WesWorld

Italy would be able to offer the services of Ercole as a lift ship.

6 November
Lord Moyne, the British Deputy Resident Minister of State in Cairo, has been assassinated today by terrorists, suspected to be members of the Lehi organisation. Security has been stepped up across Cairo and Palestine with additional troops released for policing duties and widespread checks at railway stations, airports, roads and harbours across the Middle East.

Lord Moyne arrived at his residence in his official car with his driver, Corporal Fuller, his secretary, Dorothy Osmond, and his ADC, Major Andrew Hughes-Onslow. The ADC went to open the front door of the residence and the driver got out to open the door for Moyne. Then two assassins attacked the car, one pulled the car door open and shot Moyne three times, while the other killed the driver. The two assassins fled on bicycles, pursued by an Egyptian motorcycle policeman who had been alerted by Major Hughes-Onslow. The assassin who had shot Moyne, tried to shoot the policeman but he fired back and he fell, wounded. The two were surrounded by an angry mob until they were extracted by the police. Moyne was rushed to hospital but died of his wounds this evening.

In the waters off Skye, efforts to communicate with the crew of HMS O7 have failed. Divers report the submarine to be intact but lying on the bottom heeled over by at least thirty degrees to starboard. A salvage operation is now underway and several vessels have arrived. It will probably be at least three days before the life can be attempted. Offers of help from Italy and Iberia have been gratefully received and a large group of vessels from the Republic of Ireland have been active in the hunt for the past few days. Another offer from Bharat to send a salvage vessel was gratefully received but declined owing to the distance of the ship and the time it would take to arrive. Hope of finding survivors is very slim but the Navy wish to raise the vessel as quickly as can be practically done.


12 November
After lengthy handling trials with the advanced Heston Napier-Heston Type 5 racing aircraft, during speed trials the highest speed of 479.5mph was achieved*. The Type 5 was developed in 1938 as a private-venture attempt to break the World Speed Record. The prototype G-AFOK crashed on its maiden flight on 12 June 1940. Components of this aircraft have been included in the second aircraft, G-AFOL, which has new wings and a 2,500hp Napier Sabre IV engine.


*OOC: I'm not sure if this is the highest achieved propeller-aircraft speed in WW but it must be close. Obviously the Leduc still holds the absolute world record.

14 November
Work to lift the sunken HMS O7 has been postponed owing to severe gales.

16 November
Work has resumed to lift HMS O7 with the aid of salvage vessels from Iberia and Italy.

19 November
The M10 motorway opened today. The M10 is a three-mile long southbound distributor for the M1. This section of the M1, to fully open next month, has no connections to the old road network that can cope with six lanes of high speed traffic being fed into it. So at each end, a spur has been built. The M10, the southern spur, diverts traffic at the A414 and A405.

24 November
The Iraqi government has officially signed a contract with the Syrian government and given the go-ahead for one of the largest construction projects in the Middle East in recent years. The plan calls for the construction of an oil pipeline from Kirkuk in Iraq to Baniyas in Syria, the latter featuring a purpose-built oil terminal for tankers. French and British companies are involved in building the project and investment has been raised from state and private sources. Work should begin early next year.

Mr Thomas had his window open despite the chilly breeze washing across from the Bristol Channel. Outside could be heard the din of riveting and hammering. The black telephone on the desk rang.
"Hullo, BCAC Marketing, Filton Division, Mr Thomas speaking. I see. A request from the new Philippine air carrier, Air Manila? Yes I read about that in Flight this week. Certainly it can be arranged. Let me check." Mr Thomas opened a ring binder and began flicking through the pages. "Ah yes, Vee-Kay is preparing the leave next week on a sales tour. Jersey then across to France, down through the Med, Misr Air, then Iraqi Airlines and some oil firm out in the Gulf somewhere. Yes the finish was Rangoon but we could extend it fairly easily. Deliver it to them and let them operate it for a while. Oh Vee-Gee is for demonstration trials in the Gulf and she should be there about the sixteenth. We can alter the schedule a little for Vee-Kay, the crew could stay on and oversee the conversion process for the Manila pilots. Might be good to get an RAF Wayfarer version out east too at some point given the political situation. I trust you've seen the Avro visit reported in the press. Yes, indeed a pity the Windsor wasn't ready to fly out there. Maybe next year eh? I'll get on with the arrangements and I'll send you the final itinerary tomorrow. Thank you for calling, goodbye."

Somewhere across the factory complex BCAC Type 170 Freighter G-AGVK was running up her engines and taxing out on another air test before her third epic sales tour to the Far East.

25 November
The sunken hulk of the submarine HMS O7 has been raised. She will now be towed to harbour for inspection and the bodies of her crew entombed in the submarine will be retrieved and buried with full honours.

