Stupid Luck and Happenstance, Thread II
- Thread starter Peabody-Martini
- Start date
Just a thought, with the 4 olympus engines, the Vulcan has a top speed of mach 0.95. if the German Pilots had to slow down to near stall speeds to get the photos then I think the RAF are pulling a fast one on the Germans.
By flying that slowly, the Germans will not have an accurate picture of it's top speed and are more likely to under estimate the performance.
Slow tests over the North Sea where the Germans can see it, fast tests over the mid-Atlantic where they can't.
By flying that slowly, the Germans will not have an accurate picture of it's top speed and are more likely to under estimate the performance.
Slow tests over the North Sea where the Germans can see it, fast tests over the mid-Atlantic where they can't.
An airplane can stall at any speed and altitude. What it means is that the wings are no longer generating enough lift to keep the plane in the air. Because of its design the Vulcan is a very difficult airplane to stall. As depicted, a more conventional airplane would have an extremely hard time sticking with one engaged in evasive maneuvers without falling from the sky. If it was pure intercept, paint with radar and shoot down it would probably be different, but they were trying to get close enough for a photograph.
Part 77, Chapter 1153
Chapter One Thousand One Hundred Fifty-Three
14th November 1955
Peenemünde
Staring out the small window of the simulator, Albrecht had thought that it couldn’t get any worse. Then it did.
“This place is amazing” Albrecht heard Ilse say over the headphones. “From a purely scientific standpoint that is.”
“You didn’t tell us that your girlfriend was scientist” Director von Braun said, “I’ve had an enjoyable afternoon showing the lovely Doctor Tritten around.”
For the last few weeks Albrecht had been trapped in Peenemünde where he had been subjected to every medical test that they could think of. Then some more that he was certain that they must have made up on the spot. As the first alternate he had to do everything that Linus Dunst did. Today they had him in what they said approximated the capsule that would take him into outer space, for the entire day, practicing every combination of system failure imaginable. The checklist was starting to haunt Albrecht’s dreams. And the simulator seemed to be growing smaller every hour he spent in it. Having Ilse show up on this day of all days was just too much and the Director had better be keeping his hands to himself…
“You do know that we hear you Bert?” Ilse said, and Albrecht was certain that he heard laughter in the control room. The throat mic had just caught the bit of his thoughts that he had inadvertently said aloud. There was also a video camera recording his every facial expression.
“Your girlfriend is in good hands Kapitänleutnant” The Director said, now Albrecht could hear uproarious laughter in the control room. They must be just as bored as he was out there, unfortunately for him they had decided that he would be the entertainment this afternoon.
“Can we take a break for lunch?” Albrecht asked.
“That is not something that you can do in orbit” The Director replied.
“The mission is supposed to last no more than five hours” Albrecht said, “I’ve already been in here for six.”
There was some deliberation in the control room.
“Very well” The Director said, “Just be back in there in one hour.”
Climbing out of the hatch, Albrecht knew that he had another month before he was scheduled to leave for Vietnam. The Space Program wanted to start launch operations as soon as the rainy season ended in Cam Ranh. They were saying that they had the bugs worked out on the Atgeir 5, Albrecht hoped that they knew what they were talking about because the prototype had blown up on the launchpad six months earlier.
After climbing up the ladder to the airlock, and letting it cycle Albrecht saw Ilse peering curiously through the window of the outer door. At least he would be in good company when he ate lunch today.
Berlin
Watching the Gräfin talk with her daughter about what she had done for the first half of the day in Kindergarten. It seemed that driving her teachers to distraction with endless questions was Tatiana’s favorite thing to do. Her mother’s pregnancy was her favorite topic of late because Tatiana had discovered that it caused most adults to run for cover. The strangest part was that the Gräfin was encouraging that behavior. Then Tatiana had spent the rest of the morning playing capture the flag in the park next to the school with her friends. Every evening Katherine made a point of listening to Tatiana and Malcolm for an hour as they clamored to tell her what adventures they had during the day.
