lordroel
Administrator
Posts: 68,007 
Likes: 49,410
|
Post by lordroel on Jan 19, 2022 16:27:33 GMT
The aircraft for export are indicated by the country name in brackets, as are the missiles and artillery. The AFVs/APCs, small arms, ATGMs and vehicles are all for British use, but the large part of the tanks are for Belgium and the Netherlands, as stated. For the aircraft, some are going towards spares or replacements for planes damaged over Vietnam. Some of it is new, whilst others, like the lorries and Land Rovers, go back to wartime designs. There are some new aircraft I slipped in there, though… So what happens whit the older stuff, scrapped, put into reserve, sold to other countries. |
|
|
|
Post by simon darkshade on Jan 19, 2022 16:51:41 GMT
First priority is reserve stocks. Once those are filled to the designated levels, then they are exported. Very, very little is scrapped until it is well past any utility.
For example, Small Arms and Mortars go to the Territorial Army, Reserves, Home Guard and then export.
- Large numbers of newer Centurion tanks and older towed artillery built after WW2 is being stored as War Emergency Reserve Stocks
- The bulk of wartime built Army equipment has gone from Regular and TA service, filtering down to the Home Guard
- Retired RAF Hunters, Javelins, Spectre and Swifts are being stored for wartime emergency reserves; the RAuxAF is to start receiving Hawker-Siddeley P.1121 Merlins, English Electric Lightnings, de Havilland Spectres and Avro Arrows to replace its older 1940s and 50s fighters.
- When Churchill heavy tanks were scrapped in the 1950s, their 120mm guns were kept for potential coastal defence use
- Thousands of older AA guns are being scrapped when not sold to South America
|
|
|
|
Post by simon darkshade on Jan 23, 2022 21:14:33 GMT
The new aircraft:
Percival Prefect: A basic jet trainer successor to the Jet Provost
Handley-Page Hawthorn: The supersonic version of the historical Handley-Page Victor
Shorts Valentine: The @ supersonic version of the Vickers Valiant
Armstrong-Whitworth AW.249: A carrier-borne AEW based on the Hawker-Siddeley P.139 with a radar range of 450 miles and an increased endurance
Fairey Swordfish ASW: This is perhaps the most significant one. Like the USA, the British have a requirement of an ASW/ASuW strike jet that results in an aircraft with rather more expansive capability than the S3 Viking. It has the capacity for four Paladin ASMs or rocket torpedoes underwing in addition to internal carriage of depth charges (nuclear or conventional), guided bombs and sonobuoys. Combat radius is 750nm and maximum speed is Mach 1.25. It reflects the increased emphasis on countering Soviet surface ships in addition to the submarine fleet as in @.
Gloster P.462 Reaper: A tactical reconnaissance fighter-bomber developed for export
Boulton-Paul Daring: A cheap single engine interceptor for the African and Asian markets
|
|
|
|
Post by simon darkshade on Mar 2, 2022 10:08:05 GMT
1964 General Election Analysis
1964: Conservative 220 (-125), Nationals 51 (-7), Liberals 154 (+ 47), Labour 236 (+ 112), Socialists 23 (-13), Imperialists 20 (-12), Radicals 22 (-3) and smaller parties and Independents 29 (+6) seats.
An overall majority needed on 1964 terms to get 376; with the addition of 10 extra seats from the integrated European possessions, this rises to a theoretical 381. There is to be an expansion of at several dozen seats in the life of the next Parliament to reflect population increases, shifting boundaries and other rezoning. To win a majority, a party needs in theory to get over 200 seats in England and a good half of Scottish and Irish seats; the Conservatives came close in 1959 and suceeded in 1955:
October 8 1959: The Conservative Government of Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden is returned to power in a landslide victory in the British General Election. The Conservative Party wins 345 seats, the Nationals 58, the Liberals 107, Labour 124, the Socialists 36, the Imperialists 32 seats, the Radicals 25 seats and other smaller parties and Independents 23 seats.
May 26 1955: Sir Anthony Eden leads the Conservative Party to a resounding victory in the British General Election, winning 389 seats, to the Liberals 140, Labour 118, the Nationals 32, Imperialists 26, Radicals 20, Socialists 13 and Independents 12.
(1968: Labour 384, Conservative 172, Liberal 120, National 32, Imperialist 16, Radical 15, Independent 13, Socialist 8)
England: 405
Independent: 16
Imperialist: 13
Socialist: 9
Radical: 14
National: 10
Liberal: 67
Conservative: 142
Labour: 134
Labour made big gains around London, some Southern cities and the Midlands, expanding from their heartland in the Tyneside, the North Midlands/South Yorkshire belt and Northumberland. Essentially, the main change of seats from Conservative to Labour occurred in London and the Midlands, but it was very close in most cases. The Conservatives have a large majority of the shires and most of the South, but lost key seats in London and the Midlands; London has a total of 80 seats and will see a jump in years to come. The Liberals hold 26 seats in the South West and around the Severn, keep their Midlands heartland and regained some of their West Midlands losses.
