´I'm BAAAAACK! That being said, I might have to disappear again for an extended time in a month or two, but for the moment I'm at your disposal.
Chapter 344
The Canadian Prime Minister stood behind the microphones that had been placed in the ballroom of a Toronto Hotel. The men before him were not MPs but rather businessmen. It irked him that he had to hold this speech at all and behind what was essentially closed doors but there was little he could do about it.
So without further ado he began to speak.
“My fellow Canadians.
Five years ago misguided members of our society and citizens of this great Dominion rose in arms against their fellows. Four years ago we answered the call from our relatives across the sea and joined a war that is righteous and just.
One year ago another enemy of freedom and democracy joined the ranks of our enemies and added yet another burden to all those already heaped upon those standing shoulder to shoulder in that cause for which we are fighting.
During this time we have seen great defeats and even greater triumphs, but for all that we have suffered, much has been accomplished.
The Royal Canadian Navy is battling the U-Boat menace in the North Atlantic even as we speak, Her Majesty's Canadian Ships Vimy Ridge and Bonaventure are facing the might of the Japanese Fleet in the pacific. The Royal Canadian Corps of Marines is spearheading the assault into South-East Asia. The First Canadian Army, together with our Australian, New Zealand and Romanian Allies is defending that country from constant Soviet attack.”
“Our factories produce materials of war that our soldiers at the front and our allies so desperately need. Tanks, aeroplanes, ships, artillery, engines, munitions, bombs, electric machines and thousands of other times pour from our factories and are carried by Canadian ships to wherever they are needed, guarded all the while by Canadian ships and that of our allies.
Why are we doing this some ask. We are doing this because all too many of our friends are either under constant attack or must see their homelands under the dark veil of tyranny. Even if they do not, some do not have the means to produce what they need.
The Republic of Poland.
The Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The Kingdom of Belgium.
The French Republic.
The Republic of Ireland.
The Commonwealth of Australia.
The Dominion of New Zealand.
And yes, even the British Empire herself.
They need what we can produce in safety. They need these goods even more than our gallant fighting men already at the front.
But the men and women in our factories are just as important as to our war effort and victory as the men at the front.”
“There are those who claim that this government is sending Canadian wealth broad without getting anything in return.
Clearly this is false as the security of Canada is not only defended here at home but also abroad, wherever Allied soldiers are fighting by land, sea and air. For those at home, in the fields, the mines, the steel mills, the factories I say that this work is at least as important.
Canada is more than a proud member of the Allied Pact, the Commonwealth of Nations and the Communities of Democracies standing together against darkness. Oh no.
Canada is a nation that has the moral and civic duty to aid those in need with all that of our wealth and might that can be brought to bear towards this great and noble undertaking upon which we are engaged, for we are more than a nation, for we are the Great Arsenal of Democracy.”
~**---**~
“Squadron Leader Fisher, Royal Australian Air Force. Welcome to Australia, Sir.”
He shook the other officer's hand.
“Edgar Schmued, Avro Canada.”
He patted the sweat from his hand and wondered why the company had insisted that he accompany the first shipment of Mustangs for the Australians, and he hated ships! But there was little he could do, and at least he had had the time to work on what he hoped would end up being an improved version of the current plane, and admittedly, the Panama Canal was an engineering achievement that he would not forget soon.
The factory had been very impressive too, or rather it would be. Co-owned by the Commonwealth Aircraft Factory and Avro Canada it would produce future examples. Looking at a map he could see why the Australians were so interested in that range. If they could produce the Mustang in numbers then they would be able to escort raids to...well, very far away. The range of the Mustang under combat conditions hadn't really been tested but with droptanks they had tested the range in northern Canada and if those figures, kept secret until it was confirmed out here promised to turn around the last vestige of the Bomber barons, a plane with the performance of a fighter but the range of a heavy bomber.
What had prevented the British from ordering any for service in Europe came from several things, one that the availability of Spitfires in increasing numbers made adopting a wholly new aircraft pointless, the range of the Mustang was not an issue as forward bases sometimes mere miles behind the front were readily available and the armament of six .50 calibre Browning Machine guns was considered too weak.
There had been efforts to fit four 20mm cannons to the plane, but the bottleneck in availability had put paid to that idea. Out here six fifties were enough and range was of primary importance. Other changes had been the re-design of the engine cowling to fit the Merlin better and most importantly the adaptation of the same hood that was also fitted to the Spitfire in order to ease the load on the few Canadian companies that made those implements.
The planes in the crates and that the men were already putting together were in natural metal, painted with generic markings to disguise them, though for what reason was beyond him.
He knew that one of the rumours was that they were testing a new Naval Fighter for the British Carriers, but he doubted that anyone would buy it.[1]
No.110 RAAF Operational Conversion Unit would have it's hands full with the Mustang as it were. Until two days ago the Squadron had been known as No.110 Squadron RAAF and flown clapped out old Boomerangs for the aerial defence of Adelaide and the surrounding countryside, the most back-end job that could be had on the fifth continent.
Why on earth someone had decided that this was the right unit to be given an aircraft that was at least a generation behind what they'd had previously was beyond him also but it was none of his concern. He was here for...some reason and until he was told to return to Canada he would sit here and observe how his latest product fared in the tropics.
He was about to ask Fisher how the assembly was going when he heard the unmistakable sound of a Merlin Engine catching and then going into a full-throated roar.
“You managed to assemble one already?” Schmued asked, “When I left for the hotel last night your mechanics hadn't even unloaded all the crates.”
Fisher smiled. “You see, we had a little wager going on between two of the hangars and it appears that one of them won. Should we look if they used all the parts?”
“Well, from the sound of it they managed to assemble the engine and the fuel feed system properly at least.”
When coming around a corner they were treated to the magnificent sight of a Mustang, standing still where it was but with the engine running as fast as it could without overcoming the breaks and the blocks on the wheels.
Fisher admired what he saw for a few moments and then said without turning away: “You know, I almost pity the Japanese.”
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Comments, questions, rotten Tomatoes?
Short and disconnected, but more meant to get myself back into a writing mood.
[1] For a short time I was tempted to ret-con the Mustang in as a Carrier plane. The tests the American did test the Mustang for their Carriers were successful but between safety concerns (apparently the Mustang is rather temperamental when you fly in a Carrier approach profile) and the availability of strips on Iwo Jima and elsewhere killed the project.