by gerald hall
“Well, most of my students don’t seem to have a problem with it, especially after I have taken them through a few aerobatic maneuvers to show them what the aircraft and I are capable of.”
“You made a few of them airsick, didn’t you?”
“Yes, I’m afraid so.” Dorothy admitted with a laugh.
“How many of them came back afterwards?”
“Actually, almost all of them. I think that their pride wouldn’t let them give up over a simple case of nausea, especially with the others who didn’t get sick. Of course, the ones who had some difficulty with me being the instructor tended not to return after losing their breakfast during the lesson.”
“How about our aborigine recruits? Are they sticking it out?”
“They have been getting sick more frequently on their first flights than our white recruits. But the aborigines have been all coming back for more. Once they figure out how to handle the maneuvering, the aborigines do very well though.”
“How long before you start training them on the short field operations, Dorothy?”
“I have six pilots who have already started. That is why the Swordfish have been so useful. They have incredible controllability at landing and takeoff with their low stall speed.”
“Your students are going to need to learn flying from very short fields quite soon. We will soon be unveiling HMASMelbourneand beginning the final phases of completion and fitting out. We will need pilots that are ready to fly from her soon.”
“Sweetheart, I’m not so sure that I am ready to try landing on the deck of a moving ship myself.” Dorothy wryly noted.
“I wouldn’t want you to do it either. That is why I am going to talk to Minister Hughes and Mister Churchill to arrange for some experienced Royal Navy naval aviators to be seconded to the RAN to not only fly fromMelbournebut to also finish instructing your students for the final phases of their training.”
“I hate not being able to see their training to the end, Harold.”
“The fact that you have already given them all a very good head start is the most important thing. I would much rather let others who have real world experience in operating from an aircraft carrier flight deck handle the rest of the training.
Of course, even they are in for a bit of a surprise when they seeMelbournefor the first time. She is unlike any ship that they have ever seen.”
“I have been having my students practice with all of the aircraft that we could possibly be flying fromMelbourneincluding the Swordfish, Skua and Martlet as well as the Damselfly. I know that you have wanted to continue flight tests on the Dragonflies before we start training pilots on them.”
“I know. I hope that those flight tests will soon be completed. In the meanwhile, why don’t we finish this bottle of wine and then go to bed. The children are still asleep for now. It would be a grand idea if we could continue our celebration of the New Year in our bedroom before one of the children wakes up.” Harold said with a sly smile.
“Funny, Harold. You are not acting like any fifty-seven year old man that I have ever known.” Dorothy laughed as they walked, hand in hand, towards their bedroom.
“I should hope not!”
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Cavill Air Services Hangar Derby, Western Australia January 5, 1939
Harold had found out that Billy Hughes was aboard the incoming DC-3 less than an hour before the airliner’s arrival. Harold and Dorothy had to quickly rush from the office to meet the arriving flight.
Just as Minister Hughes got out from inside of the aircraft, Harold greeted him with a smile.
“Good afternoon, Minister. I have to say that it is an unexpected pleasure to have you come visit us today.”
“I wish that this visit was under better circumstances, Harold. That incident here last year with those protesters has stirred up quite a firestorm in Canberra.”
“I would hardly call several hundred armed men showing up here uninvited and demanding that I fire all of my aborigine workers mere ‘protestors’. It looked a lot more like a lynch mob than anything else.”
“Those men told a far different story to the members of Parliament. They made it appear that you attacked them with a whole damned army. They also said that you fired machine guns into the crowd and killed several peaceful protestors. You know damned well that this was not at all what I imagined when I let you talk me into supporting you forming a militia, Harold.” An angry Billy Hughes said.
Harold stopped and thought for a few moments before responding. He had been worrying for months that this was going to happen as well. Now, Harold had to find a way to protect what he had built.
“Minister Hughes, please let me clarify a few things first. Those men came here trying to start a riot. If I didn’t have a protective force here that was large enough to stop them in their tracks, those men might very well have burned down this entire town. They also fired the first shots and almost killed me in the course of doing so. Fortunately, the only man that died was the very one who tried to kill me. There were a few others who had been wounded, but they all received the necessary medical treatment at my hospital here and recovered well enough to be escorted out of Derby.”
“Well, Harold. You still have a problem here because there have been calls for your militia to be totally disbanded and for their equipment to be confiscated by the Australian government. Some have also called for the aborigines here to be disarmed as well. The politicians in Canberra have never heard this story of yours. They are just terrified that you might start an insurrection of some sort out here. They are especially nervous after the reports that you have had recent contacts with the Nazis.” Billy tersely explained.
“Minister Hughes, it is very important that you understand that we are not a threat to anyone except to the enemies of our nation. I ask that you do everything that you can to calm down the situation with the government. I fear that events are coming that will require everything that we can muster to defend Australia and the Commonwealth as a whole. This includes the militia here. Now is definitely not the time to dismantle what I have built here.” Harold explained. Of course, he could not say anything about the timing of the coming war to Billy. That would lead to some very awkward questions as well. But Harold still had to address the last accusation.