Sigi had difficulty reconciling the different aspects of the Gräfin’s personality. So far, she had seen four of them and in all of them one might think that she was an entirely different person. The Gräfin was warm with her children, but absolutely icy and stern with the men under her command. She behaved in the same icy manner with Sigi if anyone else was around. The Gräfin had said that it was what she needed to be and if Sigi wanted to have a successful career she would need to be different things to different people. An entirely different aspect of the Gräfin’s personality revealed itself when she was advised about lifting the ban on her Mother-in-Law. It seemed that Katherine had Margot Blackwood banned from Germany a few years earlier because the alternative involved murder. Then Oberfeldarzt Nora Berg had shown up on the prior Saturday afternoon and had demanded to know why the Gräfin had not called her as soon as she had learned of her condition. Sigi had heard Katherine mutter something about not wanting to hide a body in her condition under her breath and she meant it. It was then that Sigi realized that the Gräfin was not someone to make an enemy of.
Today, she saw the fourth aspect. They had driven to northern Berlin where Katherine had decided that she wanted to go to a graveyard. The Gräfin’s face seemed pale and she was looking mournfully at a grave marker.
“This isn’t the only grave here” Katherine said, “My father is buried beside her, but we didn’t put maker here for him because of what might happen.”
Sigi had heard the rumors about what Katherine’s father had been, a master criminal of some kind. Her mother had died extremely young from the looks of things.
“I come here from time to time as a reminder to take nothing for granted” The Gräfin said.
“What prompted it today?” Sigi asked.
“Life” The Gräfin replied, “The twins are getting older and today I thought I felt the first fluttering of this one.”
The Gräfin emphasized her abdomen.
“What is that like?” Sigi asked.
“Terrifying” The Gräfin replied.
14th November 1955
Peenemünde
Staring out the small window of the simulator, Albrecht had thought that it couldn’t get any worse. Then it did.
“This place is amazing” Albrecht heard Ilse say over the headphones. “From a purely scientific standpoint that is.”
“You didn’t tell us that your girlfriend was scientist” Director von Braun said, “I’ve had an enjoyable afternoon showing the lovely Doctor Tritten around.”
For the last few weeks Albrecht had been trapped in Peenemünde where he had been subjected to every medical test that they could think of. Then some more that he was certain that they must have made up on the spot. As the first alternate he had to do everything that Linus Dunst did. Today they had him in what they said approximated the capsule that would take him into outer space, for the entire day, practicing every combination of system failure imaginable. The checklist was starting to haunt Albrecht’s dreams. And the simulator seemed to be growing smaller every hour he spent in it. Having Ilse show up on this day of all days was just too much and the Director had better be keeping his hands to himself…
“You do know that we hear you Bert?” Ilse said, and Albrecht was certain that he heard laughter in the control room. The throat mic had just caught the bit of his thoughts that he had inadvertently said aloud. There was also a video camera recording his every facial expression.
“Your girlfriend is in good hands Kapitänleutnant” The Director said, now Albrecht could hear uproarious laughter in the control room. They must be just as bored as he was out there, unfortunately for him they had decided that he would be the entertainment this afternoon.
“Can we take a break for lunch?” Albrecht asked.
“That is not something that you can do in orbit” The Director replied.
“The mission is supposed to last no more than five hours” Albrecht said, “I’ve already been in here for six.”
There was some deliberation in the control room.
“Very well” The Director said, “Just be back in there in one hour.”
Climbing out of the hatch, Albrecht knew that he had another month before he was scheduled to leave for Vietnam. The Space Program wanted to start launch operations as soon as the rainy season ended in Cam Ranh. They were saying that they had the bugs worked out on the Atgeir 5, Albrecht hoped that they knew what they were talking about because the prototype had blown up on the launchpad six months earlier.
After climbing up the ladder to the airlock, and letting it cycle Albrecht saw Ilse peering curiously through the window of the outer door. At least he would be in good company when he ate lunch today.
Berlin
Watching the Gräfin talk with her daughter about what she had done for the first half of the day in Kindergarten. It seemed that driving her teachers to distraction with endless questions was Tatiana’s favorite thing to do. Her mother’s pregnancy was her favorite topic of late because Tatiana had discovered that it caused most adults to run for cover. The strangest part was that the Gräfin was encouraging that behavior. Then Tatiana had spent the rest of the morning playing capture the flag in the park next to the school with her friends. Every evening Katherine made a point of listening to Tatiana and Malcolm for an hour as they clamored to tell her what adventures they had during the day.
