Dark Earth: A New Jerusalem

A New Jerusalem Part 15

Ship replacement recommendations would be quite tiresome for some, but Stanley Barton quite enjoyed the opportunity of reviewing the course of action proposed by the First Lord of the Admiralty, gelling as it did with his own enthusiasm for the fleet. Whilst it was something of a privilege of office as well as a responsibility, Barton had a very firm belief that his role was not to second guess or overrule his subordinate in this instance as a general rule, but rather to provide advice and comment as fit. As he flipped through the document, he couldn’t find anything so egregious that it would warrant dramatic disagreement, but there were a few proposals that merited some comment.

Transfer of the Shakespearean class patrol vessels to HM Coastguard was a good way of saving money and providing some power close to shore. Replacement of the Antarctic patrol vessel Endurance with a cruiser-sized ship seemed to be somewhat questionable, though. Indeed, the patrol mission seemed to one where there could be some consolidation. The Black Swans were solid general patrol sloops, right in the tradition of their namesakes of the last war, and with great export potential to boot. However, the pair of proposed designs to augment them looked quite overbuilt and oversized for the role, even if the larger was intended for Pacific missions. High speed and long range, a large Rotodyne deck aft, decent Asdic suite, very strong gun armament, but plenty of additional space, all features intended to make them attractive to various other navies faced with biological menaces...

He turned to the design sketch page at the back and nodded.

Of course. Japan.

Barton noted ‘Fitted for, but not with?’ in the margin. The Japanese were the masterstroke - they had been trying to augment their own construction with the acquisition of powerful missile ships for several years now, but the Americans had been dragging their feet a bit. That this particular design, ostensibly a Large Patrol Ship aimed at the direct threat of the Pacific Monster, could be adapted to a missile cruiser quite straightforwardly would make it quite attractive. Ordering a small number of experimental ships could pay for itself and in any event, would give some useful flagships for colonial stations that would free up Leanders for other duties.

Meanwhile, the Medium Patrol Ships, with their twin gun turrets fore and aft and a good degree of room and flexibility, would be more than enough to cover the light cruisers that had left the fleet over the last few years, whilst simultaneously going some way towards covering the long range patrol mission of the old heavies. This was precisely what he had been thinking about for the Imperial stations. These oceanic patrol vessels would allow the hard pressed frigates to be assigned to more pressing stations and missions, at least until such time as the bottleneck was eased. The supplementary options study would be finished in February and any decision would take some time to be felt. The Tribals and their eventual replacements would cover the need for guided missile frigates and the Type 21s would fill the ASW role, but there was a definite niche for a general purpose ship to compliment the Rivers. Hmmm...Maybe that fast export variant he had seen sketches of might come to something. He made a note in the margin to have it included for consideration.

Replacement of the pair of LSTs currently employed as helicopter support ships with a larger, dedicated design seemed quite sensible; he had initially thought it was a shame that one of the old Theseus class light carriers couldn’t be converted, but upon reflection, their 25 year old hulls couldn’t be employed for anywhere near an economic service life. The new ship would be of a similar size, but look rather different to the old flat tops. Sometimes the best decision wasn’t the cheapest one.

.................................................

“Where exactly are we, Sir Obo?”

“The nearest village is Combe, Prime Minister, but more properly, we are well below Walbury Hill - about one and a half miles to be precise.”

“Reasonably deep, but not quite to the level of being fully comfortable what with the new Russian warheads.”

“This facility counts as a Level II bunker; the new PYTHON ones will be classified as Level I for that very reason. However, at present this is quite sufficient for the IRDC and
CREED - deep enough for space and security and still connected to the chief associated mainframe computing engines.”

Barton nodded. The Imperial Resource Development Commission was one of the lesser known subsidiaries of the Board of Trade and the Ministry of Defence, but had provided a valuable analytical service since the mid 1930s, through war and peace. Today, rather than plan and coordinate the supply of economic warfare, their role was to assess the availability, shipping and distribution of raw materials and goods that fed the voracious appetite of industry. Just as the Board of Trade itself played an important advisory and regulatory role over the broad flows of domestic and international trade of the British Empire, the IRDC allowed the smooth interaction of private industry, nationalised government concerns and the great war machine that was made up of the Ministry of Supply and Munitions and the Admiralty. In such a time of cold peace, especially given how unsteady it was, it was vital to prepare for that which they hoped would never come. To that end, the IRDC oversaw the patterns of production and movement of resources and monitored civil and military usage of raw materials and manufactures, so that time and effort could be saved and not a penny wasted. It was a vital job, but a thankless one behind the scenes, with none of the glamour that fools sometimes ascribed to government. Had that been the sole purpose of his interaction on this afternoon, he would have insisted upon a meeting at Number 10, rather than a trip underground.

However, he had wanted to see CREED.

The name was fairly innocuous - Central Resource, Energy and Economic Department - but that was something of a cover. Rather than several hundred civil servants, CREED was one single entity, the newest and most advanced intelligent computing engine in the service of Her Majesty’s Government. What set CREED apart from the other powerful computing engines in other departments was the inclusion of an experimental magical interface that permitted the visual display of information on a large scale and in three dimensions and a holographic illusory projection system. That was all well and good, but his Chief Scientific Advisor Sir Solly Zuckerman, Viscount Cherwell and Professor Quatermass himself had all urged him to come and see this machine.

