ITTL at this time the Canadian Goverment is still blocking the setting up of overseas training bases for what would become the Empire Training Scheme. Training command is expanding in the UK. The RAFVR is being set up and those pilots will be trained by civilian instructors at local flying clubs. Also the university squadrons are being expand to the practical limits. I intend to cover all of this in the next segment on training. RL will intervene for a few days so please hold with me for further updates.
AHC: Peerless Air Ministry
- Thread starter perfectgeneral
- Start date
Cofton Hackett, also known as the Longbridge Easr Works, was originally built in 1917 by Austin Aero Ltd. it seems a bit odd to now hand control over the expanded facility to Nuffield (especially as Herbert Austin chaired the committee behind the whole Shadow Factory program).
It got faster once it had Hercules engines (Beaufighter). Many Beaufighters were conversions so it is true to say that the Beaufort was made into a night fighter.
--==+==--
If the Fairey Battle gets a 2000hp+ Fairey Monarch engine it could be able to defend itself through evasive moves and pursuit of attackers. Probably a driver for Boom and Zoom as they won't turn like a fighter could. Two .303 MG are not enough. The rear gunner position slows and limits more than it defends. Better to have a couple of wing cannons and make it a two man aircraft, even with 2,200hp to pull it.
@Shanghai61
http://www.austinmemories.com/styled-120/index.html - Cofton - East Works
http://www.austinmemories.com/styled-20/index.html
http://www.austinmemories.com/styled/index.html
© 2006-2018 John Baker - some great pictures. The aircraft lift and hauling out large aircraft (Horsa Gliders, Lancasters and Stirlings) in kit form shows how ill suited this site was. It could at least fly out fighter and light bomber size aircraft. They made a lot of trainers too. The "spoke" airfield was too short to fly out bombers, even if they could get them up the incline lift.
--==+==--
Newfoundland could establish a training base, as British Territory outside of Canada. Also useful for long range maritime patrolling. Free transport flights from the regional capitols might be all that is needed to get the first wave of volunteers.
@sonofpegasus - Would you like a proof reader? RL always takes priority. Good luck.
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You are quite right I mixed up Austin and Morris and will therefore have to rewrite part 4.01. Thanks for the catch guys. If see any other howlers please flag them up,
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The Butterflies Start To Hatch
Here is a re-write of Part 4.01 to correct a big error on my part.
Part 4.01 The Butterflies start to hatch. Version 2
Morris industries pulling out of aero engine construction had ramifications. Sir Phillip was not to concerned, Lord Nuffield had been offered the hispano 12Y licence but had turned it down (fearful perhaps that it would be competing with the RR engines that were already established). To ease things Sir Phillip was instructed by the cabinet that Morris industries were to be given the contract for a large aircraft factory at castle Bromwich. Sir Phillip was absolutely determined that the big Castle Bromwich factory which was scheduled to build both bombers and Spitfires, would build the latter as a priority and the contract would have stringent milestones and serious penalties for any failure to meet them, the ultimate sanction being the removal of control of the factory back to the AM.
The first production Battles from Fairey’s factory were due in June 1937 with Austin owned factory at Coften Hacket entering production within a year.
By Easter Martlesham Heath was getting very busy, The Blackburn Skua had first flown in February and was now at Martlesham Heath, as was Fareys P4/34 after it’s first flight on January 14th.The Hawker Henley had not flown till the 10th of March but had joined the others after an accelerated test program.Sir Phillip was absolutely determined that the big Castle Bromwich factory which was scheduled to build both bombers and Spitfires, would build the latter as a priority and the contract would have stringent milestones and serious penalties for any failure to meet them, the ultimate sanction being the removal of control of the factory back to the AM.
These were all carrying out comparative trials along with one of the prototype battles and a Hurricane. The Vickers Vemon was also present to give comparative performance trails. The Miles Kestrel was due to fly in early May and would join the flight line as soon as possible. There was a steady stream of new prototypes due at Martlesham for the rest of the year. Amongst these was the DH Don, the first flight of which took place in June, Initial reports of the test flights were not favourable.