Sigi had difficulty reconciling the different aspects of the Gräfin’s personality. So far, she had seen four of them and in all of them one might think that she was an entirely different person. The Gräfin was warm with her children, but absolutely icy and stern with the men under her command. She behaved in the same icy manner with Sigi if anyone else was around. The Gräfin had said that it was what she needed to be and if Sigi wanted to have a successful career she would need to be different things to different people. An entirely different aspect of the Gräfin’s personality revealed itself when she was advised about lifting the ban on her Mother-in-Law. It seemed that Katherine had Margot Blackwood banned from Germany a few years earlier because the alternative involved murder. Then Oberfeldarzt Nora Berg had shown up on the prior Saturday afternoon and had demanded to know why the Gräfin had not called her as soon as she had learned of her condition. Sigi had heard Katherine mutter something about not wanting to hide a body in her condition under her breath and she meant it. It was then that Sigi realized that the Gräfin was not someone to make an enemy of.
Today, she saw the fourth aspect. They had driven to northern Berlin where Katherine had decided that she wanted to go to a graveyard. The Gräfin’s face seemed pale and she was looking mournfully at a grave marker.
“This isn’t the only grave here” Katherine said, “My father is buried beside her, but we didn’t put maker here for him because of what might happen.”
Sigi had heard the rumors about what Katherine’s father had been, a master criminal of some kind. Her mother had died extremely young from the looks of things.
“I come here from time to time as a reminder to take nothing for granted” The Gräfin said.
“What prompted it today?” Sigi asked.
“Life” The Gräfin replied, “The twins are getting older and today I thought I felt the first fluttering of this one.”
The Gräfin emphasized her abdomen.
“What is that like?” Sigi asked.
“Terrifying” The Gräfin replied.
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Peabody-Martini wrote:
There are certain “truisms” that cross all known time and space that require inclusion in any decent timeline… This is one of those
The fact it was ‘stealth’ before anyone else knew what that was is going to tweak the Germans quite a bit more than them managing a picture is going to do to the Brits.
Though it does beg the question of the rest of the “V-Bomber’s” since the Victor was achingly close to the “supersonic-dash” bomber everyone was looking for while the Valiant B2 was the low-and-fast penetration bomber no one yet knew they needed. I suspect the Brit’s have the Valiant (standard) in service but without the “Pathfinder” experience of OTL WWII they probably won’t get to the B2 model at all TTL. The Victor on the other hand…
https://hushkit.net/2013/05/12/the-black-bomber-rowland-white-discusses-the-valiant-b2/
Randy
There are certain “truisms” that cross all known time and space that require inclusion in any decent timeline… This is one of those
The fact it was ‘stealth’ before anyone else knew what that was is going to tweak the Germans quite a bit more than them managing a picture is going to do to the Brits.Though it does beg the question of the rest of the “V-Bomber’s” since the Victor was achingly close to the “supersonic-dash” bomber everyone was looking for while the Valiant B2 was the low-and-fast penetration bomber no one yet knew they needed. I suspect the Brit’s have the Valiant (standard) in service but without the “Pathfinder” experience of OTL WWII they probably won’t get to the B2 model at all TTL. The Victor on the other hand…
https://hushkit.net/2013/05/12/the-black-bomber-rowland-white-discusses-the-valiant-b2/
Randy
I'm guessing the German would need the expertise of a certain Horten brothersPeabody-Martini wrote:
There are certain “truisms” that cross all known time and space that require inclusion in any decent timeline… This is one of those
Though it does beg the question of the rest of the “V-Bomber’s” since the Victor was achingly close to the “supersonic-dash” bomber everyone was looking for while the Valiant B2 was the low-and-fast penetration bomber no one yet knew they needed. I suspect the Brit’s have the Valiant (standard) in service but without the “Pathfinder” experience of OTL WWII they probably won’t get to the B2 model at all TTL. The Victor on the other hand…
https://hushkit.net/2013/05/12/the-black-bomber-rowland-white-discusses-the-valiant-b2/
Randy
Holy cow, I trust Malcolm Sr. and Dougy have been in contact, and Margot has "grown up" a bit. Quite the step after her last appearance in Germany. I hope she has become a bit more human.
I'll just head this off at the pass and note that the flying wing is not inherently stealth and the Germans didn't have anything approaching a stealth jet.
The Ho-229 was slightly smaller on radar than a BF-109, but only against old Chain Home stuff and it was twice as fast anyways.