3 December
Today a naval pilot of the Fleet Air Arm carried out the world’s first landing of a reaction-jet powered aircraft onto the deck of an aircraft carrier and the world's first take-off of such an aircraft from a ship at sea. Captain Eric Brown landed his AIRCO de Havilland Sea Vampire FN.Mk.II prototype, LZ551, aboard HMS Ark Royal which was in the Channel off Portland Bill. The Sea Vampire FN.Mk.II is basically a standard Vampire F.Mk.I but fitted with catapult spools and arrestor gear, 40% extra flaps and long travel undercarriage oleos. LZ551 first flew in this form in January and twelve production aircraft have been built by Fairey during the year for trials.

Quoted

Captain Eric 'Winkle' Brown ' Wings on my Sleeve'
"I took off early on the 3rd, partly because I had a certain amount of fuel to burn off before I could get down to the right weight for landing on, partly because the plane was still a prototype.
Because of my early take-off I missed the signal from the ship telling me to remain at Ford because the weather was too bad for a landing. The Captain - again Caspar John - was actually announcing over the ship's loudspeakers that I had been told to remain at Ford when I burst like a banshee on to the scene and screamed round the Ark Royal.
Caspar John was a very experienced carrier trials captain. He knew me, he knew the situation, he knew the ship. He very quickly weighed up the situation and ordered 'Land On'. This was a big moment for the Navy. If things went well today we should have moved into the jet age, the first Navy to do it.
I settled down on to my final approach to the deck, and immediately realised that the ship was moving more than I had thought before. But my Vampire was so steady in her approach descent and the batsman was giving me such a steady signal that it never even crossed my mind that I might have to go round again. I came straight in and made a gentle landing.
I refuelled and went straight on with the trials. The shortness of our take-off run astonished all the goofers on the island. We soared past them at captain's eye-level, twenty feet up.
On the fourth landing we had some trouble when the very large landing flaps struck the arrestor wires and were damaged. The Vampire had to be flown ashore again and modified. We were back three days later with four square feet chopped off the flaps. We had no further troubles."

4 December
During inspections of the remaning submarines of the O Class, now currently laid up, a serious corrosion issue has been found aboard the submarine HMS O4 with similar, but slightly less serious, issues aboard HMS O2. The Admiralty has not released any further details.

One year too early for a jet carrier landing and take-off. it is jet-related and should thus take place on the historical date.
... and from what I see, any trials should not take place before 1947.
Not sure about the Vampire. Wiki indicates that LZ551 first flew on March 17, 1944. As it is one of the prototypes, one would think that they would first test the plane a lot before any decision is made to convert it for a carrier landing/take-off test. Even if you have it in January and ignore the jet = 0 years agreement, you would not have the carrier landing until October 1945.

Also, I think it is wrong to refer to it as a FN.Mk.II as it makes me think too much that it is based on the F.Mk.II.

This raises a valid point in terms of the application of our +0 convention for jet powered aircraft.

We have reached the point where we need to be more specific as to what this means. Does it mean the specific timeline for a particular historical aircraft? How would this apply to jet aircraft developed by nations that historically did not do so? Or how is it to be applied to non-historical designs developed by nations that did develop jet technology? It is to be applied to specific historic milestones, such as the first carrier jet trials or first supersonic flight?

Before one can say that an event is "too early" we should reach a common consensus of how we apply this rule; otherwise those nations who had historic jet developments will be judged differently than those who did not.

I'm happy to move it back to 1945 is anyone really objects.

I don't see much of an issue here, the mods are quite small and its quite achievable. It didn't happen OTL because carriers were busy on other duties. But as Bruce says the 0 rule opens all sorts of cans of worms regarding fictional aircraft and nations who are on ahistorical paths.

I don't have any particular problem with this happening a year early. I was actually planning for the French to start testing a navalized VG.640 in October of this year, and if Wes had ever posted his jet development timeline the Atlanteans start testing a mixed-power carrier fighter in the latter half of 1944.

For myself, though, I actually don't regard Winkle Brown's landing as the first carrier jet landing. The US flew the Ryan FR Fireball onto several different carriers through 1945, though it was generally under mixed power and not pure jet power. That said, a Fireball landed in November 1945 aboard USS Ranger solely under the power of the jet engine... because the prop engine had failed. So perhaps it's more accurate to state that Winkle Brown's landing was the first intentional jet landing on a carrier.

Quoted from "BruceDuncan"

This raises a valid point in terms of the application of our +0 convention for jet powered aircraft.

We have reached the point where we need to be more specific as to what this means. Does it mean the specific timeline for a particular historical aircraft? How would this apply to jet aircraft developed by nations that historically did not do so? Or how is it to be applied to non-historical designs developed by nations that did develop jet technology? It is to be applied to specific historic milestones, such as the first carrier jet trials or first supersonic flight?

