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That plane is the Hawker Sea Fury, of Bay of Pigs (in-)fame.

And burn the flag? Why, because I also have the Union Flag, the Canadian flag and the RAF Ensign.

It's mostly just the combination of the St George with the Union Jack. It just sets off a small reaction due to it's similarity to a flag pattern very much used in Norn Iron. It just lacks the Red Hand
 
Well, it is the White Ensign. Nelson flew it at Trafalgar, the Royal Navy has flown it since.
 
Jesus that is a dusty desk :D
 
Oh no, it's not that dusty, it's just a rather old desk and the wood hasn't aged too terribly well.
 
And burn the flag? Why, because I also have the Union Flag, the Canadian flag and the RAF Ensign.

Where's the Maple Leaf hanging? :p

Oh no, it's not that dusty, it's just a rather old desk and the wood hasn't aged too terribly well.

Whew! Because I looked at the picture and thought, 'Jeez, he needs to wipe that down, or get a vacuum up there or something.'
 
The lighting isn't the best either, it looks like it was taken in the early evening instead of at circa eleven in the morning...

[/OT]

The Maple Leaf is hanging in the window.
 
Let's just say I like to believe that all teams should have an even chance that isn't influenced by how filthy rich they are.
 
Then hate on Man City. More money than brains
 
Then I think your anger is misguided... Manchester doesn't really spend that much compared to some other heavyweights. And it is rich because it's great, not the other way around, like City or Chelsea. Picking out Man Utd. seems quite weird.
 
No offense but I think you guys are maybe getting into this off-topic argument more than is necessary. I'm sure there's a thread or forum where you guys can discuss the ups and downs of Manchester United, but it doesn't exactly have a bearing on AAO.
 
No offense but I think you guys are maybe getting into this off-topic argument more than is necessary. I'm sure there's a thread or forum where you guys can discuss the ups and downs of Manchester United, but it doesn't exactly have a bearing on AAO.

That's true, but think about it: it's a Brit-wank, which means there has to be football involved. And when you talk about FA, Man U or some other big-names inevitably comes up.

Which reminded me of a question: is there gonna be some sort of UEFA Champions League-analogue for the Empire? Imagine: Manchester United vs. New Delhi F.C. for the Imperial Cup at Hong Kong. :D

Marc A
 
This is all very OT.

Now, to stop this I will make myself clear if you don't mind. :)

ManU: It's not very rational, but that's how I feel. It could be because when I was in a school class I hated (the people there taht is) there was a fad where everyone wore ManU jerseys.

Football in General:

Here my plans are simple. Germany wins in 1954, 1966, 1974 and 1990. (Come on, you'd really think I'd let England have that one? Barbarossa, Bismarck and Frederick the Great would rise from their graves to haunt me.)
England wins in 1970 and 1994, Scotland wins in 1986.

My in reality incomprehensibly abysmal local team ITTL is firmly established in the upper mid field of our own highest league. and yes, there is an Empire Cup.
 
And Canada does our own thing with Hockey, only this time there are no bleeping American cities in the League, thank you very much. The bigger population of the True North Strong and Free means we can have more homegrown teams, so that's good too.
 
Yes, and in fact the Stanley Cup Trophy eventually found its way towards Canada too.
 
Why is it I can see an American cold and shivering getting picked up by Mounties about to be turned back over the border when they then discover he has the trophy on him?

Agent Larkin

It was a post quite a while back and something very like that, although I have the feeling the poor guy was dead when the mounties had found him.:sad: Might have made it out OK. The Mounties weren't going to turn back refugees. ;)

Steve
 
Chapter 345


'Operation Paperclip is probably one of the most mysterious parts of World War Two. While general consensus is that the official account de-classified shortly after ULTRA was is true if not totally complete there are several conspiracy theories surrounding it. One idea is that while it took place British operatives captured and subsequently executed Adolf Hitler for crimes against humanity, another that alien flying saucers and their German-built derivatives were recovered and have since been studied in a secret branch facility of the Torchwood Institute in the Australian desert.[1]

Serious historians however contend themselves with the official account. If one follows it as far as it goes then Operation Paperclip was initiated in May 1943 after the various archives in Vienna that had not been destroyed or evacuated turned out to yield a treasure trove of scientific and military information, including hints at various places in Austria and southern Bavaria where the Axis were hiding everything from looted art over monetary reserves to files and actual prototypes, including the He-178 mockup that is today on exhibit in the Imperial War Museum.

It is unclear when or even if Paperclip ended after the war, but the last known information places the last operation connected to CinC Europe's Headquarters at March 1948. However unclear the ending may have been, Paperclip yielded more information than it's planners could have possibly considered likely if one goes by the original mission brief of 'finding, appropriating and securing any and all such scientific information, objects and persons as can be found'.

The biggest coup of Paperclip's early months however must have been enough to tell those within the SIS, Naval Intelligence and CinC Europe's Headquarters running it that they would be in for trials and tribulations that no self-respecting author would dare to sell as fiction. Much of what has happened is likely still secret under the 100 year rule but even today, with what we know we can tell that what was going on behind, above and below enemy lines and frontlines all over Europe and Asia had a great influence on the war and on the world far beyond it's end.'



“The Scavengers – Operation Paperclip”, Penguin Publishing, London 1999


704221296939885reichsflugscheibe_we.jpg

NOT part of Operation Paperclip.



