Untimely Excursions

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Untimely Excursions Page 21

by Hall, Gerald


  “That does appear to be a very sound principle, provided that we have enough destroyers of each sub-class available to be paired up, Mister Poole.”

  “Our navy will end up with two aircraft carriers, six submarines, eight destroyers and about two dozen other warships and support vessels. That force is a lot smaller than what we had at the end of the war.”

  “Hopefully, the threat is a lot less than it used to be. At least, that is what our politicians keep saying.”

  “You just never know what some fool in another country will decide to do however. We have to make the most of every hull that we have. That means the imperative to keep them all as capable as possible, including our Bandfish and Barramundi-class boats”

  “So you finally convinced the politicians in Canberra to finally commit to a second series of upgrades of our navy’s submarines?”

  “Yes. But sometimes, I think that our politicians are thick as a brick. The project cost for the upgrade of our six modern submarines was quite reasonable, especially with what we are going to do to them. There was no legitimate reason for the delay of these upgrades.” Eric said with a note of annoyance in his voice.

  “Too right, you are. I saw the blueprints for the upgrades. The four Barramundi-class boats are going to be deadly as hell. But our two Bandfish-class hunter-killer boats are certainly going to be the best submarines in the world, even better than the latest German boats. I would not want to be on or under the water if a modernized Bandfish was hunting for me.”

  “The upgrades for the radars, sonar and propulsion system alone would make one of Jerry’s U-Boat commanders green with envy. The new homing torpedoes will make our boats considerably more lethal too. Of course, you’re right about the Bandfish. Even the Germans’ Type XXI boats would have a hell of time escaping one of them.”

  While the Barramundi’s used a whale-shaped hull and a more conventional twin-screw arrangement, the single-shaft Bandfish-class had a spindle-shaped hull that made it substantially faster under water than on top of it. During the latter half of the Pacific War, both classes of Australian submarines took a dreadful toll on Japanese merchant shipping and warships, far out of proportion to their numbers. Both classes had also been built at Cavill Shipyards in Derby under the direction of Harold Cavill.

  “I can’t help thinking that the Jerry’s have a lot more Type XXI’s than the rest of the world has twigged to. They were just too damned willing to get rid of all of those older boats after signing the armistice. If they start selling some of those damned boats to unfriendly nations, the high seas could become a lot more dangerous to sail on.” The Australian officer bitterly mused.

  “I wish that we could convince the Australian government to allow us to build at least a couple more of the modernized Bandfish. We still have a lot of ocean to cover even with the additional boats that were completed right at the end of the war by our yards. Six submarines are not a lot to do it with. If we only have a couple of boats in for periodic maintenance during a crisis, then we will only have four boats available. ”

  “There are still a lot of senior Australian naval officers who don’t want anything to do with submarines though. They automatically associate any submarine with a German U-Boat, or to a lesser extent, one of the Japanese aircraft-carrying submarines. Our people are scared of submarines, regardless of who they belong to, unfortunately.”

  “Well, our Admiralty better get used to operating submarines for the foreseeable future. With all of the force reductions that have occurred since the end of the war, we are going to need force multipliers like submarines and aircraft carriers more than ever.” Eric insisted.

  “I have to agree with you there, Mister Poole. The trick is getting my superiors to see this also before it is too late.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven:

  RAF Bomber Command

  RAF Whittering

  August 14, 1957

  Air Marshal Cliff Warfield looked over the line of new jet bombers that had entered service in the RAF over the past few years. These advanced aircraft had finally replaced the Avro Lincoln propeller-driven heavy bombers that had entered service at the end of the European War. The Lincoln’s themselves had replaced the war-weary Avro Lancaster’s that had served through most of the war.

  The replacement of these obsolete bombers had come none too soon after the events over the Suez showed the extreme vulnerability of such slow aircraft to modern jet fighters. Some of the Lincolns had only been in service a few years before they were consigned to the scrapyard or sold to the air forces of third world nations.

