A series of assumptions: a Britwank on a budget?

[groundhogday666]

Oh no problem, really. That's your TL !

Stage Data - Black Arrow

• Stage 1. 1 x Black Arrow-1. Gross Mass: 14,104 kg (31,093 lb). Empty Mass: 1,070 kg (2,350 lb). Thrust (vac): 234.820 kN (52,790 lbf). Isp: 265 sec. Burn time: 142 sec. Isp(sl): 251 sec. Diameter: 1.98 m (6.49 ft). Length: 6.86 m (22.50 ft). Propellants: H2O2/Kerosene. No Engines: 1. Engine: Gamma 8. Status: Out of Production.
• Stage 2. 1 x Black Arrow-2. Gross Mass: 3,537 kg (7,797 lb). Empty Mass: 535 kg (1,179 lb). Thrust (vac): 68.234 kN (15,340 lbf). Isp: 265 sec. Burn time: 113 sec. Isp(sl): 251 sec. Diameter: 1.37 m (4.49 ft). Length: 2.90 m (9.50 ft). Propellants: H2O2/Kerosene. No Engines: 1. Engine: Gamma 2. Status: Out of Production.

Note that a Black Arrow rocket packed orbital capability (250 pounds to Mach 27) into a minuscule size: minus the solid-fuel third stage and fairing, it was merely 30 ft tall by 7 ft in diameter ! http://www.astronautix.com/b/blackarrow.html
by comparison
- ICBM = mach 22 (12 000 km range)
- SLBM / ALBM / IRBM = Polaris / Skybolt / Blue Streak = mach 12 (2000 to 5000 km range)

The lower the suborbital speed, the larger the payload.

End result: the lower stages of a Black Arrow, despite their extremely compact size, could throw enormous nuclear warheads in suborbital flight, that is - onto the Soviet Union.

The neat thing is, with such small size, you could put that rocket on
- trucks & trains as a mobile IRBM
- V-bombers, Short Belfast, VC10, TSR2, Concorde as a British Skybolt ALBM
- and also inside the hull of stretched HMS Valiant class nuclear attack subs - with launch tubes...
oh wait, that's the Resolution-class from OTL
(Polaris SLBM)

 

[Riain]

For the RN 1959 was also the year the HMS Victorious finally put into action, in an exercise the results of her 8 year double rebuild. This began in 1950 by tearing down the ship to the hangar deck and rebuilding her to a then modern specification, however when this rebuild was almost complete a survey of her machinery discovered she was in need of new boilers. This resulted in another tear-down of all the newly competed work to install new boilers, but just like aircraft during the 50s aircraft carriers also underwent major changes, most notably the introduction of the angled flight deck, steam catapult and mirror landing sight. As a result HMS Victorious emerged from her second rebuild a very different ship as the one which went in all those years ago, with the latest in carrier designs features, new Sea Vixen FAW1 aircraft using the Fire Streak and perhaps most importantly the Type 984 Three Dimensional radar and associated Comprehensive Display System. It was this system that enabled the HMS Victorious Air Group to successfully engage large number of US aircraft off the Eastern Seaboard. The Type 984 was also installed in the newly commission light fleet carrier HMS Hermes and was to be fitted to the HMS Eagle which was taken in hand for a major modernisation to bring her up to the standard of the Victorious.

As much of a technical marvel as the Type 984 radar was, with 4 separate feedhorns each with it’s own magenetron mechanically scanning through a luneberg lens all mounted on a stabilized ‘drum’ it was far from perfect. With 50s vacuum-tube technology the drum weighed some 30 tons, which mounted high up on the ship contributed immense top-weight and the associated CDS was also very bulky. It was for these reasons that the type 984 was not installed in the County class DLGs, not only would it have destabalised the ship but the CDS would have to come at the expense of the 4.5” gun turrets that were so useful in the limited wars Britain expected to fight in the coming years. However work was underway on a significant improvement, the Type 985, which like the 984 would have 4 mangetrons and 4 feedhorns feeding through a luneberg lens on a stabalised drum. However it would dispense with the servo driven mechanical scanning and instead transmit on slightly different frequencies to achieve the same result, reducing he weight and bulk in the drum. In addition the vacuum tubes wold be replaced with solid state transistorized electronics, vastly reducing the size and weight of these systems and drastically reducing the amount of heat they produce.