~**---**~​


Ian, Felix and an escort consisting of members of 4th Battalion, South-Essex Light Infantry in armed Land Rovers[2], followed by two Lorries were about twenty miles south-west of Vienna. The edges of the alps were a nice place to be in spring, war or no war but none of the men had any eye for their surroundings beyond what they had to do to keep from being ambushed. One of the South-Essex Land Rovers led, with Ian and Felix behind them. In the back of their own a soldier with a pistol guarded a frightened, elderly Austrian who had in the dead of night been plucked from the side of his wife and hauled off by grim-faced and heavily armed British soldiers.

The oldest one, clearly their leader, had spoken to him in impeccable German with an accent not from Austria (his wife said that it reminded her a bit of Berlin) and told that since they had discovered that he was the man who was running the city archives in Vienna he had to know, or at least suspect where some of the files the British were interested in were hidden.


For a moment the old man had dithered. There were many who were convinced that Germany would still win the war, and he hoped that they would, so what would happen to him once the Army returned? But at that moment, in the middle of the night and with his own bedroom filled with men armed to the teeth there was little choice, so he had decided that he would have to lead them here. He would not take a risk with his wife in spite of the man's assurances that they would be safe.

The older man had introduced himself as Colonel Smith, though he knew that this wasn't his real name. He spoke only a little English but it was enough that he knew that Smith was as common and generic in England as Schmidt was in Germany.

He had been packed into one of the boxy vehicles the British used and off they went. The place, the one place he knew about was an abandoned railway tunnel that had never been finished before the war had stopped it, and now, somehow the English had heard about it.


“Where next?” the younger of the two Officers, this one a Lieutenant-Colonel if he was to go by how he was talked to, and the old man merely pointed and said:

“The next left I think....”

Before they could reply he felt as if he had to explain..

“I...I was here only once, and now it is still dark and....”


The younger merely shook his head as if to indicate that it was...something, but not his immediate death.

The convoy left the road and the blacked out lights were barely enough to show them where they were going, even now that the sun was rising in the east.

202474_a78872cd-1.jpg

When they stopped half an hour later it was almost fully light and the lamps where non longer needed. He could see that one of the..what did they call them? Land Rovers was staying behind and it and the crew formed some sort of rear guard, while the others stood ready near the entrance.

Said entrance had been sealed off when the railway line supposedly meant for a future railway connection into Switzerland had had construction suspended and only been opened as British Artillery was already falling near the outskirts of Vienna. Inspection of the lock showed that it was strong, but nothing was too strong. Without much hesitation the older Officer drew his pistol and fired three shots into it.

The doors opened obediently.

One of the soldiers kept the old man behind while Ian and Felix followed their escort inside. Both wore standard Battle Dress with a rather non-standard SAS field kit that Felix had managed to source from somewhere so their torches were extra powerful. The tunnel was bored out to a depth of perhaps a mile and fully clad in brickwork and concrete for perhaps two thirds of that and everything as far as they could see was filled to the roof with boxes.

Ian selected one at random and pried it open with a crowbar that one of the Light Infantrymen helpfully supplied.

“Files.” he said and turned the torch to read it.

“Nothing special this, it appears this is part of the birth register.” he said as he filed through the pages.

Felix walked a few yards deeper into the tunnel and then turned.

“Bloody hell, finding what we're looking for will take ruddy ages.”


Ian shrugged and adjusted the Royal Marine Beret on his head.

“I'm still convinced it's here, but we don't have much of a choice.”

Felix agreed. This was the second stash they had found and back at their base, sadly not the Italian Villa Ian still mourned for, twenty other members of Paperclip were sorting through them. There was enough in there to earn dozens a stint in prison under the occupation statutes but what they had been looking for, but it seemed as if the two boxes of files they had been ordered to confirm and if they could do so, find were not here either.

He doubted that if a list of all those suspected in partaking in the Kreisau Circle really existed any copy of it would find it's way to Vienna but his was not to reason why.

“We'll need a few more Lorries.”

“Righto.” Ian replied and decided that it was his turn to call for them. His and Felix' Landy was fitted with a wireless set, so it was not a great effort to summon more transportation.

When he returned, task accomplished, he found Felix pouring over a box of what seemed to be Party Membership lists, though more of the banned ones and as they supervised the loading Felix soon placed the box on a lorry and then turned to Ian.

“Why us?”

Ian was startled and when he didn't answer Felix went on.

“The Camebridge Spy ring. Counter-Espionage. Germany, Italy, the Far East, Germany again and now this. How is it that us two always get landed with the crazy, dangerous jobs?”

Ian grinned. Sandra had asked him the same thing when they had last met and he gave her brother the same answer.

“It is because somewhere, out there in..whatever, heaven, the universe, a Wellian world someone is sitting in a chair, looking at what we have done and experienced since this f*cking war began and thinks it's just all one big adventure for as and good entertainment for him.”


Felix laughed. “And because we are Queen's Officers and do what we are told.”

“Yes, there is that.”

+-+-+-+-+-+-

Comments, questions, rotten tomatoes?

What annoys me is that I lost the writeup on the British Space Programme recently on a dying USB stick...

[1] And here we have TTL's equivalent of the Area 51 myth, including Aliens, flying saucers and what have you. However, any real captured enemy aircraft are likely going to be tested at Boscombe Down. :D

[2] These are basically standard hard-top Series I Landys with the long wheelbase, a hole in the roof and a .50 calibre Browning on a ring. There is also a Bren, each, not only for dismounted troops but also with provisions to remove the left front window and mount it there. This particular model is also fitted with run-flat tires, extra-strong engines and a some, not much but some additional armour. The SAS and Special Forces the world over love them. A winch, a cage (sp?) to protect the frontend and so forth..The ones the group around the dynamic duo uses are painted in standard Army Green but with no unit markings or serial numbers. TTL's WW2 equivalent of black helicopters. And yes, they will feature prominently in the future.