That all well and good until General Ripper disconnects the fail safes :O
At least there ARE fail safes with a bomber (or strike fighter, fighter bomber or attack aircraft), once a missile flies that's all she wrote

Plus the problem was not that General Ripper disconnected the failsafes (he didn't, he misused existing orders and procedures), but that Major Kong's B-52 had been damaged so could not receive the abort code, which only General Ripper had until his blotter was examined after his death
 
I was combining the two stories ;) in a tongue in cheek remark. Scattering stray bombs from Spain to the Carolinas was another problem with the manned bombers.
 
Japan is a rather bad model for that, their military is defensive focused, not for projecting power. In a peaceful world, the world powers would not need to seriously worry about defending their territory, so would optimize their military for projecting influence around the world, OTL France is a good model for this
My bad, I brought up Japan as an example of a nation that's "disarmed" though I might need to look into France's post-WWII military for ideas.
I'm looking at the trends in US Army & the others during the 1920s for some clues. In that decade everyone was trying to prepare for the Next BIG ONE, drawing on Great War experience to guide their doctrines and R&D. There were actually some progressive development in that first decade. That was interrupted by a combination of the Depression, and a gradual stagnation in military thinking. Everyone including the Germans were trying to build armies according to the ideas developed in the 1920s, or reverting to earlier models. From 1938 that trend started to reverse. Absent a Cold War any other mass war threat I'd suspect R & D would have slowed and the fielding of many of the 1960s & 70s style equipment would have slowed. If there were only small wars on the horizon then the trends would have been to items suitable only for small wars.
I recall seeing some vehicles that seem to be vaguely WWI esque like the two Char tanks and the TOG tanks that fit this "WWII is just like WWI" mindset, funny how they didn't see much service when OTL's WWII came around.
 
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I recall seeing some vehicles that seem to be vaguely WWI esque like the two Char tanks and the TOG tanks that fit this "WWII is just like WWI" mindset, funny how they didn't see much service when OTL's WWII came around.

I was thinking of items like the M1 Garand, the M1/2 105mm howitzer, the family of 75mm guns, the air-cooled Browning machine guns that were all designed in the 1930s & Built in quantity after 1938.
 

B-29_Bomber

Banned
Without the Soviet threat the US probably goes back into Isolationism. In Europe Germany is dismantled and thus there's no obvious threat in the critical 1945-50 period that would convince the US to step up and be the "Defender of the Free World".

This doesn't preclude a new threat developing in a decade or two afterward, but by then it's too late and the US will be in full Isolationist mode.

The Post-war era will probably look more like the Interwar Period. Weaponry? Weaponry will probably look like more advanced stuff from the 1950s and 60s OTL well into the 21st century as all the basic systems have already been developed during WWII (Jets, Automatic Rifles, Rocketry, etc), but by 2017 ITTL Smart Weapons, as we know them today, will likely be in their infancy... unless another Worldwar comes about in the 70s or 80s.
 
Without the Soviet threat the US probably goes back into Isolationism. In Europe Germany is dismantled and thus there's no obvious threat in the critical 1945-50 period that would convince the US to step up and be the "Defender of the Free World".

This doesn't preclude a new threat developing in a decade or two afterward, but by then it's too late and the US will be in full Isolationist mode.

The Post-war era will probably look more like the Interwar Period. Weaponry? Weaponry will probably look like more advanced stuff from the 1950s and 60s OTL well into the 21st century as all the basic systems have already been developed during WWII (Jets, Automatic Rifles, Rocketry, etc), but by 2017 ITTL Smart Weapons, as we know them today, will likely be in their infancy... unless another Worldwar comes about in the 70s or 80s.
I'm not sure if the US will want to retreat back into isolationism ITTL given that the last time they did, another war greater than WWI happened; if anything, they might try this peacekeeping thing for a few decades before anything else.

Speaking of which, I do agree that the weaponry would be severely behind OTL along with military related tech in general; I mean we already have some weapons made in the early to mid Cold War OTL that still exist and in use so it's not too hard to imagine their widespread usage ITTL.
 
I'm not sure if the US will want to retreat back into isolationism ITTL given that the last time they did, another war greater than WWI happened; if anything, they might try this peacekeeping thing for a few decades before anything else. ...