Scotland: 129
Imperialist: 2
Socialist: 9
Radical: 2
Independent: 5
National: 12
Liberal: 32
Labour: 38
Conservative: 28
The Liberals have a fairly strong grip on the Highlands, the Western Isles, Orkney, Shetland and Faroe, Labour are largely concentrated around the central city/industrial belt and the Conservatives have their main area in the Lowlands, Border region and the University constituencies. The Liberals have a fair few marginal seats in the suburban areas of Aberdeen and Inverness.
Ireland 110
Imperialist: 2
Socialist: 2
Radical: 2
Independent: 4
National: 20
Liberal: 31
Labour: 25
Conservative: 24
The Nationals keep their heartlands in the South and West of Ireland. Labour made inroads in Dublin and Belfast that turned out to be quite important, knocking off a mixture of opponents. The Liberals have their core area of support in the East and Centre, whilst the Conservatives are strong in the North. The basis is general Irish electoral politics from 1868 and beforehand.
Wales 60
Socialist: 3
Radical: 3
Independent: 2
National: 7
Liberal: 12
Labour: 25
Conservative: 8
South Wales is a Labour heartland, whilst North Wales is strong Liberal territory and the Conservatives dominate the border counties and mountains. The Nationals lost some ground around Pembrokeshire and Cardiganshire. The Socialist holds were all very close.
Lyonesse 42
Imperialist: 3
Radical: 1
Independent: 1
National: 2
Liberal: 10
Labour: 8
Conservative: 17
Lyonesse has a few Labour seats in the industrial parts of the cities, but is mainly separated between Conservative rural and Liberal urban seats
Malta 5
Labour 3
Liberal 1
Independent 1
Gibraltar 2
Labour 2
Minorca 2
Liberal 1
Labour 1
Heligoland 1
Conservative 1
|
|
|
|
Post by simon darkshade on Mar 14, 2022 12:52:58 GMT
Further to some of the ideas and discussion here alternate-timelines.proboards.com/thread/3409/dark-earth-general-discussion?page=13&scrollTo=145530 , here are some more details on the lighter vessels of the RN, some mentioned in the timeline. Corvettes Two types of corvette have entered production and service in the last few years. The first are the Castle class, a fast (35kts), multi-purpose ships, with the first commissioned in June 1968. They displace 1250t and are armed with two single 4"/70 guns, two twin 2.5" automatic guns, an array of light rapid fire guns, Sea Wolf anti-aircraft missiles, Paladin anti-ship missiles, light anti-ship/strike missiles, ASW rockets and a Westland Sea King helicopter. They have some similarities to the Alvand class frigates sold by Vosper to the Iranians around this time. The 4"/70 is a placeholder of sorts, being used experimentally; a gun around the 100-105mm range would be quite suitable for such light surface combatants and is derived from a Vickers design and elements of the L7 tank gun. Their role is convoy escort and anti-surface warfare in the North Sea, Western Approaches and particularly in the Norwegian Sea and Baltic. The second are the 500t Flower class, a smaller, faster (45kts) ship designed for shorter range operations, coastal patrol and littoral seas. Coastal ForcesSpeedy class Patrol Boat A new, very fast interceptor boat of 250t equipped with light strike missiles, rapid fire guns and other advanced weapons systems. It has a top speed of 60 knots and has a dual gas turbine/waterjet propulsion with arcane augmentation. They are designed for operations in the Far East, the Baltic and the North Sea, with a specific role defending oil platforms, Floating Fortresses and operating in the fjords of Norway. Hydrofoils Design of a hydrofoil attack boat is underway. Argent class Super Hovercraft Displacing 2500t and with a nominal top speed of 125 knots, these are more of an amalgam of WIG/ekranoplans and hovercraft. Their main role is to carry a large number of troops across the Channel quickly, with a secondary purpose of minelaying and anti-surface warfare. Coastal Forces currently fields 29 Strong, 36 Faithful, 42 Brave, 25 Bold, 27 Dark and 16 Gay class fast patrol/attack boats, with the first two classes being post 1960 designs. Strong class Fast Attack Boats: 450t, 165ft x 29ft x 7ft, 1 x 2.5", 8 x Paladin ASM, 1 x Legion CWS, 12 x Sea Fox SAM, 60kts Faithful class Fast Patrol Boats: 360t, 150ft x 25ft x 7ft, 1 x 2.5", 8 x Paladin ASM, 12 x Sea Fox SAM, 58kts Brave class Fast Patrol Boats: 250t, 100ft x 25ft x 6ft, 1 x 25mm, 4 x Paladin ASM, 56kts Bold class Fast Patrol Boats: 200t, 92ft x 24ft x 6ft, 1 x 25mm, 2 x Paladin ASM, 48kts Dark class Fast Patrol Boats: 180t, 85ft x 24ft x 6ft, 1 x 25mm, 2 x Paladin ASM, 42kts Gay class Fast Patrol Boats: 160t, 80ft x 24ft x 6ft, 1 x 25mm, 2 x Paladin ASM, 42kts |
|
|
|
Post by simon darkshade on Mar 15, 2022 14:26:56 GMT
Some cultural notes from the archives:
‘National Styles’
Britain does have a mixture of Victorian and Edwardian steampunk. This is increasingly set up as almost a deliberate cultural choice of identity against American modernity, at least on behalf of some. It reflects Britain's attempt to carve out its own niche in the Cold War.