“As to your last point, Minister Hughes. I do have some business interests in Germany. In fact, I am very worried that Adolf Hitler could nationalize my holdings there and cost me a great deal of money. Some of my best engineers and technicians came here from Germany as well. But we are all completely loyal to Australia, including my German workers who have all requested and received Australian citizenship. Remember that many of my German workers are Jewish. You have heard the news reports about what the Nazis have been doing to the Jews in Germany, haven’t you?”
Billy looked at Harold for a few moments and shrugged his aging shoulders before responding.
“It would have been a lot easier to believe you if I didn’t already know that you were building tanks and other military equipment here. But, I have to admit that you are right about the need to keep your militia force together. The reports out of Germany, Italy and Japan scare the hell out of me. I will do what I can to fend off these charges when I get back to Canberra.
I’m already scheduled for a flight back tomorrow. I just need to find transportation to one of your boarding houses here for the night.”
“I’ll have one of my people take care of everything for you, Minister Hughes. Thank you for the warning and your continued assistance in this matter.”
As Billy walked away to a waiting sedan, Dorothy stepped up to Harold. She had been standing in the background, waiting and listening to Harold’s conversation with the former Australian prime minister.
“It sounds like you were right to be concerned about that aftermath of that riot, Sweetheart.”
“I know. We’ve already doubled the number of security personnel at Derby in the past few months. Since the security force personne
l are all members of the militia, they will give us a ready force to deal with any enemy force, whether foreign or domestic. Now, if Billy Hughes can manage to hold off our opponents in Canberra for a while longer. Eight months is all that we need. After that, world events will trump anything that the politicians in Canberra have to say.” Harold quietly told Dorothy.
Cavill Industries Corporate Headquarters Derby, Western Australia
March 7, 1939
Harold’s accountant presented the latest figures for the trade that Harold’s various companies had been doing with French Indochina. The numbers had substantially increased over the past five years.
Harold had made a deliberate decision to promote industrial trade between his companies and the French colony, especially after he had used his influence to have certain import tariffs lifted. He had been purchasing substantial amounts of rubber and timber from Indochina as well as other raw materials that Harold used in his various factories. The rubber was being used mostly to produce vehicle times while the timber went into a variety of products including more than a thousand homes in the Derby area.
As a result of the increased trade, the French were already beginning to worry about the potential threat of Japanese expansionism to their interests in Indochina. The French government had made some small improvements in their military forces in Indochina in the past year or so. However, these improvements in their defense would not nearly enough to deter the Japanese in the long run.
Shortly before, Harold had decided that it was time to ask an old friend to help nudge the French into putting more substantial military assets into protecting their colony in Indochina. Harold dispatched a message to Winston Churchill and sent it via airmail. Harold and Winston had discussed the need for greater French military involvement in the Western Pacific before. Winston had since then started the groundwork for achieving their goal.
Of course, Winston did not know that it was Harold’s goal that the Japanese be diverted from launching the attack on Pearl Harbor. A determined and strengthened French military presence in the region would give the Japanese additional reason for concern. The French would have to be dealt with first or at least confronted with Japanese warships, aircraft and troops that would otherwise have been necessary for the strikes on Hawaii and Alaska.
If Harold was very fortunate, the Japanese would be deterred and choose not to attack American and other Western forces at all. But in the event that war in the Pacific was inevitable, Harold’s preparations will have bought the Western allies the time and means to stop the Japanese war machine without having to resort to drastic measures like the Manhattan Project.
But Harold had to refrain from saying anything about deterring the Japanese from attacking American forces. He knew that Churchill would badly want America in the war against the Axis, especially the Germans. If Churchill suspected that Harold was trying to keep America out of the war or at least minimize its role, then he might not take Harold’s suggestions so enthusiastically this time.
However, Churchill’s responding telegram was quite positive in a variety of ways, much to Harold’s relief. He was taking a trip to France that he was confident would bring needed support to the Pacific.
But the French garrison was still woefully undermanned. The weapons available to the troops largely dated back to the previous war as well. Harold knew all of this from his business trips to Haiphong and Hanoi. Now, Harold needed to determine what else he could do to help the French improve their ability to resist the Japanese forces that would be pushing down from China.
At least Churchill had already managed to accomplish another request of Harold’s. In two weeks, twenty Fleet Air Arm pilots would be arriving at Derby on the next returning Cavalier flight to take over training of Dorothy’s student pilots. The new arrivals would be as surprised as everyone else when they see the new aircraft carrier for the first time.
Toulon Naval Base, Marine nationale Toulon, France
March 15, 1939
Winston Churchill took a flight across the English Channel to visit an old friend at the French naval base at Toulon. There he met French Fleet Admiral Jean Louis Xavier Francois Darlan at the latter’s office along France’s southern coast. There had been some tension during a private meeting with several other French military officials a couple of months earlier. Churchill had made a tacit suggestion that the Maginot Line might not stop the Germans if the latter decided to invade France again. This idea did not go over well with the French who had boasted that their border fortifications were impenetrable. The visit now with Darlan was amiable enough though.
