frigates, Prime Minister. Our atomic submarine programme is going quite smoothly, averaging two new attack boats per year, but we are starting to really fall back from the other superpowers, removing whatever advantage we have had from Dreadnought’s head start.”
“We’re going to double that rate and increase the R class from eight to twelve, to begin with. I also want you to get the D.N.C. to pick up the pace on the S class design. With the modifications we desired.”
Mayhew nodded. The S class were to be Britain’s largest fleet submarines yet, save for the bombers, and were certainly the most complex to boot. Barton’s suggestions to have them altered to carry long range missiles, coming as they did very early in his time in office, added to that complexity, but he had been quite insistent that the Royal Navy have such a capacity. The Director of Naval Construction was understandably vexed, but the logic was clear enough to the First Lord of the Admiralty, who had been party to the development and fine tuning of the New Fleet Plan. Long range attack missiles would give the Andrew’s submarines both an ace in the hole against the growing Soviet and Chinese fleets and also allow them to play a role in the ‘cold war missions’ around the Empire. The bigger picture sometimes obscured the complexity of the smaller details needed to create it, though, with the wood sometimes obscuring the trees.
“As you wish, Prime Minister. Moving along to the surface fleet, it isn’t a matter of the ships themselves lacking quality, as we’re right up with the best in the world for each, but the problem is twofold for the frigates and carriers. Firstly, we already hit the block obsolescence problem with each, cutting back on the numbers and forcing us to push our smaller force harder. As well as this, the retirement of the light carriers has increased the complexity of the role of our frigate force and diverts our fleet carriers from their main role.”
“That reinforces everything we’ve been saying for years. The Admiralty has been doing the same and the Tories tried to do something about it, but the money simply wasn’t there under the caps set in the last White Paper. Those are now gone. I intend to rebuild the Royal Navy. We’ll bring forward the 1966 light antisubmarine carriers to next year and then increase orders from there. Frigates will be a bit more difficult, as we’ve pinned our hopes on the Type 21s and can’t significantly accelerate the pace of their development, but prepare a paper on our options regarding them. By my calculations, even with them, we fall short on our required escort force goals by almost 80 ships.”
“Those goals were set prior to the restoration of the Atlantic Pact, though, Prime Minister, as well as being the cost of disposing of the Battles, which is the right decision. We can factor in some degree reduced need due to Allied vessels in the Atlantic and Mediterranean without seriously endangering our status or commitments, I should think.”
“You’re quite right on one level. That’s just what the Americans were saying in Washington as well at the Combined Chiefs of Staff meeting. It makes sense if our main or major commitment was the Allies, or “NATO” as the cousins are now want to say.” Barton paused, inwardly bemused on the irony of that particular nomenclature, yet unable to share or explain it, for obvious reasons.
“Excerpt that they say it one moment and then seek concrete commitments to allocated escorts on the other; we can always draw down on our forces beyond the Atlantic. It makes sense and is right for them. It can’t be, though, not for us, not for Britain, not if we want to retain our full capacity for freedom of action anywhere in the world, no matter who is with us. We’ve got to restore that margin, First Lord, as that is what lets us stay up front and centre with the Commonwealth and the Newly Emerging Forces, no matter what is said or thought in Washington or Paris.”
“I leave the grand strategy and policy of the Empire to you and your fellows, Prime Minister; I merely suggest that we don’t need to bear the lion’s share of the burden on our side of the Atlantic when our allies can now do their bit. In such a case, though, our current options would be to build more Rivers, order a cheaper variant of the Tribals or increase our plans for the Type 21. The last would be pushing well beyond our planned spending and cut into other parts of the fleet programme, but if you wish, I can...”
“Prepare a feasibility study. Do so. Now, what do you have next?”
“Aircraft, Prime Minister, then the ‘secret weapon’ we’ve discussed.”
“Excellent.”
“The RNAS plan mainly focuses on modernisation of the maritime patrol aircraft fleet and their land based fighters. The last of the Shackletons will go next year and the Albions by 1967, with a view towards consolidating further on the Nimrod and Sydney in an all jet force. That gives us a powerful mix, with no great loss in endurance over the Mid Atlantic, given our bases. Crucially, the Nimrod can operate from the Floating Fortresses, although with a quite small margin. The flying boats give us a certain degree of basing flexibility in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. There have already been some back channel approaches from the South Americans regarding acquiring the Albion fleet.”
“That will be a job for the Foreign Office when they make their formal approach, but so long as it doesn’t disturb the balance of power down there, I can see no issue with it. What of the Poseidons then?”
“Australia and New Zealand will take 120 and 30 and the rest will go to India as part of their naval modernisation. All of them were quite keen on the longer range it offers and the transfers can be streamlined through existing Commonwealth arrangements. Our own longer range arrangements will be addressed with the commissioning of the first of the new RN skyships next year.
“They will be essential parts of our strategy, First Lord, and you’ll get the full programme, despite the fuss that the Air Ministry is kicking up about it taking up too much of our supply of levian metals and cavorite. These aren’t going to take any roles from their skyship carriers or aerodreadnoughts, after all.”
“When we get them all, Prime Minister, then we can start put Skyweb into active service. With that, the anti-submarine battle in the Atlantic will shift further in our favour. Moving to the fighter question, our first order of priority will converting the land based air defence squadrons to Phantoms, which will allow for commonality with the Fleet Air Arm carrier squadrons. If we were to also consider equipping the maritime strike fighter squadrons with Phantom, then there would be a further efficiency saving, at the cost of some range and performance compared with the Tornado.”
“I can see the logic in that argument, but I’m somewhat hesitant to put all our eggs in the Phantom basket for a number of reasons. The Tornado is longer ranged and carries a heavier bomb load to begin with, and the RNAS maritime strike wings are primarily meant to fight up over the Norwegian and Baltic Seas where that matters more than the Med. We are also looking to sell the maritime strike variant of the Tornado to a number of allied states, notably Germany, so we don’t want to do the saleswork for our Atlantic chums at our own expense. It is going to be enough of a job to maintain a two Phantom forces in the face of a Treasury that doesn’t like the armament programme as it stands. Ultimately, the land based planes are more for the Empire and the Floating Forts, but give us the opportunity to maintain extra carrier capable pilots and aeroplanes to back up the fleet.”
“The first point alone should suffice against anything that comes up in Parliament, Prime Minister, and the second should keep the Treasury sharks at bay. On that point, it could be worth considering whether to cancel the RNAS Valiant replacement programme - it would save at least £250 million and could be played as a responsible savings measure.”
“An interesting proposal. There is less of a case for the Navy to have a strategic bomber than the 40s, given what the Excalibur can do off the carriers. It isn’t urgent though, so have the Admiralty put together a paper on our options. Now, Fleet Air Arm.”
“We find ourselves in the somewhat lucky position of not having any expensive development or procurement programmes on the horizon for the next decade or so, allowing us to concentrate on building our strength of existing types and a few new key planes. In the Vanguard, we have an excellent air superiority and fleet defence fighter with a range long enough to give the Reds conniptions, so there are no substantive issues there, save for a few minor RDF teething issues that have cropped up in escort missions over South Vietnam. The Supermarine Excalibur is the best carrier bomber in the world, which it should be for its price. The Buccaneers and Merlins cover the attack and strike missions extremely well. Replacing the de Havilland Spectre with the Phantom is the biggest change that will be occurring over the next five years; it is a newer and consequently better plane and the extra legs will be useful.”
There was more to it than simply performance, Barton thought. He had bristled at the initial talk of buying the American fighter when it was first rumoured several years ago, but that all ended once Prime Minister Eden had invited him around to Number 10 for a late night drink. The Phantom deal had more wheels within wheels than the Antikythera Mechanism, but it came down to three main factors - a complicated series of Anglo-American quid pro quo agreements for licenced production of different aircraft on either side of the Atlantic; the need to lead the Commonwealth into the matter, rather than be left behind at a time when Australia, New Avalon and Israel had their minds set on the Phantom; and freeing up the substantial numbers of still highly competitive Spectres for a calculated swamping of the Middle Eastern and South American markets. That last twist in the tale was already yielding substantial dividends.
“Range. That is the important part. With long ranges carrier groups, we can project ourselves inland in Africa and Asia in such strength that we rapidly control arising situations. That is the prize on offer.”
“A heady one indeed, Prime Minister. I pursued the question of the Sea Harrier on the fleet carriers as you requested, but the general consensus is that it would not be of any operational benefit, given that very issue of range. Their best place is on the light anti-submarine and commando carriers, although there is a not insubstantial minority that advocates their permanent deployment on the battleships as well.”
“Have them run a few more tests then, but don’t commit to anything binding either way. Anything on the new aircraft?”
“Fairey estimates that the Cormorant will be flying by the end of next year, Armstrong-Whitworth are aiming for 1967 for the Argonaut and Bristol can get the Sparrowhawk ready within six months.”
“Good. Very good. Right on time. As for the secret weapon, it is rather bemusing to regard it as such, but they really will be, if not already are, the greatest keystones of the security and survival of the British Empire at sea. I’m going to be taking the proposal to the Imperial Conference for full discussion, but getting the groundwork done with the Commonwealth navies will make the process a swifter one.”
Stanley Barton referred to one of great hobbyhorses, the regional Imperial commands around the globe made up of British and Commonwealth naval units. Their origin lay in the ambitious rearrangements put in place by the Jellicoe Report after the Great War, although the relative strength of the Dominion navies had greatly increased compared to the Royal Navy squadrons deployed beyond the three major fleets. Their distribution was both their strength and their weakness, but this was something that would change under the plan currently being discussed. New integrated fleets would be formed in the Pacific and Indian Oceans as new counterparts to the great Imperial armadas at Singapore and Alexandria, whilst command arrangements in the Atlantic would receive a timely modernisation. Barton had kept his idea of a general strategic reserve fleet in South Africa to himself for the time being, as before it could be contemplated, it would require the quite difficult political measure of a general agreement on operational integration of the R.N. and the Commonwealth navies under a more unified command structure. This would not take the form of the single structure theoretically planned in the event of general mobilisation and, heaven forfend, another world war, but more along the lines of the arrangements that were proving quite successful in Europe.
“The two most straightforward items, for the formal establishment of standing joint task forces around the current fleet units and operational integration of supply and support, been met with unanimous endorsement from the Dominions in our initial discussions, but the command arrangements are proving as vexsome as ever and the final measure is going to take a fair bit of pressure and argument to get through.”
“Who are the big holdouts? India?”
“It isn’t quite like that, Prime Minister, but they are the most vocal in expressing their issues with both the grand concept and the execution of it. In any case, neither the R.I.N. nor the East Indies Station in general are what could truly be termed as frontline fleets. Surprisingly, it has been the Aussies who’ve been most vehement about representation in the command structure, on account of the circumstances they face with their neighbours. The Canadians are quite supportive, with the unspoken caveat that, if they provide forces beyond their immediate area, they would expect a rise in their representation.”
“That all sounds very reasonable. If they put in the price, then they must get their due. The principle of proportionality will be at the forefront of how we do it; I’m more focused on why and what happens after that. The Americans have a new term for the concept of increasing the value of a group beyond its base capability - ‘force multiplication’. When we add the new modern ships and planes we’ll be building to what the Commonwealth fleets already deploy, we’ll see that alright. That is what we need, First Lord - flexibility, modernity and audacity.”
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Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1049
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth: A New Jerusalem
Sorry that this one slipped me by, but I agree completely. Not having to deal with the egos and the credit helps a very large amount as well as not having to blow out someone else's candle to make your own shine brighter.jemhouston wrote: ↑Sat Jan 27, 2024 1:23 am You can be surprised by what you can do when you don't care who gets credit for it.
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Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1049
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth: A New Jerusalem
Notes to Part 11:
- Barton and Pendragon, rather than setting out the maximum level of spending and ordering the Army to cut its cloth to it, are intent on finding the optimum force size for the worst case scenario
- That then gives various options for prioritising force sizes, armaments, supplies and what type of equipment is needed
- It is a more risky and costly approach in some respects; with a less ambitious economic programme, it could easily be knocked to billyo by Vietnam.
- This is very much still a military force structure built on universal national service and the reserves built up by it, in the manner of the US Army of the 1950s and the briefer British Army of the period before the Global Strategy Paper of ‘52 kicked into gear
- An unspoken thread through a lot of planning and discussion is “Wouldn’t it be much easier to cover all of these contingencies if we still had the British Indian Army at our exclusive disposal?” Outside of the World Wars, it didn’t see any huge usage beyond that of @, but it’s presence gave flexibility
- However, even that is fading, given the supplanting of specialist units for leg infantry
- Home Forces, sees the most noticeable differences
- The BAOR gets 80% of MACV production from 1968 until requirements met; 1000 additional Chieftains from both 1965 and 1966 productions to build stockpiles for REFORGER units, with discussion of divisional sets; replacement of armoured divisional artillery with 6” SP-70s and 125mm Abbots to brigade
- MEC gets 50% of Tiger helos, first priority to US 175mm guns and four additional Thunderbird regiments; first preference on wheeled AFVs and increased stocks of current armoured cars
- FEC gets 240 Chieftains, second priority to 175mm, equipment from home based rocket and heavy artillery units, 120 former RAF Rotodynes and helos and new EW system
- Home Forces get heavily slowed delivery of Chieftains offset with more Centurions and lowest priority for modern artillery; former FAA Westland Wessex fleet and surplus 25pdrs to be transferred
- Development of a tracked Thunderbird II system is to be given superpriority, along with work on a short range SAM that can fill the gap between the Skyflash MANPADS and the medium range PT.428; this will end up with something similar in performance to the historical Rapier (albeit with a faster Mach 3 missile) fielded on a platform akin to the SA-8
As well as this operational spending and the planned procurement up to 1970, there are a few other R&D programmes that will start to mount as well:
- The Chieftain replacement MBT
- A universal SAM to replace both Thunderbird and Bloodhound
- The full manifestation of the MACV
- New artillery
- Individual equipment
- Airborne armoured vehicles, an airborne light tank and an airborne gun system
- Barton and Pendragon, rather than setting out the maximum level of spending and ordering the Army to cut its cloth to it, are intent on finding the optimum force size for the worst case scenario
- That then gives various options for prioritising force sizes, armaments, supplies and what type of equipment is needed
- It is a more risky and costly approach in some respects; with a less ambitious economic programme, it could easily be knocked to billyo by Vietnam.
- This is very much still a military force structure built on universal national service and the reserves built up by it, in the manner of the US Army of the 1950s and the briefer British Army of the period before the Global Strategy Paper of ‘52 kicked into gear
- An unspoken thread through a lot of planning and discussion is “Wouldn’t it be much easier to cover all of these contingencies if we still had the British Indian Army at our exclusive disposal?” Outside of the World Wars, it didn’t see any huge usage beyond that of @, but it’s presence gave flexibility
- However, even that is fading, given the supplanting of specialist units for leg infantry
- Home Forces, sees the most noticeable differences
- The BAOR gets 80% of MACV production from 1968 until requirements met; 1000 additional Chieftains from both 1965 and 1966 productions to build stockpiles for REFORGER units, with discussion of divisional sets; replacement of armoured divisional artillery with 6” SP-70s and 125mm Abbots to brigade
- MEC gets 50% of Tiger helos, first priority to US 175mm guns and four additional Thunderbird regiments; first preference on wheeled AFVs and increased stocks of current armoured cars
- FEC gets 240 Chieftains, second priority to 175mm, equipment from home based rocket and heavy artillery units, 120 former RAF Rotodynes and helos and new EW system
- Home Forces get heavily slowed delivery of Chieftains offset with more Centurions and lowest priority for modern artillery; former FAA Westland Wessex fleet and surplus 25pdrs to be transferred
- Development of a tracked Thunderbird II system is to be given superpriority, along with work on a short range SAM that can fill the gap between the Skyflash MANPADS and the medium range PT.428; this will end up with something similar in performance to the historical Rapier (albeit with a faster Mach 3 missile) fielded on a platform akin to the SA-8
As well as this operational spending and the planned procurement up to 1970, there are a few other R&D programmes that will start to mount as well:
- The Chieftain replacement MBT
- A universal SAM to replace both Thunderbird and Bloodhound
- The full manifestation of the MACV
- New artillery
- Individual equipment
- Airborne armoured vehicles, an airborne light tank and an airborne gun system
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Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1049
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth: A New Jerusalem
Notes on Chapter 12:
- The length of this instalment inadvertently mirrors Barton’s naval interest and enthusiasm. In an earlier draft, there was a more overt reference to this in the form of a rumination on Churchill’s The Gathering Storm, but it didn’t quite fit in.
- His policy is very ambitious in public, but keeps the majority of the details behind the curtain. The substance of the New Fleet Plan is to increase yearly submarine construction, boost the numbers and rate of CVSL construction, build up escort numbers by 25% above previous planning, order a further four CGNs and develop a successor class to the Leander CGs and increase the capital ship programme to 2/year. This is before they really get to examine the cost of such goals
- The Soviet Navy has grown considerably since 1964 alone, with their SSNs being the biggest challenge. The BCGs aren’t quite the threat they are perceived as, but remain well above the level of the Sverdlovs in @ from the early 1950s. Their battlefleet is a clear and present challenge.
- Soviet carriers...their numbers reflect Stalin Snr’s naval whims. The 12 Krasnoyarsk class CVLs are about the size of a Centaur class from @ and have exactly the same issue: they are too small to carry a decent 1960s fixed wing air group and will go by 1970-75. The Soviet CVAs and CVANs are much better, but run into the problem of being split up into four fleets.
- The Soviet cruiser and destroyer programme is very different from @, flowing on from a conventional balanced fleet rather than the missile focus of Khrushchev.
- Their massive conventional sub build up is less of a threat against the combination of large ASW escort numbers + aircraft + Floating Fortresses + SOSUS + other oceanic surveillance technology.
- The massed reserve fleets hitting obsolescence is a development from @ and the British response is similar to historical
- Their new ships are much better than the modernised wartime types such as the Battles, but they will miss the sheer numbers of the latter. However, unlike the USN, even a better-off Britain can’t afford the FRAM solution taken by the USN with their Gearings and Sumners.
- In frigates, the wartime numbers and conversions of destroyers to fast ASW frigates in the 1950s meant that fewer Type 12s were built than ideal. They make up the current reserve, not quite being up to taking on the most modern Red subs. They will stick around until the mid 1970s at most. Third line ships.
- Following on from them were the River class (broadly analogous to the Leanders in @) which are solid vessels, but certainly second line ships even by the mid 1960s.
- The first class frigates are the Tribal class, which are broadly similar to the USN Brooke class DEGs in general armament. These have more of a AAW/ASuW mission.
- This makes the new ASW Type 21s an urgent requirement, but may well lead to bloat in their requirements and an accompanying increase in cost, beginning a vicious cycle.
- Barton’s view on numbers is being driven by politics
- Earlier plans for a mixed RNAS fleet of Nimrods and Poseidons has been cast aside, which will carry a higher cost.
- The RN skyships are quite ambitious vessels and the RAF feels that they are duplicating their capability; they are to be equipped with ASW planes and missiles rather than a fighter/attack mix.
- Skyweb is an interesting idea, but more on that later, unless there is a correct guess...
- The dual-track Phantom programme is another attempt to “hide” capabilities for a major armament push.
- On top of that, the Phantom deal is an attempt to secure sales in the USA whilst still trying to secure exports of British planes into traditional markets by offering cheaper aircraft just behind the cutting edge at a very competitive price.
- Integration with the Commonwealth fleets mirrors other attempts to maximise the power of the bloc + also maintaining its relevance.
- The length of this instalment inadvertently mirrors Barton’s naval interest and enthusiasm. In an earlier draft, there was a more overt reference to this in the form of a rumination on Churchill’s The Gathering Storm, but it didn’t quite fit in.
- His policy is very ambitious in public, but keeps the majority of the details behind the curtain. The substance of the New Fleet Plan is to increase yearly submarine construction, boost the numbers and rate of CVSL construction, build up escort numbers by 25% above previous planning, order a further four CGNs and develop a successor class to the Leander CGs and increase the capital ship programme to 2/year. This is before they really get to examine the cost of such goals
- The Soviet Navy has grown considerably since 1964 alone, with their SSNs being the biggest challenge. The BCGs aren’t quite the threat they are perceived as, but remain well above the level of the Sverdlovs in @ from the early 1950s. Their battlefleet is a clear and present challenge.
- Soviet carriers...their numbers reflect Stalin Snr’s naval whims. The 12 Krasnoyarsk class CVLs are about the size of a Centaur class from @ and have exactly the same issue: they are too small to carry a decent 1960s fixed wing air group and will go by 1970-75. The Soviet CVAs and CVANs are much better, but run into the problem of being split up into four fleets.
- The Soviet cruiser and destroyer programme is very different from @, flowing on from a conventional balanced fleet rather than the missile focus of Khrushchev.
- Their massive conventional sub build up is less of a threat against the combination of large ASW escort numbers + aircraft + Floating Fortresses + SOSUS + other oceanic surveillance technology.
- The massed reserve fleets hitting obsolescence is a development from @ and the British response is similar to historical
- Their new ships are much better than the modernised wartime types such as the Battles, but they will miss the sheer numbers of the latter. However, unlike the USN, even a better-off Britain can’t afford the FRAM solution taken by the USN with their Gearings and Sumners.
- In frigates, the wartime numbers and conversions of destroyers to fast ASW frigates in the 1950s meant that fewer Type 12s were built than ideal. They make up the current reserve, not quite being up to taking on the most modern Red subs. They will stick around until the mid 1970s at most. Third line ships.
- Following on from them were the River class (broadly analogous to the Leanders in @) which are solid vessels, but certainly second line ships even by the mid 1960s.
- The first class frigates are the Tribal class, which are broadly similar to the USN Brooke class DEGs in general armament. These have more of a AAW/ASuW mission.
- This makes the new ASW Type 21s an urgent requirement, but may well lead to bloat in their requirements and an accompanying increase in cost, beginning a vicious cycle.
- Barton’s view on numbers is being driven by politics
- Earlier plans for a mixed RNAS fleet of Nimrods and Poseidons has been cast aside, which will carry a higher cost.
