British Weapons Enter Service A Year Earlier

Yes, when they landed on rubber mats, it sure would have.


More seriously,what RN carriers had strong enough catapults to launch a early jet in 1945?
Eric Brown Landed and took off from HMS Ocean in November 1945, it might even have been a free take off. Anyway if needed I'm sure they could have used Jato packs to get off the deck.

No need for rubber mats to get back down either.
 
It might be significant that the first operational FAA jet was the Attacker, 1951 -1954. One can only imagine the look on Halsey's face.
 
did it have a full take off load, or partial tanks filled and no ammo?

taking off light is easy. Heavy, that's why the RN pushed for Steam Cats over free takeoff.
As I said earlier, there's always Jato packs to help with that if needed.

To be fair given the limited endurance of early jets, they'd only be used for point defence anyway, and I see any deployment to the BPF as more of an operational test than anything else.
 
IIRC the RN Signal School at Portsmouth proposed a 50 centimetre radar in 1931, but AFAIK work didn't begin until 1936, a year after the "Daventry Experiment."

If the above is correct would it be feasible to have British naval radars entering service 2-3 years earlier than OTL with a POD of 1931?

Although that is 5 years ahead of OTL development is likely to be at a slower pace in the period 1931-36 due to finance, a more peaceful world and longer service trails because there was no need to rush new equipment into service before it was properly tested.

Would the British Army have adopted the Admiralty's 50cm radar for Anti-Aircraft Command instead of the 5 metre Gun Laying (GL) and 1.5 metre Search Light Control (SLC) sets?

According to the www.anti-aircraft.co.uk website...
  • 410 GL Mk 1 sets were delivered August 1939 to April 1941
  • 1,679 GL Mk 2 sets were delivered June 1940 to August 1943
  • 100 SLC sets were delivered September 1940 to February 1941
  • 8,796 SLC sets were delivered April 1941 to December 1943
Would the performance of AA Command in the Battle of Britain and Blitz have been significantly improved?

Also with the significantly earlier start on radar development would it be possible to bring the deliveries forward by one year? E.g. 410 GL Mk 1 sets (50cm) delivered August 1938 to April 1940 instead of 410 GL Mk I sets (5 metre) delivered August 1939 to April 1941.

The RAF's Airborne Interception (AI) radars Mks I to IV used the 1.5 metre wavelength. Would they have been significantly better if they had used the 50 cm wavelength? Also with the earlier start on radar development would AI radar and its associated network of Ground Controlled Interception (GCI) stations have come into service a year or two earlier?
 
The Air ministry pulls it finger out and actually uses the funds allocated for developing and tweaking the Hispano 20 mm cannon.
If the cannon is fully developed before the Americans acquire the licence, then it would probably be more reliable and widespread in US service.
 
Earlier development of the Vickers-Berthier LMG (i.e. 1931) and Vickers K (i.e. 1934) and the Vickers J/Central Action.
According to a Russian website, this gun could use a "disk" (pan magazine) or a "ribbon" (belt) feet. The Vickers J enters
service instead of the Browning .303 and is also used as a vehicle machinegun instead of the BESA 7.98mm.

Knock on effects.
British Army machine guns at the beginning of war standardised as follows.
LMG: Bren
MMG: Vickers K with 91 round pan drum mag
HMG: Vickers D, .5" calibre, air cooled, belt fed. Also used as a defensive armament for bombers.
Tanks: Vickers J

Later in the war, the simplified BESAL replacement for the Bren is adapted for take the Vickers J feed system, which replaces both the Bren and the Vickers K as a General Purpose Machine Gun.

And maybe this is cheating, the adoption of a British machine gun persuades tank developers to look for British engines for their tanks, meaning that the Liberty is never adopted and later interwar tanks use the Napier Lion.
 
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OK, one with a specific PoD.

Freyberg is given acess to the ULTRA decrypts in the leadup to the German assault on Crete and the Allies are better prepared.
Result: Crete holds. The allies capture examples of this weapon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7.5_cm_Leichtgeschütz_40
Giving Sir Denis Burney information on the flaws and difficulties of developing reciloilless rifles. The Burney Gun enters service in 1944
in 75 mm calibre.

Knockon effect: The HESH warhead in Burney's design is adapted for Ordnance 75mm gun, giving it a more effective anti armour capability.
 
So what is it that prompts the Government to realise that war is all but inevitable in 1938 instead of after the takeover of Czechoslovakia? Up until then Chamberlain still thought it could be avoided.

Earlier entry of mass produced escorts could also butterfly away the delays to the carriers.
 
did it have a full take off load, or partial tanks filled and no ammo?

taking off light is easy. Heavy, that's why the RN pushed for Steam Cats over free takeoff.
I am unable to find those details. The trials were interesting. The Vampire had been modified somewhat, 40% larger flaps, arrestor hook and "various minor equipment changes", and Brown initially landed in fog having missed the order that the trials were cancelled due to the fog.
 
... and Brown initially landed in fog having missed the order that the trials were cancelled due to the fog.
There's a question of whether he missed the order or simply ignored and and claimed that he missed it so as to be able to attempt the landing, going from what I've read about the man the second option would seem rather in keeping with his character. :)
 
There's a question of whether he missed the order or simply ignored and and claimed that he missed it so as to be able to attempt the landing, going from what I've read about the man the second option would seem rather in keeping with his character. :)
Oh, absolutely.
 
Earlier development of the Vickers-Berthier LMG (i.e. 1931) and Vickers K (i.e. 1934) and the Vickers J/Central Action.
According to a Russian website, this gun could use a "disk" (pan magazine) or a "ribbon" (belt) feet. The Vickers J enters
service instead of the Browning .303 and is also used as a vehicle machinegun instead of the BESA 7.98mm.

Have you got any information on the Vickers J. I have googled it trying lots of variations but nothing seems to come up.
 
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