Untimely Designs

by gerald hall

  “Reassign them to the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. We can certainly use those forces to finally cut off all support to German and Italian troops in North Africa. That will help end the Nazi threat to Egypt and the Arab oil fields as well. We lost more than enough capital ships already to U-Boats in the North Atlantic as well as all of the ships that spent time in the yards after that dreadful business with Bismarck and Scharnhorst. We need to focus on protecting our own people right now. ”

  Free French Naval Base

  Haiphong Harbor, French Indochina

  February 14, 1942

  “Admiral Phillips instructed me to discuss with you the sortie that you are planning with Dunkerque, Sir.” Royal Navy Captain Allan Tremaine explained to the Free French Navy commander in Indochina.

  “There is nothing to discuss, Capitaine. We are going to send our ships out to aggressively seek out the enemy and sink them. There is no reason why we cannot deal with the Japanese the same way that our fellow countrymen did with the Italian fleet.”

  The Royal Navy liaison did not even want to discuss the areas where French Navy ships were severely deficient such as sonar, radar and antiaircraft defenses, not at this time. He was just in such shock at the arrogance of the French naval commander.

  “Please reconsider this, Monsieur Amiral. The Japanese are by no means like the Italians. They are bloody-minded and competent as hell.”

  “We cannot let our warships sit idly in harbor while the Japanese roam the waters just outside of our territory, preparing to strike at any time, Monsieur.” Admiral Muselier insisted.

  “We will react to the moves by the Japanese with the appropriate response, Monsieur Amiral. We are very concerned that they may be attempting to bait our major units out into an ambush. This could be catastrophic for our efforts here. You already know what happened to the Americans when they sent out their Pacific Fleet. Could you at least wait until we can provide your most important vessels with upgraded equipment? We have already learned much about the increased threats from modern aircraft, submarines and warships of the Japanese Empire.

  We have read the intelligence reports that you have provided us. However, we are still skeptical that the Japanese capabilities even remotely approach our own.”

  “I understand that, Monsieur Amiral. But I must warn you to wait until we have an adequate number of ships fitted with the latest radio ranging and detection equipment. It would be a terrible blow to lose one of your capital ships unnecessarily because of a premature action on the part of one of your commanders. We have it on very good authority that the Japanese have an exceptionally capable type of torpedo fitted to many of its destroyers and cruisers. It is very fast, has an extraordinarily powerful warhead and can outrange any torpedo in either of our fleets, Sir.” Captain Tremaine warned. He had been given a brief description of the Japanese Type 93 torpedo by one of Harold’s technical advisors a few days earlier. That advisor had been briefed by Harold himself the day before about Japanese naval and aviation hardware. It had taken a while, but Harold and his people had finally managed to impress upon the British military leaders in Singapore the extent of Japanese military capabilities.

  “You have also said that the Japanese do not have any of this ‘radar’ equipment on their ships though. That should mean that we are on an equal footing, shouldn’t it? I assure you that my sailors will spot the Japanese long before they can get in range of these dreaded torpedoes of theirs. We have trained as long and as well as any navy in the world.” Admiral Muselier proudly boasted.

  “I certainly hope that you are right. However, the Japanese have shown themselves to be all too competent at warfare. We cannot afford to take them lightly.” Captain Tremaine strongly advised.

  “Trust me, Captain. We will not.”

  Free French Navy Battle Cruiser Dunkerque

  South China Sea, south of Hainan Island

  February 21, 1942

  The French battle cruiser Dunkerque’s commander Capitaine de vaisseau Jean-Paul Amiel stood on the bridge of his vessel looking out into the darkness with his binoculars, looking for any sign of Japanese vessels. Dunkerque, the light cruiser Emile Bertin and a pair of destroyers had been dispatched out of Haiphong harbor to patrol the seas just south of Hainan Island.

  “It looks to be a nice quiet night, Capitaine.”

  “I am hopeful that we are able to find those Japanese transports that were reported in the area. If we can sink several of those, it would take some pressure off of our men along the northern border with China. The Japanese have been continuing to make probing attacks along that border.”

  “Oui. But first we must find the Japanese out here in the darkness. Then we will destroy them just as Admiral Gensouf did the Italians on the way to Alexandria. Of course, we wish to bring all of our ships through the gauntlet and back home this time.”

  Unfortunately for Captain Amiel, a Japanese force of destroyers found Dunkerque first. The IJN destroyer Kagero and her two division mates did not hesitate when their lookouts spotted Dunkerque. Immediately, they turned and fired two dozen of their long ranged Long Lance torpedoes at the French battle cruiser.

  A French lookout aboard one of the destroyers spotted a Long Lance pass close by in the darkness and sounded the alarm. Only a few seconds later, the sounds of violent explosions could heard less than a kilometer away.

  The aim of the Japanese torpedomen had been deadly accurate as four of the Long Lances struck Dunkerque. The powerful explosions tore open two of her engine rooms, but the most devastating hit struck just below the battle cruiser’s Number Two main battery turret.

