stevep
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Post by stevep on Sept 18, 2020 10:41:30 GMT
Just a quick bit of economic data to chew on: Historical British GDP Growth Rates 1960: 3.21% 1961: 0.21% 1962: 3.67% 1963: 5.04% 1964: 2.46% 1965: 2.03% 1966: 2.17% Average of 2.68% Dark Earth British GDP Growth Rates 1960/61: 6.96% 1961/62: 5.24% 1962/63: 3.1% 1963/64: 4.8% 1964/65: 5.27% 1965/66: 5.62% 1966/67: 8.48% Average of 5.63% British performance is still below that of Japan (9.56%), Germany (5.68%), France (6.61%) and Italy (6.34%) on average in this era, but not by as much as in @ due to the impact of reforms between 1945 and 1965, interwar changes in policies and sounder foundations stretching back to the 19th Century. Will it be enough? Time will tell.
Gods that's a hell of a difference. Also would expect those countries to do somewhat better as their in part still bouncing back from the devastation of WWII and what their done already in that gives them newer and probably more efficient infrastructure. However there isn't the same level of relative decline as OTL and 66/67 seems a very good year economy wise, despite the additional economic and social burdens.
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Sept 18, 2020 10:48:15 GMT
October 1.) Yes, there are some released late, some on time as historical and some at all. 2.) This is the very first stage of considering the issue. As you say, it will need the Dominions to buy into the idea. The smaller "white" Dominions would be in favour of any steps to maximise their interest, but that is just the first hurdle. 3.) That brings the Royal Israeli Air Force to 50 TSR-2s, which is why it isn't so worried about the Arab Union - it has a very clear qualitative edge. 4.) As a historical event, it wasn't ever in real danger. However, a caped crusader helps out to make sure. 5.) It is a coordinated operation of the British, Anzacs, Canadians, Indians and Africans across several provinces. 6.) At current production, there are somewhere between 80 and 100 years of reserves left in the North Sea. 7.) Indeed. What was a historical novelty now has a lot more resonance. 8.) Many aspects of the Great Society reforms make it into law without an overarching framework. 9.) At least no-one copped an arrow to the eye during the ceremony. 10.) They are thinking about an OPEC equivalent, but it would run into a few issues along the way... 11.) It does not help Egypt at all and even serves as the beginning of ...something... 12.) Yes, that was missing a "not" for Aberfan. As it stands, it will be seen as a terrible tragedy in its own right and cause some examination of the causes. 13.) None, with Blake having been executed several years previously. This is a separate spy ring. This does touch upon the issue that executing spies left right and centre does have some consequences in the long term. 14.) Guevara criss-crosses the globe as the most wanted man in the world. 15.) Spain isn't quite in the same position as @ and is a bit more circumspect about its actions. 16.) Fairly much as historical.
3) As like as they avoid a damaging 1st strike but then that's likely to alienate the rest of the empire/Commonwealth which wouldn't be good for any Arab coalition.
6) Hell that's a lot bigger than OTL, especially since your talking about a markedly larger population probably also comsuming a lot more due to greater transport and industrial demands.
11) Intriguing. Sounds like something will develop but have to see what.
13) It won't stop the fanatics, or the idiots who are bribed say and think they can get away with it but will deter a few and probably make fringe elements more wary.
Steve
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Sept 18, 2020 10:57:28 GMT
November 1.) The anti-aging drug has the potential to influence populations and general life when it is available widely and at a reasonable cost. 2.) The flooding and deaths were sadly historical. 3.) Something very strange was happening there, just has been occurring all around the world. 4.) Strangely enough, this is a historical events. However, here it is a real mothman. 5.) They had a lot of things prepared prior to the announcement of the film. Shooting will take place in Britain (the Shire) and across the Empire as part of a deal for government funding. This won't be a NZ-only job. 6.) I've never come across an AH that has a prospering Wales, but the drivers are certainly here. 7.) Unfortunately, the horse has already bolted on the great white shark issue here, apparently. It could be that there are some remaining populations away from the coasts. 8.) The megalodon gets away, unfortunately. It has a heck of an impact on the beaches and future of the Gold Coast, as well as some other areas. Until the issue can be addressed, would a family want to go down to the seaside to get eaten? 9.) Historically, they decided to end the requirement. Here, it is a function of a somewhat more conservative Church. 10.) Dragonfire is useful against the walking dead. 11.) Here, the Royal Space Force proves itself to be the most progressive of any of the armed forces. 12.) Godzilla is cruising around, minding his own business, but merely by being seen, he causes a panic. 13.) Ace Rimmer - what a guy! 14.) The smog was still there in the first place, which is a sign that things need to be cleaned up, somehow. 15.) Whitlam was his OTL replacement, but here, it is Kim Beazley; the ultimate Labour option will be Bob Hawke, who wins election as an MP in 1966 here. 16.) The impact of a different 1956, a different Algeria and several other factors kick the can down the road by several years. 17.) Yes, this was an OTL event.
1) Probably huge knock on effects because a lot of people will be about longer, for good or ill. Plus it might mean social changes when it gets common enough as there's an argument for delaying/suspending pensions.
5) Given that Tolkien was inspired by his dislike of industrialistaion after his experience in WWI, the horrors of the latter he seems to have blamed on the former I must admit parts of Britain would be more likely to be locations for Isengard and Mordor.
6) It probably depends on prosperous in regards to what. The terrain limits its actual economic potential somewhat but it definitely had some good periods, albeit at times when wealth wasn't that well spread.