“It seems rather similar to the North Atlantic Display from how you describe it. Couldn’t there be another opportunity to examine this type of machine above ground?”

“You’ll have to forgive the comparative lack of clarity, but in line with your standing instructions, we thought it best to show you CREED in action.” replies Zuckermann.

“Very good. I set out that protocol for a reason, but I do hope it is worth it.”

The brightly lit tunnel ended at a steel door which slid open silently at the approach of the Prime Ministerial party, revealing a large oval chamber. A huge crystal screen took up one whole wall and the space beneath it was taken up with instrument panels, whirring dials and dozens of individual terminals. Busy technicians in white coats rushed about, collecting printed data from the several teletype machines spaced along the opposite wall.

A tall, bespectacled scientist strode forward to greet them.

“Good day Prime Minister. I am Professor Fortheringay-Phipps, Chief Scientist of the IRDC. It’s an honour to have you here. I would like to present you to CREED.”

The professor turned towards the crystal screen and clicked his handheld remote controller at it. The array of tables and rolling screeds of information gave way to a picture of a large disembodied male head on a black background. He was slightly balding, brown of hair and had a slightly bemused expression on his face.

“Good afternoon, Prime Minister. Wotcha, Solly, Obo.”

“Good day to you, CREED, if that is how you’re addressed. I’m rather surprised that you can talk.”

“CREED is fine, sir, thank you. Yes, I can talk. It helps to get things across to humans a bit easier than other machines.”

“Well. A talking computing engine.”

“Talking, processing and thinking, Prime Minister, combining the best features of man and machine. We were aiming simply to develop an engine with the capacity for expanded speech, but the capability of biotronic integration came as a huge surprise.” Professor Fotheringay-Phipps explained excitedly, almost jumping from one foot to the other.

“So you haven’t trapped a man inside there with some spell, have you?”

“No, Prime Minister, we are both incapable of such technomancy and forbidden to do so; we know that the Soviets have made some advances in that field.” Sir Obo replied quietly, steadily flapping his wings to stay in place.

“We based CREED on an amalgam of mannerisms, speech patterns and personality traits from our research team, who were scanned by a machine integrated mindscryer. I supplied the -“

“I believe that the Prime Minister may be rather more interested in how this affects CREED’s capabilities, rather than a blow by blow description of how he was made.” Zuckerman interrupted.

“Ah! I see. As we were inputting the data to his central processing unit, we noticed that it was having a curious effect on his equivalent human intelligence quotient readings. Ordinarily, for one of our other machines, each additional input reinforces one area of intelligence; with the biotronic fluid we employed with CREED, we measured it as increasing across all categories with every addition. Essentially, every time we added a feature, it increased CREED’s effective machine intelligence by the equivalent of a scientific genius.”

“Go on.”

“It continued to rise with each new input. But the most astounding thing was that CREED began to demonstrate new features that went beyond his program. He began learning and asking questions. Eventually, we stopped for fear of breaking him. The process took 1 hour, 26 minutes and 42 seconds. Once halted, for all intents and purposes, CREED had attained what can only be described as a measure of sentience.” A new figure stepped forward from the shadows. Barton recognised him as the estimable Professor Turing.

“How many scientists added features to CREED via the mind interface, Professor?”

“32, Prime Minister.”

“32 geniuses. That must give him an I.Q. of...”

“6000. The same I.Q. as 6000 back bench MPs.” CREED concluded drolly.

“Can the humour be switched off?”

“No more than with a human, Prime Minister.”

“A pity.”

“I’m still here, you know. Not that I could really go anywhere, but the thought is the same, really...”

Barton stiffened. “I am sorry, CREED. That was unseemly of me; forgive me, I am not used to conversing with machines. I can see we will be able to make much use of you and others like you when they are made. Perhaps you can give us a demonstration of some of the things you can do.”

“Of course. I’m currently capable of analysing the following items.” A long list appeared on CREED’s screen, displaying the goods and options he could examine, ranging from aircraft to artillery shells, from stockings to ships.

“Aircraft. What happens if we increase production by 10%?”

Within an instant, CREED displayed a set of tables, showing the necessary amount and cost of aluminium, the increase in man hours and seventeen different options for which factories had the space and ability to ramp up aircraft construction. Underneath, in a series of dotted points, were the broad consequences - a decrease in consumer electronics, household goods, construction and airships.

“If you move this tracking ball here, Prime Minister, you can further modify your parameters like so.” indicated Professor Turing “He can also produce an extended written summary report for technical or non-technical audiences, but what we are most pleased with is this: CREED, show the 3-D map please, and play resource flow.”

A large holographic image of Britain appeared atop the central table, showing the location of aircraft factories and aluminium refineries alike. It then began moving, as tiny trains and lorries began the process of transporting components to their plants.

“Show bottlenecks.” said Fothreringay-Phipps. CREED responded by making half a dozen factories and railway stations glow a bright red and small clouds hover above them, stating their problem in shining letters.

“We’ve been able to simulate these type of things previously, Prime Minister, but in a limited fashion. CREED can run simulations of every major factory, assembly plant, refinery, mine and shipyard in the country, many of them being so complex that they require over a hundred simultaneous calculations, whilst also tracking every ship in the Merchant Navy and coordinating its arrival with every goods train of British Rail. He can do this for multiple different days or weeks to detect patterns, as well as factoring in shortages, war damage and mobilisation shifts.”

