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Yes, that's what I am going for.

My idea on that is a Beaufighter or a Mossie with a large-ish Automatic AT gun in the nose, kinda like the Henschel Hs 129.

I say the Mosquito has the better characteristics for this kind of activity, and would recommend using FBW ATGM technology on the aircraft, with the main gun armament being the HS 404, then progressing to copies of the Mauser MG 213; probably culminating in an analogue of the ADEN cannon or the M39.
 
Well, find something lighter than the Mosquito FB Mk XVIII with the 57 mm gun, please :p

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=ES&hl=es&v=IZ-a8U1QWUw

6 pdr - what a wimpy main gun

From the Mosquito wiki

"Despite the preference for rockets, a further development of the idea was carried out using the even larger 32-pounder, a gun based on the QF 3.7 inch AA gun designed for tank use, the airborne version using a novel form of muzzle brake. Developed to prove the feasibility of using such a large weapon in the Mosquito, this installation was not completed until after the war when it was flown and fired in a single aircraft without problems before being scrapped. "

Yes - thats a 95 mm!

Take that JSIII !
 
6 pdr - what a wimpy main gun

From the Mosquito wiki

"Despite the preference for rockets, a further development of the idea was carried out using the even larger 32-pounder, a gun based on the QF 3.7 inch AA gun designed for tank use, the airborne version using a novel form of muzzle brake. Developed to prove the feasibility of using such a large weapon in the Mosquito, this installation was not completed until after the war when it was flown and fired in a single aircraft without problems before being scrapped. "

Yes - thats a 95 mm!

Take that JSIII !


Yikes. :wacko:

Anyway, as you might know I am a bit of a gun fetishist, prefering them over rockets and stand-off weapons wherever possible, so expect to see a Mossie or something similar with a BFG mounted.
 
Chapter 206

8th March 1942

German Airspace, south of Hamburg




War in Asia, stalemate in Italy, nothing deterred the British from their goal. The Luftwaffe pilots that flew with the 'Reichsverteidigung' or Defence of the Reich had no mind for that, all they had to do was to defend against the British and Allied Bombers that penetrated into German and occupied airspace almost daily. Whenever the British came the German Fighters of Luftflotte 1-3 and the 5th and 9th Red Air Force Air Armies had to fight not only through the screen of Spitfires and Typhoons (if the targets were in occupied Europe or western Germany) and in rarer cases when they bombed targets like ball-bearing factories in central Germany, large numbers of Mosquito fighters.

The numbers of Airfleets were deceiving, because for example Luftflotte 1 had three Geschwader (Groups), two day and one night interception, while the Soviets had only two apiece. The British on the other hand were forced to make do with a smaller number of Bombers than expected, the other fronts of the war were just soaking too many resources away.

Hans-Joachim Marseille was leading a Squadron from JG 52 on the hunt for a group of Halifaxes that had taken part in a raid on the Kraft-durch-Freude factories north of the city that had the same name. He had led them against the main group earlier on and now his 190s were attacking again. Thanks to the RDF guidance from the Freya sets he was again vectored on the British.

Their bombers had the weakness that they had no belly turrets, but the British had taken to station a large number of their escort fighters to the side and after bombing also under them, so in spite of the turrets on the back it was the best to attack from ahead and above. I/JG52 therefore dove at the British from that position and Marseille was in range soon enough. He was an expert marksman, but here nothing of his skill was needed. He placed his gunsight on the cockpit section and pressed the trigger. He was flying a A-3 version, so he had four 7.92mm MG17s and two 20mm MG151. By default he had the 20mms selected when fighting bombers and these now spat shells that walked over the bomber. The first four were spot on and turned the cockpit into a charnelhouse of death and blood, and hole after hole after hole appeared. He held the trigger for no more than six seconds, and it was enough. Both pilots were dead and the controls shot to tiny bits with the appropriate results. Marseille raced through the formation and found himself faced with a formation of sixteen Mosquitoes that were only now splitting up to attack the Germans. He levelled out his plane and fired again. The bullets slammed into the left engine and set it aflame along with most of the wing. Marseille still missed his old 109, but the punch this one packed was something he liked, and as a result of the the Yellow 14 had scored yet again. He looked around and banked left just as a Mosquito was trying to get a line on him. He put his engine to full power and flew upwards as fast as his plane would go. He ignored the gunfire that came from the rear turrets of one of the bombers as he performed an almost perfect Immelmann turn. Marseille balanced out his fighter and pumped some more ammunition into a bomber before he decided to break it off due to lack of fuel.

