by gerald hall
Besides, you have to be aware that the Japanese are not going to allow themselves to be bound by the treaty for much longer. They are going to resume building battleships with sixteen-inch main guns, if not larger. The Americans will immediately follow suit with sixteen-inch guns on their own new construction battleships. While the big guns onNelsonandRodneyhave been less than ideal, the fifteen-inch guns that we have on most of our other capital ships are still outstanding. The Mark II version of the fifteen-inch gun will serve us well on our new construction ships while allowing us sufficient tonnage to ensure adequate speed, armored protection, a long radius of action and superior anti-aircraft defenses.”
“Your logic in this is impeccable, Harold. But what is reason behind your interest in the antiaircraft defenses of the Royal Navy’s warships? The Admiralty believes that it already has the best shortrange anti-aircraft weapons in the world with the two-pounder pom-pom in the multiple barrel mount. What it is most worried about by the Admiralty are torpedo-armed destroyers and light cruisers slipping in close and hitting our capital ships.” Winston noted.
“You and I both know that aircraft are the naval weapon of the future, both defensively and offensively. While large capital ships with their big guns do still have a place, they need to work with aircraft and be able to defend themselves adequately against enemy aircraft as well. This will require the combination of dual-purpose secondary guns and significant numbers of short-range automatic antiaircraft guns.
The combination of heavy antiaircraft defenses onboard our ships along with the construction of more aircraft carriers would put the Royal Navy at the forefront of combat effectiveness on either the high seas or littoral waters as needed. The Royal Navy could then base several fast battle groups around a modernized battlecruiser likeTiger,Renown,RepulseorHoodor a fast battleship like theKing George V. Then you would add to the battle group, a fleet aircraft carrier, a cruiser or two and several destroyers. Each battle group would be able to cover an immense area of ocean in the hunt for raiders, submarines or other enemy surface combat groups.
Of course, you will also need significantly more destroyers commissioned to support these combat groups as well. They will keep enemy destroyers and cruisers at bay when necessary as well as protect against enemy submarines.
Another suggestion that I would present to you would be to look at adapting anArethusaclass cruiser hull to serve as a specialized antiaircraft cruiser. Using an existing hull design will save considerable time and expense, of course.
It should be a relatively easy task for such a vessel to mount six of the same twin dual purpose BD Mark II mounts on the centerline in superfiring mounts. Since there would be no need for the four inch secondary guns, the cruiser could dispense with those in lieu of additional automatic cannons like the pom-pom and twenty-millimeter Oerlikon. The cruiser could still retain torpedo tubes for fleet actions. Finally, the hull would also allow the cruiser to serve as a destroyer flotilla flagship with adequate space for command staff.
Groupings of multiple integrated battlegroups could be used in fleet actions to destroy massed enemy surface forces through a combination of aerial attack and heavy gun bombardment. The aircraft of the carriers and the heavy guns of the capital ships can be used in support of expeditionary ground forces along an adversary’s coastline. These battlegroups would be uniquely suited to defend themselves against a variety of threats when necessary. Having specialized anti-aircraft ships in support of these battlegroups only enhances their capabilities and survivability.”
Harold could see the intense look on Churchill’s face as he sought to envision the full implications of the far-reaching concept that Harold had proposed. Little did Churchill know that this exact operational concept was eventually going to be put into practice during the Second World War. But, Churchill was clearly intrigued by the vision that Harold had described.
“What will you do to be able to help me convince the First Lord of the Admiralty and the others who make these decisions? I do have some highly placed friends there. The Controller, Rear Admiral Reginald Henderson and I have known each other for years. He has been involved in many of our most important ship design concepts. But even that may not be enough to sway the design board, much less the politicians that ultimately tell us how much the Royal Navy can spend on ship construction.”
Harold refrained from mentioning that he had already spent nearly a quarter million Pounds Sterling ‘convincing’ dozens of members of Parliament to support the very same proposals that he had presented to Churchill. But the recipients of those payments were merely paid politicians. Winston Churchill was a friend with many of the same viewpoints. They would disagree on a few subjects, but largely Harold and Winston were like brothers in their shared view of the world.
What Winston would never learn was the secret behind Harold’s uncanny predictions of events nor the deeper agenda that Harold continued to pursue.
“I will do what I can. After all, I am a wealthy, influential, tax-paying citizen of the Commonwealth. I’m sure that I can get a few people out there to listen to what I have to say.” Harold laughed.
“I’m sure that you will, my friend. You’ve already proven to be quite capable at that.” Churchill answered.
“In fact, I have already heard from my steam propulsion subsidiary in England that the British Admiralty has been inquiring about my high-pressure steam units. I strongly suspect that you might have had something to do with that.”
“Yes, I did discuss the matter with a few senior officers that I know. They were very interested in the performance numbers that you claimed. It will still be a challenge however because of the usual concerns about reliability.”