 

[Deleted member 94680]

For the RN 1959 was also the year the HMS Victorious finally put into action, in an exercise the results of her 8 year double rebuild.

Fingers crossed there’s no fire...

 

[Riain]

1959 saw the impact of the government’s recommendation that aviation companies consolidate, with the carrot of Government contracts as the incentive. Given the Government owned two airlines and the Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and Army aviation this was a significant incentive indeed.

Hawker Siddeley, considered in 1958 to be the only company approaching sufficient size, acquired de Haviland and Folland by 1959 and was negotiating to acquire Blackburn and Avro to become Hawker Siddeley Aviation. Folland had bought with it the Gnat lightweight fighter/trainer while de Haviland had bought with it the Sea Vixen for the FAA and a development contract for a 3 engine airliner from British European Airways known as the DH.121. The Hawker Siddeley acquisition of de Haviland broke up Airco causing Hunting to join BAC, taking with them the Hunting 107, a design for a 30 seat jet short haul airliner.

Hawker itself had received a Ministry of Supply contract for the previously private development of the P.1127 aircraft and produce two prototypes.(1) This aircraft was designed around the Bristol BE.53 engine with 4 swiveling nozzles which had been the beneficiary of 75% US funding under the guise of the Mutual Weapons Development Team the previous year. In addition the government had released development funds for GOR339 which prompted Hawker to again submit the P.1121, now at mockup stage, to the government for consideration although again without success.

The other big aviation industry mergers was that of the winners of the GOR339 study contract English Electric and Vickers Armstrong with Bristol and Hunting to form the British Aircraft Corporation. This corporation held the two big RAF projects, the production of the Lightning in large numbers for the RAF and the development of the GOR339 aircraft that was being labeled as the TSR2. With the pending merger of Blackburn and Avro into HSA it appeared that only Handly Page and Short Brothers would attempt to remain as independent manufacturers against the government tide.

1. IOTL this appears to be the first example of a potential combat aircraft other than the GOR339 receiving government support.

 

[Riain]

Fingers crossed there’s no fire...

I like how people are hoping I save their favourite stuff, I feel like George R.R. Martin.

The Victorious didn't fall victim to the fire, just like Eagle didn't fall victim to grounding damage. Instead they both fell victim to the devaluation of the Pound by 14% in November 1967.

 

[Deleted member 94680]

I like how people are hoping I save their favourite stuff, I feel like George R.R. Martin.

Oh dear. Death destruction and a terrible ending incoming?

The Victorious didn't fall victim to the fire, just like Eagle didn't fall victim to grounding damage. Instead they both fell victim to the devaluation of the Pound by 14% in November 1967.

I know. I was being tongue in cheek. It was a convenient excuse. I just wonder with no excuse whether the government would be forced to make a different decision..?

 

[Riain]

Oh dear. Death destruction and a terrible ending incoming?

I know. I was being tongue in cheek. It was a convenient excuse. I just wonder with no excuse whether the government would be forced to make a different decision..?

It will be a happy ending, or at the very least what I consider to be a happy ending compared to the absolute nightmare of OTL. You may have already noticed the germs in there of replacing 3 projects that IOTL were cancelled at the cost of 27, 21 and 25 million pounds for example.

That said Governments have to change and defence reviews and financial crises that have sweeping negative impacts have to occur.

 

[Riain]

The new decade saw the introduction of the production versions of the Lightning into service in F1A(1) and FG1A form.(2) In Fighter Command the F1A replaced the Hunter F.6 day fighter while the FG1A entered service in RAF Germany replacing obsolete Venom FB1, representing a vast jump in capability. The Mk1A versions of the Lightning themselves were a big jump in capability over the pre production P1Bs now being named Lightning F1s. Their biggest external difference was the huge belly tank which doubled the fuel capacity, giving the Lightning a typical flight endurance of typically one and a half hours, which was comparable to that of the F104 Starfighter and expected from the French Mirage III which first flew in production form in October.

