-
Crusader Kings III Available Now!
The realm rejoices as Paradox Interactive announces the launch of Crusader Kings III, the latest entry in the publisher’s grand strategy role-playing game franchise. Advisors may now jockey for positions of influence and adversaries should save their schemes for another day, because on this day Crusader Kings III can be purchased on Steam, the Paradox Store, and other major online retailers.
read your article again. that mod is pretty good. that other one you referred to - is that a mod based on harry turtledove?
Chapter 21
October 7
On the way to the hotel that was suspiciously luxurious for a Government Committee Beaverbrook explained to Dashwood what it was that the committee did. Their job was to find the compromise between what Equipment the Services said they needed and what the Government was willing and able to provide. This was a mixed blessing. While this arrangement produced such magnificent machines like the Supermarine Spitfire or the Lee Enfield Carbine it also produced contraptions like the Carden Lloyed Mk. VI or the Farey Battle that the RAF was currently starting to scrap from its inventory. Luckily Beaverbrook was quite a sharp man and had decided that the RAF was clearly under-represented and had literally besieged the Air Minister to grant him the expansion of the committee. But that still did not explain why they were out here in the middle of nowhere, at an Army Base of all places where he as a passionate Aviator felt definitely out of place. When getting out of the car from the Hotel Beaverbrook said: “ It appears that the boffins have something rather special for us this time. Some sort of Redneck Tank I hear.” That raised some Eyebrows. The Americans hadn't had more than courtesy diplomatic contact with Britain ever since Canada had threatened to intervene in Alaska, a push that had unfortunately been axed by the departing PM Stanley Baldwin, but the Americans still did not trust the British, no matter if it really were bad feelings about the whole alaskan affair or just typical totalitarian paranoia.
After identifying themselves to the guards who seemed more afraid of their superiors catching them being lazy than German or Soviet Spies they left the car and were guided by an Army Lieutenant to an RAF-sized Hangar that seemed oddly out of place on an Army Base. Waiting in front of said hangar where a relatively young scientist clad in a neat suit and four men in Army Uniforms and with tanker berets. Introductions were once again exchanged, something that Dashwood had to get used to apparently. “Gentlemen, this is Major Boothroy, and these are Captain Niemczyk and his tank crew. They are going to demonstrate while Major Boothroy will explain the technical details. Let's start, shall we?” Beaverbrook said.
“Right. Now pay attention, we have fitted a captured Redneck Tank with some rather special modifications. Maybe the Army will buy it as a training tank and a gap-filler until the people over at Leyland can get the bloody thing working.” It was obvious that the Major was obviously a bit rough around the edges and not exactly a fan of Leyland. He started to talk again when the light Tank came rolling out of the hangar and stopped in front of the group. “As you can see it is only a light tank, but when we field tested it after it was shipped over from Canada it proved to be quite fast, considering the small engine. The downside is that the Armour is on the thin side, but again this is off-set by the speed. When we received it it mounted a 37mm gun, but we managed to put in our own two-pounder, which is about as big as it gets in that turret without removing a crewman. The Cadillac Consortium Engines were replaced by a special model of the Leyland Mk. 2 and amazingly enough it is even faster despite the extra armour and heavier gun and shells.” Dashwood inwardly snickered, Boothroy really was one of a kind. “The tank will do both performance and gunnery tests with Captain Niemczyk's crew for you to observe. You will have the possibility of forming your own opinion on the little thing.” He continued to ramble on about speed and B.H.P. Per ton while leading the group away from the hangar.
While the group moved to the observation tower Niemczyk and his men moved the tank to the starting line. The Captain stood up in the cramped turret and tried toobserve the observation tower through the commanders hatch. He swivelled the Bren Gun to the side and when he finally saw the long awaited yellow flag he climbed back in and yelled: “Right, Chaps lets get on with it.” With this the driver kicked in the gear and the tank sped off. The Bovington proving grounds were a realtively small facility, only a few hangars and workshops along with housing for the employees. The most important bit however was the shooting range/test track for the tanks, where both the new tanks were tested and where sometimes units were sent to improve driving skills and tactics. The last one to be here was the still forming 7th Armoured Division, Niemczyk's own unit, only that he and his crew had been ordered to stay for a few extra days to demonstrate the 'tank' for the committee. The Colonel's words had been: “Leftenanat, do you think your squadron can't do without you for a few more days? Your XO is more than capable of leading the lads for that time.” So he was still here, crammed into this contraption on a small base in the middle of nowhere. Little did he know that this little backwater base would grow to become the largest base the British Army had in the home islands, but that was still some time in the future. For now the Captain and his crew were speeding the light tank across the obstacle course for the observers from the Committee to see.
