WesWorld

Not much ideas for the rest of 1948 so decided to focus on 1949 news instead...

January 1, 1949
In an unexpected move, the Navy has laid down the keel of the battleship Harima. This huge twin-hulled battleship armed with numerous triple 20" gun turrets will dwarf any battleship in existence or under contruction.


January 4, 1949
The RMS Caronia of the Cunard Line departed Southampton for New York on her maiden voyage today. Japanese cruise companies already mockingly refer to her green livery as "Vomit Green" and stated that anyone who would sail on her would turn the same shade of green as the ship.


January 11, 1949
Construction of the Harima was cancelled today. After numerous days of additional calculations and recalculations, the ship designers found out that with its length of over 2000 feet and beam of more than 500 feet, the ship is way to big for any slipway or dock in existence.


January 14, 1949
Toyota unveiled its new TFO-I today with which management plans to take on the proposed World Championship for Drivers Season that is being discussed by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile for this year. (*pokes Brock*) The World Championship for Drivers will make use of the Formula One regulations as formulated by the Commission Sportive Internationale back in 1946.

(made by combining bits of the Talbot-Lago T26C and the Alfa Romeo 158 and using the colors of the Toyota TS020)


January 24, 1949
Just another normal Day at the Races in Japan...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24OgsI4F4W8
Jumbo Nanpra from Siam won the race by a nose.

I like the TFO-1. Looks very smart!
I agree we should get the World Championship for Drivers Season going. Its not like we don't have enough races in WW (I try to feature them in all my nations' news).

Quoted

I like the TFO-1. Looks very smart!

I quite like the result as well. I was kinda bumbling with the exhausts pipes but managed to get them to look decent and after a few minutes with the wheels and failing miserably with the rims, I just took them from an image and stuck them on the wheels.

Quoted

I agree we should get the World Championship for Drivers Season going. Its not like we don't have enough races in WW (I try to feature them in all my nations' news).

OTL there were 27 races in the 1949 season. I guess there will be a few more in Wesworld... and for the entertainment of the peasants, one can never have too many races.

I didn't see why we could not start it a bit sooner rather than OTL 1950 so I threw that suggestion to Brock a while ago as the FIA is France-based though I did incorrectly called it "Formula One World Championship" instead of "World Championship for Drivers" back then.


Also gave a potential 1949 season idea based around the 5 more prestigious races of the OTL 1949 Grand Prix season (Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps, Bremgarten, Reims-Gueux and Monza).

April 24, 1949 => Atlantean Grand Prix (Neptune Circuit)
May 15, 1949 => British Grand Prix (Silverstone Circuit)
May 22, 1949 => Monaco Grand Prix (Circuit de Monaco)
May 30, 1949 => Indianapolis 500 (Indianapolis Motor Speedway)
June 19, 1949 => Belgian Grand Prix (Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps)
July 3, 1949 => Swiss Grand Prix (Bremgarten-Rundstrecke)
July 17, 1949 => French Grand Prix (Circuit de Reims-Gueux)
August 7, 1949 => Japanese Grand Prix (Fuji Race Park)
August 28, 1949 => German Grand Prix (Nürburgring)
September 11, 1949 => Italian Grand Prix (Autodromo Nazionale Monza)


OTL there was no Monaco Grand Prix in 1949 but I felt that it should be there.

No WW2 means that there should be a German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring present as well in the list. I had mentioned the idea in the news to have the Japanese Grand Prix take place on the first Sunday of August and there was a fairly big gap between the Japanese Grand Prix and the Italian Grand Prix so I put the German Grand Prix in between those.

In my pm to Brock, I had not put the Indy 500 there, but seeing as it was included as part of the OTL World Championship for Drivers when it was established in 1950, I guess it should be added as well here, even though it is run using the AAA National Championship regulations instead of the Formula One regulations.

As Wesorld was initially formed with the Cleito treaty signed in Atlantis, Atlantis would definitely be in the list as well. As Wes uses Greek Mythology stuff for Atlantis, I decided to call the Atlantean Circuit "Neptune Circuit" for the time being.

Probably a South Africa Grand Prix and a Russian Grand Prix as well. Maybe a few more.

For my news I had the first Grote Prijs van Nederland (Dutch Grand Prix) scheduled for 7 August, held at the brand new circuit at Zandvoort.

This would obviously clash with your Japanese Grand Prix. But I could move it to, say, 18 September.
I would move it to mid-August but I think given the slowness of transportation in WW that getting too and from Japan back to Europe would be a big ask in the time available.

Sounds interesting. I'm partial to "Trident circuit" myself.

Quoted

For my news I had the first Grote Prijs van Nederland (Dutch Grand Prix) scheduled for 7 August, held at the brand new circuit at Zandvoort.

This would obviously clash with your Japanese Grand Prix. But I could move it to, say, 18 September.

OTL, the 1949 Dutch Grand Prix was held on July 31 so it won't fall on the same day as the Japanese Grand Prix.

Quoted

I would move it to mid-August but I think given the slowness of transportation in WW that getting too and from Japan back to Europe would be a big ask in the time available.

Nothing a fleet of G10N1-Ls can't handle. Moving stuff through the air swiftly and with style.

Transportation is probably doable. Adjusting to the different timezone is probably more challenging for all those involved, especially considering the dangers of racing in those days.

Quoted

Sounds interesting. I'm partial to "Trident circuit" myself.

I just picked a name for the list of races. To me, 'Trident' would be a great name for a challenging corner or chicane but in the end, the actual name for the track is up to you.

Quoted from "Rooijen10"

OTL, the 1949 Dutch Grand Prix was held on July 31 so it won't fall on the same day as the Japanese Grand Prix.