By The end of July AM Sir Charles Burnett as head of Training Command consulted with Sir Phillip on the Orders for Training aircraft that were now becoming critical. On advice from the AM for Research and Development Sir Charles was proposing to cancel the Don after the last protype. He was aware that an order for 250 had already been placed. His proposal was to order additional Airseed Oxfords which would be available by the end of the year and to write a specification for a Modified Miles Kestrel as an Advance trainer. Whilst a prototype to the new specification he was proposing an order for sufficient Kestrels to be build to provide conversion training of Squadron pilots for the new Hurricane due to enter service later in the year. Pilots would currently simply be shown the “Taps” and sent of solo in the Hurricane having previously only flown biplanes with fixed under carriage. The Kestrel would give the RAF a modern dual seat monoplane with flaps and retractable undercarriage with a performance not far below that of the hurricane. By the time freshly Trained pilots finished their ab initio training the New Miles Master trainer based on the Kestrel should be in service.
Also forming at Martlesham was a dedicated RDF development flight. This would originally made up of four Avro Ansons with other types being assigned as they became available. The boffins a Bawdsey manor were eager to get a couple of the new Battles or Blenhiems to give them a higher performance group of aircraft. This was especially to advance the work on ADF 1.5 and 2.
Initial reports from Follond at his new company British Marine Aircraft where that the design work on the new N1/37 fighter design was progressing very rapidly and work on two prototypes would commence by the end of the second quarter of 1937. As long as air worthy engines were available from Alivis and Bristols by the end of the third quarter then the first flight of both prototypes should be achieved before the new year.
Gloster’s were under pressure to get both their two F4/34 prototypes flying by mid-summer. For Bristol Mercury powered version was actually flying in May but the second prototype might have to wait for it’s Alvis, which although passing a 100 hour ground test had not yet flown. A Fairy battle was being pulled from the production line to use as a flying test bed but this was far from ideal. Gloster’s new Chief designer W.G. Carter was working on completing the design of the turreted night started by Folland to specification F34/35. With turreted fighter designs falling out of favour under Sir Phillips control of the AM, Glosters were informed that specification F34/35 would be superseded by another specification for a two seat day/night fighter with either twin Bristol Taurus or twin Alvis Pelides engines. Therefore the order for the prototype K8625 was transferred to the new aircraft. Operational Requirement OR49 and Specification F9/37 for a twin seat RDF equipped fighter armed with four 20mm cannons was issued to Gloster’s on June 1st 1937. Bristol Aircraft were sent a copy of OR.49 and requested to submit a design proposal.
after the Meeting in February when decisions such as RDF 1.5 had been made, that decision had ruffled some feathers and Sir Phillip suspected that he might have stirred up a problem for later, “Taffy” Bowen and his small team at Bawdsey Manor had made great strides. In that they had settled on a wave length of 6.5m for RDF1.5 and had refined the transmitter into a rotating aerial mounted on a low tower approximately equal in height to that of the white tower at Bawdsey.
At a meeting to discuss all the RDF developments at Bawday in May 1937 Rowe remarked that a 6.7meter wave length RDF unit would be able to detect an aircraft flying at 3000ft at a range of 80 miles if situated 120 ft above the horizon. Though RDF 1.5 was not limited by this horizon as the receiver in the aircraft would be above 120ft the range of the receiver was limited by the arial size on the aircraft and strength of the return from the target. Hence having a 360 degree radar to search for targets and the have a controller direct the RDF equipped fighter to within the detection range of the receiver on the aircraft was a vital part of the system.
Watson Watt further advised that the 6.7 Meter wave length was the shortest one proposed for use in the CH RDF system so that aircraft fitted with RDF1.5 could use RDF1 transmitters to hunt for targets offshore and RDF1,5 transmitters could provide warning of aircraft flying below the minimum detection height attained by CH stations though the 1.5 RDF units would need a horizon height of 120 feet if they were to achieve a detection range of 80 miles, the lower the transmitter height the lower the detection range for a ground based receiver.
It was at this meeting that Sir Hugh Dowding outlined to the gathered scientists his conception of a twin engine two seat cannon armed night fighter as being proposed via the AMRD in the soon to be issued OR.49 and invited comments or suggestions from the RDF scientists, particularly the articulate “Taffy” Bowen as the lead scientist in the RDF 1.5 and 2 team. Later after Sir Hugh had departed Sir Phillip spent a pleasant evening sitting on the lawn at Bawdsey watching the staff play cricket as the assembled scientists, technicians and engineers continued to discuss ideas and problems with him.