“What about oil?”

“CREED, new search and display. Show POL stocks, flows and trade.”

Now a new display appeared above the table, showing the distribution of oil wells, refineries and storage tanks across the British Isles. The largest deposits of the national strategic reserve were in Wales and Scotland, having been initiated in the aftermath of the War of 1956 to insulate Britain from the worst vagaries of any future crisis. At just over 300 million barrels, it was just adequate compared to Britain’s needs. The North Sea and Midlands provided the bulk of her domestic production of 2.9 million barrels per day, with the remaining 600,000 largely coming from Canada and Newfoundland, the West Indies and the Middle East. Increases over the next few years looked set to make her a net exporter once again.

However, the modern world ran to a large extent on oil and relief on its steady low price. A significant hidden expenditure and need for reserves was driven by the military - operating thousands of tanks, ships and aircraft around the world was dashed expensive. One armoured division on exercise or operations went through 10,000 imperial gallons in a day and all three services together accounted for almost 400,000 barrels a day! ICI also had a great appetite for the black gold, along with the other leading titans of British industry. Real consumption was therefore a fair bit larger than simply the domestic petroleum figures and that was one of the factors that made the Middle East such a crucial area for the Empire.

The question of oil and its politics had been a consistent driver for British policy since before the Great War, but Stanley Barton had become Prime Minister on the eve of what could be most significant change. 42% of her national power requirements were provided by coal plants and a further 27% by oil, but this was shifting in favour of nuclear. It accounted for just 10% now, but this was projected as doubling in the next five years alone. The prospects of the next energy revolution through fusion was further off into the future, but the day was coming when oil and coal would no longer be significant sources of electrical power generation in the British Isles. This would bring with it some measure of relief with regard to the oil picture, but the matter of coal would be a more complex one - the overwhelming majority of Britain’s 1.2 million coal miners were Labour voters and his people, after all.

“Hmm. That’s impressive, I’ll grant you. A most capable addition to our computing capacity. Just how powerful is he, really?”

“To put it another way, ten years ago, the Atomic Energy Authority set out a requirement for a machine that could perform a calculation in a microsecond, which became the first Atlas. It can perform just over a million calculations in a second. From what we can tell, CREED is perhaps five hundred times faster, at a fittingly high cost in his size and expense, not to mention drawing as much power as a small town.”

“Come on now, you know I’m touchy about my size!”

“Sorry CREED. Anyway, Prime Minister, there you have it. We have what amounts to a supercomputer.”

“That you accidentally made sentient.”

“Only quite partially so. Observe this: CREED, cease audio input.” Turing motioned Barton to turn away from the screen, subtly indicating CREED’s continuing politely dazed expression of interest. “Now we can talk away and he won’t know a thing. He can perform his programming and displays some eagerness to learn beyond it, but knows he is a machine; it speaks much to our incorporation of projected and programmed illusion with computer intelligence. One day...one day we’ll build something that passes the test.”

“Very good. You are to proceed, but with greater care this time. This country’s position in computing is one of our vital aces and we’ll need more like CREED, in other areas. Many more.”

“It will be costly.”

“We will pay. One last thing, Professor. Does this limited sentience extend towards a social drive?”

“I’m not quite sure what you mean, Prime Minister.”

“Does he get lonely.”

“Yes. Yes, he does.”

“Then that is the first thing we can fix.”

“I never had you picked for a soft touch, Prime Minister.” remarked Zuckerman on their way out.

“Nor will you. It is a simple case of doing the right thing in order to benefit us. That machine had some sort of intelligence that is incredible in some respects, but in others, he is like a child. Even if there was no moral imperative to care for what we have created, like a child, then it would still be in our interests to do so. If CREED can learn and develop or the next generation of him can, then it would be well for us to have them well disposed towards us.”

Zuckerman and Sir Obo looked at Barton.

Curious.

Steve,

Thank you as always. Barton realises that there are always short, medium and long term consequences to many choices and too often the shorter view is taken. He isn’t alone in this, nor possessed of any preternatural wisdom, but rather a good solid common sense. The computing technology goes over him, but his role isn’t to understand and manage everything in a hands on manner.

I did slip a new paragraph into the first part on frigates and the quest for a general purpose ship. These will end up looking like a larger and faster Type 21 from @, but there is a fair bit to go first.

Simon

Barton turned to the next table, where lay the L1A1 rifle, a formidable weapon and the veritable right arm of the free world. This latest version of the standard battle rifle and mainstay of the infantry of the British Army was based around the old reliable .303”, giving a very long theoretical maximum effective range of up to 1250 yards. It’s length and sturdy design made it ideal for hand-to-hand bayonet fighting and it was well known for its excellent reliability under a variety of combat circumstances. The combination of long range and sufficient stopping power to drop a monstrous beast or penetrate an armoured enemy made it a popular weapon throughout the Empire and beyond; whether in the desert sands of Egypt and Libya, the freezing hills of Korea, the red jungles of Mars or on Afghanistan’s plains, the L1A1 had proved its merit. Perhaps the only major issue that had been raised against it was the sheer brute strength required for fully automatic fire, which was mainly a function of its calibre. The French had their FA-MAS Type 62, the Germans their StG 63 and the Americans their M-16, but Barton knew which rifle he preferred.