Steve
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Sept 18, 2020 11:10:38 GMT
December 1.) The broad daylight UFO really puts the cat amongst the pigeons. Picture the historical space craze and the 1970s interest in UFOs and then multiply it by 100. 2.) There is definitely a powerful Royal Navy here, one that is still an intrinsic part of Britain's view of itself. It is behind the USN and the Soviets are now ahead in some categories, but it is a force to be reckoned with in more than just the North Atlantic. A global navy is a big cost, but grants very big capabilities. 3.) This was a historical nuclear test; there will be a few more as Plowshare expands. 4.) When the police tell a man to freeze, they darn well do it! 5.) The F-104 was nicknamed the Widowmaker and this was a historical event, albeit a day earlier historically. 6.) It is a fair bit better, coming from the greater numbers of Allied ships on exercise in the area and the larger Greek Navy in general. 7.) There is something of a current view that serial killers are increasingly 'obsolete' in the face of DNA and CCTV. Here, the combination of forensic sorcery and magical investigation closes the @ window that saw a boom of serial killers in the 1970s. 8.) General growth is noticeably higher than what was already quite reasonable in @ and unemployment was fairly low, although growing a bit. It is the trends that are significant and the lack of a looming fiscal and economic crisis that occurred to Britain in @. This means no devaluation of the pound, a lack of defence cutbacks and numerous other changes. 9.) The prisoners in question did merit a presidential pardon in @. 10.) Here, Disney is still going strong and will put out some other new films and expand his parks. 11.) The US and British have had contingency plans in place since 1960/61 for what to do if there was a direct intervention and they are quite expansive. It definitely raises tensions. 12.) Straight terrorist action by a group including an evil wizard. 13.) The level of force being used is extremely heavy, which might not be the most efficacious course of action. 14.) Both the USA and Britain will be going in very, very hard and the Australian armament action will also be interesting. 15.) It isn't necessarily accurate, but they have still broken records. 16.) It won't get to Biafra levels quite yet, but Nigeria has plenty of underlying issues. 17.) Here, the Chieftain process started in 1955 and entered service in 1959/60. That puts it roughly on schedule for replacement, but the process will probably take noticeably longer than 4.5 years. It begins in 1966 and there should be a production type by ~1972, similar to the XM1 18.) It is a sign that not every part of the Soviet regime is interested in escalation. 19.) The USN has not lost a major warship since WW2 in @, but here, this is the most significant loss since Korea, where there were losses of light warships, albeit to mines. 20.) Better late than never! 21.) As said, the RAF was scheduled to be reduced by now and there are still some in the Treasury who would like to see further cuts. It is just very difficult to cut armed forces whilst at war. Unless you are Gordon Brown. 22.) It might be a cause, or it might be a new problem. This sub is better than the @ Alfa and Papa class in speed and reliability. 23.) We shall see what happens on the run home to the Jovian system. 24.) The Boeing 2707 is large, Mach 3 airliner that is very, very capable. 25.) It isn't an accident and is a precursor of changes at the top of the Kremlin.
2) Definitely an improvement for Britain's position in the world and probably also its self development.
4) 
7)
11) This sounds like both sides are going to be sending more forces and equipment to the area.
16) Not good but hopefully a lot less destructive than OTL.
17) Good.
18) Also good.
21) I don't know if we were at war during Brown's time as either Treasurer or PM, other than continued anti-terroist actions in the ME. Thatcher made a lot of cuts in the navy especially albeit that a few of them were scaled back after the Falkland's war.
24) Hell that's a bloody fast as well as presumably big a/c. A lot more advanced than anything available today [as a commercial a/c anyway] let alone OTL 1960's.
25) The world will watch and worry.
Steve
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Post by simon darkshade on Sept 18, 2020 12:34:24 GMT
Just a quick bit of economic data to chew on: Historical British GDP Growth Rates 1960: 3.21% 1961: 0.21% 1962: 3.67% 1963: 5.04% 1964: 2.46% 1965: 2.03% 1966: 2.17% Average of 2.68% Dark Earth British GDP Growth Rates 1960/61: 6.96% 1961/62: 5.24% 1962/63: 3.1% 1963/64: 4.8% 1964/65: 5.27% 1965/66: 5.62% 1966/67: 8.48% Average of 5.63% British performance is still below that of Japan (9.56%), Germany (5.68%), France (6.61%) and Italy (6.34%) on average in this era, but not by as much as in @ due to the impact of reforms between 1945 and 1965, interwar changes in policies and sounder foundations stretching back to the 19th Century. Will it be enough? Time will tell.
Gods that's a hell of a difference. Also would expect those countries to do somewhat better as their in part still bouncing back from the devastation of WWII and what their done already in that gives them newer and probably more efficient infrastructure. However there isn't the same level of relative decline as OTL and 66/67 seems a very good year economy wise, despite the additional economic and social burdens.
It is a noticeable difference, but things will slow down a bit in the late 1960s in Britain due to a number of factors, including military expenditure. Germany will also get its second wind in this time and pull out ahead, but you are correct that there isn't the same level of relative decline nor the overall feeling of managing decline. |
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Post by simon darkshade on Sept 18, 2020 13:50:41 GMT
Consolidated Replies to Replies:
- Ramesses vs the the British Museum is an interesting idea
- I'm already in the process of researching the Entwife piece. Their involvement in the film and story will be difficult, as the LOTR is in essence a historical fantasy/fiction broadly based on an English mythology
- The Israelis aren't going to need to escalate to first strikes anytime soon.
- It is a lot more, but that figure covers the whole of the North Sea. Current production as of 1966 is a bit below the @ peak, so still has a while to go before it hits its own peak. Once there, that life span would drop to ~60 years.
- The Egyptian situation does decline with instability at the top and various factions warring for control.
- The spy game is at a very interesting stage.
- You've hit upon the major consequence of anti-aging.
- There are some industrial landscapes that would be suitable for Mordor and Isengard that have been thoroughly altered by the Industrial Revolution
- Wales is well set for heavy industry, particularly coal mines, chemical plants and steel mills and has some decent deep water port potential. The big change is through some hydroelectric and nuclear power generation projects that allow for particular industries to grow there. The general mountainous terrain isn't the best for high intensity agriculture and the potential market for some light industries is already filled.
- The RN presents quite a few opportunities for British industry, but it is a military force above all else.
- In both of these cases, there are indications that law enforcement has considerably advanced capabilities.
- The British and Americans will be reinforcing the Australians, as will Canada. The domino theory is very strong here.
- I can't see the same Biafran conflict blowing up, as Britain hasn't simply washed its hands of West Africa as in @.
- The resulting tank will be quite, quite capable, again re-establishing the technical edge over the Soviets.
- One of the characteristics of the "incoming" Soviet leadership is an interest in some form of detente, but on their own terms.