By 1960 it was obvious that attempts to export of the Lightning to West Germany had been unsuccessful, the West Germans choosing the F104 Starfighter. The F104 had several advantages over the Lightning in the late 50s, in particular it entered full squadron service in 1958 with the USAF in the fighter role and in 1959 in the fighter bomber role before the P1B entered initial service with the RAF as an interceptor let alone in the production 1A versions, thus was a more mature design. In addition as a single engine aircraft it was both cheaper to purchase and operate than the considerably larger, two engine Lightning. However this advantage was fast disappearing as the production Lightnings entered RAF service, meaning BAC could offer a mature in-service product to potential export customers.

The new decade also saw BAC act on its financial troubles and make an offer to BOAC for 10 Super 200 VC10s at 2.7 million pounds each. BOACs reply was troubling, due to downturn in the airline industry not only did they think they couldn’t fill 200 seats but could not see a use for the regular VC10 on order, despite this aircraft being specifically developed for BOAC. Vickers-Armstrong was saved from financial ruin by the release of a requirement for a long range transport for the RAF an order for Super 200s by the Ministry of Supply, and therefore resisted the temptation to act on BOACs prediction and reduce the Super 200’s stretch.(3) This sameairline downturn was responsible for the dispute between BEA and de Haviland and the Ministry of supply to shring the DH.121. However the solution for this dispute came from another angle, BAC decided that Huntings 107 concept should be enlarged to 80 seats(4) and in 1960 BEA switched its support to this aircraft.(5) Hawker Siddeley on the other hand was having success with it’s negotiations to sell the HS.121 to American Airlines.(6)

1. OTL The 19 pre production F1 were delivered in 1959-60, the 28 F1A were delivered in 1961.
2. OTL it was Hunter F.6s converted to FGA.9s that entered service in the fighter-ground attack role.
3. IOTL this BOAC ‘feedback’ led to V-A reducing the Super stretch from 28’ to 13’ and reducing seating capacity to less than a 707.
4. IOTL Hunting expanded its 107 to 59 seats in 1960 then 80 seats in 1961.
5. IOTL BEA finally ordered the shrunken DH.121 in Aug 1959
6. IOTL AA said the shrunken Trident didn’t have the range prompting the development of the 1A, much of the improvements went into the actual Trident 1C prototype.

 

[Riain]

The negotiations between the US and UK surrounding the hosting of USN Polaris submarines with a submarine tender and providing the UK with a deterrent option instead of the Blue Streak MRBM were finalised by March 1960 with agreement that the UK would purchase the Polaris missile system.(1) The US shared the details of the warhead design(2) for the British to Anglicise and install on US supplied Polaris missile as well as build the nuclear submarines to carry them after receiving an entire nuclear submarine powerplant under the MDA the previous year. This powerplant was used in a British designed nuclear attack submarine, HMS Dreadnought, that was launched in October. This submarine featured a development unlike those in US Navy service, the entire powerplant was mounted on a rubber block which isolated it for the rest of the hull. As a result vibrations of the powerplant were not directly transmitted to the hull and therefore radiated out into the water, thus the HMS Dreadnought was expected to be considerably quieter than equivalent US nuclear submarines.

One part of the Polaris system that the British were not happy with was the W47 warhead, which they considered unsafe in several respects, in particular they considered the explosive in the warhead susceptible to accidental detonation from shock. In the event Britain decided to develop their own warhead using a new primary known as ‘Cleo’ using less fissile material and more explosive of a low sensitivity composition, and mating this with the fusion secondary under development for the Skybolt ALBM and Minuteman ICBM known as Simon in British parlance to create the RE.179 warhead(3). Given Britain’s constant shortage of fissile material for weapons production this was imperative, and the more modern design promised to be lighter than the W47 used in the A1 and A2 versions of the Polaris missile,(4) which would translate into greater range than the USN versions.

