Dear Dragon your latest time line has forged ahead to cover 172 pages since the third of December, you must use a very big stick!!!!
AHC: Peerless Air Ministry
- Thread starter perfectgeneral
- Start date
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I was really thinking of one of those wacky animes where the author loves the imagery of the west but doesn't really understand how it all works. Couldn't you imagine a young Lizzy as one of those kawaii dictators that are floating around at the moment. George and his stutter of dooooom.
12.10 What are we making?
12.10 What are we making?
Summary of Aircraft Production Issued by the Ministry Of Aircraft Production at Year’s end 1940.
Airspeed,
Manufacturing A.10 Oxford, Training and communication aircraft at Portsmouth and Christchurch. Further capacity required Percival at Luton Contracted to build Oxfords. See Percival entry below.
Design and development of Horsa glider and Hengist powered derivative.
Armstrong Whitworth.
Envoy, Production to RAF trooping specification continuing at Hamble, Currently producing two aircraft a month.
A.W. 38 Whitley, Production continuing with introduction of a dedicated Maritime patrol version. Production capacity to be reduced as, Manchester production commences and gains momentum.
A.W.41 Albermarle. All production assigned to transport command and serial production commencing.
Avro.
Avro 652A Anson. All Anson production is now of the air training version. Transhipment of airframes to Canada has been suspended and domestic production in Canada is starting. Production now dispersed.
Avro 679 Manchester. Production at Chadderton was at full capacity and the Yeadon production line was now in series production.
Blackburn.
Both the factory at Dunbarton and Brough are building the D.H. Flamingo maritime patrol aircraft.
Blackburn B20 , Buccaneer also being built at Dunbarton. SARO are building B.20 sub asemblies, see SARO entry below.
Boulton and Paul
Defiant production is still running at Capacity but the factory is building jigs and preparing for fabrication of the Martin Baker MB4.
Bristol Aircraft.
Blenheim Production is continuing with the Mk VI at the Rootes factories in Speke and Stoke on Trent but is being run down as production is focussed on the Beaufighter.
Beaufighter production is being increased with night fighters, fighters and strike fighter types all in production.
De Haviland Aircraft.
De Havilland D.H. 82 Tiger moth, Production at Hatfield will be transferred to the Morris Motors Ltd factory at Cowely as the Hatfield factory commences production of the D.H. Mosquito.
D.H.95 Flamingo. Production of Maritime patrol and transport variants by Blackburn aircraft at their Dunbarton and Brough plants.
D.H. 89 Dominie. Production of the twin engine biplane Training and Communications aircraft now being undertaken by Brush Coachworks Ltd in Loughborough .
D.H. 98 Mosquito. Twin Merlin engine high speed monoplane. Production tooling being set up at Hatfield for series production.
Fairey Aviation.
Fairey Swordfish, Single Pegasus radial engine biplane TBR. Production of this versatile aircraft for the FAA is continuing but due to the start of construction of the Albacore has been subcontracted to Blackburn aircraft and is being undertaken at the factory in Brough, Yorkshire. The First Swordfish from Brough has been delivered and the pace of serial production is picking up.
Fairey Albacore, Single Merlin engine low wing monoplane TBR. Production of this TBR has been increasing through 1940 and with one hundred and sixty delivered before end of the year this aircraft has now replacing the Swordfish on all new RN Fleet Carriers.
Fairey Barracuda. Single Fairey Monarch engine shoulder winged monoplane TBR. Acceptance trials proceeding and series production to commence in 1941. The MAP is proposing that additional production of this aircraft is planned for Bolton Paul, Blackburn and Westland or any combination thereof.
Follond Aircraft.
Follond Falcon Mk2 single seat radial engine naval fighter in production at the Follond Factory at Hamble. Dispersal sites and sub contract works co-ordinated with Supermarine via MAP. Expansion of capacity is a priority for the Admiralty and the FAA
Gloster Aircraft.
Gloster F9/37 Reaper and Night Reaper Twin engine monoplane fighter continuing. The two seat night-fighter is being built at both Glosters Factory at Huttlecote and at Westlands Yeovil factory. The single seat long range fighter is in limited production by Westlands. Gloster Aircraft production of the Hurricane is being terminated and Hawker Tornado construction commencing.
Hadley Page Aircraft.