- The RN skyships are quite ambitious vessels and the RAF feels that they are duplicating their capability; they are to be equipped with ASW planes and missiles rather than a fighter/attack mix.
- Skyweb is an interesting idea, but more on that later, unless there is a correct guess...
- The dual-track Phantom programme is another attempt to “hide” capabilities for a major armament push.
- On top of that, the Phantom deal is an attempt to secure sales in the USA whilst still trying to secure exports of British planes into traditional markets by offering cheaper aircraft just behind the cutting edge at a very competitive price.
- Integration with the Commonwealth fleets mirrors other attempts to maximise the power of the bloc + also maintaining its relevance.
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1049
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth: A New Jerusalem
A New Jerusalem Part 13
The easiest task coming last was in many ways a relief after some of the comparatively more difficult decisions that had preceded it. The Royal Air Force had been the best funded of the four armed services since the Second World War and that largesse had resulted in a well-rounded and powerful force without substantial gaps in its capabilities. Of course, the other side of this seemingly happy situation was that the Air Ministry had a very comfortable operational relationship with the Big 5 aviation conglomerates, which played into perhaps too close a connection between requirements and developers. However much there was an environment of mutual back-scratching, mused Stanley Barton, it did have multiple positive impacts upon the broader British economy, ranging from efficiency savings to wide-reaching supply chains and the construction of new modern production plants in electorally important areas undergoing industrial change and renaissance.
“Thank you for your report, Lord Shackleton. I think that it’s recommendations align with the broad thrust of what we’re looking to achieve and what can be reasonably funded.”
“You’re quite welcome, Prime Minister. I can’t claim too much credit there; our current frontline aircraft are the fruit of the two big funding boosts of the 1950s. They give us the numbers and the types of planes we need into the next decade, barring war or disaster. Being able to concentrate our new acquisitions on a few key types and attritional reserves is a saving in time and money. That is the foremost item of what I like to term as the good news.”
“What would be the bad?”
“Not so much bad as the sign of things to come - the unit price of new aircraft. Appendix B discussed the direction that the individual cost of new planes will be heading in is rising rather more steeply than anticipated due to the increasing complexity of new generation avionics and computerised systems. It is not beyond us, so long as the projected inflation remains within the general levels currently anticipated, but we can look towards our new fighters costing upwards of 2.5 million pounds each by the early 1970s.”
“That seems bad enough for me, Secretary of State for Air, but we’ll try and handle the ship of the economy as best as we can to give the Air Force what it needs. In any case, the Supermarine and Hawker-Siddeley fighters are still in the early throes of development. Now, onto the RAF’s own ‘Big Five’. It was pleasing to see that the Victory superbomber remains within our margins?”
“It does at this time, with the caveat that the weapons system is proceeding separately, as are the special defences and of course the armament.”
The Supermarine and Hawker-Siddeley fighter projects were not only highly promising, but quite revolutionary in their consequences. If they could replace a number of different types of fighter each, then the relative power of the Royal Air Force would rise, just as the Tornado promised to be a great leap from the Hunter. Each aircraft would not only deliver increased performance and advanced thrust vectoring, but the integration of new weapons, new avionics and new defence systems. This is what would add to their expense and the duration of their development, perhaps even more than projected.
“We do have some additional discretionary monies available through the general strategic budget and the Dwarven Fund. The Victory is at the centre of our bomber plans for the next twenty years, so we need it.”
“There are also the savings inherent in the retirement of the Valiants; outside of the Far East, we’re ahead of schedule in that regard.”
“I’m reticent to rush that measure in the light of the situation with Indonesia and what we might need to do in Vietnam. We simply don’t have enough Vulcans or TSR-2s to cover all eventualities for at least another eighteen months.”
“Not without substantial increases to projected orders, Prime Minister, and they would take a year to see any results. The ASB is on track, but that won’t be of any use for such requirements in any case.”
“Thus, the Valiants remain for now. We seem to be in much better shape when it comes to strike aircraft.”
“Very much so. TSR-2 gives us a combination of reach and striking power that no enemy aircraft can match at this time and our continuation of the policy of emphasising British and Commonwealth production for one more year is the better option in my view. The Tornado will give us additional range and capability in the strike fighter mission even as it replaces part of the Hunter force. Thunderbolt production will take some time to get going, but Vickers have their refurbished factory in Blackpool coming into operation beginning next September. Whatever wait occurs, within reason, it will be worth it based on what Thunderbolt can do.”
“Indeed. It is the odd one out among the three, but in many ways is the most important."
The Vickers Thunderbolt was one of only a few aircraft of its exact kind in the Western world and its major competitor had certain advantages of scale and performance over it. The Boeing plane had already attracted interest from Australia and Israel on account of its range and bombload, but their particular requirements were not shared by every one of the more than a dozen countries that still flew the good old Canberra. That was a market that Britain could ill afford to lose.
“Indeed, Prime Minister. Moving onto Fighter Command, we are exceptionally well positioned at this time. Our long ranged pair of the Avro Arrow and the Fairey Delta II give us extended presence out in the air-sea gap to our north, as well as giving us the capacity to project fighter airpower out to Sweden. That also gives them a secondary role that isn’t widely advertised, as such - escorting in our V-bombers to Russia over the northern route.”
“You didn’t find there any compelling evidence for reducing the long range fighter force to a single type?”
“No, they both compliment each other effectively at this time. The Delta IIs have the raw firepower in terms of their missile load, which allows them to break up enemy aerial formations with long range volleys and let’s the Arrows loose to take on the disrupted bombers and fighters. There is also the political issue of the latter aircraft and its value to the Canadian aviation industry and as an export.”
“That is sufficient for the moment. In the long run, we need to reduce the numbers of different planes we field in closely similar roles; certainly the replacement would ideally be a single fighter. The same goes for the short and medium range fighters and interceptors. If we can get the number down to three types, it will maximise the force we can field.”
“Perhaps in the future, Prime Minister, but the consensus of the Air Staff and Fighter Command is that the threat anticipates over the next decade requires the current triple level defence structure. The Sunstars provide a versatile force in the middle ground over the North Sea and the Lightning is the best interceptor in the Free World at the moment and is our main atomic armed fighter.”
“That does leave the SR.187 rocketplanes.”
“They do present an opportunity for economisation; their performance is sufficient that Fighter Command has reduced its maximum requirement to 160 machines.”
“That does seem affordable, given that we are trying to get the Germans and Austrians to buy it. Nothing beyond that. Overall, what was the answer to our major question?”
“2000, Prime Minister. That is the force level that is considered necessary to defend our airspace. It seems like a lot, but if we examine Appendix Three, we can see what options that gives us.”
Appendix Three certainly did demonstrate a lot with its series of circles on maps of Britain and Western Europe. The air defence of the British Isles, by its very nature, involved protecting airspace over France, the Low Countries, Germany, the North Sea and Scandinavia. Fighter Command was not just a tactical defence of the Imperial motherland, but at the same time a strategic defence of its allies and a weapon of air supremacy over the Continent. The frontline was no longer Kent, but Jutland. In this way, the “Big Wing” of the last war looked to now have its potential moment in the sun, as ninety or so Supermarine Sunstars flying defensively over the North Sea could decisively turn the tide of an air battle over the Baltic with long range missile salvos.
“Hmm. Rather novel when it is expressed on the map, yes.”
“And if we employ Project Faithful...”
Barton’s eyebrow raised in interest. Yes. Yes. That could work...
Project Faithful was rather more interesting than the consequences of deployments. With the use of two of the RAF’s skyship aerocarriers at the right locations, they could not only deploy their own capable air groups at key locations, but also support additional Harrier wings and allow the shuttling and control of British and Commonwealth advanced trainers. These aircraft, assigned in mobilisation to RAF Tactical Weapons Units, allowed the Lightnings far more flexibility. It was all a question of coordination, which is where Faithful I came into play, combining the potent capacity of an airborne master command station with modern automated processing and a greatly expanded radar horizon. With new advances in computing engines, considerably more could be achieved, including the next stage, Faithful II, which would involve the airborne deployment of long range anti-aircraft and anti-missile batteries on RAF skyships operating off the East Coast.
“Consider it approved. Now, what was the reaction to our Merlin proposal?”
“Fighter Command would love them and Strike Command want to keep them. They are one of our trump cards in the medium to long range and have the arguably the best combination of radar, performance and carrying capacity of any Western fighter at this time. Ideally, Prime Minister, we’d field them in both and in RAF Germany, but given the parameters you’ve set, we can only settle for two of those. The best choice is Fighter Command and Germany.”
“Hmm. That would work in combination with the introduction of the Phantom with Strike Command and, eventually, in Germany. The combination of both planes with RAFG will give us what we need. Good. There were no issues with the Buccaneer?”
“A certain body of opinion preferred more Tornados instead, but the majority of commanders and staff were quite accepting of the prospect.”
“Excellent. They are a cheaper counterpart to the more expensive fighters and augment the Lion very well.”
“Not to mention allowing us to use the Harrier in its most suitable role. The introduction of Phantom should give us a multi-role capacity that will further develop this, along with the logistical and political advantages.”
“Yes, the Universal Fighter, the Americans were dubbing it in Washington."
"The order will raise some issues after the last few years and the issue of our own industries. Some are asking why."
“Why the Phantom? Because to win a war, we sometimes need to choose our battles, aye, and to lose them. Our aim is to have the strongest possible aviation industry, as it is a cornerstone of our defence. By buying Phantom now, we end up selling hundreds of relatively modern Spectres to the Middle East and South America at ultra low surplus prices, taking them out of the market for the F-4 or another American fighter jet in four or five years. We also gain the goodwill of the Americans when we are trying to sell them Harriers and the TSR-2, and they are already playing shy because we won’t buy the F-111. We’re trying to juggle the situation and persuade the Canadians to buy it instead, but they have their own price.”
“So, by letting in one American plane, we keep out others?”
“That’s the plan. Fact is that the Phantom is better than what we can put up in competition, namely the Merlin. Our fighter has the range, but theirs wins in every other respect. Hawker-Siddeley is large enough that it can wear the losses on the Merlin front without taking a financial body blow, particularly if it can sell the Harrier across the pond and get the cash from any licensing. Some of the other groups don’t have quite the same resilience, at this time.”
“Yes, preventing de Havilland from hitting turbulence before it can get the big orders for Tornado is something I agree with wholeheartedly, Prime Minister.”
“They’ll get by, particularly once their merger with Cammell-Laird is finalised. I’ve got Denis putting together some enticements to get Bristol and English-Electric to take the plunge for the same general purpose. Now, what about missiles?”
“Our projected missile development plan are based on four major elements - advanced versions of the Blue Streak and Black Arrow, deployed in current hardened silos and mobile launchers respectively; a new cruise missile for ground abs aircraft platforms to counter the Soviet advantage in this area: dual role missiles to extend the reach and capacity of our strike aircraft and even fighter-bombers; and a single advanced air defence SAGW to replace Bloodhound and Blue Envoy.”
“Good show. I’d like a report on how we can combine elements of the second and third categories, giving us long range but a non-strategic role. We won’t be fighting Moscow or Peking face to face in every brushfire conflict, so the ability to have a rapid strike capacity with a range of several hundred miles will give us a big advantage.”
“There are some developments on that front, but nothing that will render immediate results. Our most promising potential is of course the Atomic Strike Bomber, which is already in the midst of its test flight program. The last cruise was for five days, so range there would be limited solely limited by crew endurance.”
“And the small factors of their limited numbers, huge cost, risk value and their entirely strategic payload. I’ve read the briefings and they are promising, but even if we doubled the plan to two squadrons, it still wouldn’t cover the cold war contingencies we are facing. That is if it actually works - I see the wags at the Daily Chronicle are using ASB as an euphemism for the impossible.”
“With respect, Prime Minister, the Chronicle is a Tory rag prone to such juvenilia. The Air Staff have assured me that we’ll have it in service by 1968.”
“Quite. The trainer requirements for the resumption of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan look fine. Hawker-Siddeley’s initial proposal for the intermediate jet trainer looks just what we were after.”
“I think so too. It would seem, on paper at least, to provide the dual role quite well.”
Right, that leaves the major issue - what was the outcome on Strike Command question?”
One of Barton’s major aerial priorities upon assuming office had been for the Air Staff to put together a plan for the completion of the restructuring of Strike Command to a more versatile organisation. It needed to be more than simply an operational reserve for the Continent alone, but Britain could not afford the sheer size and scale of the American Tactical Air Command. The two main commitments of RAF tactical aircraft to Europe were RAF Germany and RAF Scandinavia, with the latter being substantially smaller. Britain had a confidential commitment to a minimum force of 960 aircraft in Germany in peacetime and double that on mobilisation, but discussions regarding that level were approaching an interesting point with Germany and the United States.
“There are three main options, Prime Minister. The first is the first class or German option. There would be home based units dedicated to reinforcement of our Continental forces and two two composite groups capable of reinforcing Germany, the Middle East or the Orient and based around a first rate, balanced force each of 25 squadrons of fighters, ground attack, strike aircraft and bombers. The second would have reinforcing elements and a similar force, but with a stronger emphasis on ground attack and fighter-bombers and consistent of 20 squadrons each. Then there would be the last option, which would deploy two smaller tactical air groups of 16 squadrons each for European reinforcement and a swing force for reinforcement and out of area missions.”
“Proceed with the cost study, whilst factoring in the expected savings from the Phantom order. I’ll put it to Cabinet once we have solid information - you know my preference is for the first class option, but this is a matter for us all.” Barton looked down at the report in his hand in thought.
“What is the minimum force we’d need elsewhere, apart from the Indian contingency force outlined here?”
Shackleton thought for a moment. “Eight squadrons at present, although ten would allow deployment to Australia if Indonesia keeps acting up.”
“Very good. That could well work.”
Barton gritted his teeth. He had his preference, but it was perhaps too radical for the immediate future. It would take some time, but there was a very logical case to be made for a reduction in the total number of commands. For the moment, there were bigger fish to fry.
“I see that the Transport Command plan met with agreement. That is also good; better to have fewer planes with greater capacity, provided we keep the Britannias in reserve just in case.”
“Their replacement with the Skyblazers will be complete by the second half of next year. After that, the Armstrong-Whitworth Atlas is our only major transport procurement project for the next five years; we have been cooperating with the Americans on their CX, but haven’t made a formal decision on it.”
“Is it worthwhile? After all, we have the Atlas, the VC10s and the Belfast for long range hauls and whatever bulk cargoes need to be moved faster than skyship speed.”
“Not in anywhere close to the numbers the Americans are contemplating, but perhaps in a limited production run in association with the Dominions. Canada is looking at perhaps two squadrons as part of the modernisation of their trans-oceanic lift.”
“I’m still not convinced. We shall see what the Canadians say, but not commit to anything concrete. We need to keep enough set aside for the supersonics when the time comes, even with the Imperial Airways and HEIC augmentation plans.”
“The only other issue raised by Transport Command was the possible acquisition of appropriate shorter range jet airliners for support and supply of our forces in Germany.”
“Have a proposal put together, but I’m reticent to do so to any significant degree when we have the Voyagers in service in their current strength. As long as the procurement can stay under the discretionary yearly ceiling, there may be an opportunity. May.”
“Very good, Prime Minister. The last matter is the review of the RAF Regiment, where the broad preliminary recommendations by the field commanders present no surprises. Establishment of a special forces and mobile commando capacity, hardening the field forces to reflect the changing threat and modernising the Regiment’s holdings of AAA. Nothing too expensive or egregious.”
“I can see no issue with it.”
“In the first instance, we would select, form and train up an initial regiment sized force, preliminarily designated Paracommandos; the name is not set, but has a reflection on the Low Countries operating area. We’d secondly upgrade our general field transport and heavier armoured cars to the IMV and MAV respectively, procure more of the CVR (T) family of vehicles for the light armoured squadrons and introduced Saxons to appropriate roles alongside our tank squadrons. In terms of AA guns, the general request is for the Marksman and Sharpshooter, but also for an equivalent to the Vigilante. And Green Mace.”
“Well, they don’t propose to do things by halves, I’ll say that much.”
Barton nodded in satisfaction. It had been a decent morning’s work.
The easiest task coming last was in many ways a relief after some of the comparatively more difficult decisions that had preceded it. The Royal Air Force had been the best funded of the four armed services since the Second World War and that largesse had resulted in a well-rounded and powerful force without substantial gaps in its capabilities. Of course, the other side of this seemingly happy situation was that the Air Ministry had a very comfortable operational relationship with the Big 5 aviation conglomerates, which played into perhaps too close a connection between requirements and developers. However much there was an environment of mutual back-scratching, mused Stanley Barton, it did have multiple positive impacts upon the broader British economy, ranging from efficiency savings to wide-reaching supply chains and the construction of new modern production plants in electorally important areas undergoing industrial change and renaissance.
“Thank you for your report, Lord Shackleton. I think that it’s recommendations align with the broad thrust of what we’re looking to achieve and what can be reasonably funded.”
“You’re quite welcome, Prime Minister. I can’t claim too much credit there; our current frontline aircraft are the fruit of the two big funding boosts of the 1950s. They give us the numbers and the types of planes we need into the next decade, barring war or disaster. Being able to concentrate our new acquisitions on a few key types and attritional reserves is a saving in time and money. That is the foremost item of what I like to term as the good news.”
“What would be the bad?”
“Not so much bad as the sign of things to come - the unit price of new aircraft. Appendix B discussed the direction that the individual cost of new planes will be heading in is rising rather more steeply than anticipated due to the increasing complexity of new generation avionics and computerised systems. It is not beyond us, so long as the projected inflation remains within the general levels currently anticipated, but we can look towards our new fighters costing upwards of 2.5 million pounds each by the early 1970s.”
“That seems bad enough for me, Secretary of State for Air, but we’ll try and handle the ship of the economy as best as we can to give the Air Force what it needs. In any case, the Supermarine and Hawker-Siddeley fighters are still in the early throes of development. Now, onto the RAF’s own ‘Big Five’. It was pleasing to see that the Victory superbomber remains within our margins?”
“It does at this time, with the caveat that the weapons system is proceeding separately, as are the special defences and of course the armament.”
The Supermarine and Hawker-Siddeley fighter projects were not only highly promising, but quite revolutionary in their consequences. If they could replace a number of different types of fighter each, then the relative power of the Royal Air Force would rise, just as the Tornado promised to be a great leap from the Hunter. Each aircraft would not only deliver increased performance and advanced thrust vectoring, but the integration of new weapons, new avionics and new defence systems. This is what would add to their expense and the duration of their development, perhaps even more than projected.
“We do have some additional discretionary monies available through the general strategic budget and the Dwarven Fund. The Victory is at the centre of our bomber plans for the next twenty years, so we need it.”
“There are also the savings inherent in the retirement of the Valiants; outside of the Far East, we’re ahead of schedule in that regard.”
“I’m reticent to rush that measure in the light of the situation with Indonesia and what we might need to do in Vietnam. We simply don’t have enough Vulcans or TSR-2s to cover all eventualities for at least another eighteen months.”
“Not without substantial increases to projected orders, Prime Minister, and they would take a year to see any results. The ASB is on track, but that won’t be of any use for such requirements in any case.”
“Thus, the Valiants remain for now. We seem to be in much better shape when it comes to strike aircraft.”
“Very much so. TSR-2 gives us a combination of reach and striking power that no enemy aircraft can match at this time and our continuation of the policy of emphasising British and Commonwealth production for one more year is the better option in my view. The Tornado will give us additional range and capability in the strike fighter mission even as it replaces part of the Hunter force. Thunderbolt production will take some time to get going, but Vickers have their refurbished factory in Blackpool coming into operation beginning next September. Whatever wait occurs, within reason, it will be worth it based on what Thunderbolt can do.”
“Indeed. It is the odd one out among the three, but in many ways is the most important."
The Vickers Thunderbolt was one of only a few aircraft of its exact kind in the Western world and its major competitor had certain advantages of scale and performance over it. The Boeing plane had already attracted interest from Australia and Israel on account of its range and bombload, but their particular requirements were not shared by every one of the more than a dozen countries that still flew the good old Canberra. That was a market that Britain could ill afford to lose.
“Indeed, Prime Minister. Moving onto Fighter Command, we are exceptionally well positioned at this time. Our long ranged pair of the Avro Arrow and the Fairey Delta II give us extended presence out in the air-sea gap to our north, as well as giving us the capacity to project fighter airpower out to Sweden. That also gives them a secondary role that isn’t widely advertised, as such - escorting in our V-bombers to Russia over the northern route.”
“You didn’t find there any compelling evidence for reducing the long range fighter force to a single type?”
“No, they both compliment each other effectively at this time. The Delta IIs have the raw firepower in terms of their missile load, which allows them to break up enemy aerial formations with long range volleys and let’s the Arrows loose to take on the disrupted bombers and fighters. There is also the political issue of the latter aircraft and its value to the Canadian aviation industry and as an export.”
“That is sufficient for the moment. In the long run, we need to reduce the numbers of different planes we field in closely similar roles; certainly the replacement would ideally be a single fighter. The same goes for the short and medium range fighters and interceptors. If we can get the number down to three types, it will maximise the force we can field.”
“Perhaps in the future, Prime Minister, but the consensus of the Air Staff and Fighter Command is that the threat anticipates over the next decade requires the current triple level defence structure. The Sunstars provide a versatile force in the middle ground over the North Sea and the Lightning is the best interceptor in the Free World at the moment and is our main atomic armed fighter.”
“That does leave the SR.187 rocketplanes.”
“They do present an opportunity for economisation; their performance is sufficient that Fighter Command has reduced its maximum requirement to 160 machines.”
“That does seem affordable, given that we are trying to get the Germans and Austrians to buy it. Nothing beyond that. Overall, what was the answer to our major question?”
“2000, Prime Minister. That is the force level that is considered necessary to defend our airspace. It seems like a lot, but if we examine Appendix Three, we can see what options that gives us.”