In that case I'll go with that date.

I guess to make this work we also need a list of drivers and teams for the non-OTL entrants.

February 11, 1949
Today, the head of Team Toyota Racing, Mitsuno Tojiro, announced the driver lineup for the 1949 World Championship for Drivers Season to the press as well as present their cars.

B. Bira (34)

Full Name: Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh
Nationality:
Date of Birth: July 15, 1914
Place of Birth: Grand Palace, Bangkok, Siam



Louis Rosier (43)

Full Name: Louis Rosier
Nationality:
Date of Birth: November 5, 1905
Place of Birth: Chapdes-Beaufort (Puy-de-Dôme), France



Peter Whitehead (34)

Full Name: Peter Nield Whitehead
Nationality:
Date of Birth: November 12, 1914
Place of Birth: Menston, Yorkshire, England



Peter Whitehead is still recovering from injuries he sustained in a plane crash at Croydon Aerodrome last year but is expected to be cleared before the first race of the 1949 World Championship for Drivers Season.

Mitsuno Tojiro had a meeting with Juan Manuel Fangio as well, although Fangio turned down the offer to race for Team Toyota Racing. Fangio did keep the door open, stating that if Toyota could prove that their TFO-I was the better car, he would consider joining the team in 1950.

(OOC: a big thank you to Hood for allowing me to use Whitehead and Brock for allowing me to use a French driver as well as Bira (due to the lack of a player for Siam))

February 24, 1949
After many sleepless nights and many redesigns by the ship designers, a new version of the battleship Harima was laid down today. Compared with the original design, the ship lost over 85 percent of its original displacement in order for it to be built on existing slips.

March 2, 1949
As the night sky in the east began to slowly become lighter, Commander Nambu Nobukiyo ordered the crew of his submarine to go down and prepare to dive. Before he went down himself, Nobukiyo looked up at the star-filled sky. It would be quite a while before he and his crew would see it again once the I-316 had submerged.

Nobukiyo was actually quite eager to head West and terrorize Chinese shipping with their presence, but unfortunately for him and fortunately for the Chinese, the orders he had received were to perform patrols in the Pacific so the current course took I-316 South-Southeast to Okinotorishima after which it would continue the first part of its journey Southeast towards Guam and then Eastward to Kwajalein.


March 6, 1949
The battleship Harima was cancelled again today. After many hours of recalculations, the construction planners found out that the materials reserved for the original Harima have been assigned to other projects due to the cancellation of that design and none are available for the new version.


March 16, 1949
Birabongse Bira, Louis Rosier and Peter Whitehead performed various tests with the Toyota TFO-I at Fuji Race Park today. Both Bira and Rosier had been training with the TFO-I during the last few weeks, but today was the first time that all three Toyota drivers were active on the track during a training session.

Peter Whitehead took it slowly at the beginning as it was the first time he drove a race car since being injured in last year's plane crash but gradually felt confident enough to start pushing the Toyota faster and faster. All three drivers are very positive about the TFO-I, its speed and its handling.

March 25, 1949
Troops of the Special Operations Brigade were training hard, preparing for special operations that would take place a bit more than a month from now. The cargo ramp of the G10N1-L transport plane was lowered, revealing the Kyushu landscape below.

Major Kawasaki looked down through the opening. "General! Do you think this is a good idea?" he shouted over the noise of the plane which had become more prominent with the opening of the big ramp.

"Of course it is a good idea!" Brigade General Kimi Killgore shouted back. "If Kimi says it is a good idea then it is a good idea!"

Kawasaki signaled troops to unfasten the Type 3 tank and then start pushing it and the platform it is on over the rollers to the back of the plane. As the weight of the 10 ton tank shifted to the back of the plane, the tail sank and the nose pitched up. This resulted in the tank sliding backwards and out of the grips of the troops. Out of control, the shifting mass caused the plane to pitch up even more with everyone grabbing hold of something to keep on their feet.

"There she goes!" Kimi shouted with joy and started to laugh like a maniac while watching how gravity did the job for the troops.

The tank slid out of the back of the plane and just missing the tail as the nose suddenly dips downwards with the sudden loss of the 10 tons at the back. The flight crew had to work quite a bit but managed to keep the plane under control.

"... Kimi thinks that that could be refined a bit more..." Kimi mumbled.

Kawasaki looked out of the plane and followed the process of the tank on its way down. "General!" he then called out to Kimi, who was moving towards him to observe the progress as well.

"Yes!" she replied as she fastened the hook of her safety harness next to the point where Kawasaki had secured himself.

"Do you think it might have been better if we had added a few parachutes to the tank to slow its descend?"

"Ahh... uhm... maybe?"

Kimi and Kawasaki watched as far below them, the tank became one with the Kyushu landscape with a big puff of dust and smoke.

"General, I think that Prime Minister Tojo will be very cross with us if he finds out."




April 3, 1949
Today the San Remo Grand Prix took place. Team Toyota Racing took part of this non-championship Grand Prix as a final rehearsal for the start of the 1949 Season of the World Championship for Drivers on April 24.

The results were mixed. Italian driver Discoride Lanza managed to park his Maserati in the back of Rosier's Toyota and take the Frenchman and himself out of the race during lap 25 of the first heat.

Peter Whitehead, in his first race since last year's plane crash, was sixth after the first heat but engine problems forced him out of the race at lap 6 of the second heat.

Bira had an excellent Grand Prix which gave a glimpse as to what the Toyota was capable of. Starting first on the grid, he finished 9.6 seconds after Fangio in the first heat and 25.8 seconds after Fangio in the second heat. He also produced the fastest lap with 1 minute and 56 seconds.