Even so the air defence systems in Western Europe were stronger than one might expect from a quick look. The day fighter force was smaller, but so was Bomber Command, even with all the Commonwealth and Allied Squadrons added together the bomber force barely numbered seven hundred, and that included roughly a hundred training and other obsolete planes. Resulting from this was that even the low numbers of Axis Fighters that were not fighting the Air War in the Mediterranean Area were adequate to defend against the smaller number of Allied bombers. In daylight the system was not that different from the British one, only that the Germans lacked a central Fighter-Command type information centre and instead relied on their Airfleets to do the job. The Kammhuber line was nit easily adapted to day fighting, but the same RDF stations that did the job when it was dark also worked when it was not and gave the Axis forces a similar amount of early warning as the British had enjoyed during the Battle of Britain even though Axis RDF systems would never be as capable as their counterparts. The Allied bombing campaign would never defeat Germany on it's own, never mind the Soviet Union that was simply out of range of these early-war bombers, but it did drain resources away from the front by forcing the Germans to keep a large number of ackack guns in all calibres away from the front, forced them to keep fighters and pilots back from Italy where they could be used against the increasing strength of the Allies and gave the occupied nations of Europe one thing: Hope. After the war a young Jewish girl who had spent most of the war hidden behind a filing cabinet in the rear house of what had been her father's company would say that whenever she heard the roar of the Merlin and Hercules engines overhead she felt hope and knew that the Germans were getting what was coming to them.[1]


San Francisco, Marxist Union of Pacifica, UAPR


The Radio broadcast from Radio Washington was blaring out of the loudspeakers at maximum volume. The recruits belonging to the 1st Infantry Division of the American People's Army who prepared to deploy into the Pacific Theatre. The plan was to intervene in the Phillipines and both kick the Japanese out again and force McArthur from his seat, thereby gaining bases from which the Battle could be carried to China and Japan itself. The informal understanding with the British (The Central Committee refused to call it a Gentlemen's Agreement) had allowed the APN to strip the Atlantic of ships and so the American Pacific Fleet was back up to full strength now, the ships reprovisioning here and in San Diego since Pearl Harbour was out of action after the Japanese had damaged the fuel feeding systems for the capital ships. Decision processes in Washington were cumbersome, or at least had been but now that the War Emergency legislation had passed through the house (Thereby eliminating the last remnants of Democracy) and now the Central Committee had decided that the Volunteer Principle was not enough and had widened the draft to include every able-bodied male and, in rear area combat support role even women were accepted if they volunteered. The West Coast was a massive military training camp and only the fact that the UAPR had been on a reduced war footing since 1939 and the APR had already been relatively large, this allowed the Americans to assemble four Divisions almost instantly. Transport Capacity was harder to come by what with the slaughtering of much of the American Merchant Navy either by war or by ships defecting to the various countries they had been moored in. Still, weeks of scratching everything together had allowed them to assemble enough transports in working condition to move two Divisions to the Phillipines with the entire Pacific Fleet as escort. At least that had been the plan. Now however Wake Island and Midway had fallen to twin assaults and the Phillipine expedition scrapped even though the general idea would float around Foggy Bottom for years to come. Right now the soldiers of the 1st Infantry were listening to the filtered news of how the evil Imperialist Japanese were fighting against the also Imperialist but honourable British in Burma and how the Government wanted the British to win in order to facilitate the liberation of their colonies because unlike the Japanese the British could be reasoned with and since they were true capitalists they could be bought over if it was in their interest.

Private third Class Jack Harold Martin was still homesick since he had never been away from Providence in the Iowa District, but that was the case with most of his buddies in the Army. While he listened to the broadcast he was lining up with the rest of the Division in a long hall with an incredibly high ceiling to be issued with new Equipment to replace his elderly issue from bootcamp and specialized Pacifican things.