- My reference to Brown comes from Delivering Security in a Changing World in 2003. Whilst there was a nominal rise in the budget of £3.7 billion over 3 years, this did not keep up with the pace and costs of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and additionally considerably shrunk/cut the military. This was the first bad stab wound that was followed by the deeper damage of 2010. During Brown's period as Chancellor between 1997 and 2007, there was a consistent decline in defence spending, even as the economy grew. The pre-Falklands cuts of the 1981 White Paper were very bad in their consequence, but were scaled back after what they had wrought.
- The Boeing 2707 is a historical aircraft and quite capable.
- That they will.
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Sept 18, 2020 15:49:43 GMT
Consolidated Replies to Replies: - Ramesses vs the the British Museum is an interesting idea - I'm already in the process of researching the Entwife piece. Their involvement in the film and story will be difficult, as the LOTR is in essence a historical fantasy/fiction broadly based on an English mythology - The Israelis aren't going to need to escalate to first strikes anytime soon.- It is a lot more, but that figure covers the whole of the North Sea. Current production as of 1966 is a bit below the @ peak, so still has a while to go before it hits its own peak. Once there, that life span would drop to ~60 years. - The Egyptian situation does decline with instability at the top and various factions warring for control. - The spy game is at a very interesting stage. - You've hit upon the major consequence of anti-aging. - There are some industrial landscapes that would be suitable for Mordor and Isengard that have been thoroughly altered by the Industrial Revolution - Wales is well set for heavy industry, particularly coal mines, chemical plants and steel mills and has some decent deep water port potential. The big change is through some hydroelectric and nuclear power generation projects that allow for particular industries to grow there. The general mountainous terrain isn't the best for high intensity agriculture and the potential market for some light industries is already filled. - The RN presents quite a few opportunities for British industry, but it is a military force above all else. - In both of these cases, there are indications that law enforcement has considerably advanced capabilities. - The British and Americans will be reinforcing the Australians, as will Canada. The domino theory is very strong here. - I can't see the same Biafran conflict blowing up, as Britain hasn't simply washed its hands of West Africa as in @. - The resulting tank will be quite, quite capable, again re-establishing the technical edge over the Soviets. - One of the characteristics of the "incoming" Soviet leadership is an interest in some form of detente, but on their own terms. - My reference to Brown comes from Delivering Security in a Changing World in 2003. Whilst there was a nominal rise in the budget of £3.7 billion over 3 years, this did not keep up with the pace and costs of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and additionally considerably shrunk/cut the military. This was the first bad stab wound that was followed by the deeper damage of 2010. During Brown's period as Chancellor between 1997 and 2007, there was a consistent decline in defence spending, even as the economy grew. The pre-Falklands cuts of the 1981 White Paper were very bad in their consequence, but were scaled back after what they had wrought. - The Boeing 2707 is a historical aircraft and quite capable. - That they will.
What I actually meant was that the Arabs might seek to counter Israeli technological superiority by a 1st strike, attempting to take out as much of the Israeli airforce on the ground. Of course that makes support from the rest of the Commonwealth very likely so isn't likely to take them far.
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Post by simon darkshade on Sept 18, 2020 17:26:20 GMT
Ah, righto. The Arabs are in the process of buying up tanks, aircraft and assorted weaponry from Britain, France, the Soviets and whoever else is selling, but they aren't there yet.
At the moment, their most formidable strike assets are ~180 Canberras and assorted fighter-bombers. That isn't enough to break through the RIAF's air defence network of Blue Envoy long range SAMs, Thunderbird medium range SAMs and PT.428 Rapier short range SAMs and 450 fighters.
If they wanted to take out a large part of the RIAF, then there is the small matter of 600 RAF jets based across the Middle East that they'd also need to consider, plus 150 South African, Rhodesian and Canadian planes and the RN and Commonwealth aircraft carrier wings operating in the Mediterranean.
Then there are the Americans!
In order to contemplate such action, they would need the following:
1.) Substantially more modern aircraft and weapons
2.) British Commonwealth forces to be pulled out of Egypt, Israel, Iraq, Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Aden
3.) A different British government
4.) Israel to be out of the Commonwealth
5.) Israel not to have nuclear weapons
6.) Egypt to be fully onboard or allied with the Arab Union
I just cannot see those prerequisites happening any time soon. The British still regard Middle Eastern hegemony as a key component of their superpower status and have invested a lot of political capital in making the Baghdad Pact a workable alliance.
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Sept 19, 2020 10:15:31 GMT
Ah, righto. The Arabs are in the process of buying up tanks, aircraft and assorted weaponry from Britain, France, the Soviets and whoever else is selling, but they aren't there yet. At the moment, their most formidable strike assets are ~180 Canberras and assorted fighter-bombers. That isn't enough to break through the RIAF's air defence network of Blue Envoy long range SAMs, Thunderbird medium range SAMs and PT.428 Rapier short range SAMs and 450 fighters. If they wanted to take out a large part of the RIAF, then there is the small matter of 600 RAF jets based across the Middle East that they'd also need to consider, plus 150 South African, Rhodesian and Canadian planes and the RN and Commonwealth aircraft carrier wings operating in the Mediterranean. Then there are the Americans! In order to contemplate such action, they would need the following: 1.) Substantially more modern aircraft and weapons 2.) British Commonwealth forces to be pulled out of Egypt, Israel, Iraq, Arabia, the Persian Gulf and Aden 3.) A different British government 4.) Israel to be out of the Commonwealth 5.) Israel not to have nuclear weapons 6.) Egypt to be fully onboard or allied with the Arab Union I just cannot see those prerequisites happening any time soon. The British still regard Middle Eastern hegemony as a key component of their superpower status and have invested a lot of political capital in making the Baghdad Pact a workable alliance.
That shows how different DE is from OTL.
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Post by simon darkshade on Sept 19, 2020 12:06:44 GMT
Certainly. It shows the impact of what a decisive victory in 1956 does to the trajectory of the area. In time, British forces will contract, which the Arabs know. They aren’t working towards an inevitable conflict with Israel and the particular power imbalance may have closed that window even before it was contemplated.