The United States is a mixture of Dieselpunk and Atompunk. As the most advanced, richest and most powerful nation on Earth, this influence bleeds off into a lot of other cultures and societies. There is still an element of the rejection of Old World styles in favour of the new.
France could currently be described as 'Belle-Epoque/Fin de siecle'-punk, even though some aspects of that seem like a contradiction in terms. Having been extremely badly damaged by WW2 and the subsequent bloody stalemate and strategic retreat in Indochina, culture, fashion and popular culture trends include a fair bit of wistful evocation of past days of gloire.
The rest of Europe is different yet again, with the impact of the Second World War having been even more damaging than in the case of France. It follows a path somewhere between the American model and that of Britain, putting it in the region of Decopunk.
Back in the USSR, there is an increasing emphasis on Socialist Realism, modernism and futurism, with lashings of Soviet Atompunk/Raygun Gothic and the personality cult of Stalin. There is a great deal made of technology and setting aside the hackneyed vestiges of the past, but this is a surface covering over a deeply traditional Russian core. A riddle inside an enigma.
Imperial China has an interesting cultural mix of traditional styles and fashions with assertive modernity and Chinese nationalism. There could be some parallels drawn with early 20th century Imperial Japan, prior to the 1930s.
Japan is rapidly rebuilding from the war and booming economically, so there is a certain amount of modernism and futurism at play, but there has been a growing cultural movement that hearkens back to both traditional Japan and the Meiji period. Nostalgia for the samurai period will lead to some rather amusing combinations, along with the competing cultural influences of America and Britain.
- Musically, general tastes are different. Jazz has never fully emerged into the level of international popularity it enjoyed in @. Rock and roll and blues music hasn't emerged in the same way and remains a niche genre, albeit sizeable, in certain portions of the United States of America. This does mean no skiffle, no Beatles or any other of the British invasion bands.
British musical tastes are somewhat akin to the 1920s-1940s with the influence of swing melding together with a more noticeable English tradition.
Big bands/swing music and popular music predominate in North America, with classical music having a higher public profile all over the world; orchestras (as well as ballets, choirs and the like) are a major tool of projecting soft cultural power through visits amongst the superpowers.
There are some very different musical traditions that have emerged, with the influence of Asian, African and Byzantine music but a few that are felt. There are strong traditions of folk music among various nationalities and diasporas.
- The ongoing impact of large scale universal National Service in Britain and the Dominions and conscription in the United States is heavily felt in youth culture. There has not been the emergence of a specific teenage subculture and the general youthful sense of rebellion that was already starting to poke its head in the 1950s in @ is significantly more constrained. Many of familiar artists have had very different lives. The late 50s and 60s satire and comedy boom that gave this world the Frost Report, Tom Lehrer and Monty Python (to name but a few) does not occur in anywhere approaching the same way.
- General law and order is on a par with comparatively more sedate pre-WW2 conditions. It is also influenced by the higher role of established religion in Britain and Europe. Prison conditions are very hard, virtually on Victorian levels. Gangsterism and organized crime is subject to a quite efficient backlash by policing services aided by both technology and magic.
Public order offences are dealt with somewhat severely and disapprovingly; some aspects are similar to modern Singapore, albeit in a vastly different context. Private detectives and private policing agencies such as Pinkertons play a significant role and there is a notable mercenary subculture revolving around ongoing colonial conflicts in Africa and Asia.
This has a flow on link to television and cinema, where crime as a theme is explored differently. Without Prohibition, the Mafia has not emerged to the same position in the USA, having been strangled at home by Mussolini. Crime is examined in a less-gritty manner and is viewed in a very black and white manner.
