yesterdays war

by gerald hall

  destroyer class. These requirements will all force any design that I create to be even larger than your

  original concept.” Alexander explained.

  “Yes, you are completely right. Of course, ‘steel is cheap and air is free’. Go ahead and design

  around a twenty-four hundred ton hull for this new ship, Alex. I will give you as much support as

  possible, including any technical ideas that I believe will be useful. I want this ship design to also be

  readily adaptable with the exchange of anti-aircraft weapons for additional anti-submarine weapons to

  be accommodated for when necessary based on our yard’s previous concept.”

  “A destroyer that large will violate the treaty limits on destroyer tonnage, Mister Cavill.” “I know. Just let me worry about treaty issues, Alex. You go ahead and get started with the

  modifications.”

  “OK. I will have my people get on it right away, Mister Cavill.”

  “Good, because I have to leave right away to a meeting at my Metal Production Office in town.

  Thank you for your report, Alex.” Harold replied as he put on his jacket and rushed out the door. After a short ride in his personal truck, Harold arrived at another of the many new buildings that

  had been constructed in the past few years in the Derby area. Thousands of Harold’s people had been

  involved in the construction of nearly all of them.

  This building housed the latest expansion of Harold’s metal production and refining company,

  including the new headquarters for Cavill Metal Production. Harold learned that some problems had

  cropped up here. So he felt that a personal visit was called for to see what exactly was wrong and what

  might be done to deal with the situation.

  “Hello, Terrance. How are you doing today? I understand that you are having some problems

  with the new machinery.” Harold asked after walking into the building’s main office. “I’m doing fine, Mister Cavill. But, I’m afraid that I have some bad news for you.” Explained

  Terrance Walters, the manager of Cavill Metal Production. Terrance was in charge of Harold’s steel and

  aluminum production facilities.

  “Please explain, Mister Walters.”

  “Mister Cavill, you purchased some excellent machinery for your steel manufacturing plant.

  However, we have run into a significant problem concerning your requirements for that special highstrength steel.

  The maximum thickness of steel that our equipment can produce while maintaining the

  required metallurgical qualities is only about eight centimeters. Even that thickness is very difficult to

  achieve in the large quantities that you requested.”

  Harold had hoped that the steel rolling and annealing equipment that he had purchased from

  Germany and America could be tweaked to produce armor plating for larger warships like cruisers in

  addition to armored fighting vehicles. He had told his investors as well as everyone else that the new

  equipment was for making steel to be used in premium tractors as well as the construction of

  commercial shipping. That required the purchase of steel manufacturing equipment that did not exactly

  have the capacity of the equipment used by the world’s military equipment manufacturers. The expense

  for equipment capable of meeting those requirements would have been very difficult to justify to the

  investors.

  But what else would Harold be able to still do with the equipment that he had? He had to

  consider the possibility that he had to alter some of his plans.

  “What thickness are you able to reliably produce in quantity?” Harold asked. “Six centimeters, we can do, Mister Cavill.”

  That was barely over two inches in thickness. Still, that might be enough for the deck and belt

  armor on the carrier designs. Six centimeters also was thicker than the armor plating of the Russian T-34

  medium tank from only a few years in the future. With the equivalent degree of sloping and perhaps

  some spaced armor overlays in the form of external storage boxes on the turret. That combination

  might be enough to provide sufficient protection for the medium tank design that Harold wanted to

  produce.

  It would be important to be able to build a tank that could turn the tide of battle if produced in

  sufficient quantities, yet not raise unnecessary alarm about the technologies used.

  Unfortunately, the news about the armor thickness would greatly limit the kinds of warships

  that Harold’s shipyard could produce with indigenous content only. Six centimeters just wasn’t thick

  enough to even really armor a light cruiser satisfactorily. It was barely thick enough to protect the new

  aircraft carriers’ flight decks and other vital spaces to the degree necessary.

  “Alright, Mister Walters. How about our ability to do castings?”

  “We can do that just fine, Sir. But they are time and manpower-consuming as hell, especially if

  you want the same qualities as for the steel plating.”

  “I understand. Please let me know what you can do as soon as possible. I will have to make a

  number of important decisions based on what you tell me.” Harold requested before he sent his steel

  production manager back out.

  It looked more and more that Harold would have to pull another slightly upgraded technology

  off of his laptop computer to try to resolve this dilemma. In this case, he felt that he would have to

  introduce technology to allow for the armor plates to be welded using electric arc welders while

  maintaining the armor’s ability to protect the vehicle even after being subjected to the heat of the arc

  welder. The welds would also be stronger and less prone to cracking under impact as well. But even the introduction of that relatively old technology had its dangers, Harold knew.

  Someone else could try copying the technology and then spreading it far beyond his shipyard, causing a

  series of unforeseen ripple effects such as the Axis powers obtaining it years ahead of the original

  timeline. But his people were learning quickly. His steel manufacturing plant had already started

  producing castings for tractor parts a couple of years earlier. It should be relatively easy to introduce

  technology that was a few more years advanced without anyone noticing…hopefully.

