by gerald hall
“I know. But General Clarke’s beloved CAC hasn’t produced a single fighter that can compete with the Japanese fighters, much less any of the designs that our people produce. We can build superior aircraft now without having to rely upon American designs or even aircraft being produced for the RAF.”
“Yes, Sir. We do. You hired some damned good engineers, I have to admit. But we wouldn’t have done half as well without your suggestions along the way.”
“Thank you, but your people have done the real work in any event. How are the designs going for the proposed bulk transport and long range bomber aircraft?”
Adam pulled out a set of mechanical drawings from a nearby set of drawers and laid them out onto a drafting table. He then started pointing out elements on the drawings to Harold while explaining them.
“We are still at least three months away from finishing the designs for either proposal. We have saved a lot of time and effort by using a modified version of the wing employed by our flying boats. The outer wing panels have been altered by the removal of the retractable floats obviously. We have also strengthened the wings to be more damage tolerant as well. The wing still uses a high aspect ratio wing that combines high lift and low high-speed drag for efficient high speed cruise while having enough internal space for fuel tanks and Fowler flaps.
We have had to design completely new fuselages for both proposed aircraft as well. As you can see, the bomber’s fuselage is more slender to allow for higher speeds. The bomber has been designed to carry up to eight thousand pounds of ordnance internally plus the four wing hardpoints that can carry up to three thousand pounds of ordnance each. The bomber will also have defensive gun turrets in the nose, dorsal and ventral positions in addition to the tail.
The transport version is designed to carry outsized cargos like trucks, artillery pieces and light armored vehicles. The maximum payload is the same fifteen metric tons of the flying boat. The landing gear is designed for operations on unprepared airstrips and is located in sponsons on the lower fuselage sides. Cargo is loaded and unloaded through a large ramp in the rear fuselage. This ramp can be opened in flight so that large objects on pallets can be dropped via parachute while in flight.
I tried to use as many of your suggestions as possible, especially with the transport, Sir.”
“I see that, Adam. I like what I see here very much.” Harold replied. Of course, he had drawn many of those design ‘suggestions’ from aircraft built in the late twentieth century such as the C-130 Hercules, but still using technology from the late thirties and early forties. Besides, the Germans had designed and built the Messerschmitt 323 Gigant cargo transport during the war. So the transport design should not appear out of place at all.
“Thank you, Sir. But will we be able to get anyone to buy these aircraft once we start building them?”
“Don’t worry about that, Adam. That’s my problem. You just keep your design team busy making these aircraft the best aircraft possible. I will handle the rest of it.
I am a bit worried about our focus on such large aircraft beyond the Dragonflies and Whirlwinds. Those big bombers and transports are going to require a large landing field to operate from simply because they take up so much space. What about potential customers who need a transport that can carry bulky items like small vehicles or pallets of supplies but either can’t afford a large plane or need something that can take off and land on small airstrips?”
“That’s a good thought, Adam. I had focused on the larger aircraft to leverage the common components from the Cavaliers. But if you have something else in mind for us to consider, please show me more.”
Adam then went into one of his blueprint drawers and pulled out several large blueprints that depicted a twin-engine, twin-tail boom transport aircraft with a boxy center fuselage that was very reminiscent of the Fairchild C-82 Packet or the Gotha 244 transport. Based on the figures on the blueprints, this aircraft would be somewhere in the middle in size between the Fairchild and Gotha designs.
“This is a transport concept that I have been looking at for the past year or so. The rear fuselage has a ramp built in so that small vehicles or cargo pallets can be quickly loaded or unloaded. The high-aspect ratio wing makes it very efficient to fly. It can also operate from short airstrips very easily. This transport uses the same Twin-Wasp radial engines as the Cavalier and most of our other designs. I know that your engine factory has some surplus capacity after the latest expansion, so this aircraft would be able to utilize those engines.
Harold smiled at Adam’s initiative in this matter. This design would be something that his recent acquaintance Pappy Gunn would find very useful after the war for his private air service. But first, it would be a valuable military transport once put into production.
“This is remarkable, Adam. You are right about how this could certainly fill a niche in our potential customers’ requirements. How much do you believe that this aircraft could carry?”
“I would say between thirty-five and forty troops and maybe eight or nine thousand pounds of cargo at full fuel, Sir. With only a relatively small modification to the center fuselage, we could also create a flying-boat variant as well.”
Harold needed a smaller aircraft to do some of the missions of the Cavalier and the land based transport based on it. This would take much of the burden off of the precious Cavalier fleet. He did not need to take long to decide what to do next.”
“OK, Adam. Go ahead and have your people draw up a full set of blueprints for this and then construct two prototypes. If they perform as anticipated, I am willing to go to full production of this aircraft. You’ve done an excellent job here.”
“Thank you very much, Sir. We will get right on it.” Adam was literally beaming as he quickly rolled up the drawings.