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Post by simon darkshade on Sept 20, 2020 18:42:40 GMT
Arab Union Military Forces 1966
Ground Forces: 30 divisions, 553,509 men
Royal Arabian Army: 5 divisions, 85,492 personnel
3 Motorised Infantry Divisions
1 Mechanised Division
1 Royal Guard Division
Arab Legion: 2 divisions, 56,000 personnel
2 Armoured Divisions
Iraq: 10 divisions, 178,492 personnel
6 Infantry Divisions
2 Mechanised Divisions
1 Royal Guards (Mechanised) Division
1 Armoured Division
Royal Jordanian Army: 2 divisions, 42,369 personnel
2 Motorised Infantry Divisions
Royal Lebanese Army: 2 divisions, 47,824 personnel
2 Infantry Divisions
Royal Syrian Army: 8 divisions, 124,556 personnel
5 Infantry Divisions
2 Mechanised Divisions
1 Armoured Division
Yemen: 1 division, 18,776 personnel
1 Infantry Division
Air Forces: 1707 tactical aircraft
Syria: 488 (78 Spectres, 125 Hunters, 96 Deltas, 56 Javelins, 79 Swifts, 54 Canberras)
Iraq: 538 (90 Spectres, 140 Hunters, 102 Deltas, 59 Javelins, 80 Swifts, 67 Canberras)
Arabia: 450 (62 Spectres, 100 Hunters, 96 Deltas, 65 Javelins, 75 Swifts, 52 Canberras)
Jordan: 182 (50 Hunters, 48 Deltas, 32 Spectres, 27 Javelins, 25 Swifts)
Lebanon: 49 (49 Super Mystere)
- The Iraqis have 740 Centurions, Syria 690, Jordan 254, Arabia 329 and the Arab Legion 426.
- Artillery, mortars and armoured vehicles are primarily British pattern.
- There is a goal of 36 divisions and 2000 combat aircraft by 1970 under previous strategic agreements with Britain under the Baghdad Pact.
- This, along with a target Persian force of 24 divisions and 1000 aircraft, is designed to defend against the Soviets long enough to allow for British, Commonwealth and US forces to deploy.
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lordroel
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Post by lordroel on Sept 20, 2020 18:54:26 GMT
Arab Union Military Forces Is this under a single command. |
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stevep
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Post by stevep on Sept 20, 2020 19:24:37 GMT
Arab Union Military Forces 1966 Ground Forces: 30 divisions, 553,509 men Royal Arabian Army: 5 divisions, 85,492 personnel 3 Motorised Infantry Divisions 1 Mechanised Division 1 Royal Guard Division Arab Legion: 2 divisions, 56,000 personnel2 Armoured Divisions Iraq: 10 divisions, 178,492 personnel 6 Infantry Divisions 2 Mechanised Divisions 1 Royal Guards (Mechanised) Division 1 Armoured Division Royal Jordanian Army: 2 divisions, 42,369 personnel 2 Motorised Infantry Divisions Royal Lebanese Army: 2 divisions, 47,824 personnel 2 Infantry Divisions Royal Syrian Army: 8 divisions, 124,556 personnel 5 Infantry Divisions 2 Mechanised Divisions 1 Armoured Division Yemen: 1 division, 18,776 personnel 1 Infantry Division Air Forces: 1707 tactical aircraft Syria: 488 (78 Spectres, 125 Hunters, 96 Deltas, 56 Javelins, 79 Swifts, 54 Canberras) Iraq: 538 (90 Spectres, 140 Hunters, 102 Deltas, 59 Javelins, 80 Swifts, 67 Canberras) Arabia: 450 (62 Spectres, 100 Hunters, 96 Deltas, 65 Javelins, 75 Swifts, 52 Canberras) Jordan: 182 (50 Hunters, 48 Deltas, 32 Spectres, 27 Javelins, 25 Swifts) Lebanon: 49 (49 Super Mystere) - The Iraqis have 740 Centurions, Syria 690, Jordan 254, Arabia 329 and the Arab Legion 426. - Artillery, mortars and armoured vehicles are primarily British pattern. - There is a goal of 36 divisions and 2000 combat aircraft by 1970 under previous strategic agreements with Britain under the Baghdad Pact. - This, along with a target Persian force of 24 divisions and 1000 aircraft, is designed to defend against the Soviets long enough to allow for British, Commonwealth and US forces to deploy.
The Arab Legion seems rather manpower heavy, 28,000 men per division. Especially since their armoured divisions which tend to be more manpower light and equipment heavy.
I would guess the answer to Lordroel's question would be no. If anything like OTL Arab Unions the various components are too eager to protect their own positions to accept a centralised command.
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Post by simon darkshade on Sept 21, 2020 1:14:33 GMT
Lordroel,
Not as such. There is an increasing level of coordination and movement towards such a centralised command structure, but at the moment, that takes the form of an overall commander (rotational through the member nations) and general staff. Forces are still under national command.
Steve,
The Arab Legion consists of two large divisions (which contain just as much infantry as they do armour, 6 battalions of each), support units and a screening/recon brigade. Their units are under British officers and have a not insubstantial component of Indian NCOs.
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Post by simon darkshade on Sept 25, 2020 15:26:20 GMT
1966 Notes
- The interstellar signal starts to have a fair few effects over the course of the year, but there is also a fair bit of general shock. The reaction of some parties suggests that it may not quite be the same surprise to them.
- Orion 4 has a definitive advantage in the (literal) space race that becomes more pronounced as the year goes on. Unless the Russians or British have a real ace up their sleeve, the first to Jupiter will be the USA.
- Australia is an early embracer of nuclear power, representing a significant difference from @. There are two completed atomic power stations in Jervis Bay/NSW and Port Philip Bay/Victoria and three others under construction in NSW, South Australia and Western Australia. Their role isn't entirely power generation, but also production of fissile material for nuclear weapons.
- The Bimini Road revelations are the first of many developments in the area.
- The Midwich Protocol was prepared after a strange incident in the small English village of the same name in the late 1950s...
- Gotham City is a major city in New Jersey. Batman is also a bit more serious in its style and tone.
- The Soviet jet fighter that debuts over North Vietnam in January is the MiG-25 and here it is more of the aircraft that the US feared it might be in @.