  Chapter Seventeen: Northern Reservoir

  Derby, Western Australia January 14, 1935

  Harold, Dorothy and the rest of their family decided to take a rare day off to go fishing at one of the nearby lakes. Dorothy was coming out with a basket lunch for everyone when she saw Harold putting his old Enfield rifle in the back of the runabout along with the fishing tackle.

  “Why are you putting your rifle in there, Sweetheart? I thought that we were going fishing, not hunting.” A concerned Dorothy asked.

  “I just want to be safe in case that we run into a crocodile. We do have a few of them that have moved into the lakes, I haven’t seen any there lately.” Harold answered.

  “Well, then. I better get something for myself as well.” She replied before walking back into the house.

  A few minutes later, Dorothy comes out with the CR-1 6.5mm automatic rifle that Harold had brought home from the first production run of the weapon. He had been storing the rifle in the house’s gun locker.

  “Are you planning on starting a war, Dorothy?” A surprised Harold asked.

  “No. I just wanted to have a little protection in case we do run into something large and unpleasant out there. Besides, you told me that this rifle was designed to be easily carried and operated by anyone, even a woman. What better way to test that assertion out than to have a woman carrying
it around along with a basket of food and keeping an eye on three small children.”

  “Yes, I suppose so. It will be enough of a challenge for you to keep track of the twins now that they are nearly three years old. But Judith is four now and gets into just about everything. But please be careful. I don’t want to lose any of you.”

  “Yes, Judith does get into almost everything. But between the two of us, I’m sure that we will manage to do just fine. Besides, this rifle is a lot easier to carry than that old ‘cannon’ of yours.” Dorothy confidently answered as she slapped a twenty-five round magazine into her rifle’s magazine well.

  “Alright, Dear. You better go ahead and gather up the children while I get the truck.”

  “We’ll be ready in just a few minutes, Sweetheart.” Dorothy called out as she gathered up children, food and other supplies.

  Harold finished with a few other tasks before getting the truck. This included picking out a small .41 caliber derringer pistol, loading it with a shotshell, picking up several more rounds and putting them all in one of his pants pockets. The pistol would come in handy if they ran across one of Australia’s venomous snakes that lived in Western Australia.

  Before long, Harold and his family were driving over towards the lake. Harold had a hydroelectric dam built several years earlier across the May River that created this particular lake. The lake also provided irrigation water to the farms that Harold drove past on the way to the lake. It didn’t take Harold, Dorothy and the girls to get set up once they arrived at their favorite fishing spot.

  Harold had just gotten his first cast into the water when he heard a familiar voice from behind him. He quickly put down his fishing pole and turned around to see who was there.

  “Good morning, Mister Cavill. It has been a while since we last chatted. I was wondering if you might have a moment or two to talk in private with me?” William Akuna asked.

  The aborigine tribal elder’s now almost snow-white hair contrasted starkly against his aged dark skin as he stood there watching Harold and his family from a nearby hillock.

  “Cheers. How did you know that I would be here, William?”

  “Someone told me that you like to go fishing at this time of the month. So it seemed to be the proper place to be if I wanted to meet you without anyone else around.”

  “Of course, William. There is a nice stand of trees over there where we can talk at in the shade.” Harold said as he walked away from the lake and his family.

  “Is everything alright, William?” Harold asked after he and William arrived at the treeline.

  “There are some things that are working very well. But there are other things that could be of great concern.”

  “Have I done something to wrong your people? If so, I will do all that I can to correct it.”

  “No. You have treated us very well, far better than any other white man. You have also shown us the future in the skies, the land and seas as you promised. So we know that you are a man who has been blessed with much knowledge from beyond. But I fear that others of your race still want to destroy what you have created between our people and you. That is something we do not want to have happen.”

  “I hope that doesn’t happen either. The consequences of that will go far beyond the fates of your people and mine as well. But that is one of the reasons that I formed our militia. The militia is to protect us from foreign enemies as well as those people from within Australia who would want to cause us harm as well.”

  Both men whipped their heads around at the sound of a woman’s scream followed immediately by a rapid fusillade of gunshots being fired and the cries of several young children.

  “What the hell happened? Dorothy!” Harold cried out as he immediately turned, grabbed his Enfield rifle and ran towards where his wife and children had been.

  A few moments later, Harold arrived with William following close behind him. He saw Dorothy standing there with her rifle, smoke coming from its muzzle. The children were crowded behind her legs as she looked down at a three meter-long light brown crocodile on the shore about fifteen meters away. The large animal was thrashing around with at least a dozen bullet wounds while Dorothy watched with her rifle still at the ready.

  Harold quickly raised his Enfield and fired three of its more powerful rounds into the crocodile’s head, finally putting the beast’s thrashing to an end.