- Fashion in Britain does depend on social status, with the aristocracy tending towards early Victorian styles; businessmen and the middle classes tending towards a more sober Edwardian style; wizards, sorcerers, alchemists, academicians and priests preferring elaborate robes and vestments; working classes tending towards solid Victorian/pre WW2 style; adventurers, swashbucklers and the like adopt a style more akin to that of the Renaissance and Restoration; members of the nonhuman races either adopt styles appropriate to their social standing or wear more traditional racial costume. Eccentrics tend to dress in whatever bizarre form they envisage.
Across the Atlantic, American fashion is rather more modern and daring, but would still appear to be along the lines of the 1930s to an external observer, albeit more colourful and brighter. Outfits and clothing are cut more lavishly as a general rule. Hats are still worn nearly universally by men.
In Europe, the postwar tendency has been for sober conservatism in fashion, but there are some divergences beginning to occur in France and Scandinavia; the former incorporates some very distinct Belle Epoque elements.
In the Far East, fashions differ based on the nation. Imperial China places greater emphasis on traditional costumes and uniforms than Imperial Japan and the latter has an increasing distinction between Western style clothes for work and Japanese clothes at home and for leisure.
Overall, there are a lot more uniforms around the world - not just from the military, but for various companies, corporations and societies. University students in Europe often wear what would seem to us to be rather strange and retro livery (similar to @ in some cases) whereas in the United States, they tend towards slightly more rebellious outfits. Some even wear denim jeans, but risk great sanctions for doing so at more conservative establishments.
- Official drug prohibition is focused primarily on the scourge of opium and opiates, with cocaine and various amphetamines such as benzedrine occupying the niche they did in the late Victorian era, albeit frowned upon socially and increasingly subject to legal sanction in many cases. LSD is publicly unknown but is the subject of (ultimately unsuccessful) military research in the United States. Marijuana is a very niche drug and looked upon very darkly; without a Beat Generation, it has not really entered popular culture to any great degree.
- The private possession of weapons is on Victorian levels in Britain, with it being not uncommon for a gentleman to be armed in some circumstances
- Dueling is illegal in many countries and generally frowned upon, but there are circumstances and environments where it occurs.
- The BBC was the sole television service provider in Britain up until very recently and operates on quite Reithian lines and observes certain levels of censorship of government secrets and military operations under powers that have not been revoked since 1945.
- Britain has a Ministry of Information, like many other countries. Public propaganda (certainly not called such, given the negative associations raised by the Nazi experience) does have an ongoing niche.
- The Rastafarian movement met a rather quiet end before it really took off due to a combination of being regarded as sedition by secular authorities and heresy by the Church.
- The office of the Witchfinder General is nothing on the level of the Spanish Inquisition, but no one expects it. It is responsible for hunting down witches and eliminating the use of illegal magics such as necromancy and demonology. Witchcraft and necromancy are the only capital crimes punishable by burning at the stake.
- Cinema and newsreels remains extremely popular. Hollywood and American cinema do not have the same grasp on global popular culture, with significant competition from the British and French film industries, with the British film industry being the beneficiary of advantageous local content regulations. US cinema still dominates, given its sheer size, but Many European actors and directors do not end up in Hollywood. French, Italian, Swedish, German and Japanese cinema are experiencing golden ages that mirror their economic recovery. They have a somewhat higher profile than in @.
- Peace movements and anti-nuclear groups such as CND are comparatively sidelined and viewed dubiously, with heavy infiltration by security services and restrictions on press reports of their activities. They still exist, but number in the hundreds rather than the thousands; the earlier British development of the hydrogen bomb occurred in the heated atmosphere of the Korean War when public opposition ran up against a number of constraints. The perception that the peace movement is run by Reds isn't necessarily a true one, but it has stopped them making great inroads in Britain, Canada and the United States.
- Anarchism is still regarded as a major international terrorist threat as it was in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, along with several good old fashioned Red Scares
- Food and cuisine has developed differently, with millions of European and American servicemen and women having bought home exotic tastes from extensive deployments in the 1940s and 1950s, as well as the earlier impact of colonial empires.
In the United States, regional cuisines are still highly distinct, but an overarching national style of American food that has developed over 100 years of the melting-pot experience. It is seasonal, regional and traditional. Frozen food and chain restaurants are yet to make significant inroads, with the latter being more likely to increase its market share over the 1960s. Supermarkets and huge groceries are less common than more local stores. Fast food exists, in the form of hamburger, fried chicken, sandwich and hot dog franchises, but the majority of American popular restaurants are classic diners. I'm torn as to whether or not there are any drivers for a much smaller scale development of fast food. The prevailing style is 'home cooking'.