“One M1 Steel Helmet, one M1 Semi-Automatic Rifle, one pair of boots, one example of webbing...”[2]

It went on and on and after almost five minutes Martin was weighed down with a lot of equipment, thankfully he had been stripped of his old stuff earlier. All the way down the hall men were doing the same at a long, long line of tables while another one was on the other side where the men had to hand in their equipment piece by piece and each at another table, just like he had gotten the new things. Like most of them he had never fired a single round with the new Rifle even though they had been instructed on maintenance and handling earlier on, and was also not familiar with most of his other Equipment.

What seemed like hours later he was idling about with the rest of the Division on a large, open field and was waiting for
transport. He could see over the bay and the charred remains of the Golden Gate Bridge that still had not been removed even though access was restricted. In the bay ship after ship was being loaded with soldiers and moved off, probably towards an assembly area for a convoy to Hawaii which was acting as the staging ground for the eventual attacks on Japan. San Francisco, like Hawaii had been all but taken over by the Military and would continue to be so for the duration and were would see millions of men, tanks, ships and guns going through.


Cabinet Bunker, London

The Prime Minister and his highest Military leaders were doing what they had been doing since the war had started, conducting their by-monthly secret meeting during which the various secret military projects that were meant to win the war or at the very least help winning it at a reduced expense. All of the Service Chiefs were present and all of them had presented one or another utterly ridiculous scheme that would utterly destroy the enemy. For Example Grand Admiral Pound had just reviewed the idea of building a gigantic Aircraft Carrier out of nothing less than Ice. The Prime Minister, acting as Minister of Defence had remarked a carrier made out of water that was brought into the desired form simply by virtue of it being cold would work exceptionally well in the Pacific, and moved on. Up next was film footage of the tests of Wallis' pet project and Churchill had been very much impressed, and funding for 'Project Firedart' was tripled on the spot and production approved. Then the talk grew more and more secret, so secret that the men almost whispered even though the room was daily swept for bugs as a matter of cause.

The Prime Minister lit a Cigar and leaned forward.
“So what about Torchwood?”
The Programme was under the supervision of the RAF, so Dowding answered.
“Professor Einstein sent his latest report with the courier six days ago, Sir. They have much of the facilities up and running by now and are proceeding as planned.”
Of those present in the room only Churchill and Dowding were fully aware of just how large and expansive Torchwood was, even the codename was new.
“I should hope so.” said the PM. “I get nightmares when I think how many tanks and ships we could build with the money and resources sunk into this project. And for what? A theoretical science and a mystical weapon of immense destructive power.”
Churchill sighed and went on: “I can remember the times when the same was said about the heavy Bomber, and that didn't exactly work out as planned either.”
“Do you think this might develop into another Douhetian theory, Prime Minister?”
“I don't believe so.” The PM shook his head. “No I don't believe so at all – after all, the basics have been proven. From what I have heard from the Professors before they left for Africa the main reason for the Complex and the Torchwood programme was that the theories need to be weaponized. So if this weapon is really possible then we must be the first to possess it, Gentlemen, we must.” He paused and smoked his cigar for a few moments. “Imagine the Germans or the Soviets with it...”
This horrible possibility was contemplated by the military leaders of the Empire for a few minutes – each had their own nightmares about this weapon and everyone knew that the Germans and the Soviets had their own gifted Physicists and it was known that the Germans at the very least had a programme of their own. MI6 was unsure about just how large or focused it was, given that many of the pre-war networks in Europe had been destroyed and couldn't be fully rebuilt during wartime, but there were some sources left. Signal Intelligence was only one of them no matter what Bletchley Park might think and the British were to some extent aware of the whereabouts and acts of Professor Heisenberg and his group, and the great fear was that the Germans would merge their efforts with that of the Soviets, and the Axis powers with this sort of weapon in their hands was the nightmare.
The PM decided that a change of subject was needed.

“So Marshal, what does the Imperial General Staff propose to do to break the deadlock in Italy?”

“We have our ideas.” Gort rose and began to pace up and down the room in front of the other Service Chiefs.
“I am going by memory because the plans are so secret I myself have given orders that no piece of paper must leave the IGS headquarters.” He cleared his throat and stopped pacing. After turning around he said:

“Gentlemen, I present you Operation Jubilee, nothing less than the complete destruction of all Axis forces in Northern Italy.”