- Bolivia is the first of several new major insurgencies in Latin America.
- The Palomares incident features rather more powerful bombs, causing some unease.
- Tintin finds Michael Rockefeller.
- Something of a rash of British and French African colonies achieve independence this year, in several cases well ahead of schedule. This is because of the mounting costs and pressures of trying to play a large role in Vietnam as well as their other commitments.
- The South Pacific Federation is the basis for a slightly more viable grouping of Pacific island states, but is at least 25 years off independent self-government and doesn't really have any basis for industry or natural resource extraction.
- The Esso Northumbria and her siblings end up having a longer and more successful service life. One of the subtexts of this event is that regional industrial development funding is being channeled into some areas and industries that began to fall into decline at this time in @.
- Moving moai suggests that something or some force is awakening...
- The Beaumont Children not disappearing in Adelaide, South Australia is a small event in the grand scheme of things, but has a rather large influence on social development and changes in SA and to a degree in Australia in general.
- A Canada without PM Richardson is a very strange political landscape indeed for politicians and the populace alike. It does present the first opening for the Liberals in many a long year, but not with the same personnel as @.
- Some level of European economic integration is occurring, but in different ways and on a different trajectory than that of @.
- Stanley Barton clearly sets out where he stands on the issue in his speech of February 1st
- The US Selective Service changes of January are signposting of the closing of many loopholes that multiple well-known figures and future celebrities used to avoid being drafted in @.
- Thalmann's speech is significant as it shows that the GDR is being used by the Soviets as a means of pushing more confrontational policy forward. Overall, it is a much smaller GDR than @, naturally, as it consists of East Prussia. However, it has been the 'beneficiary' of many ethnic Germans expelled from the USSR and Poland being forcibly resettled within its bounds; many new and thoroughly ugly cities have been built over the last 20 years and the landed estates have been completely collectivized. Major industries are chemicals, steel, energy, automobiles, aircraft, arms, shipbuilding, textiles, petroleum refining and consumer goods.
- Here, the Dogon beliefs and knowledge about certain stars come from some very interesting sources...
- The MACV testing results in two prototype vehicles going through to final trials. All are 32t, protected by a combination of RHA and modern compound armour, carry an infantry section and are armed with a range of experimental main guns (40mm, 42mm and 50mm), a coaxial machine gun and a commander heavy machine gun; consideration is being given to the utility of fitting ATGMs. There is a view towards using the vehicle as a basis for AA/ATG/ATGM variants.
- France after de Gaulle is in for some interesting and uncertain times.
- The discovery of the Lost Dutchman mine and some other features do come from the interesting episodes of 'In Search Of' from the 1970s.
- Fu Manchu's attendance at the Geneva Summit is an indication of how seriously the issue of contact is being taken by the powers.
- The NHL expands in some slightly different cities from a slightly different initial base of operations, in part reflecting Canada's larger population.
- The Sino-Korean border clashes are function of general tensions in East Asia and Korea still struggling to fully determine and assert its position.
- Pop music is running perhaps 15 years behind @ in some developments, but the general reaction/moral panic comes from the 1950s perceptions of it. I don't see rock and roll emerging in anywhere near the same form for a variety of cultural reasons explored in depth thus far, but would be interested on perspectives of just what might occur in musical terms.
- Camilo Torres's survival was a mere matter of chance, but is being portrayed by his side as a bit more than that.
- The Royal Navy's rearmament programme (which really amounts more to modernisation, but the former title is chosen for political reasons) will take time to result in useful deployable ships, but their reaction to the evolving Soviet SSN threat is quite expansive. The CVSLs are reasonably large ships by our standards (steel being cheap + capacity for future expansion is built into the design) but are based around the Rotodyne + helicopter air wing; the development of the Harrier gives them a very, very useful self-defence capacity. The US have designed a smaller CVSE for experimental service with a possible view towards building quite a few; the RN and RCN would also order some of these vessels. Replacement of the Essex class CVS ASW carriers isn't going to be pressing for another 5-8 years.
- The new QE2 trainable radio telescope is finished right when it will be quite useful...
- Aden is going to get messier over the next 5 years.
- Sea serpents off Miami is strange, even for Dark Earth. There is a suggestion that some things have definitely changed in the undersea ecosystem and food chain over the last 15-20 years, with the results now being felt and seen.
- The Gold Coast gets independence, albeit not as Ghana nor under Nkrumah. As a general rule, the British and French African colonies that gain independence are still tied fairly close to them in the manner of the Francafrique writ large. West Africa is somewhat more straightforward in general, as it lacks considerable white minority populations with the notable exception of Polish Togoland.
- Soviet missile development, particularly of ICBMs, are now starting to gather pace. However, the trajectory of our Cold War development in this regard (launcher parity and warhead parity by the late 1970s, US arsenal size declining from the mid 1960s and ABM being taken off the table) is not going to occur.
- An external party is trying to manipulate the Arab Union and Israel towards conflict.
- US manpower and spending in and on Vietnam is noticeably larger and will rise quite a bit more in 1967. This may or may not have the type of results they are looking for, which is a repeat of the eventual victory in Korea.
- Attitudes towards magic are shifting and not in a good way. It is increasingly seen as old fashioned, very dangerous and "not quite right"...
- Trotsky finally goes the way of all flesh, outliving Stalin by a decade.
- The amendment of government secrecy laws will result in the publication of some interesting details regarding the last few years of the Great War.
- The four Benelux corps are rather more powerful and capable than their equivalents in @ due to the economies of scale available to the combined states.
- Soviet missile deliveries to Indonesia raise regional tensions more than a little.
- The earthquake off Japan is historical, but the discovery of a more extensive Yonaguni is particular to Dark Earth and is the second manifestation of what was referred to in January.
- The Light ASW frigates are likely going to be the largest 'single' postwar ship class.
- Mr. Roarke's resort in Tahiti is a real fantasy island...