While the tank sped through the obstacle course Boothroy explained the matters to the committee. “The downside of this design is that the Armour is still incredibly thin at places and the body itself creates too many corners. The gun might be for now adequate, but rest assured gentlemen that Jerry will start to build better, heavier tanks soon, especially now that he has allied himself with Ivan. That said, Sirs, I believe that this tank is mainly a stopgap measure or for training. The folks at Leyland have said to me that they are working on designs better than the crusader, but for now nothing has grown beyond the concept status.”
HMNB Scapa Flow
aboard HMS Rodney
October 10, 1938
At the moment Captain Murray absolutely positively hated the Admiral. He had been relieved of Command at a moments notice without reason and been told to report to the shore within an hour, along with Sublieutenant Phillips. Both men had already met and both men were equally annoyed about the whole matter, but theirs was not to reason why, and so they were now in their respective cabins to pack their belongings. On the way up to the deck Murray met Phillips and both men just nodded at each other. Despite only serving together for a few weeks they had already become as much friends as it was possible on one of His Majesties Ships, and no matter what fate would bring them they would stay in touch. On the deck Murray took one last good look at his former command before climbing down into the small boat that took him and Phillips ashore. The boat however did not take them to the Admirals Office at Lynese, but rather to the anchorage were HMS Hood, HMS Repulse and the rest of 1. Battlecruiser Squadron were moored. The puzzlement was evident on Phillips' face too, but he too said nothing until the boat had moored with the jetty a few hundred yards from the stern of HMS Hood. “ Do you have any idea what this lot is all about, Sir?” Phillips asked. “None at all, Subbie. I have no bloody idea what the old man is all about right now.” Murray answered. They were lead by a Able Seaman towards Hood where they were met by the Admiral himself.
The Admiral led them to the Bridge of the mighty Battlecruiser and Murray was for the first time able to take in his surroundings. The Bridge looked different from when he had been aboard back in 1929. It was currently being reworked, as the Admiralty had also made noise about equipping her with an RDF set and improved Comms equipment in general.”So, Captain what are you thinking of your new command?” “Magnificent, Sir. I would have expected pretty much everything, but not the Hood, Sir.” Backhouse grinned inwardly. The fact that the Captain of the Hood had fallen ill was the perfect opportunity to rid himself of this Captain and his Sublieutenant, both of which were way too independent in their thinking to be allowed on his bridge, and he did not need officers that second guessed every descicion behind his back. Giving him Hood of all ships was perhaps too great an honour for the man and his pet dog, but she had been the only ship readily avaiable and the prestige that went with this command might prevent arkward questions later on. Outwardly he asked nonchalantly: “The rebuild is almost complete. The Yard say's she will be ready for sail be the next month. I expect you to have her ready by then.”
[Game effects: Still rushing Armour tech. Unfortunately I forgot to remove or at least rename the American OTL Lend&Lease stuff from the Tech Tree so I had to do some braintwirling to come up with a suitable explanation. For this modified version of the OTL Stuart I used the Stuart 3 as a base and upped the statistics a bit. And the next update will be something I wanted to do for quite some time Scenes from the Iron Curtain! Yay! Who spots the Bond reference without using Google or the rest of the Internet in any way?]
El Pip said:Boothroyd is the reference. Before 'Q' became 'Q' he was introduced as the armourer Boothroyd in the first film.
Dr. No was on the TV a few weeks back.
And the honour goes to El Pip.
wilegfass said:
Hopefully it is better than the last one and generating more feedback.