Appendix Three certainly did demonstrate a lot with its series of circles on maps of Britain and Western Europe. The air defence of the British Isles, by its very nature, involved protecting airspace over France, the Low Countries, Germany, the North Sea and Scandinavia. Fighter Command was not just a tactical defence of the Imperial motherland, but at the same time a strategic defence of its allies and a weapon of air supremacy over the Continent. The frontline was no longer Kent, but Jutland. In this way, the “Big Wing” of the last war looked to now have its potential moment in the sun, as ninety or so Supermarine Sunstars flying defensively over the North Sea could decisively turn the tide of an air battle over the Baltic with long range missile salvos.
“Hmm. Rather novel when it is expressed on the map, yes.”
“And if we employ Project Faithful...”
Barton’s eyebrow raised in interest. Yes. Yes. That could work...
Project Faithful was rather more interesting than the consequences of deployments. With the use of two of the RAF’s skyship aerocarriers at the right locations, they could not only deploy their own capable air groups at key locations, but also support additional Harrier wings and allow the shuttling and control of British and Commonwealth advanced trainers. These aircraft, assigned in mobilisation to RAF Tactical Weapons Units, allowed the Lightnings far more flexibility. It was all a question of coordination, which is where Faithful I came into play, combining the potent capacity of an airborne master command station with modern automated processing and a greatly expanded radar horizon. With new advances in computing engines, considerably more could be achieved, including the next stage, Faithful II, which would involve the airborne deployment of long range anti-aircraft and anti-missile batteries on RAF skyships operating off the East Coast.
“Consider it approved. Now, what was the reaction to our Merlin proposal?”
“Fighter Command would love them and Strike Command want to keep them. They are one of our trump cards in the medium to long range and have the arguably the best combination of radar, performance and carrying capacity of any Western fighter at this time. Ideally, Prime Minister, we’d field them in both and in RAF Germany, but given the parameters you’ve set, we can only settle for two of those. The best choice is Fighter Command and Germany.”
“Hmm. That would work in combination with the introduction of the Phantom with Strike Command and, eventually, in Germany. The combination of both planes with RAFG will give us what we need. Good. There were no issues with the Buccaneer?”
“A certain body of opinion preferred more Tornados instead, but the majority of commanders and staff were quite accepting of the prospect.”
“Excellent. They are a cheaper counterpart to the more expensive fighters and augment the Lion very well.”
“Not to mention allowing us to use the Harrier in its most suitable role. The introduction of Phantom should give us a multi-role capacity that will further develop this, along with the logistical and political advantages.”
“Yes, the Universal Fighter, the Americans were dubbing it in Washington."
"The order will raise some issues after the last few years and the issue of our own industries. Some are asking why."
“Why the Phantom? Because to win a war, we sometimes need to choose our battles, aye, and to lose them. Our aim is to have the strongest possible aviation industry, as it is a cornerstone of our defence. By buying Phantom now, we end up selling hundreds of relatively modern Spectres to the Middle East and South America at ultra low surplus prices, taking them out of the market for the F-4 or another American fighter jet in four or five years. We also gain the goodwill of the Americans when we are trying to sell them Harriers and the TSR-2, and they are already playing shy because we won’t buy the F-111. We’re trying to juggle the situation and persuade the Canadians to buy it instead, but they have their own price.”
“So, by letting in one American plane, we keep out others?”
“That’s the plan. Fact is that the Phantom is better than what we can put up in competition, namely the Merlin. Our fighter has the range, but theirs wins in every other respect. Hawker-Siddeley is large enough that it can wear the losses on the Merlin front without taking a financial body blow, particularly if it can sell the Harrier across the pond and get the cash from any licensing. Some of the other groups don’t have quite the same resilience, at this time.”
“Yes, preventing de Havilland from hitting turbulence before it can get the big orders for Tornado is something I agree with wholeheartedly, Prime Minister.”
“They’ll get by, particularly once their merger with Cammell-Laird is finalised. I’ve got Denis putting together some enticements to get Bristol and English-Electric to take the plunge for the same general purpose. Now, what about missiles?”
“Our projected missile development plan are based on four major elements - advanced versions of the Blue Streak and Black Arrow, deployed in current hardened silos and mobile launchers respectively; a new cruise missile for ground abs aircraft platforms to counter the Soviet advantage in this area: dual role missiles to extend the reach and capacity of our strike aircraft and even fighter-bombers; and a single advanced air defence SAGW to replace Bloodhound and Blue Envoy.”
“Good show. I’d like a report on how we can combine elements of the second and third categories, giving us long range but a non-strategic role. We won’t be fighting Moscow or Peking face to face in every brushfire conflict, so the ability to have a rapid strike capacity with a range of several hundred miles will give us a big advantage.”
“There are some developments on that front, but nothing that will render immediate results. Our most promising potential is of course the Atomic Strike Bomber, which is already in the midst of its test flight program. The last cruise was for five days, so range there would be limited solely limited by crew endurance.”
“And the small factors of their limited numbers, huge cost, risk value and their entirely strategic payload. I’ve read the briefings and they are promising, but even if we doubled the plan to two squadrons, it still wouldn’t cover the cold war contingencies we are facing. That is if it actually works - I see the wags at the Daily Chronicle are using ASB as an euphemism for the impossible.”
“With respect, Prime Minister, the Chronicle is a Tory rag prone to such juvenilia. The Air Staff have assured me that we’ll have it in service by 1968.”
“Quite. The trainer requirements for the resumption of the Commonwealth Air Training Plan look fine. Hawker-Siddeley’s initial proposal for the intermediate jet trainer looks just what we were after.”
“I think so too. It would seem, on paper at least, to provide the dual role quite well.”
Right, that leaves the major issue - what was the outcome on Strike Command question?”
One of Barton’s major aerial priorities upon assuming office had been for the Air Staff to put together a plan for the completion of the restructuring of Strike Command to a more versatile organisation. It needed to be more than simply an operational reserve for the Continent alone, but Britain could not afford the sheer size and scale of the American Tactical Air Command. The two main commitments of RAF tactical aircraft to Europe were RAF Germany and RAF Scandinavia, with the latter being substantially smaller. Britain had a confidential commitment to a minimum force of 960 aircraft in Germany in peacetime and double that on mobilisation, but discussions regarding that level were approaching an interesting point with Germany and the United States.
“There are three main options, Prime Minister. The first is the first class or German option. There would be home based units dedicated to reinforcement of our Continental forces and two two composite groups capable of reinforcing Germany, the Middle East or the Orient and based around a first rate, balanced force each of 25 squadrons of fighters, ground attack, strike aircraft and bombers. The second would have reinforcing elements and a similar force, but with a stronger emphasis on ground attack and fighter-bombers and consistent of 20 squadrons each. Then there would be the last option, which would deploy two smaller tactical air groups of 16 squadrons each for European reinforcement and a swing force for reinforcement and out of area missions.”
“Proceed with the cost study, whilst factoring in the expected savings from the Phantom order. I’ll put it to Cabinet once we have solid information - you know my preference is for the first class option, but this is a matter for us all.” Barton looked down at the report in his hand in thought.
“What is the minimum force we’d need elsewhere, apart from the Indian contingency force outlined here?”
Shackleton thought for a moment. “Eight squadrons at present, although ten would allow deployment to Australia if Indonesia keeps acting up.”
“Very good. That could well work.”
Barton gritted his teeth. He had his preference, but it was perhaps too radical for the immediate future. It would take some time, but there was a very logical case to be made for a reduction in the total number of commands. For the moment, there were bigger fish to fry.
“I see that the Transport Command plan met with agreement. That is also good; better to have fewer planes with greater capacity, provided we keep the Britannias in reserve just in case.”
“Their replacement with the Skyblazers will be complete by the second half of next year. After that, the Armstrong-Whitworth Atlas is our only major transport procurement project for the next five years; we have been cooperating with the Americans on their CX, but haven’t made a formal decision on it.”
“Is it worthwhile? After all, we have the Atlas, the VC10s and the Belfast for long range hauls and whatever bulk cargoes need to be moved faster than skyship speed.”
“Not in anywhere close to the numbers the Americans are contemplating, but perhaps in a limited production run in association with the Dominions. Canada is looking at perhaps two squadrons as part of the modernisation of their trans-oceanic lift.”
“I’m still not convinced. We shall see what the Canadians say, but not commit to anything concrete. We need to keep enough set aside for the supersonics when the time comes, even with the Imperial Airways and HEIC augmentation plans.”
“The only other issue raised by Transport Command was the possible acquisition of appropriate shorter range jet airliners for support and supply of our forces in Germany.”
“Have a proposal put together, but I’m reticent to do so to any significant degree when we have the Voyagers in service in their current strength. As long as the procurement can stay under the discretionary yearly ceiling, there may be an opportunity. May.”
“Very good, Prime Minister. The last matter is the review of the RAF Regiment, where the broad preliminary recommendations by the field commanders present no surprises. Establishment of a special forces and mobile commando capacity, hardening the field forces to reflect the changing threat and modernising the Regiment’s holdings of AAA. Nothing too expensive or egregious.”
“I can see no issue with it.”
“In the first instance, we would select, form and train up an initial regiment sized force, preliminarily designated Paracommandos; the name is not set, but has a reflection on the Low Countries operating area. We’d secondly upgrade our general field transport and heavier armoured cars to the IMV and MAV respectively, procure more of the CVR (T) family of vehicles for the light armoured squadrons and introduced Saxons to appropriate roles alongside our tank squadrons. In terms of AA guns, the general request is for the Marksman and Sharpshooter, but also for an equivalent to the Vigilante. And Green Mace.”
“Well, they don’t propose to do things by halves, I’ll say that much.”
Barton nodded in satisfaction. It had been a decent morning’s work.
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jemhouston
- Posts: 3837
- Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2022 12:38 am
Re: Dark Earth: A New Jerusalem
I love it when a plan comes together.
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1049
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth: A New Jerusalem
On the RAF:
- They’ve had the best of all three services in the period since 1960 and projections are for this to increase considerably over the second half of the 1960s. The RAF defends their (self-perceived) status as the most important and modern service quite zealously.
- Their major areas of concern are securing their Big 5 aircraft projects, fielding ABMs, continuing to boost the strength of RAF Germany, field it’s new generation of weapons and prove its new theories of conventional tactical and strategic airpower in Vietnam.
- It is quite a different RAF: in addition to size, there is the record of fighting a major war in Korea, a smaller yet intense one in 1956 and multiple counterinsurgency campaigns in Malaya, Burma and Kenya. The result is that there is a fair bit of enthusiasm for a limited war in the Far East, particularly from young pilots.
- Fighter Command and Bomber Command maintain quite a rivalry, leaving the other home units not a member of either, namely Strike Command as the third in the pecking order and thus seeking to expand their role and remit.
- The Army’s Royal Flying Corps is still trying to put a case that it should operate Harriers...
- Perhaps the biggest ace in the RAF’s possession is that it does have the forces sufficient to provide a British presence in different theatres. The Army is quite stretched to cover Germany and Scandinavia, the Middle East and Far East and the RN’s issues have been explored in the last chapter. The RAF has the capacity to deploy fighters and bombers to the Balkans, Japan or South America without breaking their figurative bank.
As we have now had the three extended reports/meetings with each of the armed services, there is some capacity to put together some general projections for the White Paper:
- RAF to retire Vickers Valiants by 1968/69, upgrade the Vulcans and begin procurement of the Victory. Bomber Command will fall in numbers
- Cap SR.187 rocket interceptor force at 160
- Fighter Command to have a total of 2000 aircraft
- Strike Command to oversea reinforcements for RAFG and Scandinavia along with two TAFs
- A global force of a minimum of 10 squadrons to be detached from Fighter Command
- Transport Command to field VC10s and a small number of de Havilland Tridents
- RAF Germany to field “a number” of Blackburn Buccaneer attack bomber squadrons and field a peacetime force of 960 planes
- The RAF Regiment to be expanded in the form of a commando unit and new AAA to be fielded
- Old reserve ships to be disposed of
- Double SSN production rate, increase R class SSN orders from 8 to 12, expedite S class and equip them with 12 SLCM each
- Bring forward and increase ASW CVL orders
- Increase carrier and battleship orders
- Increase London class cruiser orders
- Order an initial 40 Type 21 FFG and increase interim River class FF production
- Retire Shackleton and Albion MPAs
- RNAS land based fighter squadrons to be equipped with Phantoms
- No major cuts in Army units
- 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th Divisions to take on specialist roles
- Formation of a British African Army
- Build up forward deployed supplies and stocks
- Gurkha field forces to be formed for the BAOR and BMF
- The BAOR gets 80% of MACV production from 1968 requirements met; 1000 additional Chieftains from both 1965 and 1966 productions to build stockpiles for REFORGER units, with discussion of divisional sets; replacement of armoured divisional artillery with 6” SP-70s and 125mm Abbots to brigade
- MEC gets 50% of Tiger helos, first priority to US 175mm guns and four additional Thunderbird regiments; first preference on wheeled AFVs and increased stocks of current armoured cars
- FEC gets 240 Chieftains, second priority to 175mm, equipment from home based rocket and heavy artillery units, 120 former RAF Rotodynes and helos and new EW system
- Home Forces get heavily slowed delivery of Chieftains offset with more Centurions and lowest priority for modern artillery; former FAA Westland Wessex fleet and surplus 25pdrs to be transferred
- Development of a tracked Thunderbird II system is to be given superpriority, along with work on a short range SAM that can fill the gap between the Skyflash MANPADS and the medium range PT.428; this will end up with something similar in performance to the historical Rapier (albeit with a faster Mach 3 missile) fielded on a platform akin to the SA-8.
Looking at the situation from the other/Soviet side has them in what can be termed a non-optimal situation as of the end of 1964:
- The US has an overwhelming nuclear superiority approaching 4:1. They do not seem to be slowing down their rate of ICBM or general warhead construction either.
- Attempts to extend influence in the Far East and Middle East in 1945-56 ended in failure. However, Indonesia is a gain.
- India, whilst not automatically Western allied, is very firmly in the Western camp.
- The Middle East is still a barrier rather than a highway, meaning that there is far less general access to the region and for the Mediterranean Eskadra, as well as it being far more difficult to extend influence into Africa.
- The West/NATO has a clear superiority at sea and in the air.
- It also has a substantial qualitative edge on the ground and a reduced quantitative disadvantage.
Therefore, what are the Soviets to do?
1.) Try to extend and build upon their economic modernisation, which, just as in 1964 in @, was at a very optimistic time. 10 years of solid performance rather than a shift to Brezhnevian Stagnation would be quite advantageous.
2.) Modernisation of the Red Army. Their new tanks are much more competitive, the BMP-1 is the best of its type in the world, new SP artillery is very good, there are a lot of missiles of all types and some excellent helicopters and rotodynes are about to appear. General numbers are rising, increasing specific threats and the range of threats, in particular from light/medium rifle divisions, a lot more Spetsnaz commandos and elite special forces units.
3.) Modernisation of the Soviet Air Force. Their 1960s aircraft are now catching up and can be built in large numbers. Soviet bombers are increasingly powerful and are getting new stand off weapons and their own parallel programme to the TSR-2/B-X.
4.) Modernisation of the Soviet Navy. Production of a new series of powerful cruisers and destroyers to replace older ships and escort their carriers. Build, build, build new SSNs to increase their numbers and capacity to push out to the Atlantic and the main war. Develop new land based strike bombers to contest the Norwegian Sea and beyond. Force the enemy to split their forces with a Baltic threat, which would be very...ambitious...
5.) Build up of the Strategic Rocket Forces in both ICBMs and IRBMs.
6.) Push their strategic campaigns in Africa and SE Asia. Destabilise South America. Court Turkey and the Middle East; difficult to bridge the gap with the regional monarchies.
7.) Plan for a major political thrust into the Balkans: NATO’s weak flank is Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, behind which lays Austria-Hungary, which is a major strategic lynchpin of Europe as well as being one of the major industrial regions of the Continent. Control of the Danubian region gives Eastern Europe, putting Italy on the frontline and setting Germany on the back foot.
8.) Add to forces threatening Scandinavia up to a Front, which clears the land flank of the egress route to the Atlantic, draws in American and British reserves and forces the battlefront away from the Kola Peninsula and Soviet Union.
The last two points in particular are far from guaranteed of success, but they represent an effort to change the disadvantageous strategic picture.
- They’ve had the best of all three services in the period since 1960 and projections are for this to increase considerably over the second half of the 1960s. The RAF defends their (self-perceived) status as the most important and modern service quite zealously.
- Their major areas of concern are securing their Big 5 aircraft projects, fielding ABMs, continuing to boost the strength of RAF Germany, field it’s new generation of weapons and prove its new theories of conventional tactical and strategic airpower in Vietnam.
- It is quite a different RAF: in addition to size, there is the record of fighting a major war in Korea, a smaller yet intense one in 1956 and multiple counterinsurgency campaigns in Malaya, Burma and Kenya. The result is that there is a fair bit of enthusiasm for a limited war in the Far East, particularly from young pilots.
- Fighter Command and Bomber Command maintain quite a rivalry, leaving the other home units not a member of either, namely Strike Command as the third in the pecking order and thus seeking to expand their role and remit.
- The Army’s Royal Flying Corps is still trying to put a case that it should operate Harriers...
- Perhaps the biggest ace in the RAF’s possession is that it does have the forces sufficient to provide a British presence in different theatres. The Army is quite stretched to cover Germany and Scandinavia, the Middle East and Far East and the RN’s issues have been explored in the last chapter. The RAF has the capacity to deploy fighters and bombers to the Balkans, Japan or South America without breaking their figurative bank.
As we have now had the three extended reports/meetings with each of the armed services, there is some capacity to put together some general projections for the White Paper:
- RAF to retire Vickers Valiants by 1968/69, upgrade the Vulcans and begin procurement of the Victory. Bomber Command will fall in numbers
- Cap SR.187 rocket interceptor force at 160
- Fighter Command to have a total of 2000 aircraft
- Strike Command to oversea reinforcements for RAFG and Scandinavia along with two TAFs
- A global force of a minimum of 10 squadrons to be detached from Fighter Command
- Transport Command to field VC10s and a small number of de Havilland Tridents
- RAF Germany to field “a number” of Blackburn Buccaneer attack bomber squadrons and field a peacetime force of 960 planes
- The RAF Regiment to be expanded in the form of a commando unit and new AAA to be fielded
- Old reserve ships to be disposed of
- Double SSN production rate, increase R class SSN orders from 8 to 12, expedite S class and equip them with 12 SLCM each
- Bring forward and increase ASW CVL orders
- Increase carrier and battleship orders
- Increase London class cruiser orders
- Order an initial 40 Type 21 FFG and increase interim River class FF production
- Retire Shackleton and Albion MPAs
- RNAS land based fighter squadrons to be equipped with Phantoms
- No major cuts in Army units
- 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th Divisions to take on specialist roles
- Formation of a British African Army
- Build up forward deployed supplies and stocks
- Gurkha field forces to be formed for the BAOR and BMF
- The BAOR gets 80% of MACV production from 1968 requirements met; 1000 additional Chieftains from both 1965 and 1966 productions to build stockpiles for REFORGER units, with discussion of divisional sets; replacement of armoured divisional artillery with 6” SP-70s and 125mm Abbots to brigade
- MEC gets 50% of Tiger helos, first priority to US 175mm guns and four additional Thunderbird regiments; first preference on wheeled AFVs and increased stocks of current armoured cars
- FEC gets 240 Chieftains, second priority to 175mm, equipment from home based rocket and heavy artillery units, 120 former RAF Rotodynes and helos and new EW system
- Home Forces get heavily slowed delivery of Chieftains offset with more Centurions and lowest priority for modern artillery; former FAA Westland Wessex fleet and surplus 25pdrs to be transferred
- Development of a tracked Thunderbird II system is to be given superpriority, along with work on a short range SAM that can fill the gap between the Skyflash MANPADS and the medium range PT.428; this will end up with something similar in performance to the historical Rapier (albeit with a faster Mach 3 missile) fielded on a platform akin to the SA-8.
Looking at the situation from the other/Soviet side has them in what can be termed a non-optimal situation as of the end of 1964:
- The US has an overwhelming nuclear superiority approaching 4:1. They do not seem to be slowing down their rate of ICBM or general warhead construction either.
- Attempts to extend influence in the Far East and Middle East in 1945-56 ended in failure. However, Indonesia is a gain.
- India, whilst not automatically Western allied, is very firmly in the Western camp.
- The Middle East is still a barrier rather than a highway, meaning that there is far less general access to the region and for the Mediterranean Eskadra, as well as it being far more difficult to extend influence into Africa.
- The West/NATO has a clear superiority at sea and in the air.
- It also has a substantial qualitative edge on the ground and a reduced quantitative disadvantage.
Therefore, what are the Soviets to do?
1.) Try to extend and build upon their economic modernisation, which, just as in 1964 in @, was at a very optimistic time. 10 years of solid performance rather than a shift to Brezhnevian Stagnation would be quite advantageous.
2.) Modernisation of the Red Army. Their new tanks are much more competitive, the BMP-1 is the best of its type in the world, new SP artillery is very good, there are a lot of missiles of all types and some excellent helicopters and rotodynes are about to appear. General numbers are rising, increasing specific threats and the range of threats, in particular from light/medium rifle divisions, a lot more Spetsnaz commandos and elite special forces units.
3.) Modernisation of the Soviet Air Force. Their 1960s aircraft are now catching up and can be built in large numbers. Soviet bombers are increasingly powerful and are getting new stand off weapons and their own parallel programme to the TSR-2/B-X.
4.) Modernisation of the Soviet Navy. Production of a new series of powerful cruisers and destroyers to replace older ships and escort their carriers. Build, build, build new SSNs to increase their numbers and capacity to push out to the Atlantic and the main war. Develop new land based strike bombers to contest the Norwegian Sea and beyond. Force the enemy to split their forces with a Baltic threat, which would be very...ambitious...
5.) Build up of the Strategic Rocket Forces in both ICBMs and IRBMs.
6.) Push their strategic campaigns in Africa and SE Asia. Destabilise South America. Court Turkey and the Middle East; difficult to bridge the gap with the regional monarchies.