- This version of Action Man features some very Commonwealth types, coming in the following initial variants: Soldier, Sailor, RAF Fighter Pilot, Space Force Trooper, Grenadier Guardsman, Life Guard, Commando, Paratrooper, Scottish Highlander, Tank Commander, RFC Helicopter Pilot, Royal Marine, Gurkha, Zulu, SAS Trooper, Frogman, Arctic Mountain Fighter, Battle Mage, Canadian Ranger, Anzac Jungle Fighter, Sarac Bush Warrior and Indian Sikh. All have grippable hands and realistic hair and eyes. Tie-in comic strips in Eagle and several other collections are planned, along with some other potential expansions.
- The theft and recovery of the World Cup Trophy are the work of far more dastardly minds than in @. Captain Fantastic is looking into it...
- The Rome conclave is a harbinger for some interesting moves towards Christian unity, albeit not on the level of a complete healing of the old schisms.
- US solar power experiments have the potential to change several calculations considerably.
- The Ecuadorian coup d'etat in not unrelated to the other goings-on in South America. The Americans are reticent to restore the deposed king both on the grounds of a certain antipathy to monarchism and his status as one of the worst/more corrupt of the bunch.
- The Tu-125 is a real paralyser of an aircraft.
- The live-action adaption of Lord of the Rings is a joint Anglo-American production with a rather interesting cast and planned filming across Britain and the world, taking advantage of modern advances in arcane special effects and film-making technology.
- Dreadnought getting a supply rocket gives it a shot at a fast run to the Jovian system, with the capacity to get back of course, but the relative position of Jupiter in the solar system puts them behind the 8 ball.
- Zhukov makes reference to a “blue belt” on April 1st, causing consternation in the West; his meaning is in reference to new area SAMs.
- Queen Elizabeth II having twins isn’t her last addition to the Royal Family.
- Britain follows the Americans and Soviets into the long term starship construction game, but for all parties, there is a lot more research than real work being done as such.
- HMS Belfast is the last “gun cruiser” in RN service; the role of the CLs will be filled by the planned Town class DLGs which will complement the Leander CGs and County CGNs.
- Israel sees an advantage in diversifying its military suppliers, as it provides an extra level of security beyond Britain and the Commonwealth; France is now getting interested as well, but the Americans are the front runners.
- The preservation of the records from the Great Library of Alexandria is quite beneficial.
- Heavy bomber attacks on North Vietnam and the Trail are a lot bigger and rather more successful.
- Whenever the Pope meets Soviet diplomats, he finds an opportunity to mention how many divisions he has (2).
- Arabian oil negotiations will result in quite a windfall coming to Arabia and its partners.
- Hitler’s son, ODESSA and Operation Sunrise will be heard from again...
- Laurence Olivier wins Best Actor for Othello.
- Earlier C-150 Galaxies come from the operational lessons of the 1960 deployment.
- Rhodesia is seeing its northern border heat up a fair bit, with insurgents based in the Congo representing a growing problem. Forward deployed South African troops are a boon.
- The half orc who tried to off the Kaiser was bewitched.
- RN Coastal Forces experience something of a renaissance. They are getting a big work out in the Far East in their traditional patrol roles and new missions. There is a general feeling that FACs, whether armed with guns, torpedoes or missiles, are very vulnerable to the air, but particular DE options give them a bit more life/survive Uluru than in @.
- The invasion of Cambodia is Step One of the plan for victory.
- What was a small event in @ - the merger of several Protestant denominations - takes on greater significance due to the differing religious demographics and a stronger socio-political role of the church.
- Roy Hobbs, from “The Natural”, raised the bar of achievement fairly high in his own Major League season.
- The Imperial Cup is taking on more importance as the years go on and other Commonwealth soccer teams develop.
- Israeli agricultural advances aren’t their own sole domain, with the most striking results coming in Iraq.
- Terrorism in Kenya isn’t a Mau-Mau resurgence, although that is feared, but a new pan-African revolutionary force previously referred to/signposted.
- The fireant migration will be stopped by dumping huge amounts of water on them.
- USAF vs China shows that escalation goes both ways.
- The Merchant Navy Act of 1966 will have some very long-reaching consequences.
- Anglo-Canadian Phantom orders come after many years of negotiations, in part as a quid pro quo for orders of other aircraft.
- The unidentified aircraft that eludes NORAD at 250,000ft is a high speed recce craft operated by, ahem, “Christians in Action”. They forgot to tell the USAF.
- Theft of the Hope Diamond is the first in a string of crimes.
- Amelia Earhart still flying around happily.
- Dutch New Guinea’s referendum result is not what Sukarno wanted, but it won’t stop him. The Dutch are looking forward to cutting their losses in the Far East as much as possible.
- The reference to the Mary Ellen Carter comes from the Stan Rogers song.
- French jets running out of fuel is an OTL event, surprisingly.
- Japan has quite expansive defence plans...
- The reference to the 10ft tall woman being burnt alive is from Crusader Kings II; it fits as a strange story meant to try and lure Western troops into an ambush.
- The incident at Whitby is a case of Count Dracula trying to play elaborate practical jokes on the British in order to spread fear. In many ways, Dracula loves trolling.
- The Athens summit is trying to thrash out details of international cooperation, but the issue is that the trust necessary for that is lacking in extremis.
- Restoration of sight to the blind is one area where Dark Earth is ahead in medical technology.
- The US national silver shortage is due to a highly sensitive secret project...
- Mexico is girding its loins, but doesn't really have a direction to point them in.
- The Miranda case goes the other way due to a different make-up to the US Supreme Court.
- Star Trek is discernably different here, but still generally recognisable. The Star Fleet is far more overtly military, the Klingon and Romulan threats are quite pronounced and there is a greater representation of British/Commonwealth characters. Overall, there is a bit of a darker and more foreboding tone to it and there will be another empire featured from Season 2 onwards.
- The vampire threat referred to by the Vatican is real, but the announcement is also a function of politics; the reference to the establishment of a new military order is an Easter egg reference to the Dawnguard from Skyrim.
- Frankenstein remains just ahead of those who pursue him, in classic supervillain fashion.
- Algeria is still dragging on and is starting to have a discernable effect on French capacity to project force and use it in Europe.
- Calwell being assassinated has some rather large short, medium and long term effects on Australian politics; it would be interesting if anyone had any thoughts on these.