Before one can say that an event is "too early" we should reach a common consensus of how we apply this rule; otherwise those nations who had historic jet developments will be judged differently than those who did not.

In regard to the point Bruce brings up, I tend to apply the +0 rule as a sort of metric for comparison. If a 1944 jet design performs on par with historical jets that first flew in 1944, then I don't have much problem with it, so long as it is reasonable that the player country can actually make the design in question. (For instance, I'd expect to be thoroughly laughed down if Ireland flew a jet in 1944, even if said jet was otherwise historically possible). This is why I'm handling the French jet developments as I am: I'm trying to keep somewhere in the same place as the US and Britain in regards to aircraft capability, rather than following the historical timeline which was the result of being conquered and bombed and fought over for four years.

4 December
A serious corrosion issue has been found aboard the submarine HMS O4 with similar, but slightly less serious, issues aboard HMS O2. The Admiralty has not released any further details.

8 December
World Navy News (UK Branch)
Now both vessels are sat in Portsmouth harbour, rumours abound that HMS Invincible and Inflexible are to be transferred to the Royal Australian Navy. In return, it is rumoured, the RAN will return HMS Iron Duke to Britain for preservation as a museum ship at Portsmouth alongside HMS Victory. This move is surely to be welcomed and we urge our members to support her restoration. It has been noted however that both of the battlecruisers have been decommissioned and workmen have been seen aboard both ships and the two largest dry-docks at Portsmouth are now free, so it is possible both may receive rebuilding work before transfer.

10 December
The first section of the M1 motorway opened today. The M1 will be one of the most important motorways in Britain, forming the main road north from London and connecting the East Midlands and the most populous areas of Yorkshire. The specification for its design called for a capacity of 13,000 to 14,000 vehicles per day. The first section runs from St Albans to Rugby. Plans call for the M1 to terminate at Marble Arch, or Montagu Square, London to the northeast of Marble Arch on the 'A' Ring, the planned upgrade of London's Inner Ring Road.




Work is progressing well on the M4, the first section of which, the Chiswick Flyover in London, was completed earlier this year. The M4 motorway will run from London to Pont Abraham in Wales, also serving the new Heathrow Airport. The Chiswick Flyover is initially part of the A4 but will become part of the motorway later on as other sections complete.




13 December
General elections were held in Jamaica yesterday. The results have given a victory for the Jamaica Labour Party, which has won 22 of the 32 seats (41.4% of the vote). Voter turnout was 58.7%. The People’s National Party won 5 seats (23.5% of the vote) as did five independent candidates (30% of the vote). The Jamaica Democratic Party and other smaller parties won no seats.

14 December
The M45 motorway was opened today. The M45 is a northbound distributor for the M1. This section of the M1 has no connections to the old road network that can cope with six lanes of high speed traffic being fed into it. So at each end, a spur has been built. The northern spur of the M1 built to divert traffic into Coventry via the A45. The southern spur, the M10, opened last month.

16 December
The skies around Yeovil, Somerset reverberated to the sounds of a new engine in a new aircraft. Westland test-flew their latest aircraft design today for the first time with Chief Test Pilot Harold Penrose at the controls. The large Westland Wyvern is a single-engined single-seat torpedo-fighter developed for the Fleet Air Arm to Spec N.12/43. It is powered by Rolls-Royce’s latest engine, the 24-cylinder Eagle piston engine. This engine is the result of thirty-years of piston-engine development by Rolls-Royce. The prototype, TS371, is powered by a 3,315hp RR Eagle II, which is one of Britain’s, and the world’s most powerful piston engines. The RAF is also to receive a variant of the Wyvern as a long-range escort fighter. Precise statistics are still classified.


18 December
The Admiralty announced today that the O-Class submarines have several serious issues with their ballast tanks and valves owing to corrosion and mechanical defects. It is thought that the main Induction Valve on the O7 failed, sinking the vessel. Remedial work is too expensive and in some cases the external casings would need to be removed to access the ballast tanks which also have several structural defects. Therefore all nine surviving submarines of the class will be decommissioned forthwith and disposed of, most likely as ASDIC targets.

A bit out of place but...

November 13
The Air Ministry today announced today, that yesterday the air flight time record between London and Paris has been broken. Returning from participating in the Paris Air Show, a Gloster Meteor F.Mk.I fighter made a record-breaking attempt flying between Paris (Le Bourget) and London (Croydon). Wing Commander Mandrake set a new record time of 22 min 51 sec.

Just you wait until we get enough fuel in the Leduc to make the distance! Any time now... ;)