1. IOTL the British decided to purchase the Skybolt ABM
2. IOTL the British received the W59 warhead secondary design for the Sklybolt and developed it into the RE.179
3. IOTL the Polaris purchased from 1963 was the A3TK version with 3 x W58 warheads, Britain used ‘Cleo’ from the RE.179 and WE.177 with a downsized W59/'Simon' fusion secondary from the Skybolt RE.179 called 'Reggie'
4. IOTL the W47Y2 weighed 733lbs, the W59 weighed 550lbs

 

[Riain]

In June 1960 a NATO capability developments committee published outlines for two NATO Basic Military Requirement, the third and fourth times it had done so. One requirement was for a supersonic fighter aircraft that could operate without runways, as they were expected to suffer heavy attack and be overrun in a major conflict with the Warsaw Pact. The other requirement was closely related, it was for a VTOL/STOL transport aircraft that could support the operations of the fighter.

In October the P1127 prototype that Hawker had been working on to utilise the Bristol BE.53 4 swivel jet undertook a tethered hover flight followed by an untethered hover in November. Following these successful hovering flight the Ministry of Supply made on order for four more P1127 prototypes, bringing the total P1127 order to six aircraft. As 1960 rolled into 1961 the MoS requested Hawker provide a quote to build 100 P1127s and the following month the P1127 undertook it’s first conventional flight. However with the Mach 2 F/FGR Lightnings rolling off the production line in ever increasing quantities(1) the prospect of a large order from the RAF did not look likely.

In April Hawker undertook a study on the P1127 concept to see how far the basic design could be practically taken, the result was designated the P1150. This aircraft was some 50% larger than the P1127 and featured a thinner wing and plenum chamber burning BS100 engine to achieve an estimated speed of Mach 1.3. The German aviation company Focke-Wulf showed interest in the P1150 and entered into an agreement with Hawker to investigate adding lift jets to the design. In July the detailed specification for NMBR3 and 4 were released and after detailed study Hawker found that the P1150 was somewhat too small and slow to fully meet the requirement. As a result they scaled up the P1150, designating it the P1150/3, however in October Focke-Wulf withdrew from the agreement with Hawker which was a blow to the project.

1. IOTL The RAF took delivery of Lightning F1A for Fighter Command and Hawker Hunter FGA9 and FR10s for RAF Germany and other RAF commands.

 

[Riain]

In 1961 after some some 56 Mk1A Lightnings had come off the line(1) production switched to the improved Mk2 version(2) with the first batch replacing a Javelin FAW squadron for the first time. The Mk2 versions were further incremental improvements on the Mk1A still with the AI23 radar and 200 series Avon engines. Alongside increasing numbers of Lightnings all nine squadrons of Bloodhound SAGW were in squadron service with the Mk2 version in development having survived the cancellation of Blue Envoy in 1957 and Violet Friend in 1960. With two years of SAGW operation under it’s belt Fighter Command was able to appreciate limitations of missiles and flexibility of manned fighters in both Cold War and Limited War scenarios. In the future Fighter Command hoped to prioritise their manned fighters rather than the Mk2 Bloodhound, despite this weapon’s considerable promise.

The new year seemed to smooth out the rocky road the VC10 had faced the previous year. In January Ghana Airways order a pair of ‘combi’ a passenger and freight versions of the VC10, May BOAC amended their VC10 order to 10 ‘standard’ VC10 and 35 VC10 Super 200(3), followed by a RAF order for 5 VC10 combi that also incorporated the tail fuel tank of the Super 200. BACs order books were further swelled by BAC111 orders from British United Airways, Britain's largest private airline and Braniff in the US. In July the HSA Trident prototype took to the air for the first time,(4) amid strong customer interest but the year ended on a sour note for BAC with BOAC reducing it’s VC10 order from 15 to 12.

On the other side of the Atlantic a new fighter became carrier qualified with the US Navy in October, the McDonnell Douglas F4B Phantom II.

1. ITOL 28 F1A were produced
2. IOTL the F2 entered service in 1962
3. IOTL the Super 200 stretch was reduced from 28’ to 13’ following BOAC’s 1960 ‘advice’
4. IOTL with the delay caused by shrinking the design the Trident prototype didn’t fly until Jan 62

 

[Sarthak]

watched

 

[Riain]

With the P1150 too small to meet NBMR3, no West German support or potential Domestic sale Hawker did not seem able make a submission, however in December the NBMR3 was split into two parts, 3a with the original supersonic, long range requirement and 3b for a subsonic aircraft with shorter range. This specification fell right into the performance envelope of the P1127, which unlike any other contender was actually flying in prototype form. Hawker submitted the P1127 to through Ministry of Aviation to the NATO capability development committee.(1) The P1127 was one of 10 submissions for NBMR3, most of which were paper aircraft.