[Notes: This is the bit I started on Sunday but couldn't get done until today, even though I wrote bits and pieces here and there. It's far from the best for the most part, so sorry. As it happens as I was writing the bit with Torchwood I had Episode 2x02 “Tooth and Claw” running in the background.
dalek1.gif
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[1] *salutes in tribute*

[2] It's called M1, but is slightly different from the Garrand we know. For one it uses the .30-03 Springfield round, and the receiver is slightly different due to that. The man the rifle was named after in OTL was unceremoniously booted out of the country when the Communists took over the arsenal, leaving the designs for the M1 behind.
 
Jubilee?

I hope you can redeem that name :D

Hans-Joachim Marseille was leading a Squadron from JG 52 on the hunt for a group of Halifaxes

Lovely pun... :p
 
I still think Africa is a ridiculously bad place for an atomic project, all it does is loading up the project with masses of extra costs to build an infrastructure that just doesn't exist. I recall hydro dams being mentioned, that's 5+ years work per dam from breaking ground to actually getting power out and your not going to do much without power.

That said (hopefully) Torchwood is going plutonium bomb only so shouldn't need too much power, but the same problem applies; You don't just have to build an item, you have to build the infrastructure so you can get the plant in place to build something.

This may seem a bit negative, for which I apologise, it's just these sort of logistic problems crop up at work and seeing them waved away is annoying (mainly because I wish I could just wave them away in my job. :D )
 
Well, normally I would have placed the programme somewhere in Australia or the UK, but these are not feasable for two reasons, and admittedly there is some handwaving involved here :)(), and that is:

- The programme was planned to move there from a bit after Ian and Felix visited because by then it was clear that the existing facilities would soon no longer be up to the task, so this has been in the works for some years.

- Parts of the Infrastructure is part of a development programme that was begun sometime in the mid 1930s, so please pretend that some of it was under construction even before this AAR started.

- India was seen as far too close for comfort to Japanese-allied China.

- In Australia there would have been similar problems, at least to my knowledge, never mind that some people (mainly me to be honest) felt that this would have uneccesarily increased the number of people who know of the project. That said, later on this technology might be shared with the Commonwealth countries. Imagine Oz or Canada with Nukes! :eek:



Also, Torchwood is indeed going for a Plutonium design. I did some research, and if I have understood all that correctly a plutonium-fuelled implosion design is the easiest way. It won't be easy to make even so, but if all available resources are poured into making that work, then I should be able to build one or two warheads by the time the Yanks managed in OTL. All the other designs are something for after the war or at least until after a production line for the Plutonium weapons is established. Of course due to the location of my project that might mean that my Nuclear Lancs (stripped of everything but the pilots, the bombardier and the rear gunner and with engines souped up and supercharged to the maximum without considerations of engine life) might have to launch from somewhere in Southern Italy.... :D

The pre-AAR history needs a serious re-vamp, but bear in mind that in the 1930s Britain made some serious protectionist choices that were almost Imperial preference and due to that the British economy managed to recover faster from the depression (which wasn't as bad to begin with) and the disappearance of the American markets than much of Europe, giving them a slightly, almost marginally better position for the war and all that it entails. The much reduced U-Boat threat and the addition of the French Navy to the Allied fleets does its own to keep the merchies in the Atlantic running. Just how much I must still figure out, but a WAG is that it would be paradise on earth when compared to 1943. Remember, the Germans suspended all surface construction and stopped all U-Boat building beyond replacement of losses. Britannia rules the waves.
 
There won't be another update until the end of next week, but me being me I can't stand not working on AAO, so in my two daily half-hour breaks I will work on something else:

A comprehensive dictionary of words and procedures that have different names/are different from OTL, for example RDF instead of RADAR, Torchwood Institute instead of Manhatten District and so on.
 
Interesting idea, indeed.

Do some PrusiAAring, too, if possible :D;)
 
AAO Dictionary


I will add to this as stuff comes in, including alternate slang terms and sentences.


As I stated a few times before, I try to keep the names and terms of technology as unaltered as possible, but some stuff simply added itself so to speak. Arranged by letters. Admittedly I found a new source of WW2 slang terms that I was not aware of. Also, I don't like developing such new terms on purpose because I have found in the past that if I do they sound forced so almost everything in here has been created by accident or without me noticing.


A

Axies = Slang term for any and all Axis forces.

Axis Powers/The Enemy = Usual suspects + USSR and Czechoslovakia, and as of late without Italy. Also includes an essentially powerless French puppet regime that is only there for propaganda without administering anything.