With the absence of Prohibition, more robust domestic beer and wine production has accompanied the development of Continental-style restaurants. Meals and home cooking reflect a more family based society, with only 162 divorces/1000 people (as compared to 264 in 1940 and 385 in 1950). Beef and pork consumption are high at 96lb and 72lb per capita respectively, followed by chicken, fish, turkey and lamb/mutton (29lb, 24lb, 20lb and 18lb). Pizza is yet to make the jump out of the large cities into popular culture. There hasn't been a change of meat classification categories that happened in @ in 1950, which combined Prime and Choice into a new Prime category, known to some as 'prime crime'. This is combined with larger sized animal breeds to yield larger and better quality cuts of meat. Dry aging and grass feeding predominate.
In Britain, food and drink standards haven't undergone the same degree of decline due to the World Wars and rationing as in @ and the culinary situation and tastes are quite Edwardian, with some differences. One is the preference for English rather than French names and labelling that grew out of traditional rivalries. The general diet of the working classes has greatly improved and there is increasing diversity of food stuffs from around the Empire and world.
- Books, plays, radio programs, television and films are subject to certain degrees of censorship in line with a more Victorian public morality. The notion of the permissive society has not raised its head due in part to the ongoing series of wars in the 1950s.
- Oral contraceptives have not been developed, and such development is heavily frowned upon by a number of churches.
- The Scouts have a larger and more expanded role, with stronger military overtones. Almost two thirds of British boys and girls aged 6 to 18 are members.
- Domestic servants are still not hugely uncommon in Britain and America. There has been an impact from new mechanical inventions, but many middle class households will still often employ a cook/cleaner/general housemaid at the minimum.
- Surrealism and cubism do not attract as much public attention, though Dali and Picasso both draw the attention of the Spanish Inquisition. The position of Satre in France is endangered by his leftist leanings under a strongly anti-communist monarch and government.
- Architecture will not tend towards universal modernism and brutalism, with Le Corbusier being of limited influence even on the Continent. Edwardian Baroque and Victorian styles predominate in Britain, with heavy influence from Gothic Revival and a rather ornate rendering of Art Deco. In the United States, Art Deco and Modernism are the predominant design philosophies, with Stalinist and Social Realist architecture their counterparts in the Soviet Union. In Europe, there are be discernable differences between French, German, Italian, Austro-Hungarian (incorporating Hungarian art nouveau) and Spanish architecture, with all tending towards a combination of modernism and art deco. Scandinavia has a mix of National Romanticism and Nordic Classicism.
|
|
|
|
Post by simon darkshade on Mar 28, 2022 9:35:13 GMT
Some sports notes:
- In soccer, Brazil is a favourite for the 1970 World Cup, followed by Germany, England, Italy and Austria-Hungary.
- The Dutch have a strong 1970s side onward from there and Argentina have some good players coming through.
- South Africa is not facing any bans or boycotts. They thus add an interesting dimension to Test Cricket in the 1970s, but it isn’t clear how they’d go in other sports.
- In cricket, the West Indies have an even larger talent pool to call upon, Australia have many good players and England have a decent side. The biggest known quantity for me though is India. The combined sides of India and Pakistan from @ present an interesting different factor in a lot of respects - fitting Imran Khan and Kapil Dev into the same side, for example.
- I can’t see World Series Cricket emerging, so the development of the whole tone of the game as well as ODIs will be different…
- Aussie Rules is different, but there doesn’t seem to be an Australian audience for DE.
- Olympic hosts are turning very different: Buenos Aires in 1968, Constantinople in 1972 and NYC in 1976.
- In the USA, basketball is yet to really make the jump to the mainstream. Baseball remains the premier game and hasn’t yet lost its “innocence” through scandal.
- Sunday sports are still contentious and not the accepted norm, with blue laws playing a role in the USA.
- In Britain, soccer matches are still not scheduled on Sundays and cricket matches have a rest day.
- Golf still has an elitist reputation in the USA
|
|
stevep
Fleet admiral
Posts: 24,843
Likes: 13,229
|
Post by stevep on Mar 28, 2022 12:51:46 GMT
Some sports notes: - In soccer, Brazil is a favourite for the 1970 World Cup, followed by Germany, England, Italy and Austria-Hungary. - The Dutch have a strong 1970s side onward from there and Argentina have some good players coming through. - South Africa is not facing any bans or boycotts. They thus add an interesting dimension to Test Cricket in the 1970s, but it isn’t clear how they’d go in other sports. - In cricket, the West Indies have an even larger talent pool to call upon, Australia have many good players and England have a decent side. The biggest known quantity for me though is India. The combined sides of India and Pakistan from @ present an interesting different factor in a lot of respects - fitting Imran Khan and Kapil Dev into the same side, for example. - I can’t see World Series Cricket emerging, so the development of the whole tone of the game as well as ODIs will be different… - Aussie Rules is different, but there doesn’t seem to be an Australian audience for DE. - Olympic hosts are turning very different: Buenos Aires in 1968, Constantinople in 1972 and NYC in 1976. - In the USA, basketball is yet to really make the jump to the mainstream. Baseball remains the premier game and hasn’t yet lost its “innocence” through scandal. - Sunday sports are still contentious and not the accepted norm, with blue laws playing a role in the USA. - In Britain, soccer matches are still not scheduled on Sundays and cricket matches have a rest day. - Golf still has an elitist reputation in the USA
On that last point is there still a Ryder Cup and if so and its still USA v UK [including Ireland and Avalon here] are we still getting hammered regularly? If so I wonder if a Commonwealth team is more likely to emerge than a European team as the result?