The related NBMR4, which had also split to include a smaller NBMR22 components, also attracted some 8 British proposals. As with NBMR3 there was no domestic requirement for a transport aircraft, Britain being a member of the Transall consortium and with no intention to purchase a large fleet of VTOL fighters requiring VTOL transport support.(2) Therefore the British proposals were all paper aircraft.

1. IOTL the MoD decided to develop the P1154 for the RAF and RN, and submitted the P1154 design to the NATO competition.
2. IOTL HSA submitted the HS.681 4 jet STOL transport to meet the NBMR4/22 requirement and the RAF planned to purchase 56.

 

[Riain]

1961 was a big year for the Royal Navy. Mid year Iraq threatened a newly independent Kuwait, leading to the deployment of the carrier Victorious, Commando Carrier Bulwark and other forces to deter any Iraqi adventurism. In this environment studies began to build a new aircraft carrier to replace the Victorious and Ark Royal, with political support that had been lacking since the Korean War. With political support for the first time in years the multiple studies put forward in previous years for smaller ships as ‘bait’ for politicians to consider a new carrier were immediately dropped as unsuitable. The powerful logic of big carriers quickly became obvious, however the Admiralty was not blind to the limits of British facilities and finances so plans for a Forestall class sized ship with 4 catapults and lifts was discarded as quickly as a HMS Hermes sized ship. Like the Malta class of 1945 and the Korean war era design the studies soon found a ship of about 55,000t and 950’ long is the biggest the Britain can support in existing facilities but also the smallest ship that can meet the tactical requirements.

This carrier would require suitable escort ships, which would incorporate new weapons on the drawing board such as the Sea Dart SAM and Ikara ASW missile. As with the County class DLG a 3D radar would be highly desirable, but the Type 984, even it’s its modernised Type 985 form would be too big for such a ship. In response the British entered into a joint project with the Netherlands to develop a 3D radar suitable for a large destroyer sized ship, this radar would also be used in the aircraft carriers as well.

1961 saw the final details of the agreement begun from talks in 1959 to purchase the Polaris missile system. The British would buy the A2 version of the missile(1) but instead of the W47 it would be fitted with the British E.179 warhead derived from the W59 used by the Minuteman ICBM with a British fission primary. These submarines would be integrated into the SIOP like the V bombers currently were but otherwise be totally under British control. By virtue of it’s unique, lighter, warhead the British version of the Polaris A2 would have greater range than the US versions’ 1,500 nm.(2)

1. IOTL in 1964 the British bought the A3 version of the Polaris, with a unique British ET.317 warhead..
2. IOTL the British went with the Skybolt ALBM, which was canceled by US SecDef Mcnamara in late 1962 without consultation after the British had spent 27 million pounds on development. This caused a crisis in Britain and a rift in US-UK relations and lead to the UK buying Polaris in 1963.

 

[Riain]

1962 nuclear matter took up a lot of the Forces and Governments attention. The Thor missiles deployed in the UK under project Emily were intended to cover the gap before the introduction of the Blue Streak. They were to give Britain a ballistic missile deterrent capability and the RAF experience of operating ballistic missiles that would be crucial once Blue Streak entered service, as the Thor squadrons would convert to Blue Streak the way Hunter Squadrons converted to Bloodhound SAGW and Javelin FAW converted to Lightning. However with the cancellation of Blue Streak in favour of Polaris missiles in Navy submarines much of their raison d’etre vanished. In May the US advised Britain that the Thor would not be supported beyond 1964, putting a firm limit on the usefulness of the system which was further hampered by the lack of British control over the warheads. However the V bombers were still only using free-fall nuclear weapons due to the delays with Blue Steel, giving the power of the Thor to penetrate Soviet defences exaggerated importance. In the end it was decided that Thor would be phased out as Blue Steel entered service giving a new lease of life to the V bomber force.(1)