H.P.52 Hampden. Mid winged twin Bristol Pegasus engine bomber. Manufacture of this aircraft at the Hadley Page main factory has been ceased to enable Halifax production to commence. Construction of The H.P.52 is continuing at both English Electric and the Canadian factory. All new construction is of the Alvis engine TBR Maritime patro/torpedo version of this aircraft.
H.P52 Hereford, all production in Belfast of this aircraft by Short Brothers and Harland changed to the Alvis engine TBR version as above. The contract for one hundred and fifty two of these aircraft will be completed early in 1941 and the jigs then transferred to English Electric.
H.P.57 Halifax. Four Merlin engine mid-wing heavy bomber. Serial production being undertaken at an increasing rate as delivery to operational squadrons commenced in early November.
Hawker Aircraft.
Hawker Hurricane. Production of the Mark III with the universal wing and four 20mm cannon continuing at the companies Kingston Plant. Production at the both Hawkers factory at Langley and the Gloster Aircraft plant at Huttlecote is being ceased in favour of the Hawker Tornado fighter. Deliveries of this aircraft to Fighter Command Squadrons has commenced.
Hawker Tornado. Production at Both Langley and Huttlecote proceeding, as volume production is attained.
Martin Baker Aircraft.
Production of the MB5 Monarch engine low wing single engine fighter instigated, The Martin Baker Company is expanding it’s facilities to undertake serial production. The MAP has placed with Boulton Paul as a partner constructor to set up a parallel MB5 production line to provide increased capacity. both companies’ factories are schedule to reach full production by end of year 1941.
Miles Aircraft.
M.14 Magister. Single engine low wing training and communication aircraft. Production currently running at fifteen aircraft a week.
Miles M.9 Kestrel. Single Kestrel Engine fighter trainer. Due to the ending of RR. Kestrel engine production, construction of the M.9 has been terminated in favour of increased production of the Miles Master.
M 19. Master. Single Mercury engine two seat low wing monoplane trainer. Production proceeding with various engine options depending upon availability. Production is taking place at Woodley and South Marston.
Percival Aircraft.
Percival P.28 Proctor. Low wing single engine radio trainer and communications aircraft. With the Luton factory of Proctor Aircraft committed to licence production of the Airspeed Oxford manufacture of this aircraft has be transferred to F.Hills and Sons of Manchester.
Saro S.36 Lerwick, cancelation of this aircraft saw Saro contracted to produce the pontoons for the Blackburn B.20. Saro has been contracted to build entire B,20’s.
Shorts. Both the original factory at Rochester and the expansion factory in Belfast are building both the Land based Short S.29 Sterling four engine bomber/maritime patrol aircraft and the S.25 four engine Sunderland flying boat. To provide additional capacity for construction of the S.25 a factory is being built on the shore of Lake Windermere. Blackburn aircraft at Dumbarton are also being contracted to build the S. 25 to free up capacity for increased S.29 production in both Belfast and Rochester. Using the knowledge gained with the S.29 the three C.26 ‘G’ class flying boats had been completed powered by four Fairy Monarch engines. Consideration had been given to modifying these big aircraft as VLRMPA, however a quick design review had shown that they held no operational benefit over the existing combination of the Stirling and the Sunderland, further supporting three unique aircraft operationally was not judged to be viable. Hence the decision was taken to complete these aircraft as civilian airliners for use by BOAC on long haul passenger flights.
Super Marine.
Walrus single pusher radial engine biplane flying boat.
Walrus production at Weybridge is continuing with the aircraft used by the RN, The FAA in Coastal Command for air sea rescue.
Spitfire, The dispersal factory system based on the Supermarine factory at Woolston is being expanded and production of the Mk III is increasing. The Vickers managed factory at Castle Bromwich is also now producing The Mk III in quantity.
Vickers Aircraft,
Spitfire Mk. III production at Castle Bromwich as above.
Wellington. Production is taking place at Weybridge/Brooklands, Black Pool and Chester.
Wellingtom Mk III Bombers with Hercules Engines are currently built at Weybridge.
ASV equipped Wellington GR VIII LRMPA powered by twin Alvis Pelides engines are being built at Blackpool. All GR VIII’s are fitted for torpedo dropping by day or night.
Mark VI Wellington bombers with twin Alvis Pelides engines are being built at Chester but this factory will transfer to the Mark IV with Hercules III engines as soon as Bristol are able to supply engines.
Pre production work is continuing on the Warwick Twin engine bomber but the production and development of the Wellington is currently the priority.
Westland Aircraft.
Westland Lysander, single engine parasol winged army co-operation aircraft, production being reduced in favour of other types.