There were however, some issues. Many contended that it was simply too powerful to be adequately controlled on automatic and that the days of knocking down Zulus, Fuzzy-Wuzzies or Bushmen with volley fire at three quarters of a mile were long gone. The latter was definitely true, but the long range was useful in other tactical scenarios, particularly in more open terrain. Even in the more enclosed environs of the Asian jungle, the heavy round had some unexpected boons, such as having a better record of penetrating improvised cover and some rough field positions fashioned of logs and earth. The newest version of the L1A1 filled the role of the long range marksman’s rifle as well as the general service weapon, which was useful in the Middle East.

“This new model has averaged an 18% increase in accuracy and general performance in operational testing in Canada, Kenya, Israel and South Vietnam, with the new strengthened rounds and the incendiary rounds giving a further boost to lethality.”

“Good. When we can combine that with what the Ministry of Magic boffins are working on, so much the better.”

“We’ll have sufficient rifles produced for the regular Army in approximately 42 months on current rate, Prime Minister, which will allow the current stocks to go to the Territorials, Reserves, Home Guard and the various police forces.”

Barton nodded thoughtfully. Providing for modern armament of the police was a measure that was close to his heart, as their role as a key part of civil defence and national emergency protection would be significantly strengthened by sufficient small arms. Whilst he did not envisage giving every church policeman, watchman or traffic warden an automatic rifle, the current contingency plans freed up a lot of the Royal Constabulary and military for other protective duties appropriate to their function. Numbers. Always a game of numbers.

“Have someone look into increasing that rate, Richard. It is just adequate for the moment, but we want expansion of our capacity across the board, for only that will deliver us true flexibility. Now, let’s see about this Bren replacement.”

Lethbridge-Stewart held up a black machine gun by its carrying handle. “This is the L4, Prime Minister. It comes in .303” and .256” and weighs 7lb less than the Bren in the former calibre. It comes with integrated advanced sights and is effective out to a mile; maximum rate of fire is 1000 rounds a minute and the sustained rate is 200. It is belt fed from this accompanying ammunition box, but can take 20 or 30 round rifle magazines from the L1A1s. All reports from testing indicate that firing from the hip is accurate and comfortable on the advance, which comes down to the new enchanted slings.”

“Sounds promising. What about reliability?”

“Field testing has been extremely encouraging thus far, sir, and have reported a relatively low rate of stoppages and mishaps. It definitely seems to be a case of getting what you pay for.”

“At the cost we’re paying, I should hope so.”

Steve,

It does seem incongruous to hear sense coming from a politician, but Barton is a WW2 and Korea veteran with a fair bit of experience and common sense on these issues.

You do hit on the issue of having a darn big hammer as their primary tool; sometimes it ends up hitting figurative fingers in the form of collateral damage.

As a few technical side notes that I don’t think will make it into the general narrative of this part:

- The .256” is a 6.5 x 50mm intermediate round with a performance souped up from the original Arisaka. I had decided on the calibre many years ago after trawling through Anthony G. Williams’ website.
- It is jolly good for an assault rifle, which looks like a cross between the the FN FAC and a reduced size FN FAL.
- However, there is a need for a full calibre machine gun round, which worked against the historical .280” British solution. As mentioned in the text, there is both a need to knock down larger and tougher enemies and a belief that long range machine gunfire has a place on the multiple battlefields faced. In this, there is a slightly different set of lessons drawn from WW2 than the historical ones that lead to .280/7mm and the EM-2 bullpup
- I’m applying a slight retcon to some previous Dark Earth material which did feature mention of what amounts to a version of the EM-2, but am limiting it to an early SMG replacement for Paras, Commandos and some Royal Marines which is replaced by the S2A1 in the early 1950s/Korean War rearmament period
- This is because the bullpup design isn’t suited for the .303”.
- However, this is not our grandfather’s .303/7.7x56mm R, but a 7.7x64mm that came out of the experience of both the Boer War and the War of the Worlds. It fires a 175 grain flat base spitzer bullet at a muzzle velocity of 2900ft/s and an energy of 3000 ft.lbf. The Mark VIII of the 1930s is even hotter.
- Incidentally, the pre WW2 rearmament period sees the introduction of a Semiautomatic Magazine Lee Enfield Rifle No. 4, which delivers a mad minute of 40-50 aimed rounds
- This is following on from an earlier introduction of a Vickers machine gun that is a derivative of the Vickers-Berthier and a belt fed Bren L4 of the postwar years.
- The latter is a very decent crew served weapon that compliments the Bren and was present at platoon level in wartime infantry units.
- There were still Vickers Guns in service, but heavier machine guns at .625”. This emerges as a dwarven calibre that has a long history, coming from the original DE Enfield rifle.

A New Jerusalem Part 16

December 10th 1964
School of Infantry, Warminster

It was good to be back above ground and even moreso to be back in one of his old haunts. He hadn’t been here for over fourteen years, when they had called up the reserves after war broke out in Korea, but he remembered the place fondly, as much as one could a garrison town. Those hot and troubled days where it seemed to be 1939 all over again were far different from today, with the rush, urgency and clamour of mobilisation replaced by the more staid circumstance of a weapons display. It was of course still a matter of distinct significance, both to provide him with the best possible knowledge of the Army’s equipment and capabilities so as to properly inform his decisions as Prime Minister and to show that the Army was held in equal esteem and import as her sister services.