With cricket India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and possibly Sri Lanka? I can't remember if the latter became independent in DE but assuming Burma/Myanmar separated from India?
For the football that gives a good chance of a European side winning although Brazil are arguably in a class apart at this point. OTL we pushed them close in the group game but not sure whether anyone came close. Italy got defeated 4-1 in the final. Checking on Wiki Brazil defeated Peru 4-2, Uruguay 3-1 and then Italy in the final although from the brief entries they were a bit closer than the score suggested.
PS With no boycott of S Africa that also leaves them free for rugby, although how strong they would be I don't know. At cricket in this period with people like Richard and Proter they were pretty powerful.
|
|
|
|
Post by simon darkshade on Mar 28, 2022 13:52:31 GMT
Steve,
The Ryder Cup is still Britain vs the USA (all of the parts of Britain being included in that. If if it expanded to a Commonwealth level, it might be seen as unfair.
India = India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Burma. Ceylon is a separate Dominion.
I'm not a football expert, but I'd tend to agree that Brazil are the team to beat. I'll need to do some research on some of the teams.
I did think of rugby afterwards, which would be an area where the Springboks play a bigger role. In cricket, Barry Richards (72.57 average), Mike Procter and Graham Pollock (60.97 average) would be joined by Tony Greig, Eddie Barlow, Peter Pollock, Ali Bacher and Denis Lindsay to make a very powerful side.
Cult Boy,
A mixture of some good ideas with slightly muddled execution, a few which stick out like giraffes in sunglasses at a polar bears' only night club, and a few that inflict self harm to no real end. In general, the mistakes of execution (the 'how' an idea is implemented) and the choices come down to you wearing your '2024 modern UK person' hat, rather than putting yourself in the shoes of the 1930s politicians and Oversight Committee.
1 and 2.) Britain can still utilise future knowledge and keep an eye on people who would turn out to be Soviet agents and sympathisers, as well as keep a firm eye on their recruiters. Further, the Soviets don't need to be fed outright bulldust, but rather, cunningly woven webs that contain strands of truth as well as the intended falsehoods. What is needed is an overall guiding policy towards the Soviet Union that puts Britain in the driver's seat, rather than simply reacting to overseas developments. I've said before that encouraging Stalin's murderous paranoia to include a lot of Soviet professionals who would be troublesome to British interests/beneficial to Soviet ones in the future would be a good short term goal.
3.) Absolutely nothing wrong with this and a sensible example of working within the scope of the time.
4.) A good first draft of coal consolidation. The first issue is that Southern Coal is too small and limited for really protracted long term service or economic value. The second, and greater issue, is *who* - both what you name the groupings and who you have becoming their 'economic partners'
(a) You make up a 'Scottish Heavy Industries' group rather than employ any real conglomerates. By leaving things to 1936, you have the year coincide with the death of William Beardmore. His group, as of 1929, is tailormade for investment, renewal and building upon wide reaching foundations. Start the talking and support in 1929, which will ameliorate the effects of the Slump in Scotland, and allow the molding of a future 'British zaibatsu', if that is what you seek.
(b) GKN isn't the worst partner for Northern and Eastern, aside from being based around South Wales coal and steel with further industrial uses in the West Midlands. They had acquired John Lysaght and Co., giving them an 'in' to Scunthorpe, but that wasn't their primary area. There is an obvious player who *is* present in the North in the form of Vickers (-Armstrongs) [see note at bottom]. They already have a nicely named entity called the English Steel Corporation
(c) Austin is not a bad partner, but not big enough to support its own steel subsidiary. Even though its coal is from the Midlands, you have it buying up Ebbw Vale and Teesside as well as Round Oak
(d) Rio Tinto is only just, just starting to diversify beyond its Spanish mine. Their movement into Rhodesia is OTL, but there isn't the capital or basis for them to jump into the tightly held Canadian iron sector, nor is salt in WA in any way a profitable or useful asset. A mining company has less experience of and connection with actual industry to serve as the heart of a major industrial group, and a foreign based one even less so.