Part 4.01 The Butterflies start to hatch. Version 2
Morris industries pulling out of aero engine construction had ramifications. Sir Phillip was not to concerned, Lord Nuffield had been offered the hispano 12Y licence but had turned it down (fearful perhaps that it would be competing with the RR engines that were already established). To ease things Sir Phillip was instructed by the cabinet that Morris industries were to be given the contract for a large aircraft factory at castle Bromwich. Sir Phillip was absolutely determined that the big Castle Bromwich factory which was scheduled to build both bombers and Spitfires, would build the latter as a priority and the contract would have stringent milestones and serious penalties for any failure to meet them, the ultimate sanction being the removal of control of the factory back to the AM.
The first production Battles from Fairey’s factory were due in June 1937 with Austin owned factory at Coften Hacket entering production within a year.
By Easter Martlesham Heath was getting very busy, The Blackburn Skua had first flown in February and was now at Martlesham Heath, as was Fareys P4/34 after it’s first flight on January 14th.The Hawker Henley had not flown till the 10th of March but had joined the others after an accelerated test program.Sir Phillip was absolutely determined that the big Castle Bromwich factory which was scheduled to build both bombers and Spitfires, would build the latter as a priority and the contract would have stringent milestones and serious penalties for any failure to meet them, the ultimate sanction being the removal of control of the factory back to the AM.
These were all carrying out comparative trials along with one of the prototype battles and a Hurricane. The Vickers Vemon was also present to give comparative performance trails. The Miles Kestrel was due to fly in early May and would join the flight line as soon as possible. There was a steady stream of new prototypes due at Martlesham for the rest of the year. Amongst these was the DH Don, the first flight of which took place in June, Initial reports of the test flights were not favourable.
By The end of July AM Sir Charles Burnett as head of Training Command consulted with Sir Phillip on the Orders for Training aircraft that were now becoming critical. On advice from the AM for Research and Development Sir Charles was proposing to cancel the Don after the last protype. He was aware that an order for 250 had already been placed. His proposal was to order additional Airseed Oxfords which would be available by the end of the year and to write a specification for a Modified Miles Kestrel as an Advance trainer. Whilst a prototype to the new specification he was proposing an order for sufficient Kestrels to be build to provide conversion training of Squadron pilots for the new Hurricane due to enter service later in the year. Pilots would currently simply be shown the “Taps” and sent of solo in the Hurricane having previously only flown biplanes with fixed under carriage. The Kestrel would give the RAF a modern dual seat monoplane with flaps and retractable undercarriage with a performance not far below that of the hurricane. By the time freshly Trained pilots finished their ab initio training the New Miles Master trainer based on the Kestrel should be in service.
Also forming at Martlesham was a dedicated RDF development flight. This would originally made up of four Avro Ansons with other types being assigned as they became available. The boffins a Bawdsey manor were eager to get a couple of the new Battles or Blenhiems to give them a higher performance group of aircraft. This was especially to advance the work on ADF 1.5 and 2.
Initial reports from Follond at his new company British Marine Aircraft where that the design work on the new N1/37 fighter design was progressing very rapidly and work on two prototypes would commence by the end of the second quarter of 1937. As long as air worthy engines were available from Alivis and Bristols by the end of the third quarter then the first flight of both prototypes should be achieved before the new year.
Gloster’s were under pressure to get both their two F4/34 prototypes flying by mid-summer. For Bristol Mercury powered version was actually flying in May but the second prototype might have to wait for it’s Alvis, which although passing a 100 hour ground test had not yet flown. A Fairy battle was being pulled from the production line to use as a flying test bed but this was far from ideal. Gloster’s new Chief designer W.G. Carter was working on completing the design of the turreted night started by Folland to specification F34/35. With turreted fighter designs falling out of favour under Sir Phillips control of the AM, Glosters were informed that specification F34/35 would be superseded by another specification for a two seat day/night fighter with either twin Bristol Taurus or twin Alvis Pelides engines. Therefore the order for the prototype K8625 was transferred to the new aircraft. Operational Requirement OR49 and Specification F9/37 for a twin seat RDF equipped fighter armed with four 20mm cannons was issued to Gloster’s on June 1st 1937. Bristol Aircraft were sent a copy of OR.49 and requested to submit a design proposal.
after the Meeting in February when decisions such as RDF 1.5 had been made, that decision had ruffled some feathers and Sir Phillip suspected that he might have stirred up a problem for later, “Taffy” Bowen and his small team at Bawdsey Manor had made great strides. In that they had settled on a wave length of 6.5m for RDF1.5 and had refined the transmitter into a rotating aerial mounted on a low tower approximately equal in height to that of the white tower at Bawdsey.