Allies/The Allies/Allied Forces = What would be the western Allies in OTL minus still neutral Greece, Denmark and Norway.

ASDIC = Like with RDF the lack of American impact on official technical parlance in the English language makes this the AAO replacement for the word sonar.

B

C

D

E

European Front = self explanatory.

F

Far Eastern War = Front against Japan + Allies.

G

H

Heavy Tank = Infantry Support tank, in concept similar to an Axis STUG or assault Gun. Mainly used for Infantry Support.

I

Infiltrator = Fighter Bomber of any form.

J

Jubilee, Operation = The proposed plan to boot the Axis out of Italy.

K

L

M

Market Garden, Operation = The Allied Invasion of Europe through Italy.

Machine Carbine/MC = Machine Pistol, term developed or rather will develop through the Sten.

N

O

P

Parachute Infantry = Airborne Forces. Self explanatory I think, even though the actual OOB of a British-pattern Parachute Division is pretty much like the one with which the Allies used them in Normandy, thanks to German and allied Experiences in 1940.

Q

R

RDF = Plain old Radar.

Radio = Your ordinary receiving only Radio set.

S

Standing Air Patrol = Just like CAP, usually conducted with at least one section, never below that if it can be helped.

T

Torchwood Institute = Allied Nuclear Programme under British Supervision and Administration. NOT founded by Queen Victoria or any other past or 'present' member of the Royal Family, even though the Charter was signed by the King.

U

V

W

Wireless (set) = Radio for two-way communications.

WTing or 'Teed' = radioing for something or merely talking via radio, two way.

X

Y

Z
 
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As always suggestions, critique and (polite) demands are welcome. Any terms I missed/you miss or simply you want to know what they are called ITTL?
 
Hi

Testing, testing testing.

I've been lucking for several months and enjoying the read but unable to actually respond as no matter what I tried I got told I wasn't able to reply. Then checking today there's a quick reply box at the bottom of the page so hopefully I'm in. :D

Not an actual player of the game myself. Actually got a copy but never got the time to learn it. Looks interesting although having read El Pip's Furious Vengence AAR I can see a few diverges from reality. ;)

Meet Trekaddict on an alternative history board I'm an addict of and make the mistake of following the link to AAO and the rest is history. :D

Steve
 
Hi

Testing, testing testing.

I've been lucking for several months and enjoying the read but unable to actually respond as no matter what I tried I got told I wasn't able to reply. Then checking today there's a quick reply box at the bottom of the page so hopefully I'm in. :D

Not an actual player of the game myself. Actually got a copy but never got the time to learn it. Looks interesting although having read El Pip's Furious Vengence AAR I can see a few diverges from reality. ;)

Meet Trekaddict on an alternative history board I'm an addict of and make the mistake of following the link to AAO and the rest is history. :D

Steve

Glad to see it works now. :D
 
HA! Ha ha ha ha!!

I did it. 206 chapters in however long it took (ages) but now I'm all caught up. Just some notes

Felix lives!!! Brilliant! I did not see that coming at all until that chapter.

Drake = awesome. Some Call of Duty inspired updates with him? In one chapter I got the impression 12 patrol (?) was like a WW2 Rainbow Six... Italy, Canada, Dutch Royal Family... cool.

Gunner Milligan :D. I'm just reading his war diaries again now, very funny man.

And was I the only one to the the War of the Worlds 'Thunderchild' bit? Imposing itself between the Japs and the freighters and being lost with all hands?



All in all, I'm glad I did go from the start. Its excellent. Can't wait to see how/what Torchwood is. And any hope the Hood will be sent East? ;)
 
As it happens.... I have another one of the bits and pieces updates (so much for a hiatus :eek:o) almost ready, so with luck... Anyhow, Hood is revealed soon.

Anyway the Thunderchild scene is an adaptation of the scene from "War of the Worlds", and she will not be the last Thunderchild. HG Wells was a pacifist, but I could still see him realizing that the Axis powers are the biggest evil that has ever walked the earth and be present when the Admiralty invites him when the next Thunderchild is commissioned, probably an Implacable Class CV. I've already given up resisting that idea. Torchwood = Nuclear programme btw. As can be read in the Dicitonary. (I should turn that into required reading. ;))


EDIT: Having decided differently one of the few post-war Battleships built for the RN will be Thunderchild.
 
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