“Good morning, Admiral Darlan.” A cheerful Churchill said as the two embraced. “Good morning to you also, Mister Churchill.” The commander of the French Navy said in recognition of Churchill’s previous positions as First Lord of the Royal Navy and elsewhere in previous British governments.
“Thank you, Sir. I saw that your newest battleshipRichelieuwas recently launched. It appears to be a fine warship. I expect that her sister ship will soon be launched as well.”
“Yes, Mister Churchill.Richelieuhas given us a commanding superiority over the Fascists in the Mediterranean.Jean Bartwill certainly add to that superiority soon. It is my hope to be able to retire the oldest of our battleships,ParisandCourbet, when all three ships of theRichelieuclass are completed.”
“The Germans are becoming a significant concern, I’m afraid as are the Japanese. Your colonies in Indochina could likely find themselves under significant threat from either Japanese capital ships or German pocket battleships. Either one could heavily damage commercial shipping and bombard shore installations that are becoming very important to your nation.”
“Yes, I know. The Japanese continue to capture more Chinese territory southward towards our colony. Are you trying to suggest that I should sendRichelieuto Indochina? It will be at least another year before she is commissioned.Jean Bartwill not be ready for at least another year beyond that. The French people would insist that their largest battleships remain based at a French port to counter the Bocheand Fascists.”
“No, of course not, Admiral. The presence ofRichelieuat home will be a powerful deterrent to both the Germans and the Italians. However, a powerful squadron based out of the port at Haiphong would also be a deterrent to the Japanese as well. Since it would have to be able to patrol a large area of water in both the Indian and Pacific oceans, it will have to have considerable speed.”
“You bring up very good points,Monsieur. I have already had a number of discussions with French government officials about the need to better defend our possessions in Indochina. The rapid expansion of commerce between our colony there and the Commonwealth of Australia seems to be driving our government’s desire in that regards.”
Churchill immediately thought about an earlier discussion with Harold Cavill where the latter admitted that he was deliberately seeking an expansion of trade with French Indochina as well as the Dutch West Indies. It seemed as though Harold was manipulating the situation in order to obtain a greater military commitment from the French. Even Churchill was surprised by how successful Harold’s machinations had been.
The bait had been put out. Now it was time to set the hook.
“Based on my knowledge of the potential threats that your colony might face, I would suggest sending a squadron centered on the battlecruisersDunkerqueandStrasbourgalong with supporting cruisers and destroyers. Obviously, your older battleships would be far too slow and short-ranged to be able to operate effectively against a JapaneseKongoor one of Hitler’sDeutschlandsin the open ocean. This deployment will also give you an opportunity to demonstrate French naval power outside of Atlantic or Mediterranean waters.
I can also say with some assurance that the Royal Navy will also have at least two fast capital ships based in the area as well, probably out of Singapore. We will be supporting them with at least two aircraft carriers as well. If our navies worked together, it would be mutually beneficial for both of our
nations in the event that we have to fight another formidable foe like the Japanese Empire.
I can say with considerable confidence, that if you were to deploy your two battlecruisers to Indochina, that the Royal Navy would adjust its capital ship dispositions to help support the French Navy in the Mediterranean.”
“What do you have in mind, Mister Churchill?”
“We were able to fund the full modernization of all five of ourQueen Elizabethclass battleships in addition to that of our four battlecruisers;Hood,Tiger,RenownandRepulse, after the sale of HMS Resolutionto Chile two years ago and some other revisions to our naval spending priorities. TheQueen Elizabeth’scould all be deployed to our base in Alexandria, Egypt. With our new battleships quickly coming into service, we can afford to deploy all of theQE’s to the Mediterranean. That decision would put them in an excellent position to support your ships there.
Together, we would be much more than a match for anything that the Italians can muster.” Churchill confidently said.
“This would certainly help us, Mister Churchill. I believe such a commitment would be very convincing to our leadership. We would perhaps need to accelerate the completion ofRichelieuand Jean Bartto ensure that they are ready.”
“That would be a wise move, Admiral. Of course, if something truly horrific happened that required your capital ships to return back to France to support operations in the Atlantic or Mediterranean, thenDunkerqueandStrasbourgwould be able to return home faster than any of your other battleships.”
Darlan thought silently for a few moments.
“What you are proposing does appear to make a great deal of sense. I have been quite concerned about the Japanese for a long time, especially after their moves into China. What other allied forces might also be in the area to support my ships besides the ones that you had mentioned earlier?”
“I can’t speak for the Americans although they do certainly have interests in the area with their colony at the Philippine Islands. If they were brought into the war against the Japanese, the American Pacific Fleet would dwarf anything that we could contribute. Separate from that, I would imagine that the Royal Navy would also send several light and heavy cruisers in addition to our capital ships and aircraft carriers. Australia and New Zealand also have several cruisers and destroyers as well. The Dutch would likely contribute several light cruisers, destroyers and submarines in defense of their oil fields in Sumatra. The US Asiatic Fleet could potentially contribute two cruisers and a fairly large number of destroyers and submarines. However, most of the American warships in that particular force are of aging designs unfortunately.