  Secondary explosions began to rock the stricken warship as ammunition and propellant charges began to go off inside of the turret’s magazine. Dunkerque had only managed to send off a short distress call over the wireless before all power went out. Only the water flooding into the magazine kept a catastrophic explosion from immediately blowing the ship in half.

  Her escorts initially turned to attempt to avoid any other Japanese torpedoes and attack in the direction that the torpedoes came from. But after realizing the desperate situation on board a rapidly listing Dunkerque, they turned back to render aid. By then, it was already far too late. Captain Amiel had already given the order to abandon ship once it was clear to him that his command was beyond saving.

  Hundreds of French sailors took to the water or crowded onto whatever lifeboats could be launched from the quickly capsizing warship. But nearly a third of Dunkerque’s complement went down with her. Heavy explosions from the detonation of Dunkerque’s Number One magazine punctuated the battle cruiser’s final plunge below the ocean’s surface after she finally rolled over and capsized.

  While the other French ships continued to pick up survivors from the sunken battle cruiser, Kagero and her division mates sailed away unmolested. If they had returned and launched another torpedo attack, it was entirely possible that they could have destroyed the entire French force. However, the Japanese commander decided not to risk engaging an alerted enemy force.

  The repercussions of the loss of Dunkerque were quickly felt in Haiphong and Hanoi even before Captain Amiel and the rest of the survivors from the sunken battle cruiser returned to port. The French had suddenly changed their attitude about going into combat.

  “We cannot risk our ships out there without adequate support.” Admiral Muselier angrily asserted as he sat at his Headquarters office desk in Haiphong after the commander of the Royal Navy’s Force Z came to visit several days after Dunkerque’s loss.

  “On this, I completely agree. But you sent your ships out on your own that night in spite of our admonitions against it. Unfortunately, we have lost a valuable asset and hundreds of brave sailors as a result. We have to work together if we are going to be effective against our common foes.” Admiral Thomas Phillips calmly explained.

  “A French force must still be commanded by a French officer.”

  “I understand your point. But unfortunately, yo
u do not have adequate supporting forces here to deal with the threat that the Japanese Navy poses. Together, as a joint force, we do have adequate support however. But we need you just as much as you need us. Strasbourg and the other Free French Navy ships here are powerful units that can certainly make a difference against the Japanese.”

  “You have to understand. Our sovereignty is very important to us, Monsieur.”

  “If we are to defeat the Axis powers, we must speak with a single voice and act with a common goal. If we do not, we will be divided and defeated. If we lose, our individual sovereignty will be irrelevant.”

  Admiral Muselier felt angry and humiliated. Part of him knew that Admiral Phillips was right. Yet, the French admiral felt that he needed to represent France, not merely be a part of a coalition. To give in to the British would be a tremendous blow to Admiral Muselier’s pride.

  Somehow, he had to find a way to overcome that. Fortunately, Admiral Phillips realized that as well and sought to find his own solution to the problem.

  “Your Free French forces are on the front line with ours. Our common goal is to defeat the Japanese and protect our interests here in Southeast Asia, correct?”

  “Oui.”

  “Then we must emphasize your importance to us and our importance to you in this effort, Admiral. We can work together to achieve something all of us can be proud of. In due time, our individual efforts will receive all the recognition that they deserve. I don’t know what else I can say. I just know that the Americans had a saying when they first broke away from the home country. ‘We must hang together or else we will surely hang separately.’

  Cavill Industries Main Office

  Derby, Western Australia

  February 26, 1942

  We just had a request come in from Singapore to adjust our shipyard schedule for upgrading Allied warships.” Harold commented after opening up an envelope that had just come in from Singapore on the daily Cavalier flight.

  What do they want this time?” Alexander Portman asked. The long time mechanical engineer and naval architect had just driven up from the Cavill Shipyard to the main office on another matter.

  “Admiral Phillips wants to push Strasbourg and a couple of the French destroyers to the front of the queue for radar and antiaircraft gun upgrades.”

  “I wonder what this is all about. It seems like every other day, there is another change in priorities.”

  “My inside sources tell me that the Brits had to find some way to get the French to see reason until the combined Allied fleet down here in the southwest Pacific was ready to begin real offensive operations. The French had tried to take on the Japanese on their own and lost half of their capital ship contingent as a result. So the British promised Admiral Muselier that they would arrange to get his ships refitted ahead of the rest of the force if he would agree to work in coorperation with the rest of the Coalition naval force.”

  “Of course, the French are still going to pay for all of this, aren’t they?” Alex asked.

  “Yes, they certainly are. Admiral Phillips is asking that the French get the best equipment available from us for their money. Strasbourg needs going to receive a full radar set that will be integrated with their existing fire control system. She should also going to have all of her light antiaircraft guns replaced with a combination of our new twenty-five millimeter gatling guns and our new six-pounder automatic cannon. The French destroyers will also need to receive new radars and upgrades to their sonar as well as upgrades for their antiaircraft guns.”

  I suppose that we will find out just how good those new guns really are then. We only have a few prototypes on the ships that we have built in our own yards so far.