  “Sweetheart, I really think that we should pick a different place to go fishing next time.“ Dorothy wryly said in a typically understated British way as she finally put down her rifle.

  “Dorothy, what happened? Are you and the children alright?” Harold quickly asked as he ran up and hugged his wife and children.

  “We are a little shaken, but OK. This ugly fellow came right out of the water near where the twins were playing. I saw him first, grabbed my rifle and started shooting. The children all did very well and promptly ran behind me for protection.” A clearly relieved Dorothy explained.

  “Well, I don’t think that I wouldn’t use a CR-1 to go crocodile hunting. But it certainly seems to be powerful enough to leave an impression on even a croc’s thick hide.” Harold noted after flipping over and looking closely at the dead crocodile. The girls had slowly moved forward to take a closer look at the dead animal as well.

  “That was a fairly large croc for a freshwater animal, Ma’am. Even I am a bit surprised to see him here.” William said after looking for himself.

  “That’s a male?” Dorothy asked.

  “Oh, yes. You can tell by looking at him. Mind you, this croc is still a big one for a freshie. There are also a few other ways of telling, but I don’t want to get into that around your girls, ma’am. Actually, he probably wasn’t going to attack you or your girls here. You see, people aren’t really on the menu for these fellows. They rather prefer turtles and fish over people.

  Now, we do see a few of the saltwater crocs around here too. Those crocs swim up the rivers from the King Sound, but most are stopped by the dam now from coming any further upstream. Those big crocs most certainly can be dangerous to people and can be twice as long as this croc here.” William explained.

  “Sounds like some of the problems that we are facing here. Some of the problems that we face here look ferocious but are overshadowed by much larger problems.” Harold commented while turning towards William.

  “I understand that, Mister Cavill. You have shown us that you have a special knowledge of the future. I cannot fault your focus on the larger problems that we will face in the future. But I want to still caution you about the other problems that we may face. They can possibly prevent you from dealing with the great problem that you know is facing us in the future.”

  “William, I will take any potential threats very seriously. Any help that you and your people can provide will be vital to our success.”

  Dorothy then decided to interrupt.

  “While you two gentlemen talk, I and my children are getting very hungry. Obviously, we are not going to be fishing anymore today. So why don’t we all stop and eat now. Harold, you can talk to your friend some more after we finish eating. Alright?”

  William and Harold both as they looked at Dorothy impatiently standing there with her arms crossed. She was now over the shock of meeting the crocodile.

  “You are going to have to make up for this, Sweetheart. That croc certainly spoiled my mood here.” Dorothy declared.

  “I’m sure that I can think of something for us to do later that you would enjoy, Dear. But first, let’s go ahead and eat lunch before we go back home. I would hate to waste a good meal. Besides, I think that we made enough noise already to scare away any other crocs.” Harold said before turning towards William who was still standing nearby.

  “William, I appreciate everything that you and your people have done for me and continue to do for me and my family. I’m sure that we will talk again soon.”

  “Fair Dinkum, my friend. My prayers will be with you.” The aborigine elder said with a smile be
fore turning and disappearing into the nearby trees.

  “So what did your friend William want? I remember seeing him at our church in Derby several times.” Dorothy asked as she ate a sandwich.

  “He was concerned that we might be facing some more problems from within this country, even as we prepare for a war against the Axis powers.”

  “He means those whites here who hate his people, doesn’t he?”

  “Yes, I’m afraid so. But we need his people working with us alongside people of every race. So I will not abandon them, regardless of what a few racist politicians might have to say. There is just too much at stake here.”

  The rest of the afternoon was peaceful with Harold and his family finishing their meal and driving back home. Later that evening as Harold and Dorothy prepared to go to bed, they continued to talk.

  “I think that I have had enough excitement for today, Sweetheart.” Dorothy told Harold as she began to turn down the covers on her bed.

  “Well, we could have a little more excitement before we go to sleep.” Harold said with a smile and a caress that immediately told Dorothy what he had in mind. Both of them slept in the following morning until their three little girls burst into their bedroom and woke them up.

  Both Harold and Dorothy went to work a couple of hours later with smiles on their faces. It was a great night for both. They still had a tremendous amount of work waiting on them. But life was still good for this loving family, a family that would soon be growing even larger. Of course, that won’t be evident for at least a couple of months.

  A lot of other important events will also be occurring over the next couple of months as well. But these had to do with Harold’s other efforts rather than those at home.

  Cavill Shipyards

  Derby, Western Australia March 23, 1935

  A small crowd had gathered to watch the first flight of the new Cavalier flying boat. The completion of the prototype had been delayed for a variety of reasons. Few people realized that many of the delays were due to Harold himself demanding redesigns to allow for ready conversion of the transport into a maritime patrol bomber in addition to a troop transport. But Harold was extremely proud of the final result.