Precisely

US prosperity & growth in the 19th & early 20th Century depended on free trade & global engagement. The world policeman thing went right back to dispatch of frigates to suppress the Barbarry pirates whom the Europeans were too distracted to deal with themselves. A US fleet of iron ships forced a treaty on the reluctant Japanese government, frigates landed Marines in Indonesian pirates dens, & a army in the Phillipines. The isolationism was understandable in the context of the failed peace after the Great War, but became a fantasy of return to a political condition that never really existed. Even during the height of the Isolationist era the 4th Marines & 15th Infantry guarded Chinese cities backed by the Asiatic Squadron. Other regiments landed in Nicaragua & Hati, & the US made plans to retain a naval base on Luzon after 1946.

Post WWII the Marshall plan was not just a nice thing to do. It was essential to accelerate the economic recovery of Europe, which accounted for some 60% of the overseas trade of the US for a century & a half. The European empires were weak post 1945 & as they 'adjust' to the conditions of the latter 20th Century the US would have to continue the sort of global participation it had in the previous 160+ years
 
Precisely

US prosperity & growth in the 19th & early 20th Century depended on free trade & global engagement. The world policeman thing went right back to dispatch of frigates to suppress the Barbarry pirates whom the Europeans were too distracted to deal with themselves. A US fleet of iron ships forced a treaty on the reluctant Japanese government, frigates landed Marines in Indonesian pirates dens, & a army in the Phillipines. The isolationism was understandable in the context of the failed peace after the Great War, but became a fantasy of return to a political condition that never really existed. Even during the height of the Isolationist era the 4th Marines & 15th Infantry guarded Chinese cities backed by the Asiatic Squadron. Other regiments landed in Nicaragua & Hati, & the US made plans to retain a naval base on Luzon after 1946.

Post WWII the Marshall plan was not just a nice thing to do. It was essential to accelerate the economic recovery of Europe, which accounted for some 60% of the overseas trade of the US for a century & a half. The European empires were weak post 1945 & as they 'adjust' to the conditions of the latter 20th Century the US would have to continue the sort of global participation it had in the previous 160+ years
Come to think of it, I'm not sure if the Marshall plan still happens ITTL given the lack of a communist threat from a reformed USSR that gives up aggression for the sake of economic rebuilding.
 
The economic rebuilding was connected to returning US exports to Europe back to what would keep the US economy running at the desired level. To put it another way the US government guaranteed loans from US banks to Europe so the Europeans could buy stuff from the US. The European banking system was wrecked & needed a cash infusion. The US banks saw loans to a place where that was pretty much burned to the ground as excess risk & government guarantees were necessary to speed things up. The Bretton Woods Agreement had the same aim from the US PoV, to enable the Europeans to start large scale purchases of things they needed. Mostly infrastructure stuff. It was more about getting the cash the US banks were sitting on into circulation to benefit US industry and keep US labor employed. To do that it was necessary to get Europes economy going. The US has never been a autarky and always depended heavily on exports, & Europe has always been a key customer.
 
I'm looking at the trends in US Army & the others during the 1920s for some clues. In that decade everyone was trying to prepare for the Next BIG ONE, drawing on Great War experience to guide their doctrines and R&D. There were actually some progressive development in that first decade. That was interrupted by a combination of the Depression, and a gradual stagnation in military thinking. Everyone including the Germans were trying to build armies according to the ideas developed in the 1920s, or reverting to earlier models. From 1938 that trend started to reverse. Absent a Cold War any other mass war threat I'd suspect R & D would have slowed and the fielding of many of the 1960s & 70s style equipment would have slowed. If there were only small wars on the horizon then the trends would have been to items suitable only for small wars.
I mostly agree with you except for the technology. In ITOL we spent a lot money with slight upgrades and very few felt stealth bombers. This should give the defense contractors a little more leeway to make a giant leap in technology versus just good enough to stay ahead of the USSR. to make the atom bomb was massively expensive and technologically giant leap and many areas had invention and it only took 5 years to build 6 if you want to stretch out back into the 30,s. Spending 1/5 per year of what they spent should give some pretty good scientists some pretty good ideas especially when you're pushing it over 20 years so they are able to get some good ideas that will revolutionize the world Maybe.
 
I wonder if this thread can apply to a TL where the Cold War goes hot in the late 40's that destroys the Soviet Union? I mean the lack of a threat to world peace or rather Western interests would negate the OTL post 40's Cold War development of various hardware and technology.
 
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