  Another man in a flight suit walked up to Air Marshal Warfield at a jaunty pace. Even though he wore the insignia of a squadron leader on his flight suit, the newcomer appeared to be at least a decade younger than most of the RAF’s squadron leaders were. At precisely three paces away, the younger man stopped sharply and immediately gave a crisp salute.

  “Squadron Leader Albert Connelly reporting, SIR!”

  Air Marshal Warfield chuckled for a moment before saying ‘At ease, Squadron Leader.”

  “Good afternoon, Sir. It’s been a long time since I was addressing you as Squadron Leader.” Albert laughed.

  “Yes, indeed. You just one of my junior Lancaster pilots back then. God, we were both so young back then.”

  “Yes, Sir. We were quite young then, as were so many of own fellow pilots. I remember them all, especially the ones who didn’t make it back after those long nighttime bombing missions over Germany.” A hint of sadness invaded the squadron leader’s voice.

  “I miss them too. We now have a new crop of young pilots. They are just as eager as we were too.”

  “Only their Valiant jet bombers fly far faster than our old Lancasters, don’t they, Sir?”

  “Yes, they do. Our latest bomber types will be even faster still. The new Vulcan bomber is a joint venture between Avro and Miles Aviation that is just entering RAF service. Look out over there towards the end of the runway, Albert.”

  Just as the Air Marshal spoke, a brand new Vulcan bomber became visible on final approach. The light grey-painted bomber seemed massive as it gracefully flew closer. Its thin delta wing seemed massive as it extended beyond the two powerful jet engines buried within the wing roots on each side of the fuselage. The fuselage extended beyond the wing roots with a distinctive hump on top of the nose where the crew compartment was located. All moving canard foreplanes were mounted along the upper edge of the cockpit hump.

  A subtle narrowing of the fuselage at the thickest point of the wing revealed the use of area rule design to reduce the effects of compressibility. Long landing gear legs extended down from the wings and under the cockpit. Shortly before the aircraft reached the runway threshold, the flaperons on the big delta wing extended down at the same time that the canards deflected down to increase lift and drag for landing. This allowed the big delta wing to have sufficient lift at low speeds without forcing the nose excessively high.

  Just after the main gear touched the surface of the runway, a drag chute pops out from under the aircraft’s sole defensive armament, an unmanned twin cannon turret mounted in the tail. The nose gear then touched down while the huge bomber rapidly decelerated to a stop. The drag chute was jettisoned just prior to the bomber taxiing off of the runway towards the apron. The twin canted vertical stabilizers were only just now clearly visible after the bomber had landed, having been shielded from view by ground observers by the large delta wing.

  “That is a beautiful aircraft, Sir. Is it true what they say that she has broken the sound barrier?” Albert asked.

  “Yes, it is. But we mustn’t say that too loudly. The Avro people took one of the Vulcans here to altitude, put her into a slight dive and exceeded the speed of sound. What was much more remarkable was the fact that the pilot was able to level her out and still continue flying at supersonic speed. We estimate that he was able to cruise at just over Mach 1.1.”

  “How the hell did he manage that, Sir?”
>
  “The engineers at Avro say that the bomber’s coefficient of drag came in significantly under their initial estimate. In addition, the new low-bypass turbofans have proven to be not only quite fuel efficient but also at least ten percent more powerful than the required specifications. The Avro test pilot simply took advantage of his plane’s capabilities.”

  “That is bloody impressive as hell. But, these Vulcans are not going to replace all of the Valiants, are they, Sir? My pilots all say that their Valiants are very easy to fly and reliable as hell.”

  “No, Albert. We are still going to continue to fly the Valiants. They are certainly good aircraft. We’ve been successfully flying them for nearly five years already. But the new Vulcans are a significant improvement, especially in view of improving aerial and ground threats. We also fear that the Valiants might have some problems flying at high speeds at low altitude. Flying as such high speeds in the turbulence of low altitude flight in order to avoid radar detection is very stressful upon the structure of an aircraft. The Vulcan’s airframe has been specially strengthened to withstand those stresses. ”

  “What about the upgraded version of the Valiant that Vickers has proposed? It was designed to handle high speed flight at low altitude. The prototype B2 Valiant has certainly demonstrated that.”