- The Politburo meeting is the first stage in a coup against Stalin Jr.
- 'The Event' has many consequences across the world and leads to the emergence of some weird psychic abilities amongst children, including a version of The Tomorrow People
- Tesla is still kicking around and has some very interesting ideas with roles to play in the near future.
- The raid on Collinsport is a reference to Dark Shadows.
- The evolution of the BBC is occurring on a distinctly different trajectory than @.
- Nigerian independence and Congolese city name changes are some clear signs of Africa starting to shift and assert itself. It will take until the 1970s for things to really be felt.
- The World Cup turns out somewhat differently, with the Germany vs France match being extremely contentious to the point that the final seems almost anti-climactic.
- Many of the references to murders and legal cases highlight some different trends in Dark Earth. Capital crimes are prosecuted and punished in a fairly streamlined fashion, without the drawn-out appeals which had already begun to occur in the USA at this time. The continuation of capital punishment in Europe and the Commonwealth isn't too much out of line of @ in terms of timing, with the most notable difference being its retention in Germany, Italy and the Low Countries, a lack of de jure or de facto abolition in Britain and certain of the Dominions and its extension to offences other than murder and treason. There are growing voices and groups in favour of abolition/suspension, but they do not hold a majority of public or political opinion at this juncture in time.
- The Scandinavian Defence Union is in roughly the same position as the Western European Union in @ - an idea of the immediate postwar era that has been somewhat superseded by events and broader pacts. That multinational units are still formed is testament to its power as an idea within certain sections of Scandinavian politics.
- Churchill is still writing away at his histories, although now is quite firmly retired from politics.
- The Hawker-Siddeley Javelin is an ambitious weapon that aims to serve as a multi-purpose guided weapon, filling the niche of ATGM and a guided bombardment missile that can be fired from a ground launcher, vehicle, helicopter or aircraft. As such, it has a fair few teething problems. It weighs 100lb with a 25lb warhead and isn't man-portable for an ordinary soldier; maximum range at this time is 3.5 miles.
- Dead rabbits in Iceland is the result of some magics going awry...
- Levitating Dreadnought is a sign that young wizards are being pushed through training before their maturity can develop.
- The missing Indonesian submarine was sunk by an RAN boat after it came across something it wasn't supposed to discover...
- The Benelux arms deal is big: 3500 Chieftains, 5000 FV-432s, 1240 125mm field guns and SP guns; 800 Marksman SPAAGs, 1600 Sharpshooter SPAAGs and 1000 PT.428 SAM systems; up to 80 Blue Water SRBMs and 240 extra Bloodhound SAM systems; and replacements for 174 Canberras, 324 Hunters, 237 Fairey Deltas, 78 Javelins and 74 Vixens in the form of 160 Vickers Thunderbolts, 320 de Havilland Tornados, 120 Fairey Delta IIs, 120 English Electric Lightnings and 160 Hawker-Siddeley Merlins. The FV-432s will be produced under licence in the Netherlands and Belgium, whilst up to 1500 tanks will be built in Britain over several years and the remaining 2000+ in the Low Countries.
- Charlton Heston as Aragorn is a choice forced by the American involvement and their desire to make the picture marketable to a US audience.
- Planar instability is another indicator that something strange is going on...
- Britain is in for a much longer period as the main power in the Persian Gulf.
- Persian ambitions of economic modernisation are considerable, but not without a basis in reality.
- Reverend Presley begins another of his remarkable adventures, which concludes with another smashing victory.
- The Outer Space Treaty is very different here and is alarming to the other spacegoing powers with good reason.
- The Soviet battleship explosion is aboard on of their older ships, but reflects the inevitable consequence of keeping old vessels going for a long time.
- HUAC retains a large part of its power, influence and position from the 1950s.
- The Battle of Long Tan is even larger here.
- Indonesian attempts at destabilising Western New Guinea and its neighbour go on.
- Thor Heyerdahl is going for something like an earlier Ra expedition here, but the background to what he is trying to prove and explore is radically different.
- Inspector Rex subdues a monstrous spider in Vienna.
- Trouble is kicking off in South West Africa, even though it is a rather different place politically.
- US mobilisation and deployment of National Guard and Reserve units in Vietnam is a distinct difference from @.
- An earlier establishment of the Yankee Patrol Box leads to some interesting reactions.
- Surely nothing at all will go wrong with the dinosaur park!
- Frontline: Vietnam is not substantialyl different from @ Defence Department pictures on Vietnam, but the difference here is that control of the information and propaganda war is being approached in a very deliberate way; the film is also given a very broad release. As a general rule, it is very hard for independent journalists to get anywhere near fighting with US or Free World Military Forces; all reports are subject to censorship; and considerable pressure is put on networks to tow the line. It is a perfect solution nor completely effective and causes suspicion from a number of quarters in and of itself, just as the British approach to the 1956 War did, but the general situation is distinctly different from @.
- Nuclear power is ahead of @ in technology. and construction and this is reflected in the likes of the West Indies seeing development.
- Hammarskjold arguably achieves less success/power in the League of Nations, but stays alive and asserts this 'lesser power' over a much longer time and in a wider variety of circumstances.
- Barton's Land Fit for Heroes policy is a function of his style and approach, wherbey domestic and social reforms are presented in the broader context of national defence and the Cold War. It draws on what JFK is doing across the Atlantic, but also shows how he tries to take the issue of defence away from the Conservatives. In many ways, he is redefining what the party stands for and shaping it according to his own vision and faction; this isn't the most popular approach, particularly on the left wing of the Labour Party and also those on the soft right who lean towards the Liberals. It is difficult to find an @ parallel, as it is a very different Labour Party in so many ways, having strong elements of Gaitskellism and having purged the Marxist/Socialist left, but also not tacking too far towards centrism and many of the positions adopted by Wilson in @; this reflects the Liberal Party remaining as a natural home for those who lean that way, such as Roy Jenkins. The closest parallel may not a British one, but rather some aspects of the Australian Democratic Labor Party.
- Tit for tat expulsions are par for the course at this stage of the Cold War.
- The Galapagos Islands are indeed seen as a great treasure and ironically survived long enough as such on grounds of security.
