Keynes' Cruisers Volume 2
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Good point. All of Czechoslovakia would be a sizable salient flanking southern Poland. Although I don't know if NATO Czechia would be equivalent to OTL Czechia.
Story 2943
Narvik, Norway, April 10, 1981
The bosun piped loudly as HMS Vanguard steamed out of the fjord. Hundreds of sailors came to attention and saluted to the war graves of the Norwegian coastal defense ships that drew first blood in the defense of the city that the carrier group had almost ruined after a long run ashore at the middle break during the NATO spring exercises. Two dozen warships from seven nations had crowded the waterfront. Sailors, marines and more than a few air force pukes had overwhelmed the city. A small contingent of old men never had to buy a drink or wait in line though as they tromped through the terrors of their youth.
Three days later, Vanguard had joined with Queen Elizabeth and her battle group to take on the American and French carrier force built around Nimitz, Eisenhower and Foch. The old carrier had one good day as her Buccaneers screamed in on a high level raid, seventy feet off the deck. The umpires had agreed that the flight of six bombers managed to put at least five bombs into Nimitz. The next day, the Hawkeyes had turned up their gain and flights of Tomcats and Phantoms had jumped two follow-on raids.
Eleven months later, the old carrier went to sea for the last time on a long slow journey to a scrap yard in India. Her bombers would reinforce RAF Germany while her fighters would go into an attrition and war emergency reserve for the three Queens that were now the center of the Fleet.
The bosun piped loudly as HMS Vanguard steamed out of the fjord. Hundreds of sailors came to attention and saluted to the war graves of the Norwegian coastal defense ships that drew first blood in the defense of the city that the carrier group had almost ruined after a long run ashore at the middle break during the NATO spring exercises. Two dozen warships from seven nations had crowded the waterfront. Sailors, marines and more than a few air force pukes had overwhelmed the city. A small contingent of old men never had to buy a drink or wait in line though as they tromped through the terrors of their youth.
Three days later, Vanguard had joined with Queen Elizabeth and her battle group to take on the American and French carrier force built around Nimitz, Eisenhower and Foch. The old carrier had one good day as her Buccaneers screamed in on a high level raid, seventy feet off the deck. The umpires had agreed that the flight of six bombers managed to put at least five bombs into Nimitz. The next day, the Hawkeyes had turned up their gain and flights of Tomcats and Phantoms had jumped two follow-on raids.
Eleven months later, the old carrier went to sea for the last time on a long slow journey to a scrap yard in India. Her bombers would reinforce RAF Germany while her fighters would go into an attrition and war emergency reserve for the three Queens that were now the center of the Fleet.
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Anything where you need more than your fingers to count the altitude in feet is an ultra high level raid for Bananas.
Nice to see the FAA remaining strong well into the 80s, with 3 CTOL carriers forming the core of the fleet.
(Deck not decade).
Interesting, she almost made it a full 40 years in service. Also interesting to see the RN retaining a CTOL carrier capability all through the Cold War. I expect nobody in Argentina even contemplated anything like the OTL Falklands war if there were at least two large carriers in service.
The RN kept 4 big carriers and between 3 to 6 lighter fleet carriers in service through the late 60s. A tranche of 3 ASW carriers were laid down 1966, 1967 and 1969 to replace the light fleets along with a pair of LPHs so a 5:6 replacement for role and 3 55,000 ton Catobars were laid down in the mid-70s for a 3:4 replacement. The prewar design fleet carriers never got a rebuild in the 50s and seldom left the reserve basin past the late 50s before scrapping in the 60s. There was a failed attempt to preserve Ark Royal but her name lived on.
A slower and less bloody retreat from Empire, fewer colonial wars (Kenya yes. Malaya no) and the analogue of Korea not really happening) does a wonder for the Treasury.
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So I take it that the names of the three British Aircraft Carriers are:
HMS Queen Elizabeth
HMS Ark Royal
HMS Warspite (figured that for the most decorated ship in British history...)
Or did you have a different idea for the CATOBARs?
Also, are the ASW Carriers the OTL Invincible class or something similar?
the OTL carriers planned in the 60's had the second carrier as Duke of Edinburgh.
Queen Elizabeth,
Queen Mary (nod to the WWI BC)
Queen Victoria
The 3 ASW carriers are roughly 28,000 tons, STOL ships that are optimized as air warfare ships... the typical air wing is:
8 Harriers (or this TL equivilent as the RAF still wants something that can fly without a runway but the RN will always have a rolling take-off) configured for anti-MPA roles
12 large ASW choppers
4 general purpose ASW choppers
Able to support STOL aircraft like OV-10 Broncos as CODs but not typically deployed with them.
Air defenses is limited to 1st Sea Cat and the a late 70s/early 80s refit to multiple Sea Wolf launchers and multiple 40L70 gun stations initially and then a CIWS as a 1:1 replacement. No Sea Dart (those are carried by the Type 82s and stretched Type 42s) and enough C2 facilities for a convoy but not independent large task force. Speed is limited to 27 knots, CODAG propulsion.
Ships are Formidable, Invincible, Ark Royal
The two LPHs are built on the same general design concept but the magazines are stripped out, the hanger is reduced and speed is taken down to 22 knots. Can carry and simultaneously put ashore 2 companies of Royal Marines. The rest of the Commando will be carried on the LPD and LSTs that are part of the amphibious group.