  In any event, this requirement will push us right to the limit on our production capacity, Sir. We just can’t produce any more without a substantial expansion of our facilities and of our full-time workforce.”

  “Fair Dinkin. We will just have to do the best that we can. Perhaps I can have some work for our more conventional ordnance distributed out to some factories elsewhere in Australia and Indochina. That would free up our resources for more specialized products.”

  Cavill Industries Main Office

  Derby, Western Australia

  March 28, 1942

  “That was the Australian Admiralty. They just told me that they believe that the Japanese may be planning to attack our facilities at Derby sometime in the not so distant future. They do not have any additional resources to help defend King Sound though. But the Admiralty still needs to have their previous shipbuilding orders filled.” Harold said to one of his chief engineers after receiving an unexpected telephone call.

  “So what are we going to do, Mister Cavill?” Adam Findler asked. Adam was a sort of ‘jack of all trades’ engineer for Harold. By training, Adam was a mechanical engineer that Harold had recruited straight of the North Carolina State University School of Engineering. But Adam also had a knack for aircraft design, systems engineering and even naval architecture that had proven to be invaluable to Harold and his various projects.

  “We are going to continue to build more destroyers, submarines, torpedo boats and some of our little aircraft carriers with our current facilities, Adam. We don’t have any choice. We will just have to find our own resources to help defend the area while we build the tools for the Commonwealth to use to fight the Axis. But both Australia and England are going to need those vessels and everything else that we produce in our factories if we are going to successfully prosecute this war. The Americans have not even come close to tapping their true industrial might even after that nasty MacArthur business. I really doubt that they will either with how the political tides have changed there.

  Now you know why I bought that boiler and turbine factory. We will badly need its products. We are fortunate that we still have the construction dock available that was used earlier to produce the flight deck liners. We will use that and Dry Dock One, where Melbourne was rebuilt, to build more of the light fleet carriers. There will be enough buyers for them, I’m sure.

  We will also have to construct a force of large torpedo boats to ward off any unwelcome guests from the sea. They should be fairly easy to construct in a short period of time however.”

  “Is that why you have had Mister Portman looking at that big motor launch of yours a few years ago?”

  “Yes. The Germans are using the same basic design for their S-Boats. So we are going to do much the same thing ourselves. Only the vessels that we are going to build are going to be a little larger than the German boats. That will give them more seaworthiness, range and capacity for heavier armament. I have already started production of many of the components for these new torpedo boats so we can have vessels in the water and ready for operation very quickly. That includes the six hulls that we manufactured but did not sell two years ago.

  All of these new ships will require some additional production from our ordnance factory as well. However, we don’t just need weapons for the warships and armored vehicles that we are producing. We will need additional artillery both for coastal fortifications and mobile mounts. Our small arms production will also need to be ramped up further as well. Our personnel here will have to be able to defend this area in the event that the Japanese attempt an amphibious landings.”

  Harold didn’t mention about the four large metal buildings near the tip of the peninsula north of town. They had been there for nearly two decades, but few people really knew what was inside of them. They were just as mysterious as the two large concrete and steel towers that rose above the salt flats near the warehouses.

  “But right now, I need to send an urgent telegraph to the Miles brothers.” Harold continued.

  “What do you want in the telegraph, Mister Cavill?”

  “Tell them that we will need for them to begin to design that more powerful version of the Dragonfly that I mentioned previously. I will get them the specifications for the engine that it will use within the next few days, but the
y should expect it to be a variant of the Curtiss-Wright Cyclone radial engine.”

  “I will send the message right away, Sir.”

  “Thank you, Adam. I will have to send the requirements for the aircraft via confidential mail. The Miles brothers will probably anticipate a need for higher speed as well as longer range and at least twice the payload. The fighter will need an internal armament of either six fifty caliber machine guns or four twenty millimeter cannons, I am certain.

  We are also going to have to accelerate the production of aircraft from our own facilities. The new bomber and transport designs will be needed sooner rather than later, it appears.”

  “How are you going to pay for all of this, Sir?”

  “Don’t worry. We will have more than enough orders from the Australian and British militaries before long, possibly even from the Free French as well. The Australian military has to know by now that even license-built Beauforts and Beaufighters will not be enough to be able to drive the Japanese back. Our flying boat patrol aircraft have a considerable amount of firepower with their heavy bomb loads and their torpedoes. But the aircraft cannot survive against large numbers of Japanese fighters and heavy antiaircraft fire either.”

  “I suppose that you will be offering to build more of your Dragonfly and Whirlwind-R fighter-bombers for the Allies then, Mister Cavill. They can deal with Japanese Zeros rather handly as they have already demonstrated in the past”

  “The Air Force won’t have much of a choice then. The Australian Admiralty and even the Royal Navy have been using my aircraft. The admirals in both navies have had absolutely no complaints about the quality of the aircraft that they have received either.”

  “You know the real reason why the Air Force has refused to buy any of your aircraft, Sir. It’s because that bastard in charge of it is a racist who doesn’t want anything built by an aborigine on any of his airfields.”