In any case, I fear it will be a tech update again. After watching the last episode of the eleventh series of Top Gear I just had to write it...
o
Seeing this:
with the music of my favourite ever film in the background is motivation enough.
with the music of my favourite ever film in the background is motivation enough.
i got the reference too! i was just too late in reading it... nice update though. its a shame you didnt get many comments - aars with lots of piccies always do better, but they arent as good really. i'll read the next the second its posted, so help me god...
also, is that plane the fairey battle? it just looks too cool to be that plane. it looks like a spit but that doesnt have two seats to my knowledge
nice update though. its a shame you didnt get many comments - aars with lots of piccies always do better, but they arent as good really. i'll read the next the second its posted, so help me god...also, is that plane the fairey battle? it just looks too cool to be that plane. it looks like a spit but that doesnt have two seats to my knowledge
And you call yourself British? That sir is a twoseater Supermarine Spitfire!BritishImperial said:i got the reference too! i was just too late in reading it...
also, is that plane the fairey battle? it just looks too cool to be that plane. it looks like a spit but that doesnt have two seats to my knowledge
trekaddict said:And you call yourself British? That sir is a twoseater Supermarine Spitfire!
then i should hang my head in shame, though i did say it looks like a spit. since when did they have two seats? its a bloody stupid idea. i'll go and have a cup of tea with the queen to reestablish my britishness.
I KNOW I said that this would be set in Canada, but after seeing some footage of the Spit in flight I just wrote this instead, sorry.
Supermarine Aircraft Company Airfield
October 13th, 1938
Wing Commander Dashwood was back where he belonged. While still working for the committee he had instantly opted for this mission when Beaverbrook had asked, or more like ordered him to do it, as it presented him with the opportunity to fly again, and he had sorely missed that in the last few days. He knew he would probably catch some ack-ack for what he was about to do, but a while back he had promised a good friend to make sure that he still had something to feed his kids with and this was his chance. So here he was, flying a prototype of an aircraft that had awed him with its looks even while on the ground, and promised to be an awesome machine when in flight. Mitchell had briefed him on the supposed capabilities of the plane. “Don't overdo it my friend. This is an untested prototype and we have no idea how she behaves in the air. I don't want to loose my friend and the plane, so keep sharp, will you?” Dashwood was now sitting in the cockpit, familiarizing himself with the controls and dials. While doing so he already spotted the first weak point of the design. The plug with which the throat microphone was plugged into the wireless set would most likely be unplugged if the pilot was forced to manoeuvre and turn his head sharply. Dashwood made a mental point on his checklist and gave the signs to the starter crew that he would start the engine now. When the heavy Rolls-Royce Merlin engine came to life it produced an infernal roar and the whole plane seemed to hum with anticipation, wanting to get into the air, it's natural environment. “Dogtail to tower, request permission for take-off.” “Tower to Dogtail, permission is granted. Godspeed.” Dashwood moved the throttle forward and began to roll over the tarmac of the runway. When he was in position he surveyed the runway through the circle of his two-bladed propeller. Another weak point that needed to be adressed. He started to accelerate down the runway, taking to air with the greatest ease.
Back on the ground Mitchell was holding his breath for the entire length of the runway. Intellectually he knew that nothing should go wrong, but that did not stop him from worrying. When the wheels of the Spitfire lifted off the ground he and his staff who had come to watch yelled with relief and Mitchell thought: 'Take that, Vickers!' He could see Dashwood circling the base, wiggling the wings to greet those on the ground before making his way southwest towards RAF Biggin Hill where the rest of the committee were waiting. He took her up to 8000 feet and once more noticed hwo the two-bladed propeller was impairing the aircraft's performance. Other than that the plane was incredibly fast, and Dashwood had to admire Mitchell's foresight in selecting the powerplant for the Spitfire. He was sorely tempted to test out the dogfighting capabilities but as Mitchell had said there was so far only one prototype and as long as the committee did not approve further funding there would be no second. The flight to RAF Biggin Hill took only a short time, and soon enough he was roaring over central London, not knowing that this sight would become very familiar to the Londoners all too soon. “Biggin Hill Tower, this is Dogtail Flight, request permission to land.”
“Dogtail Flight, this is Biggin Hill, permission granted, and welcome to London. We can't wait to see what you have for us.” This proved to a now slightly annoyed Dashwood that someone had talked and now probably the entire off-duty staff was out to watch. On the other hand... better give them something to watch and impress the people who would fly the plane...