Production of the Gloster Reaper night-fighter is continuing. Follond Falcon production commencing at Yeovelton first quarter 1941.
MAP, Review of British Aero Engine manufacturing as of December 31st 1940
Alvis.
Production of the Pelides fourteen cylinder radial engine is proceeding and capacity is being expanded. Development work on the Pelides is continuing with new superchargers and higher power ratings.
Armstong Siddley,
Armstrong Siddley Cheetah radial engine production continuing for communications and training aircraft
Primary expansion contractor for production of the Alvis Pelides.
Bristol.
Merury production continuing at current levels.
Pegasus Production being maintained for FAA aircraft.
Hercules, Primary production engine for the Bristol factories production being expanded with increasing utilisation of the engine.
DeHaviland.
Gypsy Major engine production for training and communication aircraft principally the Tiger Moth.
Gypsy Queen engine production principally for the D.H.8A Dominie II training and communications aircraft
Fairey Engineering.
Monarch H24 Engine production now at capacity. Extra production capacity by subcontracting and shadow installations being brought on line.
Napier.
Production of Napier engines has ceased, factory capacity being utilised for making sleeve valves for Bristol Hercules Engines and for construction of Fairey Monarch engines.
Roll Royce.
Derby factory primary development facility and building of Merlin and Griffin engines types.
Crew and Glasgow Factories both reaching capacity production of series Merlin engines.
Ford, Trafford Park, Production of Merlin engines commencing.
Summary of Aircraft Production Issued by the Ministry Of Aircraft Production at Year’s end 1940.
Airspeed,
Manufacturing A.10 Oxford, Training and communication aircraft at Portsmouth and Christchurch. Further capacity required Percival at Luton Contracted to build Oxfords. See Percival entry below.
Design and development of Horsa glider and Hengist powered derivative.
Armstrong Whitworth.
Envoy, Production to RAF trooping specification continuing at Hamble, Currently producing two aircraft a month.
A.W. 38 Whitley, Production continuing with introduction of a dedicated Maritime patrol version. Production capacity to be reduced as, Manchester production commences and gains momentum.
A.W.41 Albermarle. All production assigned to transport command and serial production commencing.
Avro.
Avro 652A Anson. All Anson production is now of the air training version. Transhipment of airframes to Canada has been suspended and domestic production in Canada is starting. Production now dispersed.
Avro 679 Manchester. Production at Chadderton was at full capacity and the Yeadon production line was now in series production.
Blackburn.
Both the factory at Dunbarton and Brough are building the D.H. Flamingo maritime patrol aircraft.
Blackburn B20 , Buccaneer also being built at Dunbarton. SARO are building B.20 sub asemblies, see SARO entry below.
Boulton and Paul
Defiant production is still running at Capacity but the factory is building jigs and preparing for fabrication of the Martin Baker MB4.
Bristol Aircraft.
Blenheim Production is continuing with the Mk VI at the Rootes factories in Speke and Stoke on Trent but is being run down as production is focussed on the Beaufighter.
Beaufighter production is being increased with night fighters, fighters and strike fighter types all in production.
De Haviland Aircraft.
De Havilland D.H. 82 Tiger moth, Production at Hatfield will be transferred to the Morris Motors Ltd factory at Cowely as the Hatfield factory commences production of the D.H. Mosquito.
D.H.95 Flamingo. Production of Maritime patrol and transport variants by Blackburn aircraft at their Dunbarton and Brough plants.
D.H. 89 Dominie. Production of the twin engine biplane Training and Communications aircraft now being undertaken by Brush Coachworks Ltd in Loughborough .
D.H. 98 Mosquito. Twin Merlin engine high speed monoplane. Production tooling being set up at Hatfield for series production.
Fairey Aviation.
Fairey Swordfish, Single Pegasus radial engine biplane TBR. Production of this versatile aircraft for the FAA is continuing but due to the start of construction of the Albacore has been subcontracted to Blackburn aircraft and is being undertaken at the factory in Brough, Yorkshire. The First Swordfish from Brough has been delivered and the pace of serial production is picking up.
Fairey Albacore, Single Merlin engine low wing monoplane TBR. Production of this TBR has been increasing through 1940 and with one hundred and sixty delivered before end of the year this aircraft has now replacing the Swordfish on all new RN Fleet Carriers.