- Ramesses the Great is a rampaging threat to all who have despoiled Egyptian tombs and even has some wider ambitions.
- British naval expansion/armament is replacing the large numbers of warbuilt ships with more modern vessels with both cold and hot war purposes.
- The classified recommendations for what is being built on Minerva are...interesting...
- The German submarine missing in the Norwegian Sea is a simple victim of the natural hazards of the sea rather than anything overtly malign.
- Communication with dumb beasts will result in some interesting conversations, but nothing truly groundbreaking. However, it could have some interesting social and moral results.
- The Australian wheeled armoured vehicle competition is based on a requirement for moving troops fast around the Top End and bears some resemblance to the slightly later Canadian AVGP programme with strong influences from the Eland and Ratel of South Africa.
- Bader and the case of amnesia are an @ event that has a more magical cause and solution on Dark Earth.
- Wagner's lost opera is Wieland der Schmied.
- The details of the Treewife situation are outlined in Reunion.
- US deployments to the Congo are largely ignored because of the big kerfuffle in South East Asia, but that area is brewing.
- Smokin' Joes is one of many new restaurant chains that are now stretching out beyond the USA as other fast food businesses did in @.
- The RAF are in the market for a relatively small number of very big aircraft for long range haul work; the competitors will be interesting.
- Japanese damage from typhoons has been considerable over even the short period of this timeline; here, they have the opportunity to possibly do something about it. However, every time that the weather and environment is meddled with, even for good causes, there are consequences somewhere...
- Paragon magazine is in many ways the antithesis of Playboy, let alone Penthouse, reflecting some different social currents. This is not to say that magazines of a certain kind aren't around, but simply that they haven't made the jump to the certain level of social acceptability within popular culture and everyday life that they did by this point in @.
- Fine Leg is one of a series of home defence/civil defence exercises based on the later Square Leg, minus the whole fiasco element.
- The Argentine ultra-nationalists get short shrift from the Falklands garrison, which ironically was slightly raised after certain information was communicated to certain British intelligence assets by a certain strange visitor to Buckinghamshire in 1961.
- Concorde is getting a fair few more sales, allowing economies of scale to work in its favour.
- All of the remaining Nazi prisoners from Nuremburg are released from Kerguelen in one fell swoop. The experience hasn't been a nice one.
- The Imperial House of Lords has been contemplated for over 70 years, but the issues of transport and communication have made it a non-starter until now.
- A 'bat-man' stopping the nuclear meltdown is a lot closer and scarier than might be thought.
- The Grand Tour is different from @; it will be manned, to begin with.
- The Nord-Renault Orage is very similar to the AFVG from @.
- North Sea oil reserves and production are in advance of @.
- There are some moves towards something like OPEC, but it will be born in a different situation and different alignment.
- The assassination of the King of Egypt is the beginning of something.
- Aberfan turns out to be a tragedy, but not on the same horrific level.
- Che Guevara and the IRA are rapidly approaching the status of international Public Enemy No. 1.
- Spain is trying to get some concessions over Gibraltar, without any success.
- The 16lb steak makes an appearance not because it is a realistic consumable size, but to show some equivalent prices and portion sizes.
- Sandstone is a sign that the Western presence on the ground in the Middle East makes some developments unlikely.
- Yes, it is that UNIT.
- Earlier surviving octuplets aren't the largest birth that will occur.
- The agreement between the Arab Union and USSR is a political move designed to get more advantageous deals and terms from the Western powers. It might not quite work out as planned.
- Anti-aging drugs have the potential to mess around with a fair few social factors.
- The darkness at noon in Liverpool is very, very concerning to the Ministry of Magic.
- The mothman incident is real here.
- Reagan's political career will continue to rise.
- Wales is on a very different wicket.
- Firefly is the latest attempt to interdict the Ho Chi Minh Trail and they are gradually starting to have an attritional effect at great cost.
- An article about shark extinction problems...and then a major megalodon attack days later indicate that some things are changing and not in a good way. This type of threat will have an impact on beach culture and water sports for some time to come.
- The suggestion of adopting the title of NATO comes ironically from the information rendered by Sam Johnson.
- Prince Charles has a slightly different and more traditional royal career trajectory.
- Meat on Fridays continues to be off limits for observant American Roman Catholics for the time being.
- The Royal Space Force leads the way in terms of the inclusion of women because of its particular needs, operational environment and circumstances.
- Godzilla's appearance near Pitcairn is coincidental, but results in the deployment of nuclear weapons on regular patrols...
- ODESSA is building up to something.
- The CAC CA-32 Rainbow will be quite handy for a few air forces.
- Ace Rimmer - what a guy!
- The UFO over downtown Manhattan confounds everyone and there is some speculation as to whether it is the real deal...it isn't.
- Ark Royal's circumnavigation is one of many attempts to fly the flag and keep up at least the visual impression of British naval power around the world. It comes with a cost.
- Project Plowshare proceeds and will have some interesting results.
- Operation Firefly is the biggest combined op of the war thus far and seems like a success.
- Introduction of ray guns will giving some stunning options to the police forces equipped with them.
- The F-104 Widowmaker encounters some of the same problems as it did in @.
- Walt Disney lives and works on; the next decade or so will see some different developments.
- The Soviet movement of troops and equipment to Indonesia is supposed to get a response from the West, but they didn't quite factor in that it would be such a decisive one.
- Poisonous snakes over Paris is a little early Christmas present from Dr. Frankenstein.
- Operation Stellar is the biggest Commonwealth battle since 1956 and seems like a success.
- Soviet agricultural developments are one of the large changes hidden among others. It does have the potential to change some large aspects of the economic picture.
- The fighting in Southern Nigeria won't end up in the same Biafran War as @...
- The International Antarctic Expedition shows that not every faction in the superpowers is pushing in the same direction.
- The Chieftain replacement will be a very interesting and capable tank.
- The Soviet sub detected off the Kola is something faster and more capable than the Alfas or Papa.
- Boeing's 2707 is larger and a little bit faster than the Concorde and will get a fair few orders and sales of its own.
- Stalin exits stage left at the end of the year; it is a mark of how the USSR has developed that this doesn't mean his death.
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