The equipment of the individual soldier serving in one of Her Majesty’s Regiments of Foot in 1964 had changed significantly since the Second World War and even since 1956, but there were some things that were familiar. The old semi-automatic battle rifles were gone now even from the Home Guard, but the old reliable Vickers general purpose machine guns and the Bren guns still soldiered on, even though some of them were likely older than the young Tommies who fired them. The good old Sterlings that had equipped quite a few of his men in the Battle of Berlin were now long gone and transferred to the school cadet forces and Girl Guide companies, replaced by the assault rifle that now lay before him on the first display table of the cavernous hall.

The L2A4 Enfield Assault Rifle had an interesting design history, coming from the Royal Small Arms Factory’s experiments of the late 1940s which trialed a number of innovative designs and calibres in their quest to develop an intermediate automatic rifle. One had even had the novel feature of the action and magazine being placed behind the trigger, but this had proved to be unsuited to some of the design criteria put in place by the Small Arms Panel. The new rifle accepted in 1947, the product of Belgian, Polish and English designers, drew on some of the features of the German Sturmgewehr-42 of wartime notoriety, chief of which was the employment of a lighter intermediate 0.256” round. This became the Rifle No. 12 or the L2A1, a decent weapon in its own right and popular among the Paras, Rangers, Commandos and Royal Marines whose requirements were well suited by the new rifle. It had built up a decent combat record through the 1950s, particularly in the jungle of Malaya and Borneo, and although it looked similar to Army’s main service rifle, it was lighter and smaller.

“A fine weapon.”

“A good gun indeed, Prime Minister. This newest variant has an increased effective range of 900 yards, a maximum rate of fire of 1000 rounds a minute and can carry the full range of additions that the L1 rifle can - under barrel grenade launcher, advanced darkvision sights, radbeam targeting and the new bayonet. It can also be adapted as a carbine and a belt fed light machine gun under the modular system.”

His main guide and escort through the array of new weapons was a tall man with a neat military moustache and an upright bearing. Although he had only been Director of Army Weapons Development for six months, Brigadier Alistair Lethbridge-Stewart had a deep knowledge of the equipment about them and was clearly intended for greater things.

“Superior to the AKM?”

“Very much so. Every indication we’ve had from enemy weapons captured in South Vietnam and Borneo is that the Soviets are yet to bridge the qualitative gap.”

“Good. What is our current production level?”

“5296 a week in total from ROF Fazakerley, the Royal Armoury, Armstrong-Whitworth and LSA; Maltby, BSA, the Tower, Vickers and RSAF Enfield have the L1 as their primary production rifle.” said Secretary of State for War Sir Richard Pendragon.

Barton turned to the next table, where lay the L1A1 rifle, a formidable weapon and the veritable right arm of the free world. This latest version of the standard battle rifle and mainstay of the infantry of the British Army was based around the old reliable .303”, giving a very long theoretical maximum effective range of up to 1250 yards. It’s length and sturdy design made it ideal for hand-to-hand bayonet fighting and it was well known for its excellent reliability under a variety of combat circumstances. The combination of long range and sufficient stopping power to drop a monstrous beast or penetrate an armoured enemy made it a popular weapon throughout the Empire and beyond; whether in the desert sands of Egypt and Libya, the freezing hills of Korea, the red jungles of Mars or on Afghanistan’s plains, the L1A1 had proved its merit. Perhaps the only major issue that had been raised against it was the sheer brute strength required for fully automatic fire, which was mainly a function of its calibre. The French had their FA-MAS Type 62, the Germans their StG 63 and the Americans their M-16, but Barton knew which rifle he preferred.

There were however, some issues. Many contended that it was simply too powerful to be adequately controlled on automatic and that the days of knocking down Zulus, Fuzzy-Wuzzies or Bushmen with volley fire at three quarters of a mile were long gone. The latter was definitely true, but the long range was useful in other tactical scenarios, particularly in more open terrain. Even in the more enclosed environs of the Asian jungle, the heavy round had some unexpected boons, such as having a better record of penetrating improvised cover and some rough field positions fashioned of logs and earth. The newest version of the L1A1 filled the role of the long range marksman’s rifle as well as the general service weapon, which was useful in the Middle East.

“This new model has averaged an 18% increase in accuracy and general performance in operational testing in Canada, Kenya, Israel and South Vietnam, with the new strengthened rounds and the incendiary rounds giving a further boost to lethality.”

“Good. When we can combine that with what the Ministry of Magic boffins are working on, so much the better.”

“We’ll have sufficient rifles produced for the regular Army in approximately 42 months on current rate, Prime Minister, which will allow the current stocks to go to the Territorials, Reserves, Home Guard and the various police forces.”

Barton nodded thoughtfully. Providing for modern armament of the police was a measure that was close to his heart, as their role as a key part of civil defence and national emergency protection would be significantly strengthened by sufficient small arms. Whilst he did not envisage giving every church policeman, watchman or traffic warden an automatic rifle, the current contingency plans freed up a lot of the Royal Constabulary and military for other protective duties appropriate to their function. Numbers. Always a game of numbers.