Fairey Barracuda. Single Fairey Monarch engine shoulder winged monoplane TBR. Acceptance trials proceeding and series production to commence in 1941. The MAP is proposing that additional production of this aircraft is planned for Bolton Paul, Blackburn and Westland or any combination thereof.
Follond Aircraft.
Follond Falcon Mk2 single seat radial engine naval fighter in production at the Follond Factory at Hamble. Dispersal sites and sub contract works co-ordinated with Supermarine via MAP. Expansion of capacity is a priority for the Admiralty and the FAA
Gloster Aircraft.
Gloster F9/37 Reaper and Night Reaper Twin engine monoplane fighter continuing. The two seat night-fighter is being built at both Glosters Factory at Huttlecote and at Westlands Yeovil factory. The single seat long range fighter is in limited production by Westlands. Gloster Aircraft production of the Hurricane is being terminated and Hawker Tornado construction commencing.
Hadley Page Aircraft.
H.P.52 Hampden. Mid winged twin Bristol Pegasus engine bomber. Manufacture of this aircraft at the Hadley Page main factory has been ceased to enable Halifax production to commence. Construction of The H.P.52 is continuing at both English Electric and the Canadian factory. All new construction is of the Alvis engine TBR Maritime patro/torpedo version of this aircraft.
H.P52 Hereford, all production in Belfast of this aircraft by Short Brothers and Harland changed to the Alvis engine TBR version as above. The contract for one hundred and fifty two of these aircraft will be completed early in 1941 and the jigs then transferred to English Electric.
H.P.57 Halifax. Four Merlin engine mid-wing heavy bomber. Serial production being undertaken at an increasing rate as delivery to operational squadrons commenced in early November.
Hawker Aircraft.
Hawker Hurricane. Production of the Mark III with the universal wing and four 20mm cannon continuing at the companies Kingston Plant. Production at the both Hawkers factory at Langley and the Gloster Aircraft plant at Huttlecote is being ceased in favour of the Hawker Tornado fighter. Deliveries of this aircraft to Fighter Command Squadrons has commenced.
Hawker Tornado. Production at Both Langley and Huttlecote proceeding, as volume production is attained.
Martin Baker Aircraft.
Production of the MB5 Monarch engine low wing single engine fighter instigated, The Martin Baker Company is expanding it’s facilities to undertake serial production. The MAP has placed with Boulton Paul as a partner constructor to set up a parallel MB5 production line to provide increased capacity. both companies’ factories are schedule to reach full production by end of year 1941.
Miles Aircraft.
M.14 Magister. Single engine low wing training and communication aircraft. Production currently running at fifteen aircraft a week.
Miles M.9 Kestrel. Single Kestrel Engine fighter trainer. Due to the ending of RR. Kestrel engine production, construction of the M.9 has been terminated in favour of increased production of the Miles Master.
M 19. Master. Single Mercury engine two seat low wing monoplane trainer. Production proceeding with various engine options depending upon availability. Production is taking place at Woodley and South Marston.
Percival Aircraft.
Percival P.28 Proctor. Low wing single engine radio trainer and communications aircraft. With the Luton factory of Proctor Aircraft committed to licence production of the Airspeed Oxford manufacture of this aircraft has be transferred to F.Hills and Sons of Manchester.
Saro S.36 Lerwick, cancelation of this aircraft saw Saro contracted to produce the pontoons for the Blackburn B.20. Saro has been contracted to build entire B,20’s.
Shorts. Both the original factory at Rochester and the expansion factory in Belfast are building both the Land based Short S.29 Sterling four engine bomber/maritime patrol aircraft and the S.25 four engine Sunderland flying boat. To provide additional capacity for construction of the S.25 a factory is being built on the shore of Lake Windermere. Blackburn aircraft at Dumbarton are also being contracted to build the S. 25 to free up capacity for increased S.29 production in both Belfast and Rochester. Using the knowledge gained with the S.29 the three C.26 ‘G’ class flying boats had been completed powered by four Fairy Monarch engines. Consideration had been given to modifying these big aircraft as VLRMPA, however a quick design review had shown that they held no operational benefit over the existing combination of the Stirling and the Sunderland, further supporting three unique aircraft operationally was not judged to be viable. Hence the decision was taken to complete these aircraft as civilian airliners for use by BOAC on long haul passenger flights.
Super Marine.
Walrus single pusher radial engine biplane flying boat.
Walrus production at Weybridge is continuing with the aircraft used by the RN, The FAA in Coastal Command for air sea rescue.