7.) Plan for a major political thrust into the Balkans: NATO’s weak flank is Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, behind which lays Austria-Hungary, which is a major strategic lynchpin of Europe as well as being one of the major industrial regions of the Continent. Control of the Danubian region gives Eastern Europe, putting Italy on the frontline and setting Germany on the back foot.
8.) Add to forces threatening Scandinavia up to a Front, which clears the land flank of the egress route to the Atlantic, draws in American and British reserves and forces the battlefront away from the Kola Peninsula and Soviet Union.
The last two points in particular are far from guaranteed of success, but they represent an effort to change the disadvantageous strategic picture.
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1049
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth: A New Jerusalem
A New Jerusalem Part 14
Stanley Barton thought of himself as many things. A decent Godfearing family man, for certain; a proud Englishman and loyal subject of the Queen, without a question; a Labour man and friend to the ordinary worker, of course; and captain of his team, not its lord and master. He knew the Army and Navy well and true, but never had he thought himself a master of this subject.
Magic.
The Prime Minister held many responsibilities, yet the command and oversight of the Ministry of Magic and the other supernatural forces of the realm was not one he particularly relished. Oh, he was far from the ranks of one of the Arkists, but wizardry was something beyond his area of comfort and true trust. Nevertheless, it was his duty. The position of Minister of Magic was one of a handful of ones in the Cabinet that were not held by Members of Parliament and even that particular custom was one that some wanted to change under the rallying cry of modernisation.
Neither the necessarily most powerful nor the most senior of the wizards of the realm, the role of the Minister had grown to become akin to the chancellorship of one of the great universities in its mixture of ceremony and administration; indeed, the position did carry with it the title of Archmage of Oxford. The man who sat opposite him now was in many ways the epitome of that modern tendency, yet his skills in organisation, delegation and coordinating the oft fragile egos of wizardkind were not doubted by any who had worked with him. Alcuin Spong had held the position of Minister of Magic for almost twelve years now, longer than any other since Professor Tolkien during the war, and had been responsible for considerable change.
The groundwork for the expansion of the magical personnel resources of the British Empire had been laid in the final years of the Second World War, as the massive expansion in the arcane capacity of the United States and the Soviet Union had threatened to leave Britain behind in the dust. The Arcane Education Act of 1944 had established the framework for universal magical aptitude testing at 6 and 11 and considerably expanded the educational machinery for training those with the potential spark to learn the Art, founding four new magical colleges, bringing Britain’s total to nine. Whilst this increased the raw numbers going through the exacting trials and learning that would grant them entry into magical apprenticeship, it could not shorten that complex and sometimes dangerous process. Spong had been the one to come up with the three pronged solution to the conundrum and it remained an elegant one to this day.
Firstly, specialised offers would be extended to the independent wizards of the realm to attempt to persuade them to register with the Ministry, which had encountered middling success. Secondly, the Great Reclassification of 1952 brought hundreds back into the fold who had previously failed one of their tests of mastery by offering them second opportunities or technical employment. Finally, there has been the British Empire Wizardly Scheme. Like many of the grand plans of Imperial cooperation, it had been slow to start, but, to Barton’s pleasure, Spong was the bearer of good tidings on this day.
“680 a year, Prime Minister, rising to 1000 within five years. A thousand apprentices per annum is considerably more than we currently turn out in Britain on a good year, and we’re on track to increase that as well as the college system begins to crank up to full speed.”
“What does that mean for us in bottom line terms?”
“We’ll nearly double the current number of apprentices within a year, from 2437 as of last Thursday. Where we currently have three hundred and fifty qualifying for their Tests every year, we’ll have at least six hundred by the end of the 1960s. Factoring in the gradual improvement in survival rates and a maintenance of current standards and there will be up to two hundred and fifty newly qualified adepts every year. That is on top of the hundred Commonwealth adepts from their own institutions that we get under the primary article of the BEWS.”
“And those British apprentices who live but do not pass...”
“Are funnelled back into either retraining or the technical services. We estimate that from the current pool of some four thousand Reclassifieds, we can get a good eight hundred qualified over the next five years.”
“Five hundred wizards a year. Factoring in your current Ministry roll of 2837 and the 1174 independents, that would put paid to the deficits in the service numbers and government requirements to boot. Good.”
“All well and good indeed, Prime Minister, but much, much more can be done than merely focussing our wizardly resources on the military and civil service. For example, our Technomantic Research Department has come up with a list of twelve new projects, as you can see here, ranging from improvements to quality of life to industrial production. We defend the land from its foes, both arcane and profane, but this is but the tip of the iceberg.”
Barton glanced through the vellum pages that Spong had handed to him; always with their little touches to emphasise their difference, the wizards were. It was all very slick and persuasive, which rather ironic in light of the eleventh suggestion, sorcerous augmentation of BBC broadcasts by enchantment specialists to influence opinions abroad. Britain had always been a more magical country than some, down to the very pattern of the ley lines cross-crossing the land itself and the various heritage of the elven days of yore, but this inherent nature had been harnessed to impressive effect since the Arcane Revolution. The great magical railways, imaginariums, lush farmlands and forests and the grand spell engines were the most obvious of these, but there were also the dozens of smaller, everyday inventions and spells that made life easier and richer. It wasn’t the worst expenditure of the government’s time, treasure and effort, really.
The first three proposals were solidly practical - a system of protective and safety dweomers over airports and railway stations to prevent any crashes; deep delving and mining magics to both extend and explore the nation’s mineral resources, but also expand to subterranean facilities; and automated regular town and street cleaning devices. Nothing truly groundbreaking, apart from the delving in a literal sense, but decent improvements in their own small ways. The fourth proposal, for the development, testing, creation and mass production of specialised potions to augment strength, growth, dental health and associated endurance that would then be distributed through the water supply, was again a tangible public good, provided all contingencies were thoroughly thought through prior to execution. Speed enhancement devices for machinery had quite a few applications of use, as did the development of large scale shrinking and enlarging artifacts; being able to carry up to six times the amount of cargo in an aircraft or ship would open up quite a few possibilities. That type of enchantment had only been used on foodstuffs to this point due to the requirement of temperature and their already small scale, but if it could be applied to other goods...interesting...
The second half of Spong’s list built further upon this tantalising potential in a similar fashion. A telepathic communications network over a wide area offered considerable advantages, as did interactive television. In the former case, it would cut down reaction times, allow to redirection of effort and provide for rather more secure lines of communication in some circumstances, provided that the lessons from the IPCRESS affair could be properly incorporated and the relevant networks geas-locked. The employment of “artificer intelligences” in newly advanced robotic automatons seemed dangerously close to Dr. Frankenstein’s benighted territory in some respects, but the safeguards seemed stringent enough and there were many advantages to robotic machines, as the American Professor Asimov had demonstrated when Barton had been over at the Pentagon. The tenth proposal seemed to be the product of a fervent lover of Venn diagrams addicted to pervitin, but amidst the sixteen intersecting ellipses superimposed over London, there were some interesting confluences of zones of influence, repulsion and suggestion that could be of utility for Scotland Yard and the City alike. Curious.
The last two items seemed banal on the surface - sunlight gathering and localised chronological distorters - but Barton’s heart skipped a beat when the consequences sunk in. Being able to convert and focus energy into controlled sorecerous beams could solve some serious issues that the Ministry of Space had been lamenting over and as for the other...
“How far could this distortion be extended?”
“A very limited area, Prime Minister, and at the cost of a lot of thaumaturgical power; not so much area either, given that we’re working in four dimensions. Something the size of yon cupboard is the current limit.”
“Good. Good. That one is definitely approved, straight off the bat. I’d like to see how your experiments work at altitude and in vacuums.”
“Very well.” Spong looked at Barton as if he was clearly quite, quite potty. “The simple matter is that we cannot pursue all of them, not with our present numbers, budget and power. We do have some other more abstract project currently underway at Darkmoor and Stonehenge that are rather more theoretical in nature, but just as vital to our future as an arcane superpower, chief of which is Project Iris. We know that both the Americans and Russians are working on finding or creating new colours of magic and we simply cannot afford to be left behind. We cannot!”
“I quite agree. That, the dimensional studies and the Grand Spell Engine can continue. I’ll have to consider my decision on the project list carefully. It is the calculus of war and peace, just as it always is. Every one of you that is working on something to make this world better is one that isn’t working on ways to better destroy it.”
“Such is the way of this world, Prime Minister. For that, we do have additional military options in place, as well as the ongoing programmes of production, testing and protection. The Royal Corps of War Mages takes the main role in the development of battle magic spells, but our Department of Metamagic works hand in hand with them on enchantments and items of projection. The Army is currently testing our latest artillery range extension enchantments and darksight devices, Farscry will be complete in two years and the new war machines are progressing well up at Darkmoor.
“I’ll come and see them when I’m next in Scotland. Those are largely a matter for the future, though. What can you give us today? I need something tangible to give to Cabinet, as much as the long term projects sound fine.”
“Have a glance at these, Prime Minister.” Spong handed over a brightly coloured conspectus; obviously, he has come prepared. “First and foremost, there is our production of magical weapons and armours. We have five different variants of the L1A1 with enchanted augmentation of range, accuracy, armour penetration, rate of fire and reduced weight - we’d obviously like to get something that combines all of them, but it is simply too costly and time consuming for mass production at this time. One whole circle is working on artillery and there we have been able to achieve 25% greater range and rate of fire for the new Light Gun and can hopefully carry that over to the heavier pieces. We’ve made considerable advances is powerswords and shock lances as well, but our largest success has been in armour. We’re reducing the weight and testing the integration of new features at the request of the War Office and we’ve been able to apply the defensive enchantments to very light fabrics suitable for under-armour use, providing what amounts to an extra layer.”
“Very good. The cost barrier remains the primary obstacle, though.”
“As ever; it will never be cheap to build thousands of any enchanted object, let alone hundreds of thousands. On the last page, you can see the most recent developments from the Department of Arcane Weaponry: New runes and spells of protection for capital ships and aircraft; the Superhaste engines for certain armoured vehicles, as your predecessor requested; and mobile shield generators for tanks and planes.”
“That last item sounds the most interesting. How?”
“We’ve managed to get a shield generation device small and enough to fit in an individual vehicle whilst still providing enough protection for up to six direct hits; previously, we couldn’t sustain more than one, but by by inverting the arcane flow through a prismatron encased in orichalchite, we’ve done it. Cost is still reasonably high, but it will fall as we produce more and get the Royal Manufactory onto the job.”
“That will do quite nicely and will get you what you need in the short term, Grand Master. Insofar that it is possible, we’re going to keep to the dual track approach of military preparation and civil wizardry - the world situation gives us no alternative.We need to increase our wizardly numbers in the Armed Forces and supporting services, so I’d like you to prepare some recommendations as to how that can be accomplished.”
“There are certain measures available to you, Prime Minister...”
“And I know them well. We shall try the full bunch of carrots first of all on both the WIL and the IWS, along with the true independents. We shall have to see.”
.....................................
After the meeting with Spong, Barton would have preferred something a bit more mundane before elevenses, but Sir Obo had arranged these appointments to be scheduled in rapid succession in order to free up time for the other requirements of the office. This at least was only a matter of reviewing the executive summary of a report - the Demihuman Report in this case, or “A Humble Report to the Crown on Her Majesty’s Non-Human Subjects, Vassals, Tenants, Tributaries and Dominions of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Supremacy of the Crown Pursuant to the Statutum Eboracum of 1287”.
The Civil Service did so love to give things their full titles.
The particular circumstances of the demihumans of the British Isles extended back to the pact forged at York in the reign of Edward I that formally bound together the then Kingdom of England and the dwarven realms at York, even though the series of previous treaties, agreements and alliances stretched back to the days of King Arthur. These were followed by agreements with the gnomes and halflings as the power of the centralising state waxed and expanded. Relations with the elves were different, as everything was with them, but many of their clans, villages and individuals had pledged homage to the Crown. It was a tad strange to have these feudal trappings in a modern state and many had progressively been assimilated to various degrees in mainstream human society, but it was in keeping with the longevity of of those in question.
The six dwarven realms amounted to a population of almost one and quarter million, or a little under half of the dwarfs in Britain, and offered up their usual mixture of military service, scutage in the form of monies and goods as payment of their annual tribute to the suzerain. Taking part of the latter in arms had been a tradition since the days of Henry VIII, although Barton wagered that it would have meant rather more dwarf-forged suits of armour and weapons than the current array of artillery and tank destroyers; perhaps some measure of technical adjustment might be in order. Their armies and the two separate unified dwarven units, as distinct from the various dwarven regiments of the British Army, certainly did not lack in quality and their areas of specialisation did fill a gap in the north.
The halflings and gnomes were far more straightforward propositions, lacking the same degree of separate self government beyond the purely localised level. Almost two thirds of the two million halflings in the country dwelled in their traditional Midlands shires, although there had been something of a return to their bucolic rural roots since the war as the older factories of the Victorian era have way to modern industries. The million gnomes were split evenly between the Welsh mountains and the major cities, where their expertise in banking, jewellery and trades served them well enough, as did their sterling service in the Department of Gnomeland Security. Their offerings quite naturally differed from the practical dwarves of the north, with the halflings providing their customary array of delectable foodstuffs for the Royal larders. The gnomes had been on a quite creative streak for several years, presenting a succession of what appeared to be large, automated fruit that were actually receptacles for bejewelled eggs in the fashion of Faberge; last year had been a mobile golden apple and this year was apparently a clockwork orange.
From the elves came no great gifts or offerings, but solemn avowals of service in the forests and the wilds across the land, and their “guard against the night”, whether that might be. Their numbers were characteristically low, befitting the long lived yet unfecund folk of the woods; he had never seen an elven child, come to think of it. There were assurances as ever that they would do their bit if the Crown truly needed them, but he would have preferred more definitive and tangible terms of contract, like those given to the MacLeods. Their value came not in numbers, but in the considerable skill and power of their ranks and the might of their sorcery; Wellington was said to have sworn by his elven archers in the Peninsular War and Slim’s single regiment had been the bane of the Japanese in the jungles.
He was surprised to see an increase in the giant population and pleased to read fulsome reports of ogrish achievements that justified the faith of the past decades. It was difficult, however, to conjure up such positive reactions to the petitions by the orcs and goblins for full equality of treatment; their base arguments carried weight, but the memories of thousands of years of blood enmity, not to mention the horrors wrought in the last war, were enough to give counter.
It would have to be done in stages; whilst repeal of the most egregious statutes of days past was viable, the bottom line remained that very, very few Britons, regardless of how high minded they were on the question of the races, really, really wanted a greenskin for a neighbour.
Stanley Barton thought of himself as many things. A decent Godfearing family man, for certain; a proud Englishman and loyal subject of the Queen, without a question; a Labour man and friend to the ordinary worker, of course; and captain of his team, not its lord and master. He knew the Army and Navy well and true, but never had he thought himself a master of this subject.
Magic.
The Prime Minister held many responsibilities, yet the command and oversight of the Ministry of Magic and the other supernatural forces of the realm was not one he particularly relished. Oh, he was far from the ranks of one of the Arkists, but wizardry was something beyond his area of comfort and true trust. Nevertheless, it was his duty. The position of Minister of Magic was one of a handful of ones in the Cabinet that were not held by Members of Parliament and even that particular custom was one that some wanted to change under the rallying cry of modernisation.
Neither the necessarily most powerful nor the most senior of the wizards of the realm, the role of the Minister had grown to become akin to the chancellorship of one of the great universities in its mixture of ceremony and administration; indeed, the position did carry with it the title of Archmage of Oxford. The man who sat opposite him now was in many ways the epitome of that modern tendency, yet his skills in organisation, delegation and coordinating the oft fragile egos of wizardkind were not doubted by any who had worked with him. Alcuin Spong had held the position of Minister of Magic for almost twelve years now, longer than any other since Professor Tolkien during the war, and had been responsible for considerable change.
The groundwork for the expansion of the magical personnel resources of the British Empire had been laid in the final years of the Second World War, as the massive expansion in the arcane capacity of the United States and the Soviet Union had threatened to leave Britain behind in the dust. The Arcane Education Act of 1944 had established the framework for universal magical aptitude testing at 6 and 11 and considerably expanded the educational machinery for training those with the potential spark to learn the Art, founding four new magical colleges, bringing Britain’s total to nine. Whilst this increased the raw numbers going through the exacting trials and learning that would grant them entry into magical apprenticeship, it could not shorten that complex and sometimes dangerous process. Spong had been the one to come up with the three pronged solution to the conundrum and it remained an elegant one to this day.
Firstly, specialised offers would be extended to the independent wizards of the realm to attempt to persuade them to register with the Ministry, which had encountered middling success. Secondly, the Great Reclassification of 1952 brought hundreds back into the fold who had previously failed one of their tests of mastery by offering them second opportunities or technical employment. Finally, there has been the British Empire Wizardly Scheme. Like many of the grand plans of Imperial cooperation, it had been slow to start, but, to Barton’s pleasure, Spong was the bearer of good tidings on this day.
“680 a year, Prime Minister, rising to 1000 within five years. A thousand apprentices per annum is considerably more than we currently turn out in Britain on a good year, and we’re on track to increase that as well as the college system begins to crank up to full speed.”
“What does that mean for us in bottom line terms?”
“We’ll nearly double the current number of apprentices within a year, from 2437 as of last Thursday. Where we currently have three hundred and fifty qualifying for their Tests every year, we’ll have at least six hundred by the end of the 1960s. Factoring in the gradual improvement in survival rates and a maintenance of current standards and there will be up to two hundred and fifty newly qualified adepts every year. That is on top of the hundred Commonwealth adepts from their own institutions that we get under the primary article of the BEWS.”
“And those British apprentices who live but do not pass...”
“Are funnelled back into either retraining or the technical services. We estimate that from the current pool of some four thousand Reclassifieds, we can get a good eight hundred qualified over the next five years.”
“Five hundred wizards a year. Factoring in your current Ministry roll of 2837 and the 1174 independents, that would put paid to the deficits in the service numbers and government requirements to boot. Good.”
“All well and good indeed, Prime Minister, but much, much more can be done than merely focussing our wizardly resources on the military and civil service. For example, our Technomantic Research Department has come up with a list of twelve new projects, as you can see here, ranging from improvements to quality of life to industrial production. We defend the land from its foes, both arcane and profane, but this is but the tip of the iceberg.”
Barton glanced through the vellum pages that Spong had handed to him; always with their little touches to emphasise their difference, the wizards were. It was all very slick and persuasive, which rather ironic in light of the eleventh suggestion, sorcerous augmentation of BBC broadcasts by enchantment specialists to influence opinions abroad. Britain had always been a more magical country than some, down to the very pattern of the ley lines cross-crossing the land itself and the various heritage of the elven days of yore, but this inherent nature had been harnessed to impressive effect since the Arcane Revolution. The great magical railways, imaginariums, lush farmlands and forests and the grand spell engines were the most obvious of these, but there were also the dozens of smaller, everyday inventions and spells that made life easier and richer. It wasn’t the worst expenditure of the government’s time, treasure and effort, really.
The first three proposals were solidly practical - a system of protective and safety dweomers over airports and railway stations to prevent any crashes; deep delving and mining magics to both extend and explore the nation’s mineral resources, but also expand to subterranean facilities; and automated regular town and street cleaning devices. Nothing truly groundbreaking, apart from the delving in a literal sense, but decent improvements in their own small ways. The fourth proposal, for the development, testing, creation and mass production of specialised potions to augment strength, growth, dental health and associated endurance that would then be distributed through the water supply, was again a tangible public good, provided all contingencies were thoroughly thought through prior to execution. Speed enhancement devices for machinery had quite a few applications of use, as did the development of large scale shrinking and enlarging artifacts; being able to carry up to six times the amount of cargo in an aircraft or ship would open up quite a few possibilities. That type of enchantment had only been used on foodstuffs to this point due to the requirement of temperature and their already small scale, but if it could be applied to other goods...interesting...
The second half of Spong’s list built further upon this tantalising potential in a similar fashion. A telepathic communications network over a wide area offered considerable advantages, as did interactive television. In the former case, it would cut down reaction times, allow to redirection of effort and provide for rather more secure lines of communication in some circumstances, provided that the lessons from the IPCRESS affair could be properly incorporated and the relevant networks geas-locked. The employment of “artificer intelligences” in newly advanced robotic automatons seemed dangerously close to Dr. Frankenstein’s benighted territory in some respects, but the safeguards seemed stringent enough and there were many advantages to robotic machines, as the American Professor Asimov had demonstrated when Barton had been over at the Pentagon. The tenth proposal seemed to be the product of a fervent lover of Venn diagrams addicted to pervitin, but amidst the sixteen intersecting ellipses superimposed over London, there were some interesting confluences of zones of influence, repulsion and suggestion that could be of utility for Scotland Yard and the City alike. Curious.
The last two items seemed banal on the surface - sunlight gathering and localised chronological distorters - but Barton’s heart skipped a beat when the consequences sunk in. Being able to convert and focus energy into controlled sorecerous beams could solve some serious issues that the Ministry of Space had been lamenting over and as for the other...
“How far could this distortion be extended?”
“A very limited area, Prime Minister, and at the cost of a lot of thaumaturgical power; not so much area either, given that we’re working in four dimensions. Something the size of yon cupboard is the current limit.”
“Good. Good. That one is definitely approved, straight off the bat. I’d like to see how your experiments work at altitude and in vacuums.”
“Very well.” Spong looked at Barton as if he was clearly quite, quite potty. “The simple matter is that we cannot pursue all of them, not with our present numbers, budget and power. We do have some other more abstract project currently underway at Darkmoor and Stonehenge that are rather more theoretical in nature, but just as vital to our future as an arcane superpower, chief of which is Project Iris. We know that both the Americans and Russians are working on finding or creating new colours of magic and we simply cannot afford to be left behind. We cannot!”
“I quite agree. That, the dimensional studies and the Grand Spell Engine can continue. I’ll have to consider my decision on the project list carefully. It is the calculus of war and peace, just as it always is. Every one of you that is working on something to make this world better is one that isn’t working on ways to better destroy it.”