At a meeting to discuss all the RDF developments at Bawday in May 1937 Rowe remarked that a 6.7meter wave length RDF unit would be able to detect an aircraft flying at 3000ft at a range of 80 miles if situated 120 ft above the horizon. Though RDF 1.5 was not limited by this horizon as the receiver in the aircraft would be above 120ft the range of the receiver was limited by the arial size on the aircraft and strength of the return from the target. Hence having a 360 degree radar to search for targets and the have a controller direct the RDF equipped fighter to within the detection range of the receiver on the aircraft was a vital part of the system.
Watson Watt further advised that the 6.7 Meter wave length was the shortest one proposed for use in the CH RDF system so that aircraft fitted with RDF1.5 could use RDF1 transmitters to hunt for targets offshore and RDF1,5 transmitters could provide warning of aircraft flying below the minimum detection height attained by CH stations though the 1.5 RDF units would need a horizon height of 120 feet if they were to achieve a detection range of 80 miles, the lower the transmitter height the lower the detection range for a ground based receiver.
It was at this meeting that Sir Hugh Dowding outlined to the gathered scientists his conception of a twin engine two seat cannon armed night fighter as being proposed via the AMRD in the soon to be issued OR.49 and invited comments or suggestions from the RDF scientists, particularly the articulate “Taffy” Bowen as the lead scientist in the RDF 1.5 and 2 team. Later after Sir Hugh had departed Sir Phillip spent a pleasant evening sitting on the lawn at Bawdsey watching the staff play cricket as the assembled scientists, technicians and engineers continued to discuss ideas and problems with him.
Is the Emergency bomber spec that led to the Albermale going to get a look in?
Once its realised it is not all that good, reuse the wings in a transport aircraft - shoulder mounted on a new square fuselage with an upswept rear tail with an integrated ramp. Retractable tricycle undercarriage with the main undercarriage in streamlined boxes on the side of the fuselage. The fuselage maintaining a constant width and height for as long as possible.
Once its realised it is not all that good, reuse the wings in a transport aircraft - shoulder mounted on a new square fuselage with an upswept rear tail with an integrated ramp. Retractable tricycle undercarriage with the main undercarriage in streamlined boxes on the side of the fuselage. The fuselage maintaining a constant width and height for as long as possible.
Okay now I'm thinking about what the Fleet Air Arm could do with the Fairey Monarch!?
Imagine if the Fulmar had had a 2,200+hp engine, and if Fairey had built another 500 of them (Everyone remember Fairey's hissy fit about not wanting to build Spitfires and offering extra Swordfish instead). Or someone had thought "Hey, why don't we stick a Monarch, instead of a Sabre, into the Martin-Baker MB3, and Navalise it".
Even the Barracuda might actually work with a 1000 extra hp, and the originally planned R-R Exe was a 24 cylinder design. And it was the result of a 1937 Specification, surely it can enter service a little earlier than OTL.
And since we have a more rational Air Ministry someone might realise that the FAA needs more and better planes, and with designs and engines not being used by the RAF.
Beaufighter shared some parts and items from Beaufort, however it featured a new fuselage, engine mounts, nacelles and engines. There was no A/C that were produced as Beauforts, and later were converted into Beaufighters.
So it is not true that Beaufort was made into a night fighter.
I think the Beaufort to Beaufighter conversion misunderstanding comes from the frequently used expression that some Beaufort squadrons converted to Beaufighters. This is some times read as the aircraft being modified/converted when it in fact it means that the aircrews 'converted' from flying Beauforts to their new aircraft the Beaufighter.
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The Butterflies stretch their wings.
Part 4.02 The Butterflies stretch their wings.