Spitfire, The dispersal factory system based on the Supermarine factory at Woolston is being expanded and production of the Mk III is increasing. The Vickers managed factory at Castle Bromwich is also now producing The Mk III in quantity.
Vickers Aircraft,
Spitfire Mk. III production at Castle Bromwich as above.
Wellington. Production is taking place at Weybridge/Brooklands, Black Pool and Chester.
Wellingtom Mk III Bombers with Hercules Engines are currently built at Weybridge.
ASV equipped Wellington GR VIII LRMPA powered by twin Alvis Pelides engines are being built at Blackpool. All GR VIII’s are fitted for torpedo dropping by day or night.
Mark VI Wellington bombers with twin Alvis Pelides engines are being built at Chester but this factory will transfer to the Mark IV with Hercules III engines as soon as Bristol are able to supply engines.
Pre production work is continuing on the Warwick Twin engine bomber but the production and development of the Wellington is currently the priority.
Westland Aircraft.
Westland Lysander, single engine parasol winged army co-operation aircraft, production being reduced in favour of other types.
Production of the Gloster Reaper night-fighter is continuing. Follond Falcon production commencing at Yeovelton first quarter 1941.
MAP, Review of British Aero Engine manufacturing as of December 31st 1940
Alvis.
Production of the Pelides fourteen cylinder radial engine is proceeding and capacity is being expanded. Development work on the Pelides is continuing with new superchargers and higher power ratings.
Armstong Siddley,
Armstrong Siddley Cheetah radial engine production continuing for communications and training aircraft
Primary expansion contractor for production of the Alvis Pelides.
Bristol.
Merury production continuing at current levels.
Pegasus Production being maintained for FAA aircraft.
Hercules, Primary production engine for the Bristol factories production being expanded with increasing utilisation of the engine.
DeHaviland.
Gypsy Major engine production for training and communication aircraft principally the Tiger Moth.
Gypsy Queen engine production principally for the D.H.8A Dominie II training and communications aircraft
Fairey Engineering.
Monarch H24 Engine production now at capacity. Extra production capacity by subcontracting and shadow installations being brought on line.
Napier.
Production of Napier engines has ceased, factory capacity being utilised for making sleeve valves for Bristol Hercules Engines and for construction of Fairey Monarch engines.
Roll Royce.
Derby factory primary development facility and building of Merlin and Griffin engines types.
Crew and Glasgow Factories both reaching capacity production of series Merlin engines.
Ford, Trafford Park, Production of Merlin engines commencing.
Nit pick Boulton and Paul entry says BP are tooling up for MB4 production but the Martin Baker entry says they BP tooling up for the MB5
Please don't quote the whole bloomin' chapter. Next time I'll report. It isn't clear what part you refer to and asks everyone to reread the whole thing. Before posting look at what you can delete of a quote and still make your point. In this case the point stands without any of the quote at all.
OOPs! OK, the MB4 and the MB 5 are basically the same air frame with different engines. So I got a bit ahead of myself and it should be the Monarch engined version which is the MB4 . I also left out Austin at Longbridge and will include them in a later update. By now in as 1941 starts the output of the British factories is really begging to deviate from OTL significantly.
The Monarch and Pelides (Pleiades?) are raising questions about the need for sleeve valves even domestically. Can they make the FAA big birds fly more sweetly?
It's always on. It seems to be on at least twice a month on one channel or another.
The Advent of the Monarch effectively killed the Napier Sabre engine and the Alvis development of the Gnome Rhone engines put a huge rocket up the Bristol company who ITTL under instruction from the PAM concentrate on getting the Hercules working well and ditch the Taurus. The ease with which car makers and other engine manufacturers can make the Alvis and Fairey engines in Shadow factories has caused these engines to proliferate in the PAM. The Obstruction by the Bristol company to fitting Alvis engine to their aircraft almost got them nationalised ITTL.
AIUI that was not true iOTL
It was the MB4 and MB3 that were similar airframes with different engines (Griffon replacing Merlin)
The MB5 was a new design also Griffon but many other changes
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In the PAM TL the MB 3, 4 and 5 were ordered with different engines, the MB 3 being the Sabre engine one which was cancelled due to the Sabre being stopped. The MB 4 was ordered with the Monarch H24 engine and the MB 5 is designed for the RR Griffon but is still awaiting a flight ready engine. Looks wise the MB4 ITTl looks a lot like the OTL MB5 but with the MB 3 style canopy and spine. In service date is scheduled for late autumn 1941!!