After three years of planning and requirement setting the successor to the Red Beard tactical nuclear bomb came before Cabinet Committee in for a decision , the impacts of which would affect force structure and aircraft design for years to come. The RN required 63 weapons with yields of 0.5kt and 10kt for anti-submarine depth charges and anti-shipping strikes while the RAF wanted some 88 x 300kt and 18 x 100kt weapons for use with the TSR2 force to attack targets such as airfields which were becoming increasingly hardened with concrete aircraft shelters and buried facilities. With a informal understanding within NATO countries that nuclear weapons exceeding 200kt not be used in Western Europe this intermediate requirement was causing political concern. Several powerful Cabinet Ministers were of the opinion that 10kt was plenty enough for tactical use, however RAF planners believed that a single 10kt bomb would not be enough to attack hardened targets and ‘stick’ bombing using multiple 10kt weapons would be required. This meant that a TSR2 would need to carry 4 x 10kt weapons including 2 externally, however the heat limits of nuclear weapons meant that external carriage would mean reduced speeds to reduced aerodynamic heating, leading to losses.

RAF planners put these arguments to Cabinet Ministers, that they could make a proposed 10kt tactical nuclear weapons limit work operationally if the Government ordered triple the number of 10kt weapons planned and order more TSR2 to cover the expected losses from lower performance. Ever mindful of increased costs and unwilling to fund some 306 nuclear weapons when 102 would do in July Cabinet authorised the development of a single theatre tactical nuclear weapon greater than 10kt(3) for the RAF TSR2 forces on the proviso that did not exceed 200kt.(4)

The Army had taken delivery of the prototype Armoured Fighting Vehicles that would be it’s backbone for two decades, 7 FV4201 ‘Chieftain’ tanks and 24 FV432 Armoured Personnel Carriers. The later tank prototypes were almost 5 tons heavier than their earlier siblings and this weight increase alongside the 600hp engine caused the TN12 to overheat and fail, sending Merritt-Brown back to the drawing board for a solution.(4) The FV432 proved to be a success and were ordered into production, albeit with a petrol engine in the initial production run.

1. IOTL while the decision to phase out Thor came at about the same time as the introduction of Blue Steel I don’t believe they were linked to one another.
2. IOTL Cabinet decided on a 10kt limit for all future tactical nuclear weapons, which stood until 1968.
3. IOTL the WE.177C of 1974 had a yield of 190kt
4. IOTL the weakness of the TN12 did not become apparent until the 585hp L60Mk4A in Mk1 training Chieftains

 

[Riain]

NBMR3 competition descended into a farce as the Mirage IIIV was declared the winner of the 3a, however with no NATO budget to secure an initial order each country went their own way. In contrast Hawker’s submission to NBMR3b received an order for 12 P1127 from the USA, West Germany and Britain, to be known as the Kestrel FGA Mk1(1) in order to form a Tripartite Evaluation Squadron. This bought the total P1127 orders to 18, 6 from the British Ministry of Supply and now 12 from the Triparte nations. It appeared that the little P1127 was leading a charmed development path with the US funding 75% of the BE.53 engine development via the MWDT and now the US and West Germany have purchased 3 aircraft each further shouldering the development of this aircraft. In this environment the 1960 request by the MoS for Hawker to produce 100 P1127 was looking more and more like a realistic assessment of future requirements.

The VC10 prototype undertook it’s first flight in June amid a mood of disinterest at best and outright hostility at worst from BOAC. In the height of hypocrisy BOAC criticised the VC10s poor economics, a direct result of the Hot and High performance BOAC themselves demanded from the aircraft during the design phase a mere 5 years earlier. In fairness to BOAC the widespread introduction of the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC8, with 324 and 176 deliveries respectively by 1962 had caused a flurry of runway extensions around the world reducing the value of the VC10s strengths while placing more focus on its higher operating costs. In order to make use of excess production capacity on the VC10 line the Government made a second order of VC10 combis for the RAF bringing it’s total to 11.