  “I know all about the B2. There may even be room for it a couple of years from now in Bomber Command. But the Vulcan is still going to be our main long-range bombing platform for some time to come.

  “The Germans are beginning to build large flying wing heavy bomber to equip the Luftwaffe’s new strategic bomber squadrons. We must ensure that our bomber force remains superior to theirs.” Marshall Warfield firmly said.

  “I saw the intelligence reports on it, Sir. It is supposed to look like a six-engine version of the Gotha fighters that ‘Jerry’ operates from many of its squadrons.”

  “Yes. Fortunately for us, German jet engines are not quite as powerful or reliable as the ones that we build here. So they have to use a larger number of engines to make up for that. Our Valiants and Vulcans are quite capable with only four engines.”

  “I am very glad of that, Sir. Handling only four engines is quite exhausting enough as it is. I would really hate to be a Yank bomber pilot. Jack Northrop is building a massive flying wing bomber for the United States Air Force to replace the last of their piston-engined bombers. It is going to be powered by a total of eight jet engines.”

  “The Americans are reportedly having some problems with stability with their flying wing. That corresponds with our intelligence concerning the German flying wing designs having similar issues. Fortunately, our bombers are proving to be far less problematic.”

  “So, what are we going to do with our Valiant force, Sir?”

  “They will continue to be a vital part of our strategic force. However, they will be taking a secondary role in the bombing mission soon. Vickers is developing a midair refueling module to be installed inside the Valiant’s bomb bay along with a large supplemental fuel tank. The refueling module employs the probe and drogue system that many of our jet aircraft are already being equipped to utilize. This will enable our Valiant force to continue to provide useful service long after the complete production run of the Vulcans is complete.

  A Valiant/Vulcan team will enable our strategic bombers to reach targets at extreme range with a maximum payload and return to their home base.”

  “That sounds brilliant, Sir. I just don’t know how much my lads will like being reduced to being tanker pilots though.” Albert groused.

  “All of our Valiant squadrons will still be fully qualified as bombers, regardless of whether or not they have been tasked to provide tanker support though, Squadron Leader. Number 49 Squadron has been flying its Valiants here for two years now. Number 50 Squadron is in the process of receiving its Vulcan’s right now, including the one that just landed here.”

  “That is a relief that my squadron will not be out of the bomber business totally. But how are we going to afford to purchase all of these new Vulcan bombers. They have to be dreadfully expensive with all of the latest gizmos and gadgets aboard them.”

  “It is very simple. We are going to be co-producing the Vulcans for service in both the RAF and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Australians have agreed to purchase six squadrons of the aircraft to equip their strike squadrons. The extended production run will significantly reduce the per-unit cost of each aircraft for both air forces.”

  “I would imagine that the Australians will also need refueling aircraft to support a new Vulcan bomber force, wouldn’t they, Sir?”

  “Yes, they will. The Australians were going to re-engine their Cassowary bomber force with turboprop engines to update their bomber force. Now, with the deal that they have struck with us, the Australians are going to convert all of their turboprop-powered Cassowaries into tankers to service their Vulcan force. That is a major move for the Aussies.”

  “You know, Sir. The Vulcan looks a little like all those fighters that Miles Brothers and Cavill Aviation have been building since we were young pilots, Sir.

  “Well, son. I did say that the Vulcan was a joint venture between Avro and Miles Aviation. It is an open secret that Cavill Aviation actually has done most of the design work for Miles for years. I know for a fact that Cavill Industries was heavily involved in the negotiations with the Australian Parliament to purchase Vulcans as well.”