“My land-based test unit as well as several ships that have been produced at my Derby shipyards have already verified the reliability of the design as well as its other attributes. If the design is used on the Royal Navy’s new capital ship designs and possibly also the upgrades to its battlecruiser fleet, it would make it possible for other improvements to be incorporated into those ships as well.”
“I will continue to make your case with the Admiralty in the matter, Harold. You and I are both interested in achieving the same goals here, I am certain.” Churchill replied.
“Yes, we are. Well, I must be going. I have to go visit a company tomorrow that I want to offer some work to. They have some unique ideas that I want to take advantage of.”
“What sort of ideas?”
“Well, the company produces aircraft. I think that they will be very receptive to perhaps building some for me.” Harold said with a knowing smile.
“Yes, indeed. They should be quite receptive to you, especially after the success of that new flying boat of yours. I shall have to come down to take a look at your aircraft before you leave to go back to Australia, Harold.”
“I look forward to it, Winston.” Harold replied before finally picking up his coat and hat and leaving the Churchill residence. He already had a hired Hackney waiting on him to take him to his next destination.
In the course of the day, Harold visited several factories, mostly in the defense industry. But Harold also visited his steam engine production subsidiary that was located just off of the Thames River estuary as well. By the end of the day, he had agreed to business deals worth more than a million Pounds Sterling.
After completing his business for the day, Harold rode back to the hotel in London where Dorothy and the children had already settled into.
“Any luck, Sweetheart?” Dorothy asked.
“I think so. I was able to sign several contracts that my representatives here had been working on for some months now. We will to wait and see what happens with the rest of what happens. I do have more work to do tomorrow, of course.
But for now, I just want to get out of these clothes and get into a nice warm bed with you.”
Dorothy quickly smiled, “I like that idea too. But we will have to make sure to lock the door between our room and the ch
ildren’s room first.”
The time traveler had arrived at the Woodley, Berkshire headquarters of Miles Aircraft Limited that next morning after a very pleasant night. Harold then got out of his car, walked up to the front door and knocked. Two men, obviously related in addition to a woman who stood back a couple of feet, answered the door.
“Good morning, Gentlemen. My name is Harold Cavill.” The time traveler said.
“Hello, Sir. I’m Fredrick Miles. This is my wife Blossom and my brother George. I must say that we have been expecting you. We have heard through our contacts with certain influential people in the Air Ministry that you have been looking for new aircraft designs. How can we help you?”
“I know that you have been terribly busy preparing for the production of the Miles Master trainer aircraft. However, it is also my understanding that you also have a penchant for exploring new design concepts to develop. I have a particular project that I believe might be perfect for you.” Harold told his hosts.
“Please do continue, Sir. I know that you have travelled a long way from Australia. We will do our best to ensure that it was not a waste of time.” Frederick politely said.
Of course, the Miles family had no idea of the secret meetings that Harold Cavill had been having with certain high-ranking officials, especially those with Winston Churchill. None of Harold’s business trips were ever a waste of time.
“What I am looking for is an aircraft design that can serve as a fighter onboard a relatively small vessel’s flight deck. There is interest in conducting flight operations on a ship that is no larger in size than one of theCountyclass cruisers. This way, we can produce a relatively large number of ships. However, with such a small flight deck, it is vitally important that the aircraft be very easy to operate safely while at sea. Because the ship design is much smaller than that of HMSCourageousor the other Royal Navy fleet carriers currently in commission, each aircraft operating from it would have to fit in a very small area in the hangar.”
“You are talking about those aircraft carrier conversions of theHawkinsclass cruisers that we have heard about. They were supposed to allow the Royal Navy to avoid certain onerous aspects of the Washington Naval treaties.”
“That could possibly be an application of this proposal, although I believe that the Admiralty currently plans on flying Fairey Swordfish and Gloster Sea Gladiators from those particular vessels at this point. I would like to be able to provide the Royal Navy with a better option.” Harold admitted before continuing.
“Getting back to the original subject, I am already aware that the Gloster Gladiator is currently the fighter being used by our Fleet Air Arm. I fear that if we were to rely solely upon our current aircraft producers like Gloster, there may not be enough production capacity available to supply the needs of the Royal Navy’s carrier air arm. We also have to bear in mind that the aircraft on our carriers will probably have to face adversaries that are far faster and more heavily armed than the Gladiator in the foreseeable future. Any new combat aircraft would have to be a significant improvement over our current designs.”
“What you want us to do would be quite a challenge. We know that the new monoplanes will soon greatly outperform traditional biplane aircraft like the Gladiator. The difficulty will be in creating a design that can keep up with its shore-based counterparts in terms of performance while still operating from the limited space of a carrier’s flight deck. But George and I do like a challenge, don’t we? Are there any particular parameters that you would like for this new aircraft design?”
Harold smiled for a moment. He had already hooked the Miles’ brothers’ interest. Now, to lead them to design the sort of aircraft that they wouldn’t build a prototype of for another few years. Harold was certain still that the Miles Brothers had already been considering what he was about to suggest.