12.11 Every Action Causes A Reaction
12.11 Every Action Causes A Reaction
Late in December the mid night oil was being burnt in the Air Ministry as the CAS and the higher echelons of the RAF attempted to keep up with what was happening in the Mediterranean as Operation Compass started to unfold. The reaction from the Axis was not long in coming and was first made apparent in decryptions of Luftwaffe command signals broken by the Ultra team working at Bletchley Park. Sir Hugh Dowding as CAS and Sir Peter as AM were both on the select list of people with access to the Ultra intercepts. These intercepts showed that the entirety of Fliegerkorps X was being sent to southern Italy and Sicily. This move was soon confirmed by other intelligence gathering sources
It was abundantly clear to Sir Peter and Sir Hugh that the Germans sending such a powerful Luftwaffe unit south could only result in larger and probably more effective attacks on the Island of Malta. It also meant that naval operations and convoys in the middle Mediterranean were likely to be subject to far greater air threat. With regard to operation Compass, this move would place the Luftwaffe within easy reach of the Italian North African airfields from which they could directly attack O’Conner’s forces. Therefore this movement south of the Luftwaffe had import for all three services. One immediate effect of the arrival of German Me 109’s in Sicily and southern Italian would be in all likelihood to seriously hamper the effectiveness of the reconnaissance aircraft based on Malta. The current Martin Marylands operating from bases in Egypt, Greece and the Maltese airfields would need to replaced with aircraft that could live in contested airspace.
The decision to move reconnaissance aircraft south was complicated by the sortie of the German heavy cruiser Hipper into the Atlantic via the Denmark Strait on the sixth of December. This occurred with no reconnaissance or Maritime patrol aircraft spotting her. This was the cause of a hurried internal AM inquiry as to how she had been missed. Several failings had quickly been identified.
Firstly, there was no regular surveillance of Williams haven or Kiel, neither was there constant coverage of the Skagerrak. Unless there was another indication of a sortie or other activity, patrols and photographic sorties were done on an indeterminate basis.
With Convoys to cover crossing the north Atlantic, Maritime Air Command had insufficient long range assets to keep a standing patrol of RDF equipped aircraft over the Denmark Strait.
Signals intelligence especially ‘traffic analysis’ regarding Krieg marine operations was not being shared rapidly between the RN and the RAF. Whilst Maritime Patrol Aircraft were under the operational control of the RN, PRU assets were not and requests for sorties from the RN to the RAF were often not given the priority desired by the Admiralty. Requests for such sorties could originate either directly from the Admiralty or via Maritime Air Command on the Admiralties behalf. This could cause duplication of effort or the discounting of the request as unimportant. As a result of the Hipper’s sortie a single avenue via Maritime Air Command was established for the coordination and instigation of all reconnaissance requested by the Admiralty.
As a Counter balance to these failings the success of the RDF equipped patrol aircraft in detecting the approach of the Hipper to the very important convoy WS 5A, consisting of twenty troop ships, five of which were assigned to Operation Excess, the fast convoy to Malta and Egypt, gave the escort time to position themselves between the approach raider and the convoy. HMS Furious was able to launch a strike of Albacores, that whilst not scoring any torpedo hits did cause the Hipper to turn away from the convoy. At this juncture HMS Berwick had exchanged several salvoes at long range with Hipper resulting in the Hipper, fearing a torpedo attack from the escorting Destroyers and further airstrikes to break off the attack and to escape at high speed. The heavy use of fuel this entailed, curtailed further operations by Hipper and she had to proceed to Brest. Hipper’s only successes were a couple of independently sailing merchant ships that were easy pickings. This incident again showed the dilemmas currently facing Maritime Command in that there simply did not as yet exist sufficient RDF equipped long range aircraft to carry out both convoy defence patrols and actively track German raiders at the same time.
With the arrival of Hipper into the French Naval port at Brest there was now the requirement for almost daily photographic reconnaissance mission over the port and the only viable asset to accomplish this task was the limited number of high speed PRU spitfires.
In their discussions the heads of the AM and RAF with the Admiralty over these issues the interconnectivity of these events was remarked on. Making the right choices as to where to deploy resources was in some peoples view a lottery, however the case of convoy WS 5A was considered a vindication of the current policy of prioritising the use of Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft for the defence of the convoys.