“Have someone look into increasing that rate, Richard. It is just adequate for the moment, but we want expansion of our capacity across the board, for only that will deliver us true flexibility. Now, let’s see about this Bren replacement.”

Lethbridge-Stewart held up a black machine gun by its carrying handle. “This is the L4, Prime Minister. It comes in .303” and .256” and weighs 7lb less than the Bren in the former calibre. It comes with integrated advanced sights and is effective out to a mile; maximum rate of fire is 1000 rounds a minute and the sustained rate is 200. It is belt fed from this accompanying ammunition box, but can take 20 or 30 round rifle magazines from the L1A1s. All reports from testing indicate that firing from the hip is accurate and comfortable on the advance, which comes down to the new enchanted slings.”

“Sounds promising. What about reliability?”

“Field testing has been extremely encouraging thus far, sir, and have reported a relatively low rate of stoppages and mishaps. It definitely seems to be a case of getting what you pay for.”

“At the cost we’re paying, I should hope so.”

“Indubitably, Prime Minister. And now, here we have it, the product of almost four years development - the L6 general purpose machine gun.” The Brigadier indicated a larger, heavier gun mounted on a tripod on the next table along the row. “In raw terms of its performance, it is the equal or better of any machine gun in the Free World, apart from not having the speed of the Jerry MG-52 Spandaus. A very well balanced gun design, which really reflects its family origins, as it were.”

“How so?”

“The boffins at Enfield, Vickers, Armstrong-Whitworth and BSA all chipped in and have really come through on this one. They took the barrel design of the old X10 for its accuracy and the action of the X12 from Birmingham for its reliability and joined them with the new Vickers lightsteel and hydraulic buttstock and Armstrong’s advanced variable sights and cold iron. What it gives us is a gun that can lay down fire out to three miles,” he paused to pick up the machine gun one handed and pass it to Barton “whilst still being lighter than the old Vickers gimpy and suitable for section deployment. Rate of fire can be selected with a flick of the switch there, with three options, whilst sight and ranging selection can be altered by twisting the adjuster like so.”

“Where’s the carrying handle?”

“There isn’t one, on account of not being needed. That’s the beauty of the metallurgy, Prime Minister, giving it the benefit of a heavy barrel with close to ordinary dimensions. The exterior is also coated in an arcane heat protector for good measure. There is also a nightfighter version with a suppressor and flash elimination system for use by the Commando Division.”

Barton bristled slightly at the use of the nomenclature. The Commando Division was, for the moment, simply an administrative unit controlling the eight Commando brigades, but it has the potential to be so much more with the evolution of doctrine, some more creative planning and of course further funding. The Americans were apparently making noises about organising a division of Rangers for service in South Vietnam, marking the first time since the Second World War that a special operations formation of that size had been contemplated.

“These don’t sound like they come cheaply.”

“They don’t, sir. The ordinary GPMG comes in at £800...”

“Three times what we paid for a Vickers in the war. How much are the Americans paying for an M60?”

“Between £400 and £500, depending on the version. Their prices are lower due to their sheer scale of production.” demurred Pendragon.

“We’re not shrinking violets ourselves, Richard. Our plans call for a hundred thousand of them, even before the Commonwealth armies get their share. This is as much as a whole squadron of V-Bombers, just for the guns, not to mention all the rest of the programme cost.”

Barton paused for a moment and looked off at the floor. He remembered Berlin and what it had cost.

“Try and get that cost down. The cousins aren’t the only ones who can bear any burden and pay any price, after all, who must. Just try, Richard. Try.”

"Very good, Prime Minister. If we move along to the heavier anti-tank weapons, we've some interesting new developments, all well within the constraints of financial necessity."

"Indeed, sir. Since the war, we've maintained our two categories of infantry anti-tank weapon - the lighter rocket propelled grenades and the heavier rocket launchers and recoilless rifles." Lethbridge-Stewart picked up a compact olive-drab cylinder "Here, we have the replacement for the first, the Rocket 75mm HEAT L1A1. It weighs 6.5lb and is able to penetrate 15” of armour at 600ft out to 250 yards. Crucially, it is a disposable, fire and forget rocket. Each man with one will have the ability to knock an enemy tank without needing to lug around a significant load.”

“Seems broadly similar to the American, French and German rockets.”

“Ours is slightly larger and heavier, Prime Minister, but that brings greater capability. The Operations Research boffins at MD1 are quite satisfied with the trade off.”

“Good. What about the heavy stuff?”

The Brigadier indicated a recoiled rocket launcher on a stand at the rear of the table. “The designers at Armstrong-Whitworth set out to develop a weapon that was reusable, lightweight, simple to operate, superior to both the Russian RPG and the American M67 and able to replace our existing arsenal of 84mm Carl Gustavs and 3.75” rocket launchers. The result is the 3.75” Light Anti-Tank Weapon L25A1, or the Longbow as some of the developers up north have named it. It has a better range than the Yank and Soviet weapons and a current maximum penetration of 25” of RHA, but only weighs 25lb.”

“That is a hefty load for a man in the field. Is the reusability really justified in tactical terms?”

“If it were purely an anti-tank weapon, sir, probably not. However, there are a range of other missions - anti-personnel, bunker attack, incendiary, chemical and area defence. It is the last one that gave it the nickname, on account of the two thousand fletchettes it can disperse in an airburst pattern. If the mortar is the company commander’s artillery, this does the same for the platoon.”