  “This is all very interesting, Sir. Are there any other little tidbits of information about this new bomber that you would like to share with me?” Albert asked.

  “A few. To start with, the Vulcan has an even bigger bomb bay than the Valiant and a significantly greater overall payload. The bomber is capable of carrying over twenty thousand kilograms of ordnance if necessary. Most of it would be carried inside the main bomb bay, including the guided versions of the Tallboy and Grand Slam ultra-heavy earthquake bombs.

  The Vulcan also has the ability to carry external stores on four underwing hardpoints. These hardpoints are also plumbed for external fuel tanks if necessary.”

  “I think that I am falling in love here.” Albert said with a smile.

  “I suppose that your wife, Sharon, would not like that very much. She is probably jealous enough because of all of the time that you spend flying as it is.” The Air Marshall teased.

  “Oh, she understands. Sharon may not necessarily like it all of the time, but she had accepted the lot of being the wife of an RAF pilot a long time ago.

  What can you tell me about what else is being developed for our bombers to use, Sir?”

  “We have a new gravity bomb that is underdevelopment that is extremely powerful. Instead of inducing a subterranean shock wave through deep penetration, this very heavy bomb with the exact opposite concept. Instead of using a thick casing to permit deep penetration with a relatively light explosive filler, this device would be thin walled so that it could carry the maximum explosive burster charge possible. This will cause a massive aboveground shockwave that will cause extensive damage to personnel and lighter structures over a very wide area.

  There are a variety of other weapons also under development including smaller weapons that mix a fuel-rich gas into the air before detonating it to great explosive effect. Of course, there are guided missiles that are also being designed that can potentially be used by our bombers as well. The latter promise to enable us to accurately hit our targets well before we get within the range of their defenses.”

  “It all seems very exciting, Sir. When can I start training to fly these new Vulcan bombers?”

  “I’m sure that you will have your opportunity soon enough, Squadron Leader. But first, you must prove to be an adequate tanker pilot.” Air Marshal Warfield said, much to the Squadron Leader’s chagrin.

  “I see, Sir. Just how many Vulcans are we planning on purchasing?”

  “I don’t know the final number just yet, Albert. But we at Bomber Command anticipate equipping at least twelv
e squadrons with Vulcans. That is over one hundred and forty aircraft. That will supplement the ten squadrons of Valiants that we currently operate. They will operate primarily from the Bomber Command bases at Cottesmore, Finningley, Gaydon, Honington, Marham, Scampton, Waddington, Wyton and Wittering.”

  “Well, Sir. I better get to work then. Obviously, I need to be ready if I want to fly one of these beauties.” Squadron Leader Connelly replied before rendering a sharp salute.

  “Good luck, Albert.” The older man replied before he turned and walked back towards the headquarters building.

  Air Marshal Warfield had no sooner arrived in his office as his phone began to ring. He immediately picked it up to hear a familiar voice on the other end.

  “Good afternoon, Minister.” Cliff told the current Defense Minister Richard Carter.

  “I hope that you have had a good day, Air Marshal. I understand you just got the first of your new bombers at Whittering.”

  “Yes, Sir. It was a very impressive sight watching her land. She is going to be an incredible platform for power projection.”

  “Well, those bombers better be because the First Sea Lord is pushing very hard for additional funding for new ship construction. That was after General Ashford asked for much the same thing, only he wants about two thousand new helicopters and tanks. Of course, Air Marshal Alexander from Fighter Command has continued to press for wholesale replacement of our Venoms and Vampires because of the new fighters that the Germans are reported to be developing.

  In other words, everyone has been coming to me for more funding. But Parliament has been particularly stingy with the purse strings ever since the end of the war.”

  “Sir, you know that we need every one of these new bombers that we can get. They are better than anything else in the world. I’ve done everything that I can to help keep the costs down. My pilots flew the demonstration flight with the prototypes and convinced the Australians to purchase six bloody squadrons. That reduced the unit cost by over ten percent alone.”

 

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