Part 77, Chapter 1154
Chapter One Thousand One Hundred Fifty-Four
2nd December 1955
London, England
They had flown all the way to England to join Queen Elizabeth as she presided over the ceremonial opening of the new terminal of the London Airport, formally known Great West Aerodrome, the same airport that Kat had flown out of many times. For some reason, they had ended up staying overnight when Kat felt that they could have arranged to never have to leave the airport. Fly in, everyone gives their speeches and the ribbon is cut, then fly back home before anyone even noticed that they had left. Instead Kat spent a mostly sleepless night on a too soft, unfamiliar bed in a London hotel room across the hall from Emperor Louis. On the other hand, leaving Sigi in Berlin to mind her affairs while she was away in London was a definite plus.
When Freddy had begged off Michael had been dragooned into being a stand in. The fifteen-year-old Prince of Bohemia was far more comfortable astride a horse than trying to learn the role of diplomat at his father’s side. It was also clear what the ulterior motives were from the way that Michael kept finding himself in the company of Princess Alberta. Right now, they were an awkward teenager and a shy preadolescent girl but fifteen or sixteen years from now there were possibilities. Kat found the whole thing pretentious, no one had any way of knowing if Michael and Alberta would be remotely compatible a decade and a half from now.
Mercifully, Elizabeth finished her speech and Louis could start his. The Emperor was normally good at keeping these things brief. Kat had watched him practice what he was going to say on the plane the day before. Bridging the distances between nations, peace, exchange of ideas and friendship. Kat had almost said that he should say something that wasn’t a cliché but had thought better of it. The sooner that the Emperor was done then they could be on their way home.
“Do you need to sit down Katherine?” Elizabeth asked.
“I’m fine” Kat replied. Though she was aware that she wasn’t.
Elizabeth looked at Kat’s midsection with a look on her face that basically said that she knew Kat was full of shit. At nearly six months Kat was already showing and the uniform tunic did little to hide it.
“You need to because the men under your command are watching over you as much as they are your Kaiser” Elizabeth said, matter of fact.
“I was clear in my orders” Kat replied, “Orders that they are breaking if that is what they are doing.”
“It’s not that simple and you know how men can be” Elizabeth said, “Last year with Mary was a real nuisance.”
Since Alberta, Elizabeth had had two more children, Anne and Mary. Three girls. It was being said around England that they had best be prepared to have one Queen or another for an extremely long time at the rate that they were going. Kat personally didn’t see what the problem was with that, she should know about being a woman in what was traditionally a man’s role.
“I’m scheduled to go on maternity leave starting next week” Kat said, “But this was arranged months ago.”
“I see” Elizabeth said as she led Kat over to the seats of what would be area of the airport terminal with shops selling food, magazines and whatnot to travelers. “It’s been entirely too long since we had a chance to visit.”
“What about the ribbon cutting?” Kat asked.
“We will have Alberta do that, if there is one thing my daughter seldom has to be asked to do twice it is cutting things up” Elizabeth said and then she turned to one of her people and sent him for two cups of tea.
A few minutes later two paper cups were placed on the table between them. “I probably shouldn’t” Kat said.
“Why is that?” Elizabeth asked.
“At home, my diet and exercise are closely monitored by a woman who I am certain is the reincarnation of Attia the Hun” Kat replied, “One of the things she is clear about is no caffeine during pregnancy.”
“Then it will be our secret” Elizabeth said, “Why does the Tigress of Pankow put up with such a woman?”
“Because she’s my Doctor and because she holds an equivalent rank to mine in the Medical Service, I can’t just have her thrown out as much as I want to” Kat replied, then she paused for a few seconds, “Why are you doing this?”
“Because you are the friend who arranged for me to sneak off and learn to drive a tank” Elizabeth said, “A debt that can never truly be repaid.”
“That was years ago” Kat replied, before she took a sip of tea.
“And you never asked for anything in return” Elizabeth replied.
“You have nothing I want.”
Elizabeth gave Kat a strange look, “That is something that I very seldom have heard anyone say to me” She said.
Kat just shrugged, she was beyond caring what anyone thought about her. It didn’t shock her that most of the people who approached Elizabeth wanted something. She knew that from her role as Kira’s advisor and it was a big part of why she was trying to help Kiki eventually escape that life.