Harold was smiling too. It was good to see things being built that did not rely on information brought from a hundred years in the future. Harold was already nearly sixty years old now. Not only did he know that he would not live forever. Harold also knew that it was only a matter of time before the electronic database that he brought back with him from the future would no longer be accessible. He needed others to be able to take up the mantle.
While Harold hoped that his children would be able to continue his mission, he also needed for others to continue the logical innovation of technology. At the same time, Harold hoped that he had taught his people how to use that technology responsibly. Instead of mankind dooming itself in 2040, he hoped that it would be reaching towards other worlds for mankind to live on.
Chapter Nine:
Afrika Korps Headquarters
Tripoli, Libya
March 29, 1942
General Erwin Rommel had just returned from the front lines after another furious series of battles against the British Army and its allies. He had used his carefully hoarded armored reserve to fend off another heavy British attack. The British had only advanced a few kilometers in spite of outnumbering Rommel’s by over three to one. However, the battle cost Rommel’s Afrika Korps another twenty irreplaceable Panzers and more than a hundred of his soldiers. Rommel knew that he could not sustain operations in North Africa for much longer at this rate.
A courier was waiting on Rommel when he arrived at Afrika Korps headquarters.
“Herr General, you have a dispatch from Berlin.” The courier told Erwin Rommel before handing the envelope to Rommel.
Rommel tore open the envelope and then grimaced while reading the orders that he had just received.
“What is wrong, Herr General?” A German major wearing the Iron Cross and the Afrika Korps emblem on his dusty uniform asked.
“It seems that the Fuhrer has decided to evacuate me and as many of our troops from North Africa as possible to send us to the Eastern Front. Hitler has congratulated me on my work here fighting against overwhelming Englander forces. Now, he wants me to apply my talents to help defeat the Red Army.” Rommel grimly replied.
“The Bolsheviks are certa
inly the greater threat to the Fatherland. You will have a great opportunity to achieve victory against them now.” Major Herbert Koln declared. Major Koln had been a lieutenant in Rommel’s Panzer Division during the invasion of France only a few short years ago.
“Yes, Herr Major.” Rommel snorted. “But I will just be going from one wasteland to another. Only this time, I will be fighting against barbarians. The Englanders have their codes of conduct that they fight by. The Russians have no such codes of civility. They only believe in a vengeful victory or a glorious death.”
“Indeed, such barbarians cannot be allowed to step foot on German soil. I cannot bear to think what they would do to our people.”
“I also fear what the Russians would do if we cannot defeat them on the battlefield. After the actions of our Einsatzgruppen against Russian civilians, the Russians will be even more inclined to extract a very brutal manner of retribution against the German people, including upon our wives and daughters.”
“I am told that the Einsatzgruppen mostly targeted Jews rather than merely killing helpless civilians. Even so, we must defeat the Bolsheviks whose ranks are also full of Jews. We really have no choice, do we? We must win for the sake of our nation and for the defense of all of our families there against the barbarians from the East.” Major Koln harshly said while fingering the Nazi emblem on his ring.
“Indeed, we must.” Rommel solemnly replied. Unlike Major Kohn, who was an ardent Nazi, Rommel saw himself simply as a German national and patriot who wanted to win this war and then go home in peace to his wife and children. Rommel had no particular love for Hitler and his policies. But Rommel always wisely kept his opinions to himself.
Rommel also knew the reality was that the war for North Africa was already lost. The RAF and the Royal Navy had choked off desperately needed reinforcements and supplies to the Afrika Korps for months. His Italian allies contributed little to the effort against the English and their Commonwealth allies any more. The Italian tanks were useless against the new tanks that the Australians had brought in. The Italian leadership was unfortunately even worse. Rommel had already read intelligence reports that indicated that the British would soon be producing the new Australian tank designs as well. There was little chance that Rommel would receive the new Tiger and Panther tanks to counter the improved British armor, especially with the reinforcements that the Royal Navy had received in the Mediterranean.
The letter from Berlin also said that there would be an airplane waiting on Rommel at the Luftwaffe base near Tripoli to take him back to Germany. From there, he would be flown east to take command of an Army group in Russia. Hitler was wasting no time in transferring Rommel to the Russian Front. Rommel hoped that he still had some of that ‘magic’ left to help carry the day against the Red Army.
The next evening, General Erwin Rommel found himself onboard a Heinkel HE-111 bomber flying north across the Mediterranean, never to see North Africa again as a German soldier. After arriving in Berlin, General Rommel learned that Hitler’s orders were far from a ringing endorsement of Rommel’s combat record in North Africa. In fact, Hitler had been furious that the Afrika Korps had not been able to defeat the British Army and reach the Suez Canal.
So Rommel’s orders to the Russian Front were more of a punitive move on Hitler’s part. But General Rommel had no intention of holding back one gram of effort, regardless of the reason for him being there. There was a war to fight and win for the Fatherland. That was all that truly mattered.
10 Downing Street
London, England
April 1, 1942.