One saving grace at the moment was that due to decisions made earlier to concentrate on getting both the Spitfire MK III and the PR Mk IV into service there was now a steady stream of the long range PR Spitfires leaving the factory at Eastleigh.
The decision to send four PR Mk IV Spitfires to Malta with subsequent deliveries to Egypt was relatively easy to make and get accepted by the War cabinet. The problems started to arise with how to keep these very specialised airframes flying in a hostile environment. Whilst tropical sand filters might not be essential for aircraft stationed on Malta those assigned to Egypt would certainly require them. Also the PR spitfires used different Merlin engines to those already in use on Malta or in Egypt and would require not only specialised tools but men trained to use them. The solution again as with the recent relocation of Seventy Three Squadron to Malta was to call on the services of an RN Cruiser to act as a high speed transport to run sufficient supplies and personnel to cover the immediate needs of the four Spitfires being sent to Malta.
Another decision that needed dealing with was the lurking presence of the Hipper in Brest. Whilst she was sitting there unmolested she was a threat in being to every convoy crossing the Atlantic of heading for Gibraltar and all points south. Until she was neutralised every convoy would need an escort sufficiently strong to defend it against a fast modern eight inch gunned cruiser.
Late in December the mid night oil was being burnt in the Air Ministry as the CAS and the higher echelons of the RAF attempted to keep up with what was happening in the Mediterranean as Operation Compass started to unfold. The reaction from the Axis was not long in coming and was first made apparent in decryptions of Luftwaffe command signals broken by the Ultra team working at Bletchley Park. Sir Hugh Dowding as CAS and Sir Peter as AM were both on the select list of people with access to the Ultra intercepts. These intercepts showed that the entirety of Fliegerkorps X was being sent to southern Italy and Sicily. This move was soon confirmed by other intelligence gathering sources
It was abundantly clear to Sir Peter and Sir Hugh that the Germans sending such a powerful Luftwaffe unit south could only result in larger and probably more effective attacks on the Island of Malta. It also meant that naval operations and convoys in the middle Mediterranean were likely to be subject to far greater air threat. With regard to operation Compass, this move would place the Luftwaffe within easy reach of the Italian North African airfields from which they could directly attack O’Conner’s forces. Therefore this movement south of the Luftwaffe had import for all three services. One immediate effect of the arrival of German Me 109’s in Sicily and southern Italian would be in all likelihood to seriously hamper the effectiveness of the reconnaissance aircraft based on Malta. The current Martin Marylands operating from bases in Egypt, Greece and the Maltese airfields would need to replaced with aircraft that could live in contested airspace.
The decision to move reconnaissance aircraft south was complicated by the sortie of the German heavy cruiser Hipper into the Atlantic via the Denmark Strait on the sixth of December. This occurred with no reconnaissance or Maritime patrol aircraft spotting her. This was the cause of a hurried internal AM inquiry as to how she had been missed. Several failings had quickly been identified.
Firstly, there was no regular surveillance of Williams haven or Kiel, neither was there constant coverage of the Skagerrak. Unless there was another indication of a sortie or other activity, patrols and photographic sorties were done on an indeterminate basis.
With Convoys to cover crossing the north Atlantic, Maritime Air Command had insufficient long range assets to keep a standing patrol of RDF equipped aircraft over the Denmark Strait.
Signals intelligence especially ‘traffic analysis’ regarding Krieg marine operations was not being shared rapidly between the RN and the RAF. Whilst Maritime Patrol Aircraft were under the operational control of the RN, PRU assets were not and requests for sorties from the RN to the RAF were often not given the priority desired by the Admiralty. Requests for such sorties could originate either directly from the Admiralty or via Maritime Air Command on the Admiralties behalf. This could cause duplication of effort or the discounting of the request as unimportant. As a result of the Hipper’s sortie a single avenue via Maritime Air Command was established for the coordination and instigation of all reconnaissance requested by the Admiralty.
As a Counter balance to these failings the success of the RDF equipped patrol aircraft in detecting the approach of the Hipper to the very important convoy WS 5A, consisting of twenty troop ships, five of which were assigned to Operation Excess, the fast convoy to Malta and Egypt, gave the escort time to position themselves between the approach raider and the convoy. HMS Furious was able to launch a strike of Albacores, that whilst not scoring any torpedo hits did cause the Hipper to turn away from the convoy. At this juncture HMS Berwick had exchanged several salvoes at long range with Hipper resulting in the Hipper, fearing a torpedo attack from the escorting Destroyers and further airstrikes to break off the attack and to escape at high speed. The heavy use of fuel this entailed, curtailed further operations by Hipper and she had to proceed to Brest. Hipper’s only successes were a couple of independently sailing merchant ships that were easy pickings. This incident again showed the dilemmas currently facing Maritime Command in that there simply did not as yet exist sufficient RDF equipped long range aircraft to carry out both convoy defence patrols and actively track German raiders at the same time.