2nd December 1955
London, England
They had flown all the way to England to join Queen Elizabeth as she presided over the ceremonial opening of the new terminal of the London Airport, formally known Great West Aerodrome, the same airport that Kat had flown out of many times. For some reason, they had ended up staying overnight when Kat felt that they could have arranged to never have to leave the airport. Fly in, everyone gives their speeches and the ribbon is cut, then fly back home before anyone even noticed that they had left. Instead Kat spent a mostly sleepless night on a too soft, unfamiliar bed in a London hotel room across the hall from Emperor Louis. On the other hand, leaving Sigi in Berlin to mind her affairs while she was away in London was a definite plus.
When Freddy had begged off Michael had been dragooned into being a stand in. The fifteen-year-old Prince of Bohemia was far more comfortable astride a horse than trying to learn the role of diplomat at his father’s side. It was also clear what the ulterior motives were from the way that Michael kept finding himself in the company of Princess Alberta. Right now, they were an awkward teenager and a shy preadolescent girl but fifteen or sixteen years from now there were possibilities. Kat found the whole thing pretentious, no one had any way of knowing if Michael and Alberta would be remotely compatible a decade and a half from now.
Mercifully, Elizabeth finished her speech and Louis could start his. The Emperor was normally good at keeping these things brief. Kat had watched him practice what he was going to say on the plane the day before. Bridging the distances between nations, peace, exchange of ideas and friendship. Kat had almost said that he should say something that wasn’t a cliché but had thought better of it. The sooner that the Emperor was done then they could be on their way home.
“Do you need to sit down Katherine?” Elizabeth asked.
“I’m fine” Kat replied. Though she was aware that she wasn’t.
Elizabeth looked at Kat’s midsection with a look on her face that basically said that she knew Kat was full of shit. At nearly six months Kat was already showing and the uniform tunic did little to hide it.
“You need to because the men under your command are watching over you as much as they are your Kaiser” Elizabeth said, matter of fact.
“I was clear in my orders” Kat replied, “Orders that they are breaking if that is what they are doing.”
“It’s not that simple and you know how men can be” Elizabeth said, “Last year with Mary was a real nuisance.”
Since Alberta, Elizabeth had had two more children, Anne and Mary. Three girls. It was being said around England that they had best be prepared to have one Queen or another for an extremely long time at the rate that they were going. Kat personally didn’t see what the problem was with that, she should know about being a woman in what was traditionally a man’s role.
“I’m scheduled to go on maternity leave starting next week” Kat said, “But this was arranged months ago.”
“I see” Elizabeth said as she led Kat over to the seats of what would be area of the airport terminal with shops selling food, magazines and whatnot to travelers. “It’s been entirely too long since we had a chance to visit.”
“What about the ribbon cutting?” Kat asked.
“We will have Alberta do that, if there is one thing my daughter seldom has to be asked to do twice it is cutting things up” Elizabeth said and then she turned to one of her people and sent him for two cups of tea.
A few minutes later two paper cups were placed on the table between them. “I probably shouldn’t” Kat said.
“Why is that?” Elizabeth asked.
“At home, my diet and exercise are closely monitored by a woman who I am certain is the reincarnation of Attia the Hun” Kat replied, “One of the things she is clear about is no caffeine during pregnancy.”
“Then it will be our secret” Elizabeth said, “Why does the Tigress of Pankow put up with such a woman?”
“Because she’s my Doctor and because she holds an equivalent rank to mine in the Medical Service, I can’t just have her thrown out as much as I want to” Kat replied, then she paused for a few seconds, “Why are you doing this?”
“Because you are the friend who arranged for me to sneak off and learn to drive a tank” Elizabeth said, “A debt that can never truly be repaid.”
“That was years ago” Kat replied, before she took a sip of tea.
“And you never asked for anything in return” Elizabeth replied.
“You have nothing I want.”
Elizabeth gave Kat a strange look, “That is something that I very seldom have heard anyone say to me” She said.
Kat just shrugged, she was beyond caring what anyone thought about her. It didn’t shock her that most of the people who approached Elizabeth wanted something. She knew that from her role as Kira’s advisor and it was a big part of why she was trying to help Kiki eventually escape that life.
Oh, come on now, Kat, I'm sure there is something you want to do around London. Being the friend of the Queen means all sorts of fun stuff.
Sneak into his home, shortsheet his bed, and drink all of his milk?
Or you could be evil, and correct the factual errors in his latest draft novel?