Meanwhile back down on the ground the committee members and indeed most of the bases off-duty staff were waiting anxiously for anything to happen. The first thing they saw, or rather heard was the noise of a Rolls-Royce Merlin II at full military power approaching from the southeast. Everyone's heads shifted in that direction and soon, almost hidden in the flickering of the unusual heat a black-ish dot could be seen. Partially hidden from the onlookers the dot dissapeared form sight again, and only the roar of the engine could be heard until the the Spitfire appeared from behind a tree, flying low and slow, giving everyone the opportunity to admire its form and design. Dashwood wiggled with the wings again before circling around to land. When the Spitfire came to a halt the committee members came forward. Dashwood did not even pretend to be unbiased when he asked: “Now, what do you think of this fine kite?” Beaverbrook, who would most likely have the final word in everything said: “I must say Wing Commander, I can't decide what impressed me more, the plane or your flying.” He chuckeled and continued. “Now, what are the engineers performance figures, and why is he not here today?” “Well, Mr. Beaverbrook,” Dashwood said, “the designer is at the doctors today, a routine checkup to make sure all is well. As for the figures...” Dashwood rattled off the figures he had memorized and added: “But these are just factory calculations, real figures will have to be determined by field testing, in case the committee approves more funding though.” A new voice added itself to the mix. “So Wing Commander, would our boys in the line like it?” Dashwood snapped to attention. The voice belonged to none other than Air Chief Marshal Dowding. “Yes, Sir, quite so.” was all that Dashwood managed. “One or two small changes and this plane will be better than anything Jerry...sorry, the Germans can field.” Dowding nodded and walked around the plane to take a closer look at it. While closely inspectiong the right wingtip he said: “Among those probably that propeller?” Dashwood nodded in the affirmative. “Yes, Sir. The wireless set needs to be moved aswel.” What I also noticed is that the Carburettor is a bit..” he tried to put it in a way that was sutiable for an Air Chief Marshal's ears, “unusual, I think it might cause problems in steep dives.” Dowding nodded. “But I guess that is something for the field tests.” “Yes, Sir.”
Dowding then went over to Beaverbrook and the two men conversed animatedly, and most likely over the Spitfire, where Dashwood was still standing, unsure of what to do. He was however relieved when the Naval member of the committee came over and patted Dashwood's back. “Now, son you did good there. I can remember when the first Sea Lord came to visit the Iron Duke back in '15. Now that was enough to scare a young midshipman out of his boots, believe me.” But real relieve came only when Dowding came back to him, patted him on the back in the same way and said that he would endorse this plane with all his power. On the way back to Whitehall Dashwood tried to make sense of what had happened. Dowding was usually a distant man, but what he had seen today painted a different picture of the Officer who was due to retire in 10 months.
[Game Effects: The spit is almost fully researched and I will put it in production as soon as I can spare the IC. All hail the Supermarine Spitfire!]
Chapter 22
Supermarine Aircraft Company Airfield
October 13th, 1938
Wing Commander Dashwood was back where he belonged. While still working for the committee he had instantly opted for this mission when Beaverbrook had asked, or more like ordered him to do it, as it presented him with the opportunity to fly again, and he had sorely missed that in the last few days. He knew he would probably catch some ack-ack for what he was about to do, but a while back he had promised a good friend to make sure that he still had something to feed his kids with and this was his chance. So here he was, flying a prototype of an aircraft that had awed him with its looks even while on the ground, and promised to be an awesome machine when in flight. Mitchell had briefed him on the supposed capabilities of the plane. “Don't overdo it my friend. This is an untested prototype and we have no idea how she behaves in the air. I don't want to loose my friend and the plane, so keep sharp, will you?” Dashwood was now sitting in the cockpit, familiarizing himself with the controls and dials. While doing so he already spotted the first weak point of the design. The plug with which the throat microphone was plugged into the wireless set would most likely be unplugged if the pilot was forced to manoeuvre and turn his head sharply. Dashwood made a mental point on his checklist and gave the signs to the starter crew that he would start the engine now. When the heavy Rolls-Royce Merlin engine came to life it produced an infernal roar and the whole plane seemed to hum with anticipation, wanting to get into the air, it's natural environment. “Dogtail to tower, request permission for take-off.” “Tower to Dogtail, permission is granted. Godspeed.” Dashwood moved the throttle forward and began to roll over the tarmac of the runway. When he was in position he surveyed the runway through the circle of his two-bladed propeller. Another weak point that needed to be adressed. He started to accelerate down the runway, taking to air with the greatest ease.