Over in the US McDonnell Douglas had been looking at improvements to it’s F4 aircraft, as it was unable to operate safely using the C11 catapults on Essex class carriers. Studies indicated that if the nose-wheel oleo incorporated a third stage that lifted the nose 40” it would reduce the takeoff speed requirement for a catapult launch by 9-12 knots. Further it was calculated that increasing the droop of the ailerons would result in a 3-4 knot reduction in the takeoff speed requirement, both of these changes making the operation of the F4 on Essex carrier feasible. McDonnell also noted that the Spey engine being developed in Britain was of a similar diameter to the J79 so undertook some feasibility work around fitting the Spey to the Phantom. The Royal Navy received these study results with great enthusiasm(2) as it was beginning to formulate a requirement to replace the Sea Vixen in the late 60s and the RN carriers had limitations on their catapults like the USN Essex class.

1. IOTL the US, WG and UK ordered 9 Kestrel in 1962 and Britain 6 P1127 pre-production aircraft in 1965.
2. IOTL in Feb the RN received the P1154 specification ‘with great enthusiasm’

 

[Riain]

1962 was a big year for the RN nuclear submarine service, with the order of four Resolution class Ballistic Missile Submarines being ordered on 8 Jan(1) and the second Hunter Killer submarine HMS Valiant launched two weeks later and the third ordered at the end of the year.

Additionally the S.2 version of the Buccaneer was ordered from Blackburn, part of Hakwer Siddeley Aviation since 1960. This aircraft was a considerable improvement on the S.1 by virtue of it’s Spey turbofan engines, which not only gave 40% more power than the Gyron Juniors in the S.1 but provided much more bleed air for the Buccaneer’s extensive boundary layer control system. Additionally the FAW.2 version of the Sea Vixen flew for the first time, this had more fuel capacity, avionics upgrades and was to utilise the Red Top missile.

In December 1962, with the backdrop of the negotiations to to form the Federation of Malaysia a revolt broke out in Brunei, beginning with attacks on Police stations. Reinforcements were flown in from other British possessions in the region and the revolt was quelled after 9 days, however it was a harbinger of worse things to come.

1. IOTL the R class SSBN were ordered on 8 May 1963, as a result of the Skybolt cancellation and Nassau conference of November 1962.

 

[Riain]

In 1963 after the production of 66 Mk2 (1)models which with the Mk1 and Mk1A now equipped 9 squadrons of the type (2) Lightning production switched the the definitive Mk3, on which all later variants were based. The engines were upgraded to the 300 series Avons, the radar to the AI.23B, the nose guns which caused problems with gas ingestion into the engines were removed and fitted to the belly tank and the tail fin was enlarged. The biggest difference was to the wings, which were given a new cross section giving better subsonic efficiency, greater internal fuel capacity, better maneuverability as well as pylons over(2) and under the wings(3). Fearing an arms embargo would soon be in effect South Africa placed an order for 15 single seat F3 and 3 T4 conversion trainers, matching their order for Mirage IIICZs placed with France and following on from an order for 16 Buccaneer S50 placed in late 1962.

After failing to gain export success in Europe the British government began to explore it’s options to stimulate demand around the world. The RAF intended to operate the Mk1 and even the Mk1A versions of the Lightning for a limited time and with the Mk2 in service in numbers and definitive Mk3 versions rolling off the production line the British government made the decision that Mk1 would be offered for sale alongside the used Hunters and Canberras that were trickling out to foreign buyers. The Government decided to offer these initial aircraft at little more than scrap value in the hope of generating interest in the type on the export market.

In contrast with the Lightning’s limited success on the export market another BAC product was achieving considerable success internationally. The BAC111 prototype took to the air for the first time in January (4) and in May BAC announced they would be offering the 300/400 series of this aircraft with longer range and avionics tailed to either the European or North American market, and offer which was snapped up in July by American Airlines.

The TSR2 project had been making slow but steady progress, considerable delays had been experienced but this could be expected of such an advanced aircraft. The Ministry of Aviation did it’s level best to try to interfere with the project but with the Lightning, Buccaneer, P1127, Transall and numerous civilian development projects to occupy its attention the TSR2 programme was able to escape undue levels of MoA oversight.(6) However in 1963 it became apparent that the Olympus engine was going to delay the first flight into the new year regardless of what happened with the rest of the aircraft. It was decided to continue to construct the 9 development batch, 2 static test and 11 pre-production aircraft as quickly as possible and wait for the engines to arrive for them.