Sir Phillip now had to tackle a very tricky problem and that was who was to become Chief of the Air Staff when Sir Edward Ellington retired in September. The problem was complicated by the fact that the next most senior serving officer in the RAF was Air Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding who many expected to be Sir Edward’s natural successor. Unfortunately, that assumption left Sir Phillip in a bit of a quandary as it was glaringly obvious to him that at this time Sir Hugh was far too valuable moulding Fighter Command into a comprehensive air defence system based on RDF. Further Sir Phillip was not convinced that Sir Hugh would thrive in the role of CAS as he shunned ‘politking’ and seemed to lack that ruthless streak required to side line deadwood . With what seemed an intractable problem to solve Sir Phillip decided to act divisively and openly inviting Sir Hugh for a private discussion at which he laid his cards on the table. Here he set out the options he had as he saw them;-
A, Pass sir Hugh over for another Officer as CAS.
B, Possibly persuade Sir Cyril to stay on for another year whilst Sir Hugh groomed his successor at Fighter Command.
C, Appoint another Officer solely as a seat warmer until Sir Hugh had got Fighter Command to a condition where he could leave it.
D, appoint Sir Hugh as CAS and hope that whoever was put in charge of Fighter Command would not ruin it.
Sir Phillip and Sir Hugh then commenced a very candid and forthright discussion on the practicalities and the merits of each option. Sir Hugh was the first to agree that a change of Command at this juncture would be very detrimental to the progress being made with RDF and Fighter Command. Both options C and D seemed attractive but as Sir Hugh pointed out he was only one year into his normal term of command and it was quite likely that he would need to remain in his post for that full term. That would seem to preclude option B and option C to Sir Hugh seemed to be a very poor choice for the good of the RAF in strained circumstance prevailing. Staying in his current post for two years or longer would take Sir Hugh past his normal retirement age and therefore preclude him from ever being CAS and Sir Phillip understood how galling this might be. Reluctantly they agreed that another officer should be appointed and Sir Hugh would accept this for the good of the service he also acceded to Sir Phillips request that if asked he would remain in post beyond his normal retirement age to complete the RDF/Fighter Control project. However reluctantly Sir Hugh acquiesced to the situation he at least had certainty as to the rest of his career and a hand shake from sit Phillip that when Sir Hugh eventually hung up his brass hat he would be promoted to the Rank of Marshal of the RAF, the first officer not to be CAS to be given the rank. So it was that Sir Cyril Newall became the CAS designate.
The first flight of the De Haviland Albatross four engine passenger plane had given Sir Phillip and Air Marshall Winifrid Freedman AMR&D an opportunity to visit De Haviland and to look at their works in progress. Here the Flamingo Drawings and protype construction were discussed, as a result of this De Haviland were asked to urgently present a modified design at the same time as the AM were writing a OR and a specification base on the modifications suggested. Once an agreement on the modified design could be reach De Haviland were to build the prototype as quickly as possible. The wooden construction of the Albatross was remarked upon as it was an alternative if wartime supplies of aluminium ran short.
Flight testing a Martlesham was showing how disadvantaged the Skua was by its low cruising and top speed. The superiority in this regard shown by the Hawker Henley was quite marked. Mock attacks by the Vemon and Hurricane prototypes armed with camera guns on the Fairey Battle and Blenheim had given very useful data for analysis comparing the time on target and the ability of the fighters to make multiple attacks. A number of important factors and limitations were noted but over all the consensus was that a single seat fighter could achieve success against a bomber and number of fighters could simultaneously attack a formation of bombers and thereby split their defensive fire. Using the Skua as a stand in for the Roc the same tests showed up some glaring deficiencies in the Rocs capabilities, particularly it’s inability to actually catch a fleeing bomber. It was agreed that as soon as the Defiant turreted fighter was available further trials with more aircraft should be carried.
The FAA Pilots assigned to test the Skua’s dive bombing prowess were returning to the airfield with smiles and bragging rights. The ability to consistently drop 500lb bombs within a cruiser sized area marked by flags was remarkable. This was further emphasized when the Battle and Blenhiem using the course correcting bombsight made level bombing runs at various heights between six and ten thousand feet. To say the results were scattered was being kind to the RAF pilots and crews, who ended up having to buy the FAA guys a lot of beer.
In early July a Alvis Pelides engine was first flown on a Fairy Battle and an exhaustive program of testing was undertaken. The success of the early trial with the engine reproducing the power levels achieved on the test stand was encouraging and a pre-production batch of engines was assembled with engines being certified for flight trials sent to a number of manufacturers.