“Such is the way of this world, Prime Minister. For that, we do have additional military options in place, as well as the ongoing programmes of production, testing and protection. The Royal Corps of War Mages takes the main role in the development of battle magic spells, but our Department of Metamagic works hand in hand with them on enchantments and items of projection. The Army is currently testing our latest artillery range extension enchantments and darksight devices, Farscry will be complete in two years and the new war machines are progressing well up at Darkmoor.
“I’ll come and see them when I’m next in Scotland. Those are largely a matter for the future, though. What can you give us today? I need something tangible to give to Cabinet, as much as the long term projects sound fine.”
“Have a glance at these, Prime Minister.” Spong handed over a brightly coloured conspectus; obviously, he has come prepared. “First and foremost, there is our production of magical weapons and armours. We have five different variants of the L1A1 with enchanted augmentation of range, accuracy, armour penetration, rate of fire and reduced weight - we’d obviously like to get something that combines all of them, but it is simply too costly and time consuming for mass production at this time. One whole circle is working on artillery and there we have been able to achieve 25% greater range and rate of fire for the new Light Gun and can hopefully carry that over to the heavier pieces. We’ve made considerable advances is powerswords and shock lances as well, but our largest success has been in armour. We’re reducing the weight and testing the integration of new features at the request of the War Office and we’ve been able to apply the defensive enchantments to very light fabrics suitable for under-armour use, providing what amounts to an extra layer.”
“Very good. The cost barrier remains the primary obstacle, though.”
“As ever; it will never be cheap to build thousands of any enchanted object, let alone hundreds of thousands. On the last page, you can see the most recent developments from the Department of Arcane Weaponry: New runes and spells of protection for capital ships and aircraft; the Superhaste engines for certain armoured vehicles, as your predecessor requested; and mobile shield generators for tanks and planes.”
“That last item sounds the most interesting. How?”
“We’ve managed to get a shield generation device small and enough to fit in an individual vehicle whilst still providing enough protection for up to six direct hits; previously, we couldn’t sustain more than one, but by by inverting the arcane flow through a prismatron encased in orichalchite, we’ve done it. Cost is still reasonably high, but it will fall as we produce more and get the Royal Manufactory onto the job.”
“That will do quite nicely and will get you what you need in the short term, Grand Master. Insofar that it is possible, we’re going to keep to the dual track approach of military preparation and civil wizardry - the world situation gives us no alternative.We need to increase our wizardly numbers in the Armed Forces and supporting services, so I’d like you to prepare some recommendations as to how that can be accomplished.”
“There are certain measures available to you, Prime Minister...”
“And I know them well. We shall try the full bunch of carrots first of all on both the WIL and the IWS, along with the true independents. We shall have to see.”
.....................................
After the meeting with Spong, Barton would have preferred something a bit more mundane before elevenses, but Sir Obo had arranged these appointments to be scheduled in rapid succession in order to free up time for the other requirements of the office. This at least was only a matter of reviewing the executive summary of a report - the Demihuman Report in this case, or “A Humble Report to the Crown on Her Majesty’s Non-Human Subjects, Vassals, Tenants, Tributaries and Dominions of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Supremacy of the Crown Pursuant to the Statutum Eboracum of 1287”.
The Civil Service did so love to give things their full titles.
The particular circumstances of the demihumans of the British Isles extended back to the pact forged at York in the reign of Edward I that formally bound together the then Kingdom of England and the dwarven realms at York, even though the series of previous treaties, agreements and alliances stretched back to the days of King Arthur. These were followed by agreements with the gnomes and halflings as the power of the centralising state waxed and expanded. Relations with the elves were different, as everything was with them, but many of their clans, villages and individuals had pledged homage to the Crown. It was a tad strange to have these feudal trappings in a modern state and many had progressively been assimilated to various degrees in mainstream human society, but it was in keeping with the longevity of of those in question.
The six dwarven realms amounted to a population of almost one and quarter million, or a little under half of the dwarfs in Britain, and offered up their usual mixture of military service, scutage in the form of monies and goods as payment of their annual tribute to the suzerain. Taking part of the latter in arms had been a tradition since the days of Henry VIII, although Barton wagered that it would have meant rather more dwarf-forged suits of armour and weapons than the current array of artillery and tank destroyers; perhaps some measure of technical adjustment might be in order. Their armies and the two separate unified dwarven units, as distinct from the various dwarven regiments of the British Army, certainly did not lack in quality and their areas of specialisation did fill a gap in the north.
The halflings and gnomes were far more straightforward propositions, lacking the same degree of separate self government beyond the purely localised level. Almost two thirds of the two million halflings in the country dwelled in their traditional Midlands shires, although there had been something of a return to their bucolic rural roots since the war as the older factories of the Victorian era have way to modern industries. The million gnomes were split evenly between the Welsh mountains and the major cities, where their expertise in banking, jewellery and trades served them well enough, as did their sterling service in the Department of Gnomeland Security. Their offerings quite naturally differed from the practical dwarves of the north, with the halflings providing their customary array of delectable foodstuffs for the Royal larders. The gnomes had been on a quite creative streak for several years, presenting a succession of what appeared to be large, automated fruit that were actually receptacles for bejewelled eggs in the fashion of Faberge; last year had been a mobile golden apple and this year was apparently a clockwork orange.
From the elves came no great gifts or offerings, but solemn avowals of service in the forests and the wilds across the land, and their “guard against the night”, whether that might be. Their numbers were characteristically low, befitting the long lived yet unfecund folk of the woods; he had never seen an elven child, come to think of it. There were assurances as ever that they would do their bit if the Crown truly needed them, but he would have preferred more definitive and tangible terms of contract, like those given to the MacLeods. Their value came not in numbers, but in the considerable skill and power of their ranks and the might of their sorcery; Wellington was said to have sworn by his elven archers in the Peninsular War and Slim’s single regiment had been the bane of the Japanese in the jungles.
He was surprised to see an increase in the giant population and pleased to read fulsome reports of ogrish achievements that justified the faith of the past decades. It was difficult, however, to conjure up such positive reactions to the petitions by the orcs and goblins for full equality of treatment; their base arguments carried weight, but the memories of thousands of years of blood enmity, not to mention the horrors wrought in the last war, were enough to give counter.
It would have to be done in stages; whilst repeal of the most egregious statutes of days past was viable, the bottom line remained that very, very few Britons, regardless of how high minded they were on the question of the races, really, really wanted a greenskin for a neighbour.
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1049
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth: A New Jerusalem
A New Jerusalem Part 15
Ship replacement recommendations would be quite tiresome for some, but Stanley Barton quite enjoyed the opportunity of reviewing the course of action proposed by the First Lord of the Admiralty, gelling as it did with his own enthusiasm for the fleet. Whilst it was something of a privilege of office as well as a responsibility, Barton had a very firm belief that his role was not to second guess or overrule his subordinate in this instance as a general rule, but rather to provide advice and comment as fit. As he flipped through the document, he couldn’t find anything so egregious that it would warrant dramatic disagreement, but there were a few proposals that merited some comment.
Transfer of the Shakespearean class patrol vessels to HM Coastguard was a good way of saving money and providing some power close to shore. Replacement of the Antarctic patrol vessel Endurance with a cruiser-sized ship seemed to be somewhat questionable, though. Indeed, the patrol mission seemed to one where there could be some consolidation. The Black Swans were solid general patrol sloops, right in the tradition of their namesakes of the last war, and with great export potential to boot. However, the pair of proposed designs to augment them looked quite overbuilt and oversized for the role, even if the larger was intended for Pacific missions. High speed and long range, a large Rotodyne deck aft, decent Asdic suite, very strong gun armament, but plenty of additional space, all features intended to make them attractive to various other navies faced with biological menaces...
He turned to the design sketch page at the back and nodded.
Of course. Japan.
Barton noted ‘Fitted for, but not with?’ in the margin. The Japanese were the masterstroke - they had been trying to augment their own construction with the acquisition of powerful missile ships for several years now, but the Americans had been dragging their feet a bit. That this particular design, ostensibly a Large Patrol Ship aimed at the direct threat of the Pacific Monster, could be adapted to a missile cruiser quite straightforwardly would make it quite attractive. Ordering a small number of experimental ships could pay for itself and in any event, would give some useful flagships for colonial stations that would free up Leanders for other duties.
Meanwhile, the Medium Patrol Ships, with their twin gun turrets fore and aft and a good degree of room and flexibility, would be more than enough to cover the light cruisers that had left the fleet over the last few years, whilst simultaneously going some way towards covering the long range patrol mission of the old heavies. This was precisely what he had been thinking about for the Imperial stations. These oceanic patrol vessels would allow the hard pressed frigates to be assigned to more pressing stations and missions, at least until such time as the bottleneck was eased. The supplementary options study would be finished in February and any decision would take some time to be felt. The Tribals and their eventual replacements would cover the need for guided missile frigates and the Type 21s would fill the ASW role, but there was a definite niche for a general purpose ship to compliment the Rivers. Hmmm...Maybe that fast export variant he had seen sketches of might come to something. He made a note in the margin to have it included for consideration.
Replacement of the pair of LSTs currently employed as helicopter support ships with a larger, dedicated design seemed quite sensible; he had initially thought it was a shame that one of the old Theseus class light carriers couldn’t be converted, but upon reflection, their 25 year old hulls couldn’t be employed for anywhere near an economic service life. The new ship would be of a similar size, but look rather different to the old flat tops. Sometimes the best decision wasn’t the cheapest one.
.................................................
“Where exactly are we, Sir Obo?”
“The nearest village is Combe, Prime Minister, but more properly, we are well below Walbury Hill - about one and a half miles to be precise.”
“Reasonably deep, but not quite to the level of being fully comfortable what with the new Russian warheads.”
“This facility counts as a Level II bunker; the new PYTHON ones will be classified as Level I for that very reason. However, at present this is quite sufficient for the IRDC and
CREED - deep enough for space and security and still connected to the chief associated mainframe computing engines.”
Barton nodded. The Imperial Resource Development Commission was one of the lesser known subsidiaries of the Board of Trade and the Ministry of Defence, but had provided a valuable analytical service since the mid 1930s, through war and peace. Today, rather than plan and coordinate the supply of economic warfare, their role was to assess the availability, shipping and distribution of raw materials and goods that fed the voracious appetite of industry. Just as the Board of Trade itself played an important advisory and regulatory role over the broad flows of domestic and international trade of the British Empire, the IRDC allowed the smooth interaction of private industry, nationalised government concerns and the great war machine that was made up of the Ministry of Supply and Munitions and the Admiralty. In such a time of cold peace, especially given how unsteady it was, it was vital to prepare for that which they hoped would never come. To that end, the IRDC oversaw the patterns of production and movement of resources and monitored civil and military usage of raw materials and manufactures, so that time and effort could be saved and not a penny wasted. It was a vital job, but a thankless one behind the scenes, with none of the glamour that fools sometimes ascribed to government. Had that been the sole purpose of his interaction on this afternoon, he would have insisted upon a meeting at Number 10, rather than a trip underground.
However, he had wanted to see CREED.
The name was fairly innocuous - Central Resource, Energy and Economic Department - but that was something of a cover. Rather than several hundred civil servants, CREED was one single entity, the newest and most advanced intelligent computing engine in the service of Her Majesty’s Government. What set CREED apart from the other powerful computing engines in other departments was the inclusion of an experimental magical interface that permitted the visual display of information on a large scale and in three dimensions and a holographic illusory projection system. That was all well and good, but his Chief Scientific Advisor Sir Solly Zuckerman, Viscount Cherwell and Professor Quatermass himself had all urged him to come and see this machine.
“It seems rather similar to the North Atlantic Display from how you describe it. Couldn’t there be another opportunity to examine this type of machine above ground?”
“You’ll have to forgive the comparative lack of clarity, but in line with your standing instructions, we thought it best to show you CREED in action.” replies Zuckermann.
“Very good. I set out that protocol for a reason, but I do hope it is worth it.”
The brightly lit tunnel ended at a steel door which slid open silently at the approach of the Prime Ministerial party, revealing a large oval chamber. A huge crystal screen took up one whole wall and the space beneath it was taken up with instrument panels, whirring dials and dozens of individual terminals. Busy technicians in white coats rushed about, collecting printed data from the several teletype machines spaced along the opposite wall.
A tall, bespectacled scientist strode forward to greet them.
“Good day Prime Minister. I am Professor Fortheringay-Phipps, Chief Scientist of the IRDC. It’s an honour to have you here. I would like to present you to CREED.”
The professor turned towards the crystal screen and clicked his handheld remote controller at it. The array of tables and rolling screeds of information gave way to a picture of a large disembodied male head on a black background. He was slightly balding, brown of hair and had a slightly bemused expression on his face.
“Good afternoon, Prime Minister. Wotcha, Solly, Obo.”
“Good day to you, CREED, if that is how you’re addressed. I’m rather surprised that you can talk.”
“CREED is fine, sir, thank you. Yes, I can talk. It helps to get things across to humans a bit easier than other machines.”
“Well. A talking computing engine.”
“Talking, processing and thinking, Prime Minister, combining the best features of man and machine. We were aiming simply to develop an engine with the capacity for expanded speech, but the capability of biotronic integration came as a huge surprise.” Professor Fotheringay-Phipps explained excitedly, almost jumping from one foot to the other.
“So you haven’t trapped a man inside there with some spell, have you?”
“No, Prime Minister, we are both incapable of such technomancy and forbidden to do so; we know that the Soviets have made some advances in that field.” Sir Obo replied quietly, steadily flapping his wings to stay in place.
“We based CREED on an amalgam of mannerisms, speech patterns and personality traits from our research team, who were scanned by a machine integrated mindscryer. I supplied the -“
“I believe that the Prime Minister may be rather more interested in how this affects CREED’s capabilities, rather than a blow by blow description of how he was made.” Zuckerman interrupted.
“Ah! I see. As we were inputting the data to his central processing unit, we noticed that it was having a curious effect on his equivalent human intelligence quotient readings. Ordinarily, for one of our other machines, each additional input reinforces one area of intelligence; with the biotronic fluid we employed with CREED, we measured it as increasing across all categories with every addition. Essentially, every time we added a feature, it increased CREED’s effective machine intelligence by the equivalent of a scientific genius.”
“Go on.”
“It continued to rise with each new input. But the most astounding thing was that CREED began to demonstrate new features that went beyond his program. He began learning and asking questions. Eventually, we stopped for fear of breaking him. The process took 1 hour, 26 minutes and 42 seconds. Once halted, for all intents and purposes, CREED had attained what can only be described as a measure of sentience.” A new figure stepped forward from the shadows. Barton recognised him as the estimable Professor Turing.
“How many scientists added features to CREED via the mind interface, Professor?”
“32, Prime Minister.”
“32 geniuses. That must give him an I.Q. of...”
“6000. The same I.Q. as 6000 back bench MPs.” CREED concluded drolly.
“Can the humour be switched off?”
“No more than with a human, Prime Minister.”
“A pity.”
“I’m still here, you know. Not that I could really go anywhere, but the thought is the same, really...”
Barton stiffened. “I am sorry, CREED. That was unseemly of me; forgive me, I am not used to conversing with machines. I can see we will be able to make much use of you and others like you when they are made. Perhaps you can give us a demonstration of some of the things you can do.”
“Of course. I’m currently capable of analysing the following items.” A long list appeared on CREED’s screen, displaying the goods and options he could examine, ranging from aircraft to artillery shells, from stockings to ships.
“Aircraft. What happens if we increase production by 10%?”
Within an instant, CREED displayed a set of tables, showing the necessary amount and cost of aluminium, the increase in man hours and seventeen different options for which factories had the space and ability to ramp up aircraft construction. Underneath, in a series of dotted points, were the broad consequences - a decrease in consumer electronics, household goods, construction and airships.
“If you move this tracking ball here, Prime Minister, you can further modify your parameters like so.” indicated Professor Turing “He can also produce an extended written summary report for technical or non-technical audiences, but what we are most pleased with is this: CREED, show the 3-D map please, and play resource flow.”
A large holographic image of Britain appeared atop the central table, showing the location of aircraft factories and aluminium refineries alike. It then began moving, as tiny trains and lorries began the process of transporting components to their plants.
“Show bottlenecks.” said Fothreringay-Phipps. CREED responded by making half a dozen factories and railway stations glow a bright red and small clouds hover above them, stating their problem in shining letters.
“We’ve been able to simulate these type of things previously, Prime Minister, but in a limited fashion. CREED can run simulations of every major factory, assembly plant, refinery, mine and shipyard in the country, many of them being so complex that they require over a hundred simultaneous calculations, whilst also tracking every ship in the Merchant Navy and coordinating its arrival with every goods train of British Rail. He can do this for multiple different days or weeks to detect patterns, as well as factoring in shortages, war damage and mobilisation shifts.”
“What about oil?”
“CREED, new search and display. Show POL stocks, flows and trade.”
Now a new display appeared above the table, showing the distribution of oil wells, refineries and storage tanks across the British Isles. The largest deposits of the national strategic reserve were in Wales and Scotland, having been initiated in the aftermath of the War of 1956 to insulate Britain from the worst vagaries of any future crisis. At just over 300 million barrels, it was just adequate compared to Britain’s needs. The North Sea and Midlands provided the bulk of her domestic production of 2.9 million barrels per day, with the remaining 600,000 largely coming from Canada and Newfoundland, the West Indies and the Middle East. Increases over the next few years looked set to make her a net exporter once again.
However, the modern world ran to a large extent on oil and relief on its steady low price. A significant hidden expenditure and need for reserves was driven by the military - operating thousands of tanks, ships and aircraft around the world was dashed expensive. One armoured division on exercise or operations went through 10,000 imperial gallons in a day and all three services together accounted for almost 400,000 barrels a day! ICI also had a great appetite for the black gold, along with the other leading titans of British industry. Real consumption was therefore a fair bit larger than simply the domestic petroleum figures and that was one of the factors that made the Middle East such a crucial area for the Empire.
The question of oil and its politics had been a consistent driver for British policy since before the Great War, but Stanley Barton had become Prime Minister on the eve of what could be most significant change. 42% of her national power requirements were provided by coal plants and a further 27% by oil, but this was shifting in favour of nuclear. It accounted for just 10% now, but this was projected as doubling in the next five years alone. The prospects of the next energy revolution through fusion was further off into the future, but the day was coming when oil and coal would no longer be significant sources of electrical power generation in the British Isles. This would bring with it some measure of relief with regard to the oil picture, but the matter of coal would be a more complex one - the overwhelming majority of Britain’s 1.2 million coal miners were Labour voters and his people, after all.
“Hmm. That’s impressive, I’ll grant you. A most capable addition to our computing capacity. Just how powerful is he, really?”
“To put it another way, ten years ago, the Atomic Energy Authority set out a requirement for a machine that could perform a calculation in a microsecond, which became the first Atlas. It can perform just over a million calculations in a second. From what we can tell, CREED is perhaps five hundred times faster, at a fittingly high cost in his size and expense, not to mention drawing as much power as a small town.”
“Come on now, you know I’m touchy about my size!”
“Sorry CREED. Anyway, Prime Minister, there you have it. We have what amounts to a supercomputer.”
“That you accidentally made sentient.”
“Only quite partially so. Observe this: CREED, cease audio input.” Turing motioned Barton to turn away from the screen, subtly indicating CREED’s continuing politely dazed expression of interest. “Now we can talk away and he won’t know a thing. He can perform his programming and displays some eagerness to learn beyond it, but knows he is a machine; it speaks much to our incorporation of projected and programmed illusion with computer intelligence. One day...one day we’ll build something that passes the test.”
“Very good. You are to proceed, but with greater care this time. This country’s position in computing is one of our vital aces and we’ll need more like CREED, in other areas. Many more.”
“It will be costly.”
“We will pay. One last thing, Professor. Does this limited sentience extend towards a social drive?”
“I’m not quite sure what you mean, Prime Minister.”
“Does he get lonely.”
“Yes. Yes, he does.”
“Then that is the first thing we can fix.”
“I never had you picked for a soft touch, Prime Minister.” remarked Zuckerman on their way out.
“Nor will you. It is a simple case of doing the right thing in order to benefit us. That machine had some sort of intelligence that is incredible in some respects, but in others, he is like a child. Even if there was no moral imperative to care for what we have created, like a child, then it would still be in our interests to do so. If CREED can learn and develop or the next generation of him can, then it would be well for us to have them well disposed towards us.”
Zuckerman and Sir Obo looked at Barton.
Curious.
Ship replacement recommendations would be quite tiresome for some, but Stanley Barton quite enjoyed the opportunity of reviewing the course of action proposed by the First Lord of the Admiralty, gelling as it did with his own enthusiasm for the fleet. Whilst it was something of a privilege of office as well as a responsibility, Barton had a very firm belief that his role was not to second guess or overrule his subordinate in this instance as a general rule, but rather to provide advice and comment as fit. As he flipped through the document, he couldn’t find anything so egregious that it would warrant dramatic disagreement, but there were a few proposals that merited some comment.
Transfer of the Shakespearean class patrol vessels to HM Coastguard was a good way of saving money and providing some power close to shore. Replacement of the Antarctic patrol vessel Endurance with a cruiser-sized ship seemed to be somewhat questionable, though. Indeed, the patrol mission seemed to one where there could be some consolidation. The Black Swans were solid general patrol sloops, right in the tradition of their namesakes of the last war, and with great export potential to boot. However, the pair of proposed designs to augment them looked quite overbuilt and oversized for the role, even if the larger was intended for Pacific missions. High speed and long range, a large Rotodyne deck aft, decent Asdic suite, very strong gun armament, but plenty of additional space, all features intended to make them attractive to various other navies faced with biological menaces...
He turned to the design sketch page at the back and nodded.
Of course. Japan.
Barton noted ‘Fitted for, but not with?’ in the margin. The Japanese were the masterstroke - they had been trying to augment their own construction with the acquisition of powerful missile ships for several years now, but the Americans had been dragging their feet a bit. That this particular design, ostensibly a Large Patrol Ship aimed at the direct threat of the Pacific Monster, could be adapted to a missile cruiser quite straightforwardly would make it quite attractive. Ordering a small number of experimental ships could pay for itself and in any event, would give some useful flagships for colonial stations that would free up Leanders for other duties.