“Good. The more firepower our boys have at every level, the better. If and when we send the Army into combat, I want them to have every possible advantage over their enemy.”

“With these small arms, I would say that we can look forward to that advantage in the future, Prime Minister. However, that is only one part of what we have ready today.”

Lethbridge-Stewart paused as three soldiers in combat armour and uniforms took their place before the Prime Ministerial party, one dressed in the manner of Home Forces, one clad in the light jungle rig for East of Suez and one in the full combat armour of the British Army of the Rhine.

“Here we have Privates Jackson, Billinski and Gilby displaying different parts of what we term the Future Warrior System. Firstly, we have Jackson in standard temperate battle dress for service in Britain, North America and Western Europe. He has the Woodland DPM pattern uniform and Sablon windproof and waterproof smock, which has been tested as reduced shrapnel injuries by 50% on its own; it is also considerably warmer, more comfortable and four times more effective than previous camouflage. The Personal Load Carrying Equipment webbing carries everything required to fight for 48 hours - magazines, bayonet, grenades, iron rations, canteen, MNBCR suit, respirator, combat knife, first aid kit and entrenching tool - and can carry the standard Bergen rucksack.”

“How is that load, Jackson?”

“Absolutely tickety-boo, sir. The mages have helped a lot.”

“The load carrying equipment, you see, Prime Minister. The Ministry wizzes have come up with a way that reduces the effective load by a third.” Pendragon explained.

“Complete the testing and get them into mass production.” Barton gestured for Lethbridge-Stewart to continue.

“Billinski has the Jungle Pattern DPM, which is designed to be lighter and more breathable. He is wearing the spider silk jungle hat, but we also have the modern tropical service helmet made from Spectra, which makes it bulletproof against most enemy weapons. The lightweight Sablon flak jacket provides core body protection and additional load carrying capacity. The new general purpose combat boot is protected by a steel cap, a leathersteel base and anti-tracking moulded rubber sole, but the most significant feature is that it is completely waterproofed.”

“Hmm. That will be handy in the tropics. Proceed.”

“Finally, we have Gilby in full battle array for Germany. This consists of the base uniform, reinforced with extra protection for the torso, arms and legs and the armour - cuirass and pauldrons, mainly, with some additional plate coverage. It can stop a 7.62 x 54mm Soviet machine gun round at battle range. The Mark V Combat Helmet has full ear protection and respirator support and will be integrated with the Clansman radio communications system, whilst the combat gauntlets provide both protection and strength augmentation without impairing dexterity. The general parameters for the armour come from Project Knight.”

“How well can you move in the armour, Gilby?”

“No major issues, Prime Minister. I wouldn’t like to run a marathon, if course.”

Give the Army another five or ten years of the Super Soldier Program and we’ll see about that. Their experiments with enhancing the natural physical capabilities such as endurance, strength and speed through drugs, sorcery and cutting edge science promised to have some very interesting results. However, thought Barton, that is a bridge for another day...

“Medium, light and now heavy infantry. Interesting to see how the old becomes new again. Your efforts to develop the modern British soldier serve us well, Brigadier. Keep up the good work.”

“Yes, Prime Minister.”

Steve,

The boots are waterproof against incoming moisture. The issue of sweat will come up from Vietnam in subsequent years.

I am glad that you enjoyed the build up; not all equipment is a weapon, after all. The soldier who is warm, well fed and has comfortable boots has a few fewer concerns to occupy him, allowing more focus on the job. I’ll expand a bit on the heavier weapons tomorrow in some notes.

Simon

Two tidbits:

“What do you mean?”

“I would like a report on the security of our embassies around the world. In Persia in ‘62 and across the whole Muddle East in ‘56, we faced some very dangerous circumstances through protests and what verged on full blown attacks. We don’t have the luxuries we once had in the Legation Quarters in China.”

“Of course, Prime Minister. I would suggest that we are faced with something of a conundrum - unless we propose garrisons on the level that we kept in China, any defence would be too small to be effective whilst being large enough to raise the hackles of the states in the region, which I would presume to be Arab and Persian. I must warn you that it has previously been opined that too strong a presence on the ground could go some way towards precipitating trouble in some parts of the world.”

“That’s why we have a strategic reserve, Obo - to provide for a short, sharp message. If if comes down to it, if any third rate little tinpot country thinks they can attack British territory, then I want our policy and our response to be clear - we send in the fleet, we send in the bombers and we invade.”

“That seems perfectly understandable, Prime Minister, but may I ask what has lead you to want to be quite so…strident…on this particular issue?”

“Apart from reviewing the cases I said? The Congo Palace Incident of ‘61 and the business in Indonesia last year.

And the Lapcat Report.

“Ah. Might I suggest that there may be some negative aspects involved in going to war with a Soviet satellite state on account of mob action?”

“You might. You are right on the issue of the size of a force. The Americans have their Marines for their embassies and the French have the Foreign Legion, whereas we make do with the Imperial Police.”

“The obvious answer would be the Gurkhas, but they are already stretched considerably.”

“Yes, and it will be a few years until the increases in recruiting in Nepal give us the manpower we need. What about the Zulus?”