WARSPITE is an SSN.
This is an amazing timeline you made and sad to see that it’s almost over but I have enjoyed it!
How about Suez Crisis*?
*Searching both of the threads for Nasser, without luck. Perhaps you mentioned him subtlety without naming name?
There will be a Suez-esque crisis as Egypt goes independent. The US has the dollar/Bretton Woods stick to use but given the ability of the UK to maintain their interests in the Levant, there is a bit more leeway in Washington.
Too much money long term? How much different is British GDP by 1980 compared to OTL? That said what happened to the British aircraft industry TTL? And for that matter to the French and Italian aircraft industries?
Hmm. I don't want to presume of course but OTL there were pretty strong arguments within the foreign office in 1945-46 for giving Cyprus to Greece. The main argument against this was the fear Greece might go communist. TTL presumably there was no Greek civil war and Greece should be much closer to Britain post war. So if there is no union as early as 1946 there should be a staged approach towards self-government and then union in the 1950s - early 60s.
Story 2944
Cranberry, Pennsylvania April 18, 1994
"Honey, if you're trying to pass a note without being seen, you're doing it wrong."
"What do you mean grandmere?"
The fourteen year old loved her grandmother. She always made the best pastries among all the adults in the family, and she had made it a point to show up to every event she ever had even if there were no other grandparents or parents in the stands for a Math Olympiad competition or a softball game. Grandmere had picked her up from 8th grade after the principal called her parents first and then her grandmother was called to pick her up. She had been caught passing notes to a friend during history class for the third time in a month.
"Whatever you're doing, you're tipping your teacher off. So show me how you're passing a note?"
"Okay" The young girl took out a piece of paper and quickly scribbled a doodle on it. She scrunched the paper into a tight ball and then reached out to hand her grandmother a silly little stick figure drawing.
"Did no one ever teach you how to pass a note girl!?' Anna Marie smiled as she remembered her misspent youth and the exhilerating scary nights in dark basements in Paris where she knew that one mistake would lead to, at best, a single bullet to the brain, and at worst, a desire for that quick escape. "I guess I'm going to have to teach you...."
"Now we're going to start with the basics; and the first thing is to act as normal as possible when you are doing the most abnormal and rule violating things... don't be nervous, don't look around looking for trouble, if you do look, just look at the corner of your eye as you reach down for your pencil case or tie your shoe or pick something up off the floor, or pick at a piece of lint in a friend's hair. We'll work on a brush pass and dead drops later on.
Three hours later, her granddaughter was giggling as her grandmother reviewed the basic rules of being an unnoticed troublemaker. And then a thought hit her...
"Grandmere, where and why did you learn all of this, everything you and Grandpa have told me about raising Mom was that you lived a quiet life."
"Well we did live a quiet life once we got to the States in '47, but before that there was the war, and people either picked up on how to survive and be useful or they died. And sometimes the best of them still died, but the dumb died quickly."
"Did you ever tell anyone what you did during the war? Besides work as a secretary for the railroads? "
"No, I have not."
"Can you?"
"Perhaps... and maybe if you stay out of trouble, you can listen."
THE END
"Honey, if you're trying to pass a note without being seen, you're doing it wrong."
"What do you mean grandmere?"
The fourteen year old loved her grandmother. She always made the best pastries among all the adults in the family, and she had made it a point to show up to every event she ever had even if there were no other grandparents or parents in the stands for a Math Olympiad competition or a softball game. Grandmere had picked her up from 8th grade after the principal called her parents first and then her grandmother was called to pick her up. She had been caught passing notes to a friend during history class for the third time in a month.
"Whatever you're doing, you're tipping your teacher off. So show me how you're passing a note?"
"Okay" The young girl took out a piece of paper and quickly scribbled a doodle on it. She scrunched the paper into a tight ball and then reached out to hand her grandmother a silly little stick figure drawing.
"Did no one ever teach you how to pass a note girl!?' Anna Marie smiled as she remembered her misspent youth and the exhilerating scary nights in dark basements in Paris where she knew that one mistake would lead to, at best, a single bullet to the brain, and at worst, a desire for that quick escape. "I guess I'm going to have to teach you...."
"Now we're going to start with the basics; and the first thing is to act as normal as possible when you are doing the most abnormal and rule violating things... don't be nervous, don't look around looking for trouble, if you do look, just look at the corner of your eye as you reach down for your pencil case or tie your shoe or pick something up off the floor, or pick at a piece of lint in a friend's hair. We'll work on a brush pass and dead drops later on.
Three hours later, her granddaughter was giggling as her grandmother reviewed the basic rules of being an unnoticed troublemaker. And then a thought hit her...
"Grandmere, where and why did you learn all of this, everything you and Grandpa have told me about raising Mom was that you lived a quiet life."
"Well we did live a quiet life once we got to the States in '47, but before that there was the war, and people either picked up on how to survive and be useful or they died. And sometimes the best of them still died, but the dumb died quickly."
"Did you ever tell anyone what you did during the war? Besides work as a secretary for the railroads? "
"No, I have not."
"Can you?"
"Perhaps... and maybe if you stay out of trouble, you can listen."
THE END
Holy fuck, I am done with something that started to haunt me on my walks in the spring of 2016
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