“If that idiot French commander out there hadn’t sent Dunkerque out to get sunk, we wouldn’t be in this situation. Now, we only have three capital ships out there in the Far East, including Strasbourg. The Japanese have twice as many battleships out there still. If the intelligence reports from the Americans are accurate, the Japanese have a pair of massive battleships that can outmatch any other battleship in the world.” Prime Minister Churchill growled after reading the latest reports from the battlefield.
“So what shall we do about it, Sir?” Captain Earl Williamson, Churchill’s military liaison from the Admiralty.
“As long as Tirpitz and Gneisenau are still active, we can’t afford to send any more capital ships to reinforce Singapore. If it wasn’t for the fact that there are some decent drydock and repair facilities in the area, we would have to eventually withdraw Prince of Wales and Repulse to home for refitting and repairs ourselves. It is true that the Italians have mostly been neutralized by early losses and the continued presence of our Queen Elizabeth–class battleships in the Med. However, the Italians still have three modern fast battleships available. They continue to be a threat, especially with the loss of HMS Rodney and the last two of our Revenge-class battleships to U-Boats.”
“At least we still have Hood, Renown, Tiger, Nelson and the three King George the Fifth-class battleships here with the Home Fleet. The Italians haven’t ventured much out of port after HMS Barham and Malaya sank their battleship Andrea Doria two months ago.“
“This is true. We also have the French battleship Richelieu, but General De Gaulle is not about to send his only remaining battleship out to the Far East. I know because I have asked him already. If we send anything to help Admiral Phillips in the Far East, it will have to be Tiger. Nelson is far too slow so she will either operate in the Med or provide heavy convoy escort in the Atlantic. The other ships are the only ones with the fifteen-inch guns needed to defeat Tirpitz’s armor.
We will just have to wait and see if our other more special operations can neutralize Tirpitz so that we can free up some of our heavy naval assets to help in the Pacific.”
Churchill was aware of several different advanced British projects that could be used to target the massive German battleship. The closest to completion was a new class of midget submarine that was intended to slip undetected into enemy waters to attack its targets.
Like in Harold’s original timeline, these midget submarines would make a critical strike against Tirpitz that would prevent the Germans from being able to deploy the battleship against North Atlantic convoys. Then, other measures would be employed to end Tirpitz’s threat to England.
Cavill Industries Main Office
Derby, Western Australia
April 4, 1942
“The news from the front lines doesn’t seem to be getting any better. First, the Americans managed to get a goodly portion of their Pacific Fleet blown out of the water by the Japanese. Next, the Japanese crushed the American Army in the last stronghold of the Philippine Islands and invaded the northern half of Borneo.
Then the French bungle their way into losing one of their battle cruisers after being warned by us about the threat posed by those damned big Japanese torpedoes. I am hoping that we can get things turned around soon before it is too late.” Harold commented.
“Maybe the Americans can get their industry mobilized soon. I hear that they are still squabbling within their own political ranks about what to do. I would have thought that seeing that photo of MacArthur having his head chopped off by a Japanese sword would have angered the bloody hell out of them.” Alex Boyd, Harold’s industrial supply and sales manager replied.
“Maybe some of those American politicians thought that arrogant bastard had it coming? After all, MacArthur completely mismanaged the reaction to the Japanese attack on the Philippines. That may well have been the reason for the loss of the islands to Japan. Then he ignored President Roosevelt’s order for him to evacuate himself from the Philippines before he could be captured.”
“At least someone in America’s military is trying to do something now. Did you hear about what the Americans have done with the two ocean liners that we built with the flight decks on top?”
“Yes, I got the news a couple of days ago. The US Navy bought both of them less than a month after all of those battleships of theirs were sunk by the Japanese. I guess that the Americans are going to conve
rt those liners into real aircraft carriers.”
“I suppose that is what you had that in mind all along when you built them in the first place, Mister Cavill. I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up building more of those ships ourselves. Only this time, we won’t be making them into ocean liners at all. We’ll be building those ships as real warships from the keel up along with our other designs.
I suppose that the only question now will be who we will be building the ships for, the British, the Australians or perhaps even the French?”
“I guess whoever has the money and the need will make that decision. We are here to fulfill those needs for our customers and to help defend our nation.” Harold said. What he left unsaid was that he would be very particular as to what he built and sold to any particular customer.
“Who knows? I just received orders from the Royal Navy for six more of our large transport ship hulls. Only these ships are to be finished as escort aircraft carriers. It appears that the Royal Navy wants to quash the U-Boat threat to their convoys with lots more carrier-borne aircraft in addition to the new destroyers and light escort ships. The Americans are building enough conventional cargo ships to satisfy the need for commercial shipping already. Our ships are far better suited for this conversion fortunately with their relatively high speeds, stronger scantlings and extensive compartmentalization. These features make them far more survivable than the mercantile conversions that have been used in the past to produce escort carriers.”
“We are still faced with the problem of having enough trained workers to fill all of these orders, much less sufficient facilities. We are very close to full capacity at our shipyards, automotive plants, aircraft assembly halls and even our ordnance production factories.”