Having got over the perceived slight of having their design criticised Richard Fairey and his chief designer Captain Archibald Graham Forsyth have redrawn the engine castings and the first trials engines are being assembled. Unfortunetly the test stand at Fairey’s is only capable of taking one half of the engine. Sir Phillips suggests development would be better served by either funding a new test stand or co-opting the use of another facility capable of testing the entire engine.
Meanwhile at Bawdsey the speed of development was if anything increasing by Mid 1937 with the Government approval for the construction of the full CH the number of scientists and engineers at Bawdsey had pass 150 mark and would pass the 200 mark in early 1938. With new aerials and research buildings and additional support staff the place was a hive of activity. Sir Phillip was in discussions with both the Treasury and the Minister for Coordination of Defence over the future shape and control of RDF Research and Development in Great Britain. The other important topic of discussion with Inskip as MCoD was the integration and co-ordination of the separate RDF research being carried out by the RN and War Department. Bawdsey was seen as an AM fiefdom and the other services feared losing control and focus on the developments to solve their RDF requirements if everything was under AM control. All this was leading towards the setting up of a separate Directorate for RDF Research and Development.
Sir Phillip now had to tackle a very tricky problem and that was who was to become Chief of the Air Staff when Sir Edward Ellington retired in September. The problem was complicated by the fact that the next most senior serving officer in the RAF was Air Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding who many expected to be Sir Edward’s natural successor. Unfortunately, that assumption left Sir Phillip in a bit of a quandary as it was glaringly obvious to him that at this time Sir Hugh was far too valuable moulding Fighter Command into a comprehensive air defence system based on RDF. Further Sir Phillip was not convinced that Sir Hugh would thrive in the role of CAS as he shunned ‘politking’ and seemed to lack that ruthless streak required to side line deadwood . With what seemed an intractable problem to solve Sir Phillip decided to act divisively and openly inviting Sir Hugh for a private discussion at which he laid his cards on the table. Here he set out the options he had as he saw them;-
A, Pass sir Hugh over for another Officer as CAS.
B, Possibly persuade Sir Cyril to stay on for another year whilst Sir Hugh groomed his successor at Fighter Command.
C, Appoint another Officer solely as a seat warmer until Sir Hugh had got Fighter Command to a condition where he could leave it.
D, appoint Sir Hugh as CAS and hope that whoever was put in charge of Fighter Command would not ruin it.
Sir Phillip and Sir Hugh then commenced a very candid and forthright discussion on the practicalities and the merits of each option. Sir Hugh was the first to agree that a change of Command at this juncture would be very detrimental to the progress being made with RDF and Fighter Command. Both options C and D seemed attractive but as Sir Hugh pointed out he was only one year into his normal term of command and it was quite likely that he would need to remain in his post for that full term. That would seem to preclude option B and option C to Sir Hugh seemed to be a very poor choice for the good of the RAF in strained circumstance prevailing. Staying in his current post for two years or longer would take Sir Hugh past his normal retirement age and therefore preclude him from ever being CAS and Sir Phillip understood how galling this might be. Reluctantly they agreed that another officer should be appointed and Sir Hugh would accept this for the good of the service he also acceded to Sir Phillips request that if asked he would remain in post beyond his normal retirement age to complete the RDF/Fighter Control project. However reluctantly Sir Hugh acquiesced to the situation he at least had certainty as to the rest of his career and a hand shake from sit Phillip that when Sir Hugh eventually hung up his brass hat he would be promoted to the Rank of Marshal of the RAF, the first officer not to be CAS to be given the rank. So it was that Sir Cyril Newall became the CAS designate.
The first flight of the De Haviland Albatross four engine passenger plane had given Sir Phillip and Air Marshall Winifrid Freedman AMR&D an opportunity to visit De Haviland and to look at their works in progress. Here the Flamingo Drawings and protype construction were discussed, as a result of this De Haviland were asked to urgently present a modified design at the same time as the AM were writing a OR and a specification base on the modifications suggested. Once an agreement on the modified design could be reach De Haviland were to build the prototype as quickly as possible. The wooden construction of the Albatross was remarked upon as it was an alternative if wartime supplies of aluminium ran short.