1. IOTL not fitted until the export F52 & F53
2. IOTL 5 sqns of Lightning were in service at the end of 1963
3. IOTL not fitted until the F6
4. IOTL not fitted until the export F52 & F53
5. ITOL the BAC111 flew in August due to the 59 seat step in 1960 between the 30 seat Hunting 107 and 80 seat BAC111 of 1961
6. IOTL the TSR2 received damaging micromanagement from the MoA which had not shrunk in line with the number of canceled projects and had only ‘paper’ projects to otherwise occupy its attention in the late 50s and early 60s.

 

[Riain]

A direct result of the Brunei revolt and arising from the looming Federation of Malaysia, which Indonesian leader Suharto saw as a neo-colonial front and a check on his own ambitions, was the Indonesian policy of Confrontation. Indonesia had successfully pursued this policy the previous year against the Dutch and Australians in West Papua and emboldened wished to attempt it against Malaysia, Britain and the Commonwealth with a declaration of Confrontation against the proposed Malaysian state on 20 January 1963. In April 1963 an infiltration force training at Nangabadan was split in two and prepared for its first operation. One infiltration force attacked and seized the police station at Tebedu in the 1st Division of Sarawak, about 40 miles from Kuching and 2 miles from the border with Kalimantan. The other group attacked the village of Gumbang, South West of Kuching, later in the month. Indonesia maintained its campaign of infiltrations. On 15 August, a headman reported an incursion in the 3rd Division and a follow-up indicated they were about 50 strong. A series of contacts ensued as 2/6 Gurkhas deployed patrols and ambushes, and after a month, 15 had been killed and three captured. The proclamation of Malaysia in September 1963 meant that Malaysian Army units began to be deployed to Borneo.

1963 was also the year that the Blue Steel air launched nuclear missile finally entered service with the RAF, with some 53 being ordered: 1 for each Vulcan and Victor B2 and 5 operational spares. This increase in V bomber capability allowed the Thor missile squadrons to be stood down throughout 1963, with the Royal Navy expecting to take on the nuclear missile firing role with it’s Polaris class missile boats, the first two of which were laid down in 1963(1). The current plan was for the Resolution class SSBNs to serve alongside the B2 V bombers until the early-mid 70s to provide Britain with a robust nuclear deterrence capability.

The same year the Government placed an order for the RAFs 102 WE.177B(2) nuclear weapons with a 190kt yield.(3) These weapons were used a downsized version of the ‘Simon’ secondary in the Polaris’ RE.179 warhead known as ‘Reggie’(4) while the primaries were ‘Jennies’ improvements over the Cleo design tested in the first US-UK joint nuclear test in Nevada the previous year. These RAF weapons were placed in the production queue behind the 53 RE.179s required for the RNs Polaris fleet, with 48 missiles each requiring one of these 1 megaton warheads and a few spare for changeover during minor refits.(5)

1. IOTL the first 2 Resolution boats were laid down in Feb and Jun 1964.
2. IOTL WE.177B was the 450kt strategic weapon, developed to cover a strategic gap identified with the cancellation of the Skybolt, it used the Skybolt’s RE.179 physics package
3. IOTL apart from the 450kt WE.177B the RAF was still expected to abide by the 10kt Ministerial ruling, the other half of it’s ~102 requirement were to be 10kt
4. IOTL the downsized Reggie was used in the Polaris A3TK ET.317 warhead, regular Reggie were used in the 450kt WE.177B
5. IOTL the cancellation of Skybolt meant that production of the ~150 ET.317 had the highest priority, followed by the strategic 450kt WE.177B, tactical weapons for the RAF and RN were not ordered until several years later.
6. IOTL 53 WE.177B were built, one each for 48 V bombers and 5 operational spares

 

[Rickshaw]

The Vickers Valiant had tail fatigue issues. This was not expected. Something to do with the wrong aluminum alloy choice and the switch to the low level flight profile when Guidelines started appearing in large numbers.

The Valiant actually, IOTL, main spar problems which led to it's retirement and scrapping much earlier than expected.