Back on the ground Mitchell was holding his breath for the entire length of the runway. Intellectually he knew that nothing should go wrong, but that did not stop him from worrying. When the wheels of the Spitfire lifted off the ground he and his staff who had come to watch yelled with relief and Mitchell thought: 'Take that, Vickers!' He could see Dashwood circling the base, wiggling the wings to greet those on the ground before making his way southwest towards RAF Biggin Hill where the rest of the committee were waiting. He took her up to 8000 feet and once more noticed hwo the two-bladed propeller was impairing the aircraft's performance. Other than that the plane was incredibly fast, and Dashwood had to admire Mitchell's foresight in selecting the powerplant for the Spitfire. He was sorely tempted to test out the dogfighting capabilities but as Mitchell had said there was so far only one prototype and as long as the committee did not approve further funding there would be no second. The flight to RAF Biggin Hill took only a short time, and soon enough he was roaring over central London, not knowing that this sight would become very familiar to the Londoners all too soon. “Biggin Hill Tower, this is Dogtail Flight, request permission to land.”
“Dogtail Flight, this is Biggin Hill, permission granted, and welcome to London. We can't wait to see what you have for us.” This proved to a now slightly annoyed Dashwood that someone had talked and now probably the entire off-duty staff was out to watch. On the other hand... better give them something to watch and impress the people who would fly the plane...
Meanwhile back down on the ground the committee members and indeed most of the bases off-duty staff were waiting anxiously for anything to happen. The first thing they saw, or rather heard was the noise of a Rolls-Royce Merlin II at full military power approaching from the southeast. Everyone's heads shifted in that direction and soon, almost hidden in the flickering of the unusual heat a black-ish dot could be seen. Partially hidden from the onlookers the dot dissapeared form sight again, and only the roar of the engine could be heard until the the Spitfire appeared from behind a tree, flying low and slow, giving everyone the opportunity to admire its form and design. Dashwood wiggled with the wings again before circling around to land. When the Spitfire came to a halt the committee members came forward. Dashwood did not even pretend to be unbiased when he asked: “Now, what do you think of this fine kite?” Beaverbrook, who would most likely have the final word in everything said: “I must say Wing Commander, I can't decide what impressed me more, the plane or your flying.” He chuckeled and continued. “Now, what are the engineers performance figures, and why is he not here today?” “Well, Mr. Beaverbrook,” Dashwood said, “the designer is at the doctors today, a routine checkup to make sure all is well. As for the figures...” Dashwood rattled off the figures he had memorized and added: “But these are just factory calculations, real figures will have to be determined by field testing, in case the committee approves more funding though.” A new voice added itself to the mix. “So Wing Commander, would our boys in the line like it?” Dashwood snapped to attention. The voice belonged to none other than Air Chief Marshal Dowding. “Yes, Sir, quite so.” was all that Dashwood managed. “One or two small changes and this plane will be better than anything Jerry...sorry, the Germans can field.” Dowding nodded and walked around the plane to take a closer look at it. While closely inspectiong the right wingtip he said: “Among those probably that propeller?” Dashwood nodded in the affirmative. “Yes, Sir. The wireless set needs to be moved aswel.” What I also noticed is that the Carburettor is a bit..” he tried to put it in a way that was sutiable for an Air Chief Marshal's ears, “unusual, I think it might cause problems in steep dives.” Dowding nodded. “But I guess that is something for the field tests.” “Yes, Sir.”
Dowding then went over to Beaverbrook and the two men conversed animatedly, and most likely over the Spitfire, where Dashwood was still standing, unsure of what to do. He was however relieved when the Naval member of the committee came over and patted Dashwood's back. “Now, son you did good there. I can remember when the first Sea Lord came to visit the Iron Duke back in '15. Now that was enough to scare a young midshipman out of his boots, believe me.” But real relieve came only when Dowding came back to him, patted him on the back in the same way and said that he would endorse this plane with all his power. On the way back to Whitehall Dashwood tried to make sense of what had happened. Dowding was usually a distant man, but what he had seen today painted a different picture of the Officer who was due to retire in 10 months.
[Game Effects: The spit is almost fully researched and I will put it in production as soon as I can spare the IC. All hail the Supermarine Spitfire!]
Last edited:
El Pip said:Shiny Spitfire goodness, what more could any pilot (even those on the other side) want?
I'm impressed with Dashwood though, picking up problems that took months of development and field operations to find.
Well, he MIGHT have acted against advice and done some circus flying on the way to Biggin Hill.
trekaddict said:
Well, I'm partial to a flight of Meteors, but different strokes, and all that.
Spiffy. Any chance of a link to the video?
STOP! COOKIE TIME