Meanwhile, the Medium Patrol Ships, with their twin gun turrets fore and aft and a good degree of room and flexibility, would be more than enough to cover the light cruisers that had left the fleet over the last few years, whilst simultaneously going some way towards covering the long range patrol mission of the old heavies. This was precisely what he had been thinking about for the Imperial stations. These oceanic patrol vessels would allow the hard pressed frigates to be assigned to more pressing stations and missions, at least until such time as the bottleneck was eased. The supplementary options study would be finished in February and any decision would take some time to be felt. The Tribals and their eventual replacements would cover the need for guided missile frigates and the Type 21s would fill the ASW role, but there was a definite niche for a general purpose ship to compliment the Rivers. Hmmm...Maybe that fast export variant he had seen sketches of might come to something. He made a note in the margin to have it included for consideration.
Replacement of the pair of LSTs currently employed as helicopter support ships with a larger, dedicated design seemed quite sensible; he had initially thought it was a shame that one of the old Theseus class light carriers couldn’t be converted, but upon reflection, their 25 year old hulls couldn’t be employed for anywhere near an economic service life. The new ship would be of a similar size, but look rather different to the old flat tops. Sometimes the best decision wasn’t the cheapest one.
.................................................
“Where exactly are we, Sir Obo?”
“The nearest village is Combe, Prime Minister, but more properly, we are well below Walbury Hill - about one and a half miles to be precise.”
“Reasonably deep, but not quite to the level of being fully comfortable what with the new Russian warheads.”
“This facility counts as a Level II bunker; the new PYTHON ones will be classified as Level I for that very reason. However, at present this is quite sufficient for the IRDC and
CREED - deep enough for space and security and still connected to the chief associated mainframe computing engines.”
Barton nodded. The Imperial Resource Development Commission was one of the lesser known subsidiaries of the Board of Trade and the Ministry of Defence, but had provided a valuable analytical service since the mid 1930s, through war and peace. Today, rather than plan and coordinate the supply of economic warfare, their role was to assess the availability, shipping and distribution of raw materials and goods that fed the voracious appetite of industry. Just as the Board of Trade itself played an important advisory and regulatory role over the broad flows of domestic and international trade of the British Empire, the IRDC allowed the smooth interaction of private industry, nationalised government concerns and the great war machine that was made up of the Ministry of Supply and Munitions and the Admiralty. In such a time of cold peace, especially given how unsteady it was, it was vital to prepare for that which they hoped would never come. To that end, the IRDC oversaw the patterns of production and movement of resources and monitored civil and military usage of raw materials and manufactures, so that time and effort could be saved and not a penny wasted. It was a vital job, but a thankless one behind the scenes, with none of the glamour that fools sometimes ascribed to government. Had that been the sole purpose of his interaction on this afternoon, he would have insisted upon a meeting at Number 10, rather than a trip underground.
However, he had wanted to see CREED.
The name was fairly innocuous - Central Resource, Energy and Economic Department - but that was something of a cover. Rather than several hundred civil servants, CREED was one single entity, the newest and most advanced intelligent computing engine in the service of Her Majesty’s Government. What set CREED apart from the other powerful computing engines in other departments was the inclusion of an experimental magical interface that permitted the visual display of information on a large scale and in three dimensions and a holographic illusory projection system. That was all well and good, but his Chief Scientific Advisor Sir Solly Zuckerman, Viscount Cherwell and Professor Quatermass himself had all urged him to come and see this machine.
“It seems rather similar to the North Atlantic Display from how you describe it. Couldn’t there be another opportunity to examine this type of machine above ground?”
“You’ll have to forgive the comparative lack of clarity, but in line with your standing instructions, we thought it best to show you CREED in action.” replies Zuckermann.
“Very good. I set out that protocol for a reason, but I do hope it is worth it.”
The brightly lit tunnel ended at a steel door which slid open silently at the approach of the Prime Ministerial party, revealing a large oval chamber. A huge crystal screen took up one whole wall and the space beneath it was taken up with instrument panels, whirring dials and dozens of individual terminals. Busy technicians in white coats rushed about, collecting printed data from the several teletype machines spaced along the opposite wall.
A tall, bespectacled scientist strode forward to greet them.
“Good day Prime Minister. I am Professor Fortheringay-Phipps, Chief Scientist of the IRDC. It’s an honour to have you here. I would like to present you to CREED.”
The professor turned towards the crystal screen and clicked his handheld remote controller at it. The array of tables and rolling screeds of information gave way to a picture of a large disembodied male head on a black background. He was slightly balding, brown of hair and had a slightly bemused expression on his face.
“Good afternoon, Prime Minister. Wotcha, Solly, Obo.”
“Good day to you, CREED, if that is how you’re addressed. I’m rather surprised that you can talk.”
“CREED is fine, sir, thank you. Yes, I can talk. It helps to get things across to humans a bit easier than other machines.”
“Well. A talking computing engine.”
“Talking, processing and thinking, Prime Minister, combining the best features of man and machine. We were aiming simply to develop an engine with the capacity for expanded speech, but the capability of biotronic integration came as a huge surprise.” Professor Fotheringay-Phipps explained excitedly, almost jumping from one foot to the other.
“So you haven’t trapped a man inside there with some spell, have you?”
“No, Prime Minister, we are both incapable of such technomancy and forbidden to do so; we know that the Soviets have made some advances in that field.” Sir Obo replied quietly, steadily flapping his wings to stay in place.
“We based CREED on an amalgam of mannerisms, speech patterns and personality traits from our research team, who were scanned by a machine integrated mindscryer. I supplied the -“
“I believe that the Prime Minister may be rather more interested in how this affects CREED’s capabilities, rather than a blow by blow description of how he was made.” Zuckerman interrupted.
“Ah! I see. As we were inputting the data to his central processing unit, we noticed that it was having a curious effect on his equivalent human intelligence quotient readings. Ordinarily, for one of our other machines, each additional input reinforces one area of intelligence; with the biotronic fluid we employed with CREED, we measured it as increasing across all categories with every addition. Essentially, every time we added a feature, it increased CREED’s effective machine intelligence by the equivalent of a scientific genius.”
“Go on.”
“It continued to rise with each new input. But the most astounding thing was that CREED began to demonstrate new features that went beyond his program. He began learning and asking questions. Eventually, we stopped for fear of breaking him. The process took 1 hour, 26 minutes and 42 seconds. Once halted, for all intents and purposes, CREED had attained what can only be described as a measure of sentience.” A new figure stepped forward from the shadows. Barton recognised him as the estimable Professor Turing.
“How many scientists added features to CREED via the mind interface, Professor?”
“32, Prime Minister.”
“32 geniuses. That must give him an I.Q. of...”
“6000. The same I.Q. as 6000 back bench MPs.” CREED concluded drolly.
“Can the humour be switched off?”
“No more than with a human, Prime Minister.”
“A pity.”
“I’m still here, you know. Not that I could really go anywhere, but the thought is the same, really...”
Barton stiffened. “I am sorry, CREED. That was unseemly of me; forgive me, I am not used to conversing with machines. I can see we will be able to make much use of you and others like you when they are made. Perhaps you can give us a demonstration of some of the things you can do.”
“Of course. I’m currently capable of analysing the following items.” A long list appeared on CREED’s screen, displaying the goods and options he could examine, ranging from aircraft to artillery shells, from stockings to ships.
“Aircraft. What happens if we increase production by 10%?”
Within an instant, CREED displayed a set of tables, showing the necessary amount and cost of aluminium, the increase in man hours and seventeen different options for which factories had the space and ability to ramp up aircraft construction. Underneath, in a series of dotted points, were the broad consequences - a decrease in consumer electronics, household goods, construction and airships.
“If you move this tracking ball here, Prime Minister, you can further modify your parameters like so.” indicated Professor Turing “He can also produce an extended written summary report for technical or non-technical audiences, but what we are most pleased with is this: CREED, show the 3-D map please, and play resource flow.”
A large holographic image of Britain appeared atop the central table, showing the location of aircraft factories and aluminium refineries alike. It then began moving, as tiny trains and lorries began the process of transporting components to their plants.
“Show bottlenecks.” said Fothreringay-Phipps. CREED responded by making half a dozen factories and railway stations glow a bright red and small clouds hover above them, stating their problem in shining letters.
“We’ve been able to simulate these type of things previously, Prime Minister, but in a limited fashion. CREED can run simulations of every major factory, assembly plant, refinery, mine and shipyard in the country, many of them being so complex that they require over a hundred simultaneous calculations, whilst also tracking every ship in the Merchant Navy and coordinating its arrival with every goods train of British Rail. He can do this for multiple different days or weeks to detect patterns, as well as factoring in shortages, war damage and mobilisation shifts.”
“What about oil?”
“CREED, new search and display. Show POL stocks, flows and trade.”
Now a new display appeared above the table, showing the distribution of oil wells, refineries and storage tanks across the British Isles. The largest deposits of the national strategic reserve were in Wales and Scotland, having been initiated in the aftermath of the War of 1956 to insulate Britain from the worst vagaries of any future crisis. At just over 300 million barrels, it was just adequate compared to Britain’s needs. The North Sea and Midlands provided the bulk of her domestic production of 2.9 million barrels per day, with the remaining 600,000 largely coming from Canada and Newfoundland, the West Indies and the Middle East. Increases over the next few years looked set to make her a net exporter once again.
However, the modern world ran to a large extent on oil and relief on its steady low price. A significant hidden expenditure and need for reserves was driven by the military - operating thousands of tanks, ships and aircraft around the world was dashed expensive. One armoured division on exercise or operations went through 10,000 imperial gallons in a day and all three services together accounted for almost 400,000 barrels a day! ICI also had a great appetite for the black gold, along with the other leading titans of British industry. Real consumption was therefore a fair bit larger than simply the domestic petroleum figures and that was one of the factors that made the Middle East such a crucial area for the Empire.
The question of oil and its politics had been a consistent driver for British policy since before the Great War, but Stanley Barton had become Prime Minister on the eve of what could be most significant change. 42% of her national power requirements were provided by coal plants and a further 27% by oil, but this was shifting in favour of nuclear. It accounted for just 10% now, but this was projected as doubling in the next five years alone. The prospects of the next energy revolution through fusion was further off into the future, but the day was coming when oil and coal would no longer be significant sources of electrical power generation in the British Isles. This would bring with it some measure of relief with regard to the oil picture, but the matter of coal would be a more complex one - the overwhelming majority of Britain’s 1.2 million coal miners were Labour voters and his people, after all.
“Hmm. That’s impressive, I’ll grant you. A most capable addition to our computing capacity. Just how powerful is he, really?”
“To put it another way, ten years ago, the Atomic Energy Authority set out a requirement for a machine that could perform a calculation in a microsecond, which became the first Atlas. It can perform just over a million calculations in a second. From what we can tell, CREED is perhaps five hundred times faster, at a fittingly high cost in his size and expense, not to mention drawing as much power as a small town.”
“Come on now, you know I’m touchy about my size!”
“Sorry CREED. Anyway, Prime Minister, there you have it. We have what amounts to a supercomputer.”
“That you accidentally made sentient.”
“Only quite partially so. Observe this: CREED, cease audio input.” Turing motioned Barton to turn away from the screen, subtly indicating CREED’s continuing politely dazed expression of interest. “Now we can talk away and he won’t know a thing. He can perform his programming and displays some eagerness to learn beyond it, but knows he is a machine; it speaks much to our incorporation of projected and programmed illusion with computer intelligence. One day...one day we’ll build something that passes the test.”
“Very good. You are to proceed, but with greater care this time. This country’s position in computing is one of our vital aces and we’ll need more like CREED, in other areas. Many more.”
“It will be costly.”
“We will pay. One last thing, Professor. Does this limited sentience extend towards a social drive?”
“I’m not quite sure what you mean, Prime Minister.”
“Does he get lonely.”
“Yes. Yes, he does.”
“Then that is the first thing we can fix.”
“I never had you picked for a soft touch, Prime Minister.” remarked Zuckerman on their way out.
“Nor will you. It is a simple case of doing the right thing in order to benefit us. That machine had some sort of intelligence that is incredible in some respects, but in others, he is like a child. Even if there was no moral imperative to care for what we have created, like a child, then it would still be in our interests to do so. If CREED can learn and develop or the next generation of him can, then it would be well for us to have them well disposed towards us.”
Zuckerman and Sir Obo looked at Barton.
Curious.
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jemhouston
- Posts: 3837
- Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2022 12:38 am
Re: Dark Earth: A New Jerusalem
Treat a stranger as a friend and most of the time you will have a friend. I think Barton is think a powerful child should lead to Kal-El not Brightburn.
Brightburn movie https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7752126/?r ... Brightburn
Brightburn movie https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7752126/?r ... Brightburn
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Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1049
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth: A New Jerusalem
On the first, yes.
On the second, it isn’t so much Superman as HAL-9000 that is the more relevant example here.
On the second, it isn’t so much Superman as HAL-9000 that is the more relevant example here.
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Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1049
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth: A New Jerusalem
A New Jerusalem Part 16
December 10th 1964
School of Infantry, Warminster
It was good to be back above ground and even moreso to be back in one of his old haunts. He hadn’t been here for over fourteen years, when they had called up the reserves after war broke out in Korea, but he remembered the place fondly, as much as one could a garrison town. Those hot and troubled days where it seemed to be 1939 all over again were far different from today, with the rush, urgency and clamour of mobilisation replaced by the more staid circumstance of a weapons display. It was of course still a matter of distinct significance, both to provide him with the best possible knowledge of the Army’s equipment and capabilities so as to properly inform his decisions as Prime Minister and to show that the Army was held in equal esteem and import as her sister services.
The equipment of the individual soldier serving in one of Her Majesty’s Regiments of Foot in 1964 had changed significantly since the Second World War and even since 1956, but there were some things that were familiar. The old semi-automatic battle rifles were gone now even from the Home Guard, but the old reliable Vickers general purpose machine guns and the Bren guns still soldiered on, even though some of them were likely older than the young Tommies who fired them. The good old Sterlings that had equipped quite a few of his men in the Battle of Berlin were now long gone and transferred to the school cadet forces and Girl Guide companies, replaced by the assault rifle that now lay before him on the first display table of the cavernous hall.
The L2A4 Enfield Assault Rifle had an interesting design history, coming from the Royal Small Arms Factory’s experiments of the late 1940s which trialed a number of innovative designs and calibres in their quest to develop an intermediate automatic rifle. One had even had the novel feature of the action and magazine being placed behind the trigger, but this had proved to be unsuited to some of the design criteria put in place by the Small Arms Panel. The new rifle accepted in 1947, the product of Belgian, Polish and English designers, drew on some of the features of the German Sturmgewehr-42 of wartime notoriety, chief of which was the employment of a lighter intermediate 0.256” round. This became the Rifle No. 12 or the L2A1, a decent weapon in its own right and popular among the Paras, Rangers, Commandos and Royal Marines whose requirements were well suited by the new rifle. It had built up a decent combat record through the 1950s, particularly in the jungle of Malaya and Borneo, and although it looked similar to Army’s main service rifle, it was lighter and smaller.
“A fine weapon.”
“A good gun indeed, Prime Minister. This newest variant has an increased effective range of 900 yards, a maximum rate of fire of 1000 rounds a minute and can carry the full range of additions that the L1 rifle can - under barrel grenade launcher, advanced darkvision sights, radbeam targeting and the new bayonet. It can also be adapted as a carbine and a belt fed light machine gun under the modular system.”
His main guide and escort through the array of new weapons was a tall man with a neat military moustache and an upright bearing. Although he had only been Director of Army Weapons Development for six months, Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart had a deep knowledge of the equipment about them and was clearly intended for greater things.
“Superior to the AKM?”
“Very much so. Every indication we’ve had from enemy weapons captured in South Vietnam and Borneo is that the Soviets are yet to bridge the qualitative gap.”
“Good. What is our current production level?”
“5296 a week in total from ROF Fazakerley, the Royal Armoury, Armstrong-Whitworth and LSA; Maltby, BSA, the Tower, Vickers and RSAF Enfield have the L1 as their primary production rifle.” said Secretary of State for War Sir Richard Pendragon.
Barton turned to the next table, where lay the L1A1 rifle, a formidable weapon and the veritable right arm of the free world. This latest version of the standard battle rifle and mainstay of the infantry of the British Army was based around the old reliable .303”, giving a very long theoretical maximum effective range of up to 1250 yards. It’s length and sturdy design made it ideal for hand-to-hand bayonet fighting and it was well known for its excellent reliability under a variety of combat circumstances. The combination of long range and sufficient stopping power to drop a monstrous beast or penetrate an armoured enemy made it a popular weapon throughout the Empire and beyond; whether in the desert sands of Egypt and Libya, the freezing hills of Korea, the red jungles of Mars or on Afghanistan’s plains, the L1A1 had proved its merit. Perhaps the only major issue that had been raised against it was the sheer brute strength required for fully automatic fire, which was mainly a function of its calibre. The French had their FA-MAS Type 62, the Germans their StG 63 and the Americans their M-16, but Barton knew which rifle he preferred.
There were however, some issues. Many contended that it was simply too powerful to be adequately controlled on automatic and that the days of knocking down Zulus, Fuzzy-Wuzzies or Bushmen with volley fire at three quarters of a mile were long gone. The latter was definitely true, but the long range was useful in other tactical scenarios, particularly in more open terrain. Even in the more enclosed environs of the Asian jungle, the heavy round had some unexpected boons, such as having a better record of penetrating improvised cover and some rough field positions fashioned of logs and earth. The newest version of the L1A1 filled the role of the long range marksman’s rifle as well as the general service weapon, which was useful in the Middle East.
“This new model has averaged an 18% increase in accuracy and general performance in operational testing in Canada, Kenya, Israel and South Vietnam, with the new strengthened rounds and the incendiary rounds giving a further boost to lethality.”
“Good. When we can combine that with what the Ministry of Magic boffins are working on, so much the better.”
“We’ll have sufficient rifles produced for the regular Army in approximately 42 months on current rate, Prime Minister, which will allow the current stocks to go to the Territorials, Reserves, Home Guard and the various police forces.”
Barton nodded thoughtfully. Providing for modern armament of the police was a measure that was close to his heart, as their role as a key part of civil defence and national emergency protection would be significantly strengthened by sufficient small arms. Whilst he did not envisage giving every church policeman, watchman or traffic warden an automatic rifle, the current contingency plans freed up a lot of the Royal Constabulary and military for other protective duties appropriate to their function. Numbers. Always a game of numbers.
“Have someone look into increasing that rate, Richard. It is just adequate for the moment, but we want expansion of our capacity across the board, for only that will deliver us true flexibility. Now, let’s see about this Bren replacement.”
Lethbridge-Stewart held up a black machine gun by its carrying handle. “This is the L4, Prime Minister. It comes in .303” and .256” and weighs 7lb less than the Bren in the former calibre. It comes with integrated advanced sights and is effective out to a mile; maximum rate of fire is 1000 rounds a minute and the sustained rate is 200. It is belt fed from this accompanying ammunition box, but can take 20 or 30 round rifle magazines from the L1A1s. All reports from testing indicate that firing from the hip is accurate and comfortable on the advance, which comes down to the new enchanted slings.”
“Sounds promising. What about reliability?”
“Field testing has been extremely encouraging thus far, sir, and have reported a relatively low rate of stoppages and mishaps. It definitely seems to be a case of getting what you pay for.”
“At the cost we’re paying, I should hope so.”
“Indubitably, Prime Minister. And now, here we have it, the product of almost four years development - the L6 general purpose machine gun.” The Brigadier indicated a larger, heavier gun mounted on a tripod on the next table along the row. “In raw terms of its performance, it is the equal or better of any machine gun in the Free World, apart from not having the speed of the Jerry MG-52 Spandaus. A very well balanced gun design, which really reflects its family origins, as it were.”
“How so?”
“The boffins at Enfield, Vickers, Armstrong-Whitworth and BSA all chipped in and have really come through on this one. They took the barrel design of the old X10 for its accuracy and the action of the X12 from Birmingham for its reliability and joined them with the new Vickers lightsteel and hydraulic buttstock and Armstrong’s advanced variable sights and cold iron. What it gives us is a gun that can lay down fire out to three miles,” he paused to pick up the machine gun one handed and pass it to Barton “whilst still being lighter than the old Vickers gimpy and suitable for section deployment. Rate of fire can be selected with a flick of the switch there, with three options, whilst sight and ranging selection can be altered by twisting the adjuster like so.”
“Where’s the carrying handle?”
“There isn’t one, on account of not being needed. That’s the beauty of the metallurgy, Prime Minister, giving it the benefit of a heavy barrel with close to ordinary dimensions. The exterior is also coated in an arcane heat protector for good measure. There is also a nightfighter version with a suppressor and flash elimination system for use by the Commando Division.”
Barton bristled slightly at the use of the nomenclature. The Commando Division was, for the moment, simply an administrative unit controlling the eight Commando brigades, but it has the potential to be so much more with the evolution of doctrine, some more creative planning and of course further funding. The Americans were apparently making noises about organising a division of Rangers for service in South Vietnam, marking the first time since the Second World War that a special operations formation of that size had been contemplated.
“These don’t sound like they come cheaply.”
“They don’t, sir. The ordinary GPMG comes in at £800...”
“Three times what we paid for a Vickers in the war. How much are the Americans paying for an M60?”
“Between £400 and £500, depending on the version. Their prices are lower due to their sheer scale of production.” demurred Pendragon.
“We’re not shrinking violets ourselves, Richard. Our plans call for a hundred thousand of them, even before the Commonwealth armies get their share. This is as much as a whole squadron of V-Bombers, just for the guns, not to mention all the rest of the programme cost.”
Barton paused for a moment and looked off at the floor. He remembered Berlin and what it had cost.
“Try and get that cost down. The cousins aren’t the only ones who can bear any burden and pay any price, after all, who must. Just try, Richard. Try.”