(e) The names of the coal groups are fairly dour and regional. When it comes to coal, and particularly steel, there is scope for more iconic names - British Steel, British Coal, Imperial Steel, English Steel, United Steel. This has the effect of not highlighting some of the scattergun arrangements of steel and coal regions to the same extent as geographic identifiers
(f) Coal and steel are the very real sinews of an industrial nation, which Britain most certainly is. They will need to be the subject of reform, investment and expansion over the coming decades
|
|
stevep
Fleet admiral
Posts: 24,843
Likes: 13,229
|
Post by stevep on Mar 29, 2022 14:31:37 GMT
Steve, The Ryder Cup is still Britain vs the USA (all of the parts of Britain being included in that. If if it expanded to a Commonwealth level, it might be seen as unfair. India = India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Burma. Ceylon is a separate Dominion. I'm not a football expert, but I'd tend to agree that Brazil are the team to beat. I'll need to do some research on some of the teams. I did think of rugby afterwards, which would be an area where the Springboks play a bigger role. In cricket, Barry Richards (72.57 average), Mike Procter and Graham Pollock (60.97 average) would be joined by Tony Greig, Eddie Barlow, Peter Pollock, Ali Bacher and Denis Lindsay to make a very powerful side.
a) Well we're doing better than OTL then although as you hint the US may be limiting their own talent pool.
b) Couldn't remember Burma was still a part of India. Hopefully this will mean a hell of a lot better government and human rights than OTL.
c) Would agree.
d) True I had forgotten the ex-pats who ended up playing for other countries OTL. Hopefully Tony Greg is a bit wiser about what he says OTL although admitted he did respond to the crowds after we got hammered in the Windes.
|
|
|
|
Post by simon darkshade on Mar 29, 2022 16:14:49 GMT
I’ll add a bit more tomorrow afternoon, but going ahead, the likes of Robin Smith and Allan Lamb would similarly stay in South Africa, whilst Graeme Hick will be able to play for Rhodesia from the start of his career. Those are all with the caveats that I honestly haven’t thought that far ahead aside from broad brush terms and there are some other events that will be bigger in the 1970s and beyond. A small West Indies caveat to the caveat (  ) is that Sobers will play through to at least 40, setting some further records; and Greenidge and Richards will debut a tad earlier. British Steel Industry as of 1969/70 British Steel Imperial Steel National Steel United Steel Albion Steel South Yorkshire Sh Scunthorpe Teesside Scotland Corby Durham Barrow (one of the largest modern plants in the world), Sheerness Staffordshire North Yorkshire Black Country English Steel: Sheffield John Brown and Company and Thomas Firth & Sons will merge their steel interests as Firth Brown Steel. FB + Hadfields Beardmores will expand its steel and industrial manufacturing concerns by merging with the Round Oak Steelworks and Dorman and Long and purchasing the Carron Company, with additional funding loaned by HM Government. The consolidated conglomerate's steel division will operate as the National Steel. The Imperial Steel Works have been acquired by Armstrong Whitworth as part of a takeover of Edgar Allen and Company. Armstrong Whitworth has also purchased the Park Gate Iron and Steel Company. Taylor Brothers and Co. of Clarence Iron and Steel Works, Leeds, John Summers and Sons and the North Kent Ironworks have been acquired by Vickers Son and Maxim, which will also establish steel plants at Sheffield and Barrow over the coming three years. Armstrong Whitworth's steel interests, consolidated under the title of Imperial Steel, are to construct a large integrated steel mill near West Bromwich in the heart of the Black Country. Partly funded by development loans, the new facility will be the largest in the British Empire, with over three times the capacity of the Dominion Iron and Steel Company of Nova Scotia, Canada. Construction will commence in late 1903 or early 1904 and be completed in the second half of 1905. A number of British steel and tinplate manufacturers, including Baldwins, Richard Thomas & Company Samuel Fox and Company of Stocksbridge, Steel, Peech and Tozer of Templeborough and Ickles in Rotherham, the Brymbo Steelworks, the Appleby-Frodingham Steel Company of Scunthorpe are to be merged and operate as United Steel; the new enterprise will also acquire the coal mining and by-products interests of Rother Vale Collieries at Orgreave, Treeton and Thurcroft. The shipbuilding concern Cammell Laird has acquired John Lysaght & Co, the Dowlais Iron and Steel Works and the Cardiff Iron and Steel Works and the coke ovens at Cwmbran and certain limestone and silica quarries from GKN and will merge their steel interests with Stewarts & Lloyds and David Colville & Sons. The new concern will operate as British Steel from 1904/05 onwards. British steel production is set to rise in 1905, with the beginning of operations at the new Imperial Steel integrated steel mill at West Bromwich increasing production by 500,000t per year. British Steel has acquired United Steel, with the new company being the largest steelmaker in Britain with a capacity of over 2,500,000 tons per year. Vickers steel interests are to operate