“I had read something about tandem wing aircraft. It would seem to me that they would be quite ideal since both wings would be producing lift, rather like what the Wright Brothers did with their first aircraft. That would logically make landing speeds lower and allow for smaller wings to be needed. That, in turn, would lead to a smaller airframe to store on the ship. Therefore, I would like for you to incorporate a tandem wing configuration for this aircraft if at all possible.”
“That sounds quite interesting, Mister Cavill. That is very insightful on your part as well concerning the effects of multiple lifting surfaces. We have been investigating just such an arrangement ourselves, in fact. But so far, all of our ideas have only been on paper.”
“This would give you an opportunity to take this off of the drawing board then. Since I will want this to be a combat aircraft, the armament that it would carry is very important. I would like for the aircraft to have at least four heavy machine guns in the nose firing at their maximum rate of fire. This would give the fighter a very heavy punch against both enemy aircraft and surface targets as well. The guns would have to be larger than our standard Browning .303’s, perhaps some of the American fiftycaliber Browning heavy machine guns.”
“If you want them in the nose, either they would have to be fitted with interrupter gear to allow the projectiles to be fired between the propeller blades or we would have to adopt a pusher propeller design. The arrestor gear would significantly slow down the each weapon’s rate of fire to avoid hitting the propeller. Plus, it would be very difficult to mount four heavy machine guns firing forward with a tractor propeller aircraft without putting at least half of them in the wings.” Frederick said after thinking for a few moments.
“I can accept the use of a pusher configuration. Achieving the maximum rate of fire and effective range is very important for this aircraft. You will have to come up with a means for the pilot to escape the aircraft if it is disabled without him being struck by its propeller, of course.”
“I’m sure that we will come up with something to solve that particular problem. Now, you haven’t said anything about performance requirements beyond a desire to be superior to the Blackburn Skua, Sir.”
“That is true, Mister Miles. The new aircraft would have to be capable of flying at least three hundred and fifty knots in level flight at sea level. The fighter would require an operational radius and maneuverability superior to that of the Hawker Hurricane. Let’s not also forget to give the pilot some reasonable protection against enemy fire as well as self-sealing fuel tanks. I already have the production license for the American Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin-Wasp twelve hundred and fifty horsepower fourteen-cylinder radial engine with a supercharger. I believe that this engine would be quite suitable for our purposes. I also plan on obtaining the license for the Wright Twin-Cyclone engine as well. This engine could be used to increase the aircraft’s speed and payload in later versions. The proposed fighter would also have hardpoints under the wings or fuselage to carry extra fuel in expendable drop tanks or a pair of two-hundred and fifty kilogram bombs.
If it is possible without degrading its maneuverability, I would like for the fighter to also be able to operate as a dive bomber. This would reduce the number of aircraft types that these small carriers would be required to operate.”
The two brothers turned and talked quietly with each other for a few moments. Then they turned back towards Harold with confident smiles.
“We do like a challenge I must admit, Mr. Cavill. The design will have to be very compact to meet your requirements, but I believe it is doable. How soon do you need the first prototype ready to fly?” Frederick quickly asked.
Harold thought for a few moments. How long did he really have before he needed those aircraft in operation? He considered about how long it would be before the war in Europe would begin and eventually the war in the Pacific before deciding on a timeline.
“I’d like to see your initial design concepts within ninety days, with the first full-scale prototype flying eighteen months from now. I am willing to finance a smaller prototype aircraft to provide a proof of concept as long as it can be constructed an
d flown within nine months. I would also like for the proof of concept design to potentially have some utility in its own right for possible production as well. I will arrange for a half-dozen R-1830 engines to be shipped to you along with the Browning machine guns for the full-scale prototype’s armament. Will that be satisfactory?”
“Yes. All that will be left will be to arrange payment. Obviously, we can’t work for free even though we do love the work.”
“I will have my barrister contact you for an initial contract for development. If I am satisfied with what you have created, then we will decide on additional contracts, either for license production or for your company to produce the new fighter.”
“Thank you, Sir. We look forward to working with you.” A surprised and very pleased Frederick Miles responded.
Seaplane Docks
Port of London, England January 7, 1936
Harold had received the message from a courier that Winston Churchill wanted to visit Harold’s Cavalier flying boat that morning. Churchill was already standing there in a dark, pin-striped suit and a bowler hat looking up at the Cavalier when Harold walked up.
“Good morning, Harold. I was just looking at this very impressive flying machine of yours. I had read about it in the newspapers. But that is nothing like seeing it in person.”
“I am very pleased with what my designers have been able to accomplish with the Cavalier. They were able exceed my requirements for range, speed and payload.”
“Where is your lovely wife and children? I had hoped to be able to finally meet all of them.” Churchill asked.
“Dorothy and the children took a train to go visit the English countryside today. Since we only have a few more days before beginning the flight back, Dorothy wanted to give them the opportunity to see more of the land where she came from.” Harold said, not mentioning Dorothy’s wish to not have to expose the children to Churchill’s cigar smoke. Harold then continued with an idea that he had been thinking about after reviewing records of the early months of the Second World War.