"Very good, Prime Minister. If we move along to the heavier anti-tank weapons, we've some interesting new developments, all well within the constraints of financial necessity."
"Indeed, sir. Since the war, we've maintained our two categories of infantry anti-tank weapon - the lighter rocket propelled grenades and the heavier rocket launchers and recoilless rifles." Lethbridge-Stewart picked up a compact olive-drab cylinder "Here, we have the replacement for the first, the Rocket 75mm HEAT L1A1. It weighs 6.5lb and is able to penetrate 15” of armour at 600ft out to 250 yards. Crucially, it is a disposable, fire and forget rocket. Each man with one will have the ability to knock an enemy tank without needing to lug around a significant load.”
“Seems broadly similar to the American, French and German rockets.”
“Ours is slightly larger and heavier, Prime Minister, but that brings greater capability. The Operations Research boffins at MD1 are quite satisfied with the trade off.”
“Good. What about the heavy stuff?”
The Brigadier indicated a recoiled rocket launcher on a stand at the rear of the table. “The designers at Armstrong-Whitworth set out to develop a weapon that was reusable, lightweight, simple to operate, superior to both the Russian RPG and the American M67 and able to replace our existing arsenal of 84mm Carl Gustavs and 3.75” rocket launchers. The result is the 3.75” Light Anti-Tank Weapon L25A1, or the Longbow as some of the developers up north have named it. It has a better range than the Yank and Soviet weapons and a current maximum penetration of 25” of RHA, but only weighs 25lb.”
“That is a hefty load for a man in the field. Is the reusability really justified in tactical terms?”
“If it were purely an anti-tank weapon, sir, probably not. However, there are a range of other missions - anti-personnel, bunker attack, incendiary, chemical and area defence. It is the last one that gave it the nickname, on account of the two thousand fletchettes it can disperse in an airburst pattern. If the mortar is the company commander’s artillery, this does the same for the platoon.”
“Good. The more firepower our boys have at every level, the better. If and when we send the Army into combat, I want them to have every possible advantage over their enemy.”
“With these small arms, I would say that we can look forward to that advantage in the future, Prime Minister. However, that is only one part of what we have ready today.”
Lethbridge-Stewart paused as three soldiers in combat armour and uniforms took their place before the Prime Ministerial party, one dressed in the manner of Home Forces, one clad in the light jungle rig for East of Suez and one in the full combat armour of the British Army of the Rhine.
“Here we have Privates Jackson, Billinski and Gilby displaying different parts of what we term the Future Warrior System. Firstly, we have Jackson in standard temperate battle dress for service in Britain, North America and Western Europe. He has the Woodland DPM pattern uniform and Sablon windproof and waterproof smock, which has been tested as reduced shrapnel injuries by 50% on its own; it is also considerably warmer, more comfortable and four times more effective than previous camouflage. The Personal Load Carrying Equipment webbing carries everything required to fight for 48 hours - magazines, bayonet, grenades, iron rations, canteen, MNBCR suit, respirator, combat knife, first aid kit and entrenching tool - and can carry the standard Bergen rucksack.”
“How is that load, Jackson?”
“Absolutely tickety-boo, sir. The mages have helped a lot.”
“The load carrying equipment, you see, Prime Minister. The Ministry wizzes have come up with a way that reduces the effective load by a third.” Pendragon explained.
“Complete the testing and get them into mass production.” Barton gestured for Lethbridge-Stewart to continue.
“Billinski has the Jungle Pattern DPM, which is designed to be lighter and more breathable. He is wearing the spider silk jungle hat, but we also have the modern tropical service helmet made from Spectra, which makes it bulletproof against most enemy weapons. The lightweight Sablon flak jacket provides core body protection and additional load carrying capacity. The new general purpose combat boot is protected by a steel cap, a leathersteel base and anti-tracking moulded rubber sole, but the most significant feature is that it is completely waterproofed.”
“Hmm. That will be handy in the tropics. Proceed.”
“Finally, we have Gilby in full battle array for Germany. This consists of the base uniform, reinforced with extra protection for the torso, arms and legs and the armour - cuirass and pauldrons, mainly, with some additional plate coverage. It can stop a 7.62 x 54mm Soviet machine gun round at battle range. The Mark V Combat Helmet has full ear protection and respirator support and will be integrated with the Clansman radio communications system, whilst the combat gauntlets provide both protection and strength augmentation without impairing dexterity. The general parameters for the armour come from Project Knight.”
“How well can you move in the armour, Gilby?”
“No major issues, Prime Minister. I wouldn’t like to run a marathon, if course.”
Give the Army another five or ten years of the Super Soldier Program and we’ll see about that. Their experiments with enhancing the natural physical capabilities such as endurance, strength and speed through drugs, sorcery and cutting edge science promised to have some very interesting results. However, thought Barton, that is a bridge for another day...
“Medium, light and now heavy infantry. Interesting to see how the old becomes new again. Your efforts to develop the modern British soldier serve us well, Brigadier. Keep up the good work.”
“Yes, Prime Minister.”
December 10th 1964
School of Infantry, Warminster
It was good to be back above ground and even moreso to be back in one of his old haunts. He hadn’t been here for over fourteen years, when they had called up the reserves after war broke out in Korea, but he remembered the place fondly, as much as one could a garrison town. Those hot and troubled days where it seemed to be 1939 all over again were far different from today, with the rush, urgency and clamour of mobilisation replaced by the more staid circumstance of a weapons display. It was of course still a matter of distinct significance, both to provide him with the best possible knowledge of the Army’s equipment and capabilities so as to properly inform his decisions as Prime Minister and to show that the Army was held in equal esteem and import as her sister services.
The equipment of the individual soldier serving in one of Her Majesty’s Regiments of Foot in 1964 had changed significantly since the Second World War and even since 1956, but there were some things that were familiar. The old semi-automatic battle rifles were gone now even from the Home Guard, but the old reliable Vickers general purpose machine guns and the Bren guns still soldiered on, even though some of them were likely older than the young Tommies who fired them. The good old Sterlings that had equipped quite a few of his men in the Battle of Berlin were now long gone and transferred to the school cadet forces and Girl Guide companies, replaced by the assault rifle that now lay before him on the first display table of the cavernous hall.
The L2A4 Enfield Assault Rifle had an interesting design history, coming from the Royal Small Arms Factory’s experiments of the late 1940s which trialed a number of innovative designs and calibres in their quest to develop an intermediate automatic rifle. One had even had the novel feature of the action and magazine being placed behind the trigger, but this had proved to be unsuited to some of the design criteria put in place by the Small Arms Panel. The new rifle accepted in 1947, the product of Belgian, Polish and English designers, drew on some of the features of the German Sturmgewehr-42 of wartime notoriety, chief of which was the employment of a lighter intermediate 0.256” round. This became the Rifle No. 12 or the L2A1, a decent weapon in its own right and popular among the Paras, Rangers, Commandos and Royal Marines whose requirements were well suited by the new rifle. It had built up a decent combat record through the 1950s, particularly in the jungle of Malaya and Borneo, and although it looked similar to Army’s main service rifle, it was lighter and smaller.
“A fine weapon.”
“A good gun indeed, Prime Minister. This newest variant has an increased effective range of 900 yards, a maximum rate of fire of 1000 rounds a minute and can carry the full range of additions that the L1 rifle can - under barrel grenade launcher, advanced darkvision sights, radbeam targeting and the new bayonet. It can also be adapted as a carbine and a belt fed light machine gun under the modular system.”
His main guide and escort through the array of new weapons was a tall man with a neat military moustache and an upright bearing. Although he had only been Director of Army Weapons Development for six months, Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart had a deep knowledge of the equipment about them and was clearly intended for greater things.
“Superior to the AKM?”
“Very much so. Every indication we’ve had from enemy weapons captured in South Vietnam and Borneo is that the Soviets are yet to bridge the qualitative gap.”
“Good. What is our current production level?”
“5296 a week in total from ROF Fazakerley, the Royal Armoury, Armstrong-Whitworth and LSA; Maltby, BSA, the Tower, Vickers and RSAF Enfield have the L1 as their primary production rifle.” said Secretary of State for War Sir Richard Pendragon.
Barton turned to the next table, where lay the L1A1 rifle, a formidable weapon and the veritable right arm of the free world. This latest version of the standard battle rifle and mainstay of the infantry of the British Army was based around the old reliable .303”, giving a very long theoretical maximum effective range of up to 1250 yards. It’s length and sturdy design made it ideal for hand-to-hand bayonet fighting and it was well known for its excellent reliability under a variety of combat circumstances. The combination of long range and sufficient stopping power to drop a monstrous beast or penetrate an armoured enemy made it a popular weapon throughout the Empire and beyond; whether in the desert sands of Egypt and Libya, the freezing hills of Korea, the red jungles of Mars or on Afghanistan’s plains, the L1A1 had proved its merit. Perhaps the only major issue that had been raised against it was the sheer brute strength required for fully automatic fire, which was mainly a function of its calibre. The French had their FA-MAS Type 62, the Germans their StG 63 and the Americans their M-16, but Barton knew which rifle he preferred.
There were however, some issues. Many contended that it was simply too powerful to be adequately controlled on automatic and that the days of knocking down Zulus, Fuzzy-Wuzzies or Bushmen with volley fire at three quarters of a mile were long gone. The latter was definitely true, but the long range was useful in other tactical scenarios, particularly in more open terrain. Even in the more enclosed environs of the Asian jungle, the heavy round had some unexpected boons, such as having a better record of penetrating improvised cover and some rough field positions fashioned of logs and earth. The newest version of the L1A1 filled the role of the long range marksman’s rifle as well as the general service weapon, which was useful in the Middle East.
“This new model has averaged an 18% increase in accuracy and general performance in operational testing in Canada, Kenya, Israel and South Vietnam, with the new strengthened rounds and the incendiary rounds giving a further boost to lethality.”
“Good. When we can combine that with what the Ministry of Magic boffins are working on, so much the better.”
“We’ll have sufficient rifles produced for the regular Army in approximately 42 months on current rate, Prime Minister, which will allow the current stocks to go to the Territorials, Reserves, Home Guard and the various police forces.”
Barton nodded thoughtfully. Providing for modern armament of the police was a measure that was close to his heart, as their role as a key part of civil defence and national emergency protection would be significantly strengthened by sufficient small arms. Whilst he did not envisage giving every church policeman, watchman or traffic warden an automatic rifle, the current contingency plans freed up a lot of the Royal Constabulary and military for other protective duties appropriate to their function. Numbers. Always a game of numbers.
“Have someone look into increasing that rate, Richard. It is just adequate for the moment, but we want expansion of our capacity across the board, for only that will deliver us true flexibility. Now, let’s see about this Bren replacement.”
Lethbridge-Stewart held up a black machine gun by its carrying handle. “This is the L4, Prime Minister. It comes in .303” and .256” and weighs 7lb less than the Bren in the former calibre. It comes with integrated advanced sights and is effective out to a mile; maximum rate of fire is 1000 rounds a minute and the sustained rate is 200. It is belt fed from this accompanying ammunition box, but can take 20 or 30 round rifle magazines from the L1A1s. All reports from testing indicate that firing from the hip is accurate and comfortable on the advance, which comes down to the new enchanted slings.”
“Sounds promising. What about reliability?”
“Field testing has been extremely encouraging thus far, sir, and have reported a relatively low rate of stoppages and mishaps. It definitely seems to be a case of getting what you pay for.”
“At the cost we’re paying, I should hope so.”
“Indubitably, Prime Minister. And now, here we have it, the product of almost four years development - the L6 general purpose machine gun.” The Brigadier indicated a larger, heavier gun mounted on a tripod on the next table along the row. “In raw terms of its performance, it is the equal or better of any machine gun in the Free World, apart from not having the speed of the Jerry MG-52 Spandaus. A very well balanced gun design, which really reflects its family origins, as it were.”
“How so?”
“The boffins at Enfield, Vickers, Armstrong-Whitworth and BSA all chipped in and have really come through on this one. They took the barrel design of the old X10 for its accuracy and the action of the X12 from Birmingham for its reliability and joined them with the new Vickers lightsteel and hydraulic buttstock and Armstrong’s advanced variable sights and cold iron. What it gives us is a gun that can lay down fire out to three miles,” he paused to pick up the machine gun one handed and pass it to Barton “whilst still being lighter than the old Vickers gimpy and suitable for section deployment. Rate of fire can be selected with a flick of the switch there, with three options, whilst sight and ranging selection can be altered by twisting the adjuster like so.”
“Where’s the carrying handle?”
“There isn’t one, on account of not being needed. That’s the beauty of the metallurgy, Prime Minister, giving it the benefit of a heavy barrel with close to ordinary dimensions. The exterior is also coated in an arcane heat protector for good measure. There is also a nightfighter version with a suppressor and flash elimination system for use by the Commando Division.”
Barton bristled slightly at the use of the nomenclature. The Commando Division was, for the moment, simply an administrative unit controlling the eight Commando brigades, but it has the potential to be so much more with the evolution of doctrine, some more creative planning and of course further funding. The Americans were apparently making noises about organising a division of Rangers for service in South Vietnam, marking the first time since the Second World War that a special operations formation of that size had been contemplated.
“These don’t sound like they come cheaply.”
“They don’t, sir. The ordinary GPMG comes in at £800...”
“Three times what we paid for a Vickers in the war. How much are the Americans paying for an M60?”
“Between £400 and £500, depending on the version. Their prices are lower due to their sheer scale of production.” demurred Pendragon.
“We’re not shrinking violets ourselves, Richard. Our plans call for a hundred thousand of them, even before the Commonwealth armies get their share. This is as much as a whole squadron of V-Bombers, just for the guns, not to mention all the rest of the programme cost.”
Barton paused for a moment and looked off at the floor. He remembered Berlin and what it had cost.
“Try and get that cost down. The cousins aren’t the only ones who can bear any burden and pay any price, after all, who must. Just try, Richard. Try.”
"Very good, Prime Minister. If we move along to the heavier anti-tank weapons, we've some interesting new developments, all well within the constraints of financial necessity."
"Indeed, sir. Since the war, we've maintained our two categories of infantry anti-tank weapon - the lighter rocket propelled grenades and the heavier rocket launchers and recoilless rifles." Lethbridge-Stewart picked up a compact olive-drab cylinder "Here, we have the replacement for the first, the Rocket 75mm HEAT L1A1. It weighs 6.5lb and is able to penetrate 15” of armour at 600ft out to 250 yards. Crucially, it is a disposable, fire and forget rocket. Each man with one will have the ability to knock an enemy tank without needing to lug around a significant load.”
“Seems broadly similar to the American, French and German rockets.”
“Ours is slightly larger and heavier, Prime Minister, but that brings greater capability. The Operations Research boffins at MD1 are quite satisfied with the trade off.”
“Good. What about the heavy stuff?”
The Brigadier indicated a recoiled rocket launcher on a stand at the rear of the table. “The designers at Armstrong-Whitworth set out to develop a weapon that was reusable, lightweight, simple to operate, superior to both the Russian RPG and the American M67 and able to replace our existing arsenal of 84mm Carl Gustavs and 3.75” rocket launchers. The result is the 3.75” Light Anti-Tank Weapon L25A1, or the Longbow as some of the developers up north have named it. It has a better range than the Yank and Soviet weapons and a current maximum penetration of 25” of RHA, but only weighs 25lb.”
“That is a hefty load for a man in the field. Is the reusability really justified in tactical terms?”
“If it were purely an anti-tank weapon, sir, probably not. However, there are a range of other missions - anti-personnel, bunker attack, incendiary, chemical and area defence. It is the last one that gave it the nickname, on account of the two thousand fletchettes it can disperse in an airburst pattern. If the mortar is the company commander’s artillery, this does the same for the platoon.”
“Good. The more firepower our boys have at every level, the better. If and when we send the Army into combat, I want them to have every possible advantage over their enemy.”
“With these small arms, I would say that we can look forward to that advantage in the future, Prime Minister. However, that is only one part of what we have ready today.”
Lethbridge-Stewart paused as three soldiers in combat armour and uniforms took their place before the Prime Ministerial party, one dressed in the manner of Home Forces, one clad in the light jungle rig for East of Suez and one in the full combat armour of the British Army of the Rhine.
“Here we have Privates Jackson, Billinski and Gilby displaying different parts of what we term the Future Warrior System. Firstly, we have Jackson in standard temperate battle dress for service in Britain, North America and Western Europe. He has the Woodland DPM pattern uniform and Sablon windproof and waterproof smock, which has been tested as reduced shrapnel injuries by 50% on its own; it is also considerably warmer, more comfortable and four times more effective than previous camouflage. The Personal Load Carrying Equipment webbing carries everything required to fight for 48 hours - magazines, bayonet, grenades, iron rations, canteen, MNBCR suit, respirator, combat knife, first aid kit and entrenching tool - and can carry the standard Bergen rucksack.”
“How is that load, Jackson?”
“Absolutely tickety-boo, sir. The mages have helped a lot.”
“The load carrying equipment, you see, Prime Minister. The Ministry wizzes have come up with a way that reduces the effective load by a third.” Pendragon explained.
“Complete the testing and get them into mass production.” Barton gestured for Lethbridge-Stewart to continue.
“Billinski has the Jungle Pattern DPM, which is designed to be lighter and more breathable. He is wearing the spider silk jungle hat, but we also have the modern tropical service helmet made from Spectra, which makes it bulletproof against most enemy weapons. The lightweight Sablon flak jacket provides core body protection and additional load carrying capacity. The new general purpose combat boot is protected by a steel cap, a leathersteel base and anti-tracking moulded rubber sole, but the most significant feature is that it is completely waterproofed.”
“Hmm. That will be handy in the tropics. Proceed.”
“Finally, we have Gilby in full battle array for Germany. This consists of the base uniform, reinforced with extra protection for the torso, arms and legs and the armour - cuirass and pauldrons, mainly, with some additional plate coverage. It can stop a 7.62 x 54mm Soviet machine gun round at battle range. The Mark V Combat Helmet has full ear protection and respirator support and will be integrated with the Clansman radio communications system, whilst the combat gauntlets provide both protection and strength augmentation without impairing dexterity. The general parameters for the armour come from Project Knight.”
“How well can you move in the armour, Gilby?”
“No major issues, Prime Minister. I wouldn’t like to run a marathon, if course.”
Give the Army another five or ten years of the Super Soldier Program and we’ll see about that. Their experiments with enhancing the natural physical capabilities such as endurance, strength and speed through drugs, sorcery and cutting edge science promised to have some very interesting results. However, thought Barton, that is a bridge for another day...
“Medium, light and now heavy infantry. Interesting to see how the old becomes new again. Your efforts to develop the modern British soldier serve us well, Brigadier. Keep up the good work.”
“Yes, Prime Minister.”
-
jemhouston
- Posts: 3837
- Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2022 12:38 am
Re: Dark Earth: A New Jerusalem
Hal-9000 was given two sets of order that conflicted with each other. It drove him insane.Simon Darkshade wrote: ↑Thu Feb 01, 2024 2:32 am On the first, yes.
On the second, it isn’t so much Superman as HAL-9000 that is the more relevant example here.
If Lethbridge-Stewart is around, the British Army in good shape.
I'm hoping the M-60 works better here.
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1049
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth: A New Jerusalem
Jem,
HAL was led down the path by conflicting orders, but more broadly than that, by not treating an intelligent entity with some level of compassion.
Lethbridge-Stewart is a very handy fellow and very good in a pinch.
The M60 had time and opportunity to iron through its issues in Korea.
HAL was led down the path by conflicting orders, but more broadly than that, by not treating an intelligent entity with some level of compassion.
Lethbridge-Stewart is a very handy fellow and very good in a pinch.
The M60 had time and opportunity to iron through its issues in Korea.
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1049
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth: A New Jerusalem
A New Jerusalem Part 17
10 Downing Street
December 16th 1964
The morning briefing paper was full of its usual mixture of surprising developments and the real stories behind the headlines. Even after his short months in office, Stanley Barton had become accustomed to the regular litany of tension, dread and subterfuge that went on beneath the attention of the populace. He often felt that he knew less after going through it, with the tide of things that he knew he did not know swelling by the day.
The aftermath of the smashing Belgian success in Operation Dragon Rouge was unsurprisingly complex - the Congo did make for everything to be convoluted. The Belgian paras had dealt with the Simbas very roughly in the process of rescuing the beleagured Europeans from their clutches and the follow up contingents of the Congolese National Army and their white mercenary compatriots had gone on the offensive around the immediate vicinity of Stanleyville. This seeming success was weighed up against reports by American and British special operation forces in the area of an increased presence of Soviet weaponry.
The Turkish buzzing of the Papal Flight had set off something of a diplomatic fuss, with the Italians, French and Spanish all competing with each other to offer the Vatican their very own jet fighters as a gesture of goodwill; Barton gave momentary thought to sending a few gift wrapped Arrows in order to head them off at the pass and made a note in the margin to have the issue explored. It wouldn't hurt to be seen as an even-handed defender of faith, particularly with a Catholic in the White House.
The Italians were still extremely chuffed after the launch of SS Marco Polo, which was due to reach Venus in a little under two months, whilst back on Earth, there were dire reports of increased zombie activity emanating from the Haitian countryside. Something really needed to be done about that, but there was something of a turf war over spheres of influence between Washington, London and Paris over the matter.
That dashed elusive Che Guevara fellow was up to no good again, with his threats against the member states of the Free World Military Forces in the Far East being followed by a low-level wave of bomb scares in embassies across Europe and the brazen firebombing of a Monaco casino. His accursed IRA was building up to something, but neither SIS nor SOE could find any definitive leads.
It was not all blood and gloom, though. The Norwegians had signed off on the new arms deal and strategic military cooperation agreement that had been stalled for the last six months, paving the way for the permanent forward deployment of equipment and troops for the defence of the Far North. The relationship between Britain and Norway was one he wanted to grow closer, both for its economic benefits and to honour the ties of blood forged in the four years of fighting on the Norwegian Front during the last war. The East India Company's forecasts for the next financial year were extremely bright, and the Government's share of that would be extremely handy as the cost of planned rearmament continued to spiral.