under the name of English Steel Corporation. Hadfields and Firth Brown are to merge their operations under the name of Albion Steel. Three large steel plants similar to the Imperial Steelworks are to be built by National Steel, British Steel and United Steel, each costing 5 million pounds that will be covered in equal proportion by government and private finance. The steelworks will be built at Teesside, Corby and Scunthorpe, respectively. Vickers are considering similar expansion in Scotland and Wales, in the latter case having acquired the Ebbw Vale Steel Iron and Coal Company. Imperial Steel is surveying a number of sites in Wales, notably Port Talbot. The Dominion Steel Corporation and the Nova Scotia Steel Company have merged to create a new entity, the British Empire Steel Corporation, backed by British and Canadian capital and underwritten by the British Government. The English Steel Corporation will expand its integrated steelworks at Ebbw Vale at a cost of 5 million pounds funded by secured government loans, creating the largest steel mill in Europe. www.tapatalk.com/groups/world_empires/british-economic-news-and-developments-t216-s10.htmlThe Prime Minister, Sir Joseph Chamberlain, spoke today on the issue of tariff reform and imperial trade to a well attended meeting in his Birmingham West Constituency: "Reforming our national and imperial approach to trade is not about nationalist or chauvanistic exclusion, nor about seeking to step away from the world. It is an acknowledgement of the realities of international trade in this modern day and age. But it is more than that, much more. It is about the vision of the British Empire made ever mightier by trade. Within our Empire, within the Dominions and colonies, there are tens of millions of subjects of the British Crown, all protected by British law and might. This represents one of the largest single markets in the world, spanning Africa, India, Asia, the vast Pacific and the Americas. Our vision is for Imperial trade making these peoples wealthier, stronger and greater and drawing us closer together. It is a vision where these Britons, wherever they may, get their china from Staffordshire, their boots from Leicester, their clothes and textiles from the mighty mills of Manchester, their steel goods from Sheffield, their chemicals from Leeds, their paper from Bristol and their machine tools from Birmingham. These would be bought to be by trains built in Derby and Crewe and carried across the seas to them in steamships built in London, Belfast, Glasgow and Liverpool powered by turbines built in Newcastle and coal from Scotland, Wales and Yorkshire. These great cities of industry will be soon joined by others from Canada and Australia and one day from India and South Africa and Egypt and half a hundred other realms all under the proud Union Flag. The Empire provides vast quantities of every raw material known to man and inestimable amount of foodstuffs. Within it, our needs can be met and we may prosper. Yet there is more beyond. The vast lands of China, of Africa, of South America and the Levant are great markets for British goods and trade and shall remain so, just as we shall continue to trade with them at an ever higher level. Europe, Russia, far off Japan and the great United States of America are great markets for British goods and trade and shall remain so, just as we shall continue to trade with them at an ever higher level. Gentlemen, tariff reform is not about cutting off the Empire, about turning our backs on the powerful principles of free trade. It is about sustaining it and bringing untold greatness and the prosperity of a bold new century to us all." |
|
|
|
Post by simon darkshade on Apr 9, 2022 10:57:56 GMT
www.nytimes.com/1975/02/08/archives/army-gives-cost-of-3-new-divisions-senators-get-an-estimate-of.htmlI’m popping this link here for reference on some force size calculations for both the USA and Britain. I will draw your attention to the statement that “ The “best considered military judgment” over the years, the general said, has established a requirement for 30 Army divisions”. I interpret this as the whole force (Regular and National Guard), which does correspond to some data I’ve found elsewhere. The British Army force level is based initially on the early CW goals, which weren’t reached but peaked at 9 regular and 10 TA divisions.
|
|
|
|
Post by simon darkshade on Apr 30, 2022 16:32:00 GMT
|
|
stevep
Fleet admiral
Posts: 24,843
Likes: 13,229
|
Post by stevep on May 1, 2022 15:11:14 GMT
Would agree that in the more autocratic society of DE its likely there will be less chaotic/neutral good and more lawful of all forms.
|
|
|
|
Post by simon darkshade on May 1, 2022 15:31:33 GMT
Yes, absolutely. Looking at the trends for ages/generations, that could be extrapolated backwards and outwards from the fairly limited data.
Asking whether people think of themselves as 'evil' was a stupid move that really compromised the test as a whole, as who really thinks of themselves as a villain apart from sociopaths and the nutters? We are all the heroes in our own story. There would be a fair few more people out there who would sadly fall into the Evil alignments in this day and age, sadly.
|
|
) is that Sobers will play through to at least 40, setting some further records; and Greenidge and Richards will debut a tad earlier.