Flight testing a Martlesham was showing how disadvantaged the Skua was by its low cruising and top speed. The superiority in this regard shown by the Hawker Henley was quite marked. Mock attacks by the Vemon and Hurricane prototypes armed with camera guns on the Fairey Battle and Blenheim had given very useful data for analysis comparing the time on target and the ability of the fighters to make multiple attacks. A number of important factors and limitations were noted but over all the consensus was that a single seat fighter could achieve success against a bomber and number of fighters could simultaneously attack a formation of bombers and thereby split their defensive fire. Using the Skua as a stand in for the Roc the same tests showed up some glaring deficiencies in the Rocs capabilities, particularly it’s inability to actually catch a fleeing bomber. It was agreed that as soon as the Defiant turreted fighter was available further trials with more aircraft should be carried.
The FAA Pilots assigned to test the Skua’s dive bombing prowess were returning to the airfield with smiles and bragging rights. The ability to consistently drop 500lb bombs within a cruiser sized area marked by flags was remarkable. This was further emphasized when the Battle and Blenhiem using the course correcting bombsight made level bombing runs at various heights between six and ten thousand feet. To say the results were scattered was being kind to the RAF pilots and crews, who ended up having to buy the FAA guys a lot of beer.
In early July a Alvis Pelides engine was first flown on a Fairy Battle and an exhaustive program of testing was undertaken. The success of the early trial with the engine reproducing the power levels achieved on the test stand was encouraging and a pre-production batch of engines was assembled with engines being certified for flight trials sent to a number of manufacturers.
Having got over the perceived slight of having their design criticised Richard Fairey and his chief designer Captain Archibald Graham Forsyth have redrawn the engine castings and the first trials engines are being assembled. Unfortunetly the test stand at Fairey’s is only capable of taking one half of the engine. Sir Phillips suggests development would be better served by either funding a new test stand or co-opting the use of another facility capable of testing the entire engine.
Meanwhile at Bawdsey the speed of development was if anything increasing by Mid 1937 with the Government approval for the construction of the full CH the number of scientists and engineers at Bawdsey had pass 150 mark and would pass the 200 mark in early 1938. With new aerials and research buildings and additional support staff the place was a hive of activity. Sir Phillip was in discussions with both the Treasury and the Minister for Coordination of Defence over the future shape and control of RDF Research and Development in Great Britain. The other important topic of discussion with Inskip as MCoD was the integration and co-ordination of the separate RDF research being carried out by the RN and War Department. Bawdsey was seen as an AM fiefdom and the other services feared losing control and focus on the developments to solve their RDF requirements if everything was under AM control. All this was leading towards the setting up of a separate Directorate for RDF Research and Development.
You have a repeating paragraph or multiple lines towards the start of the post before this. The tone and pace is spot on. Far better structure than I could put into this. Great stuff, thank you so much.
Nice, respectful way to handle Dowding, with bonus time served and finishing on the rank he deserves. Will Cyril Newall last out the war? What was the pressure that kicked him out early? I feel that William Welsh is a good candidate to head up the new FAA. I'm not so confident in Newall. Ellington favoured Dowding as the smarter man to succeed him.
Was there a third candidate in Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt? Portal and Tedder later did the "top job". Douglas and Harris have the chops for it. His turn, is not a good enough reason to put Newall in the post. Was Beaverbrook handled badly?
Nice, respectful way to handle Dowding, with bonus time served and finishing on the rank he deserves. Will Cyril Newall last out the war? What was the pressure that kicked him out early? I feel that William Welsh is a good candidate to head up the new FAA. I'm not so confident in Newall. Ellington favoured Dowding as the smarter man to succeed him.
--==#==--
Was there a third candidate in Edgar Ludlow-Hewitt? Portal and Tedder later did the "top job". Douglas and Harris have the chops for it. His turn, is not a good enough reason to put Newall in the post. Was Beaverbrook handled badly?
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In Hindsight, yes the turret fighter was a dead duck but at the time no one actually knw that. ITTL you might notice that the turret fighter is at least on the ropes even if the knockout punch has not yet landed. As for the Roc well that one is as good as on the rocks, pun intended!
Not sure about the reference to Beaverbrook at this juncture OTL or ITTL? As to Sir Hugh Dowding in OTL he was extremely badly handled by the top Brass and the AM IMHO.