News from Mars was most welcome of all, though, even if it was heavily coded. Firelock Primed.
That should set the cat among the pigeons.
"Did you say something, Prime Minister?"
"What? Oh, no. Nothing of import, Sir Obo." said Barton to the Cabinet Secretary, who had glanced up from his own morning papers. "Actually, yes, there is something, sorry."
"Pray tell, then, Prime Minister."
“Security. We need to address diplomatic security.”
“What do you mean?”
“I would like a report on the security of our embassies around the world. In Persia in ‘62 and across the whole Middle East in ‘56, we faced some very dangerous circumstances through protests and what verged on full blown attacks. We don’t have the luxuries we once had in the Legation Quarters in China.”
“Of course, Prime Minister. I would suggest that we are faced with something of a conundrum - unless we propose garrisons on the level that we kept in China, any defence would be too small to be effective whilst being large enough to raise the hackles of the states in the region, which I would presume to be Arab and Persian. I must warn you that it has previously been opined that too strong a presence on the ground could go some way towards precipitating trouble in some parts of the world.”
“That’s why we have a strategic reserve, Obo - to provide for a short, sharp message. If if comes down to it, if any third rate little tinpot country thinks they can attack British territory, then I want our policy and our response to be clear - we send in the fleet, we scramble the bombers and we invade.”
“That seems perfectly understandable, Prime Minister, but may I ask what has lead you to want to be quite so…strident…on this particular issue?”
“Apart from reviewing the cases I said? The Congo Palace Incident of ‘61 and the business in Indonesia last year.
And the Lapcat Report.
“Ah. Might I suggest that there may be some negative aspects involved in going to war with a Soviet satellite state on account of mob action?”
“You might. You are right on the issue of the size of a force. The Americans have their Marines for their embassies and the French have the Foreign Legion, whereas we make do with the Imperial Police.”
“The obvious answer would be the Gurkhas, but they are already stretched considerably.”
“Yes, and it will be a few years until the increases in recruiting in Nepal give us the manpower we need. What about the Zulus?”
Sir Obo thought for a second and nodded. The Zulu regiments had a reputation for fearsome valour and sheer ferocity almost equal to the Gurkhas themselves. Almost.
“If you are contemplating a symbolic yet effective defence capacity, Prime Minister, you could certainly do a lot worse.”
“Good. Good. In any event, I’ll take the issue to Cabinet once I get the report. My gut tells me to ramp up our defences, but I do see the merit of at least some degree of flexibility. As you rightly say, we don’t need to have a full battlegroup in every single state, although it would be bemusing to see the reaction of the French. What I do envisage is a standard protective force that can hold the fort for a few hours until we can get the cavalry there; our forward ready battalions and the Royals can reach most trouble spots fast enough.”
“Quite correct, Prime Minister.”
“The one exception to that is Viet Nam. With our force commitment there, we are an increasingly large target, enhanced by having the Americans and French across the road and the Germans next door. I want a crack reinforced platoon of Gurkhas in Saigon by the end of the year, the moat restocked and plans for an improved enchanted security wall to be formulated after that. It would be an awful shame for something to happen to the place.”
Sir Obo thought of the quite beautiful newly refurbished embassy in Saigon, perhaps the finest modern Gothic building in the Orient. It would be unfortunate for it to be damaged.
A quiet knock at the door put paid to any continual architectural musings. The Prime Minister had an appointment to keep.
...........................................
Buckingham Palace
“Your Majesty.”
“Mr. Barton, so nice to see you again. How are your wife and children?”
“Very well indeed, Ma’am. They are so looking forward to Christmas, as they never fail to remind me.”
“How very lovely. Where will you be spending it?”
“Chequers, Ma’am. It will be quite the new experience for them.”
“Of course. Please, do sit down.”
Barton paused until the Queen sat down opposite him and then took his place. The audience room was tastefully and royally appointed, as befitted his sovereign’s chief residence. His weekly audiences with the Queen had predominantly taken place here at Buckingham Palace, with but a few being held at Windsor Castle; the monthly meetings of the Privy Council were conducted in the more formal setting of the 1844 Room.
“It has been two months now, since we first met here. Quite a busy time for you.”
“Yes, Ma’am. As I’ve said, as your Prime Minister, I do not have even countenanced having a mandate for radical change, but the government of the Empire is a work never ceasing.”
“Of course, Prime Minister. How goes your Grand Design?”
“Slowly, Ma’am, ever so slowly. The ship of state is an immense vessel, as you know, and difficult to steer onto courses new. However, I’d like to think that the measures we’ve been able to put in place so far will put us on the right course in time. Incremental pushes in the right areas and at the right times, Ma’am, that’s the main part of it. It will take perhaps a year and a half for the impact of our defence spending to be felt in economic and industrial terms, but less than that for our investment in heavy industry and our tax cuts to work.”
“Some parts would seem to not be extremely popular in your own party.”
“No, Ma’am. There is a strong enough feeling in some quarters that we’ve inherited a good enough economy to increase our social spending much more than what we campaigned on and Cabinet has subsequently endorsed. But we’ve got their measure and enough time to quiet them up in full.”
“Indeed. When will the first of our reinforcements leave for the Far East?”
“Very early in the New Year, Ma’am. We’re going to fly out most of the remaining Army units for Australia, but we’ve decided that the main part of our troops for Viet Nam and Malaya will go by sea. It will allow their arrival to send more of a message to the Indonesians and Moscow.”
“I see that will primarily be based around the strategic reserves from Aldershot.”
“Yes, Ma’am. We envisage shipping them out from Portsmouth on the Victoria, Malabar, Euphrates and the Britannic. Should Your Majesty wish to review them prior to their embarkation, I am sure that it will be most welcomed.”
“Naturally, we shall be more than pleased to see off our men.”
“Your Majesty is most gracious. There is, as you know, a full meeting of the Committee for Imperial Defence later today with the various Commonwealth defence staff and ministers. We hope to set in place the plans and strategy for cooperation and defence of the Empire for the next four years, particularly in light of the changing situation in the Far East. After Christmas, it shall be a very busy beginning to the next year indeed, with the Imperial Economic Conference and the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers Meeting barely a week apart, and then my own Grand Tour of Europe, as it were. After that, no doubt, there will be the business of Africa.”
“That is quite the schedule. With regard to Africa, what was the outcome of your initial review of our intended policy?”
“The general thinking is to continue our steady approach to development in East Africa and move forward slightly on the timetable for West Africa. We can maintain our position and interests in the latter case whilst reducing our expenditure on administration and defence by the expediting moves towards autonomy and responsible self government. It will ultimately come down to the French.”
“How?”
“If they keep on their current trajectory towards independence, we must seem to mirror them, to avoid creating any grounds for external influences to exploit. Our view is that they would grant independence in name only, whilst continuing to maintain economic control, strategic alignment, military oversight and political direction. We would prefer a more sustainable policy for our own West African states, but are prepared to follow suit as we move forward on our timetable. In practical terms, we are looking to granting independent self-government on an internal basis for Nigeria, the Gold Coast and the Ivory Coast within the next five or six years; full independence would follow in a decade or so. We’ll be looking to combine the latter two in a federation to provide them with size and power.”
“A reasonable regional counterbalance to the Mali Federation that the French are crafting. However, Prime Minister, there is a more pressing overarching question. What if their independent governments choose a policy of disengagement from the Commonwealth?”
“They’d be foolish to do it, Ma’am, as their only other alternative for support is Moscow, which they know we cannot tolerate.”
“Not Washington, Peking or Brazil?”
“Your point is well taken, Ma’am. Our general approach is that we won’t try and hold any independent state to us by force, but will use our economic influence to keep them in alignment as much as possible. Ultimately, though, we wish to avoid situations like we see in Algeria and the Congo. I think in the long term, our interests are better served by an approach more closely aligned with our own principles of liberty. We should have our African colonies stay in the Empire and Commonwealth out of choice rather than any measure of coercion.”
“In that case, Prime Minister, it would be wise for the matter to be raised during my state visit to Ethiopia, perhaps in a speech. If the best policy is to promote freedom through choice, then what better place than alongside Haile Selassie?”
“As Your Majesty commands, it shall be done. The matter of The Gambia is one I would advise that we view separately, given its position within Senegal. We have had some talks with France regarding a federation of the two colonies once independent and it would be the better strategic choice.”
“That would be wise. How has the review of the Malayan situation proceeded?”
“Now that we’ve been able to review the initial situation reports, Ma’am, it does seem that the policy of the previous government is the best solution. The individual colonies of Brunei, North Borneo and Sarawak lack the capacity to function as independent states, either individually or together; certainly not with the Indonesians next door. As such, we will be working towards their incorporation into Malaya as fully equal states by 1968.”
“That would seem to be a reasonable course of action, Mr. Barton, although I believe it may lead to more issues with Djarkarta.”
“I quite agree, Your Majesty. Publicly, our position towards Sukarno is as indefatigable as ever. Behind the scenes, we are trying to work towards a modus vivendi of some sort. Only on our terms, of course. Whether it be in Africa or the Orient, we are not going to dance to another’s tune.”
The Queen nodded. "Has there been any response from Moscow regarding the arms talks?"
"Nothing official, Ma'am, but they do seem to be a bit more receptive. That seems to be in line with how they've approached the Americans and the French, but it is far to early to ascribe these back channel approaches a temperature approaching a thaw. If they want to genuinely talk, we will listen, just as we did in Constantinople and Stockholm. We are considerably better placed now that we have completed the initial fielding of Blue Streak and the first tranche of Skybolt, but our medium term predictions are that Moscow is certainly not slowing down their deployment of new missiles. As long as that continues, any talk of peace is at best illusory."
"Quite right, Prime Minister. Peace at any price is no peace at all. Now, would you care to take some tea?”
10 Downing Street
December 16th 1964
The morning briefing paper was full of its usual mixture of surprising developments and the real stories behind the headlines. Even after his short months in office, Stanley Barton had become accustomed to the regular litany of tension, dread and subterfuge that went on beneath the attention of the populace. He often felt that he knew less after going through it, with the tide of things that he knew he did not know swelling by the day.
The aftermath of the smashing Belgian success in Operation Dragon Rouge was unsurprisingly complex - the Congo did make for everything to be convoluted. The Belgian paras had dealt with the Simbas very roughly in the process of rescuing the beleagured Europeans from their clutches and the follow up contingents of the Congolese National Army and their white mercenary compatriots had gone on the offensive around the immediate vicinity of Stanleyville. This seeming success was weighed up against reports by American and British special operation forces in the area of an increased presence of Soviet weaponry.
The Turkish buzzing of the Papal Flight had set off something of a diplomatic fuss, with the Italians, French and Spanish all competing with each other to offer the Vatican their very own jet fighters as a gesture of goodwill; Barton gave momentary thought to sending a few gift wrapped Arrows in order to head them off at the pass and made a note in the margin to have the issue explored. It wouldn't hurt to be seen as an even-handed defender of faith, particularly with a Catholic in the White House.
The Italians were still extremely chuffed after the launch of SS Marco Polo, which was due to reach Venus in a little under two months, whilst back on Earth, there were dire reports of increased zombie activity emanating from the Haitian countryside. Something really needed to be done about that, but there was something of a turf war over spheres of influence between Washington, London and Paris over the matter.
That dashed elusive Che Guevara fellow was up to no good again, with his threats against the member states of the Free World Military Forces in the Far East being followed by a low-level wave of bomb scares in embassies across Europe and the brazen firebombing of a Monaco casino. His accursed IRA was building up to something, but neither SIS nor SOE could find any definitive leads.
It was not all blood and gloom, though. The Norwegians had signed off on the new arms deal and strategic military cooperation agreement that had been stalled for the last six months, paving the way for the permanent forward deployment of equipment and troops for the defence of the Far North. The relationship between Britain and Norway was one he wanted to grow closer, both for its economic benefits and to honour the ties of blood forged in the four years of fighting on the Norwegian Front during the last war. The East India Company's forecasts for the next financial year were extremely bright, and the Government's share of that would be extremely handy as the cost of planned rearmament continued to spiral.
News from Mars was most welcome of all, though, even if it was heavily coded. Firelock Primed.
That should set the cat among the pigeons.
"Did you say something, Prime Minister?"
"What? Oh, no. Nothing of import, Sir Obo." said Barton to the Cabinet Secretary, who had glanced up from his own morning papers. "Actually, yes, there is something, sorry."
"Pray tell, then, Prime Minister."
“Security. We need to address diplomatic security.”
“What do you mean?”
“I would like a report on the security of our embassies around the world. In Persia in ‘62 and across the whole Middle East in ‘56, we faced some very dangerous circumstances through protests and what verged on full blown attacks. We don’t have the luxuries we once had in the Legation Quarters in China.”
“Of course, Prime Minister. I would suggest that we are faced with something of a conundrum - unless we propose garrisons on the level that we kept in China, any defence would be too small to be effective whilst being large enough to raise the hackles of the states in the region, which I would presume to be Arab and Persian. I must warn you that it has previously been opined that too strong a presence on the ground could go some way towards precipitating trouble in some parts of the world.”
“That’s why we have a strategic reserve, Obo - to provide for a short, sharp message. If if comes down to it, if any third rate little tinpot country thinks they can attack British territory, then I want our policy and our response to be clear - we send in the fleet, we scramble the bombers and we invade.”
“That seems perfectly understandable, Prime Minister, but may I ask what has lead you to want to be quite so…strident…on this particular issue?”
“Apart from reviewing the cases I said? The Congo Palace Incident of ‘61 and the business in Indonesia last year.
And the Lapcat Report.
“Ah. Might I suggest that there may be some negative aspects involved in going to war with a Soviet satellite state on account of mob action?”
“You might. You are right on the issue of the size of a force. The Americans have their Marines for their embassies and the French have the Foreign Legion, whereas we make do with the Imperial Police.”
“The obvious answer would be the Gurkhas, but they are already stretched considerably.”
“Yes, and it will be a few years until the increases in recruiting in Nepal give us the manpower we need. What about the Zulus?”
Sir Obo thought for a second and nodded. The Zulu regiments had a reputation for fearsome valour and sheer ferocity almost equal to the Gurkhas themselves. Almost.
“If you are contemplating a symbolic yet effective defence capacity, Prime Minister, you could certainly do a lot worse.”
“Good. Good. In any event, I’ll take the issue to Cabinet once I get the report. My gut tells me to ramp up our defences, but I do see the merit of at least some degree of flexibility. As you rightly say, we don’t need to have a full battlegroup in every single state, although it would be bemusing to see the reaction of the French. What I do envisage is a standard protective force that can hold the fort for a few hours until we can get the cavalry there; our forward ready battalions and the Royals can reach most trouble spots fast enough.”
“Quite correct, Prime Minister.”
“The one exception to that is Viet Nam. With our force commitment there, we are an increasingly large target, enhanced by having the Americans and French across the road and the Germans next door. I want a crack reinforced platoon of Gurkhas in Saigon by the end of the year, the moat restocked and plans for an improved enchanted security wall to be formulated after that. It would be an awful shame for something to happen to the place.”
Sir Obo thought of the quite beautiful newly refurbished embassy in Saigon, perhaps the finest modern Gothic building in the Orient. It would be unfortunate for it to be damaged.
A quiet knock at the door put paid to any continual architectural musings. The Prime Minister had an appointment to keep.
...........................................
Buckingham Palace
“Your Majesty.”
“Mr. Barton, so nice to see you again. How are your wife and children?”
“Very well indeed, Ma’am. They are so looking forward to Christmas, as they never fail to remind me.”
“How very lovely. Where will you be spending it?”
“Chequers, Ma’am. It will be quite the new experience for them.”
“Of course. Please, do sit down.”
Barton paused until the Queen sat down opposite him and then took his place. The audience room was tastefully and royally appointed, as befitted his sovereign’s chief residence. His weekly audiences with the Queen had predominantly taken place here at Buckingham Palace, with but a few being held at Windsor Castle; the monthly meetings of the Privy Council were conducted in the more formal setting of the 1844 Room.
“It has been two months now, since we first met here. Quite a busy time for you.”
“Yes, Ma’am. As I’ve said, as your Prime Minister, I do not have even countenanced having a mandate for radical change, but the government of the Empire is a work never ceasing.”
“Of course, Prime Minister. How goes your Grand Design?”
“Slowly, Ma’am, ever so slowly. The ship of state is an immense vessel, as you know, and difficult to steer onto courses new. However, I’d like to think that the measures we’ve been able to put in place so far will put us on the right course in time. Incremental pushes in the right areas and at the right times, Ma’am, that’s the main part of it. It will take perhaps a year and a half for the impact of our defence spending to be felt in economic and industrial terms, but less than that for our investment in heavy industry and our tax cuts to work.”
“Some parts would seem to not be extremely popular in your own party.”
“No, Ma’am. There is a strong enough feeling in some quarters that we’ve inherited a good enough economy to increase our social spending much more than what we campaigned on and Cabinet has subsequently endorsed. But we’ve got their measure and enough time to quiet them up in full.”
“Indeed. When will the first of our reinforcements leave for the Far East?”
“Very early in the New Year, Ma’am. We’re going to fly out most of the remaining Army units for Australia, but we’ve decided that the main part of our troops for Viet Nam and Malaya will go by sea. It will allow their arrival to send more of a message to the Indonesians and Moscow.”
“I see that will primarily be based around the strategic reserves from Aldershot.”
“Yes, Ma’am. We envisage shipping them out from Portsmouth on the Victoria, Malabar, Euphrates and the Britannic. Should Your Majesty wish to review them prior to their embarkation, I am sure that it will be most welcomed.”
“Naturally, we shall be more than pleased to see off our men.”
“Your Majesty is most gracious. There is, as you know, a full meeting of the Committee for Imperial Defence later today with the various Commonwealth defence staff and ministers. We hope to set in place the plans and strategy for cooperation and defence of the Empire for the next four years, particularly in light of the changing situation in the Far East. After Christmas, it shall be a very busy beginning to the next year indeed, with the Imperial Economic Conference and the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers Meeting barely a week apart, and then my own Grand Tour of Europe, as it were. After that, no doubt, there will be the business of Africa.”
“That is quite the schedule. With regard to Africa, what was the outcome of your initial review of our intended policy?”
“The general thinking is to continue our steady approach to development in East Africa and move forward slightly on the timetable for West Africa. We can maintain our position and interests in the latter case whilst reducing our expenditure on administration and defence by the expediting moves towards autonomy and responsible self government. It will ultimately come down to the French.”
“How?”
“If they keep on their current trajectory towards independence, we must seem to mirror them, to avoid creating any grounds for external influences to exploit. Our view is that they would grant independence in name only, whilst continuing to maintain economic control, strategic alignment, military oversight and political direction. We would prefer a more sustainable policy for our own West African states, but are prepared to follow suit as we move forward on our timetable. In practical terms, we are looking to granting independent self-government on an internal basis for Nigeria, the Gold Coast and the Ivory Coast within the next five or six years; full independence would follow in a decade or so. We’ll be looking to combine the latter two in a federation to provide them with size and power.”
“A reasonable regional counterbalance to the Mali Federation that the French are crafting. However, Prime Minister, there is a more pressing overarching question. What if their independent governments choose a policy of disengagement from the Commonwealth?”
“They’d be foolish to do it, Ma’am, as their only other alternative for support is Moscow, which they know we cannot tolerate.”
“Not Washington, Peking or Brazil?”
“Your point is well taken, Ma’am. Our general approach is that we won’t try and hold any independent state to us by force, but will use our economic influence to keep them in alignment as much as possible. Ultimately, though, we wish to avoid situations like we see in Algeria and the Congo. I think in the long term, our interests are better served by an approach more closely aligned with our own principles of liberty. We should have our African colonies stay in the Empire and Commonwealth out of choice rather than any measure of coercion.”
“In that case, Prime Minister, it would be wise for the matter to be raised during my state visit to Ethiopia, perhaps in a speech. If the best policy is to promote freedom through choice, then what better place than alongside Haile Selassie?”
“As Your Majesty commands, it shall be done. The matter of The Gambia is one I would advise that we view separately, given its position within Senegal. We have had some talks with France regarding a federation of the two colonies once independent and it would be the better strategic choice.”
“That would be wise. How has the review of the Malayan situation proceeded?”
“Now that we’ve been able to review the initial situation reports, Ma’am, it does seem that the policy of the previous government is the best solution. The individual colonies of Brunei, North Borneo and Sarawak lack the capacity to function as independent states, either individually or together; certainly not with the Indonesians next door. As such, we will be working towards their incorporation into Malaya as fully equal states by 1968.”
“That would seem to be a reasonable course of action, Mr. Barton, although I believe it may lead to more issues with Djarkarta.”
“I quite agree, Your Majesty. Publicly, our position towards Sukarno is as indefatigable as ever. Behind the scenes, we are trying to work towards a modus vivendi of some sort. Only on our terms, of course. Whether it be in Africa or the Orient, we are not going to dance to another’s tune.”
The Queen nodded. "Has there been any response from Moscow regarding the arms talks?"
"Nothing official, Ma'am, but they do seem to be a bit more receptive. That seems to be in line with how they've approached the Americans and the French, but it is far to early to ascribe these back channel approaches a temperature approaching a thaw. If they want to genuinely talk, we will listen, just as we did in Constantinople and Stockholm. We are considerably better placed now that we have completed the initial fielding of Blue Streak and the first tranche of Skybolt, but our medium term predictions are that Moscow is certainly not slowing down their deployment of new missiles. As long as that continues, any talk of peace is at best illusory."
"Quite right, Prime Minister. Peace at any price is no peace at all. Now, would you care to take some tea?”
Last edited by Simon Darkshade on Sat Feb 03, 2024 1:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
Bernard Woolley
- Posts: 693
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 4:06 pm
- Location: Earth
Re: Dark Earth: A New Jerusalem
In @ we’ve used a bit of a mix of units guarding embassies/High Commissions. Gurkhas guarded the Saigon Embassy during the Vietnam War and ex-SAS personnel from various PMC did the job in a few places in the ‘70s. Since then, however, the RMP has had the responsibility, with their CP teams protecting ambassadors/High Commissioners and staff.