With the arrival of Hipper into the French Naval port at Brest there was now the requirement for almost daily photographic reconnaissance mission over the port and the only viable asset to accomplish this task was the limited number of high speed PRU spitfires.
In their discussions the heads of the AM and RAF with the Admiralty over these issues the interconnectivity of these events was remarked on. Making the right choices as to where to deploy resources was in some peoples view a lottery, however the case of convoy WS 5A was considered a vindication of the current policy of prioritising the use of Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft for the defence of the convoys.
One saving grace at the moment was that due to decisions made earlier to concentrate on getting both the Spitfire MK III and the PR Mk IV into service there was now a steady stream of the long range PR Spitfires leaving the factory at Eastleigh.
The decision to send four PR Mk IV Spitfires to Malta with subsequent deliveries to Egypt was relatively easy to make and get accepted by the War cabinet. The problems started to arise with how to keep these very specialised airframes flying in a hostile environment. Whilst tropical sand filters might not be essential for aircraft stationed on Malta those assigned to Egypt would certainly require them. Also the PR spitfires used different Merlin engines to those already in use on Malta or in Egypt and would require not only specialised tools but men trained to use them. The solution again as with the recent relocation of Seventy Three Squadron to Malta was to call on the services of an RN Cruiser to act as a high speed transport to run sufficient supplies and personnel to cover the immediate needs of the four Spitfires being sent to Malta.
Another decision that needed dealing with was the lurking presence of the Hipper in Brest. Whilst she was sitting there unmolested she was a threat in being to every convoy crossing the Atlantic of heading for Gibraltar and all points south. Until she was neutralised every convoy would need an escort sufficiently strong to defend it against a fast modern eight inch gunned cruiser.
Yes, Hippers arrival is as OTL. There was no reason to alter the ships sortie.
I would like some advice please, ITTL the Avro Manchester has not been blighted by the problems with the RR Vulture, being fitted with the Monarch means that ITTL the Manchester has 20% more power than OTL. So the question is ITTL how many more Manchesters would be built in the same time frame OTL before the Lancaster entered production.
On a simular theme the Typhoon OTL had Both structural and engine problems when it entered production.ITTL the Tornado suffers from neither of those delays so how many more can be built ITTL than in OTL. I have struggling to quantify the effect of these changes and keep it plausible.
I would like some advice please, ITTL the Avro Manchester has not been blighted by the problems with the RR Vulture, being fitted with the Monarch means that ITTL the Manchester has 20% more power than OTL. So the question is ITTL how many more Manchesters would be built in the same time frame OTL before the Lancaster entered production.
On a simular theme the Typhoon OTL had Both structural and engine problems when it entered production.ITTL the Tornado suffers from neither of those delays so how many more can be built ITTL than in OTL. I have struggling to quantify the effect of these changes and keep it plausible.
Is the TTL Lancaster significantly more effective than the TTL Manchester?
Lancaster in OTL was only developed because the Manchester wasn't up to it.
If in TTL the Manchester is effective then one of these:
1) The Lancaster never gets developed, and the Manchester numbers include all the stillborn Lancs.
2) The Lancaster gets developed for some other reason (4 seen as better than 2, or engine shortage?).
a) current Manchester production line keeps going, to avoid slowdown while changing, but new lines do the Lancaster
b) all lines keep going, building either 2 engine or 4 engine variants depending on what's available
c) new lines do the Lancaster, current Manchester production changes over at a convenient point in the future
d) all lines change over at once.
Option 2a and 2b allow for contingency in production, in case of shortage of one type of engine.
Really depends how much better the Lancaster is than TTL Manchester.
For Tornado, it is from the Hawker stable, and shares some build characteristics and parts with the Hurricane.
Makes sense to me to switch all Hurricane production to Tornado production.
One production line at a time, to avoid a major production dip, and to learn from the first change when doing the next ones.
If that makes sense, then making a plan on which factory changes when should be doable.
By knowing the factories output rate, and allowing for a fall when it changes over, should give you the answer.
Or at least one that is plausible.
Hope this helps.