Sir Obo thought for a second and nodded. The Zulu regiments had a reputation for fearsome valour and sheer ferocity almost equal to the Gurkhas themselves. Almost.

“If you are contemplating a symbolic yet effective defence capacity, Prime Minister, you could certainly do a lot worse.”

“Good. Good. In any event, I’ll take the issue to Cabinet once I get the report. My gut tells me to ramp up our defences, but I do see the merit of at least some degree of flexibility.”

……………
December 16th 1964

“Your Majesty.”

“Mr. Barton, so nice to see you again. How are your wife and children?”

“Very well indeed, Ma’am. They are so looking forward to Christmas, as they never fail to remind me.”

“How very lovely. Where will you be spending it?”

“Chequers, Ma’am. It will be quite the new experience for them.”

“Of course. Please, do sit down.”

Barton paused until the Queen sat down opposite him and then took his place. The audience room was tastefully and royally appointed, as befitted his sovereign’s chief residence. His weekly audiences with the Queen had predominantly taken place here at Buckingham Palace, with but a few being held at Windsor Castle; the monthly meetings of the Privy Council were conducted in the more formal setting of the 1844 Room.

“It has been two months now, since we first met here. Quite a busy time for you.”

“Yes, Ma’am. As I’ve said, as your Prime Minister, I do not have even countenanced having a mandate for radical change, but the government of the Empire is a work never ceasing.”

“Of course, Prime Minister. How goes your Grand Design?”

“Slowly, Ma’am, ever so slowly. The ship of state is an immense vessel, as you know, and difficult to steer onto courses new. However, I’d like to think that the measures we’ve been able to put in place so far will put us on the right course in time. Incremental pushes in the right areas and at the right times, Ma’am, that’s the main part of it. It will take perhaps a year and a half for the impact of our defence spending to be felt in economic and industrial terms, but less than that for our investment in heavy industry and our tax cuts to work.”

“Some parts would seem to not be extremely popular in your own party.”

“No, Ma’am. There is a strong enough feeling in some quarters that we’ve inherited a good enough economy to increase our social spending much more than what we campaigned on and Cabinet has subsequently endorsed. But we’ve got their measure and enough time to quiet them up in full.”

“Indeed. When will the first of our reinforcements leave for the Far East?”

“Very early in the New Year, Ma’am. We’re going to fly out most of the remaining Army units for Australia, but we’ve decided that the main part of our troops for Viet Nam and Malaya will go by sea. It will allow their arrival to send more of a message to the Indonesians and Moscow.”

“I see that will primarily be based around the strategic reserves from Aldershot.”

“Yes, Ma’am. We envisage shipping them out from Portsmouth on the Victoria, Malabar, Euphrates and the Britannic. Should Your Majesty wish to review them prior to their embarkation, I am sure that it will be most welcomed.”

“Naturally, we shall be more than pleased to see off our men.”

“Your Majesty is most gracious. It shall be a very busy beginning to the next year indeed, with the Imperial Economic Conference and the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers Meeting barely a week apart, and then my own Grand Tour of Europe, as it were. After they, no doubt, there will be the business of Africa.”

“That is quite the schedule. With regard to Africa, what was the outcome of your initial review of our intended policy?”

“The general thinking is to continue our steady approach to development in East Africa and move forward slightly on the timetable for West Africa. We can maintain our position and interests in the latter case whilst reducing our expenditure on administration and defence by the expediting moves towards autonomy and responsible self government. It will ultimately come down to the French.”

“How?”

“If they keep on their current trajectory towards independence, we must seem to mirror them, to avoid creating any grounds for external influences to exploit. Our view is that they would grant independence in name only, whilst continuing to maintain economic control, strategic alignment, military oversight and political direction. We would prefer a more sustainable policy for our own West African states, but are prepared to follow suit as we move forward on our timetable. In practical terms, we are looking to granting independent self-government on an internal basis for Nigeria, the Gold Coast and the Ivory Coast within the next five or six years; full independence would follow in a decade or so. We’ll be looking to combine the latter two in a federation to provide them with size and power.”

“A reasonable regional counterbalance to the Mali Federation that the French are crafting. However, Prime Minister, there is a more pressing overarching question. What if their independent governments choose a policy of disengagement from the Commonwealth?”

“They’d be foolish to do it, Ma’am, as their only other alternative for support is Moscow, which they know we cannot tolerate.”

“Not Washington, Peking or Brazil?”

“Your point is well taken, Ma’am. Our general approach is that we won’t try and hold any independent state to us by force, but will use our economic influence to keep them in alignment as much as possible. Ultimately, though, we wish to avoid situations like we see in Algeria and the Congo. I think in the long term, our interests are better served by an approach more closely aligned with our own principles of liberty. We should have our African colonies stay in the Empire and Commonwealth out of choice rather than any measure of coercion.”

“In that case, Prime Minister, it would be wise for the matter to be raised during my state visit to Ethiopia, perhaps in a speech. If the best policy is to promote freedom through choice, then what better place than alongside Haile Selassie?”

“As Your Majesty commands, it shall be done. The matter of The Gambia is one I would advise that we view separately, given its position within Senegal. We have had some talks with France regarding a federation of the two colonies once independent and it would be the better strategic choice.”

“Very good, Prime Minister. Now, would you care to take some tea?”