The Whale Has Wings Vol 1 - Rebirth (9 page)

An improved model of the type 79
radar, the 279, was available by the middle of the year and was on order for fitting to a range on ships. The most vital were seen as the Carriers, Battleships and some of the cruisers. The model gave a good detection range, but couldn't do much more than detect a group of aircraft. This was deemed acceptable for the carriers, as it would allow much better management of the Combat Air Patrol.

More useful was the type 286. This was developed from the early AI radar work, and used a lot of the technology developed for the Army's Coastal Defence (CD) radar. This was accurate enough to allow the ship to vector aircraft onto an enemy raid. It was scheduled to go into production (the initial run of sets were hand-assembled) towards the end of 1938, and a set would be fitted to the carriers in addition to the 279 set. This did require additional masts on some of the carriers, and it was intended to add radar, some additional facilities for the first, primitive Operations room and
some upgrades to AA, etc, in a two month period, rotating the carriers through the shipyard. The set was also intended for use on the cruisers being modified for AA use, as it seemed logical that they should be able to control (or at least advise) FAA or RAF aircraft. The 286 would later be fitted to many ships down to the destroyer size. The fitting of these radars also required the replacement of the early model radio beacons fitted to the Ark Royal and the Illustrious; it was not compatible with a radar fit.

Considerable thought had been given as to what to lay down in the way of fleet carriers in 1938. While the FAA was happy to get as many as it could get its greedy little hands on, the number of available slips had been reduced by five due to the KGV class battleship program. Also, the RN would be accepting two fleet and three light carriers in 1939, and even with laying up some of the older ships, this was a lot to absorb - especially if the growing war meant the older ships would continue in service.

It was therefore decided to lay down
just one new fleet carrier, HMS Bulwark , in April for completion in 1941.

The light carriers were rather easier; they could fit in slips suitable for cruisers, and while there was a shortage of cruisers, the building program was limited by supplies of guns and fire control equipment
as well as armour. Space could be found for three more light fleets, and it was pointed out that this would basically meet the Navies 8+8 requirement by 1941, some three years earlier than originally intended.

In addition, a carrier maintenance ship, HMS Unicorn, would be laid down in February to complete in Aug 1940. She would be built to a modified Colossus design, not able to operate aircraft and with half the engine capacity, allowing her space for t
he facilities to support up to three fleet carriers on an extended deployment. She was expected to be deployed either to the Mediterranean or more likely the Far East, and so her light AA armament was increased over the normal Colossus-class fit.

Finally a second flotilla of escort destroyers was
to be laid down. It was not expected to produce more for at least a year, as the available berths were reserved for two flotillas of conventional destroyers.

The Royal Navy had long expected to need additional carriers in war, to allow for the availability of aircraft in many locations, and to allow for war losses. They had intended to supplement the existing fleet from two sources; first the building of very simple carriers (not suitable for use in intensive operations, but suitable for use in relatively peaceful areas, allowing the more capable ships to be used on more dangerous operations, and the conversion of some merchant vessels into auxiliary carriers. The concept of the very simple, low capacity, carrier had been under consideration for quite a few years. By this point the concept was fairly stable. The ship would be at least 12,000t (anything smaller was not thought to be able to have a flight deck big enough for Atlantic operations). It would be built to merchant standards (to save time and money), and with the same torpedo 'protection' planned for the merchant ships marked for conversion to Auxiliary cruisers. Hanger and maintenance facilities would be minimal, as would AA - there would be no heavy AA, and the ship would be fitted for (but not with) sponsons for 4 quad 40mm guns. 20mm guns would be fitted as available. It was expected that these ships would be used to protect convoys either out of range of enemy aircraft (such as the Atlantic), or in regions where we had control of the air. The sponsons were intended to take AA guns if it was found necessary to deploy the ship outside of these areas, but it would save money to only do this where necessary. The ship would carry 12 TBR planes (for reconnaissance and AS duties), and 4 fighters (to eliminate patrol planes trying to find the ship and its convoy). Speed required was around 21-22 kt, ample for a merchant convoy, and just fast enough for the slow battleships. No armour would be fitted, and maintenance facilities would be minimal.

The problem of the propulsion plants had been an issue; the dockyards and turbine manufacturers were busy with the large workload of new ships, and these carriers would not have a high priority. This had been solved some years previously, however. During the mid-30's the RN had scrapped a large number of R & S class destroyers from WW1. While a few had been retained, they were consi
dered simply too small and fragile for conversion to anything useful. However they had 27,000hp of turbines. As the ships were scrapped, the propulsion machinery, particularly the turbines, had been put aside in storage. It had been estimated that with some work for new parts and boilers, and refurbishment, around 30 of these sets would be available for a relatively small cost and, more important, a small drain on manufacturing resources. By using this machinery, it was expected the cost of the ship would be under £1m, a bargain for a carrier. A single ship (HMS Audacity) was ordered in April 1938, with an expected completion of October 1939.

In addition, plans were drawn up for the
conversion of six liners to auxiliary carriers. There was some opposition to this, as the number of available liners was smaller than expected, and they were seen as needed for auxiliary cruisers armed with 6" guns. It was pointed out that while these would be useful, it would actually be more effective (at least for those engaged in blockading choke points in places like the Atlantic, if six carriers supplemented the 40-odd cruisers. As a result, ships were earmarked and plans drawn up ready for use in wartime. It was expected that conversion would take around six months per ship.

In September, the RN's second new fleet carrier, HMS I
llustrious, commissioned. There had been minor changes to the design, which had delayed the completion of the ship slightly - the new Mk2 pom-pom was fitted instead of the older version in Ark Royal, and provision had been made for the fitting of radar and an Operations room. It was hoped to fit the radar in the short refit after her trials.

The arrival of the new ship was
overshadowed by what will later be called the Munich crisis. The navy was put on full alert, indeed it was considered an informal war warning, as Germany placed demands on Czechoslovakia that came close to surrender to Germany. It was only averted at the last moment by the signing of the Munich Agreement, allowing Germany to annex the Sudetenland portion of Czechoslovakia. It was signed by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, French Premier Édouard Daladier, Italian leader Benito Mussolini, and Adolf Hitler. Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain says "This is the second time that there has come back from Germany to Downing Street peace with honour. I believe it is peace for our time."

Many in the navy, and increasingly in the country, see it as peace for a few months more before the inevitable happens. The FAA is looking worriedly at the large batch of carriers due to complete in the next year. Orders for planes are increased, although limitations of manpower on the aircraft production lines means they won't be delivered for
some time, but the navy is keen to build up reserves - due to the nature of its operations, it has a lower ratio of its planes actually available in service. The navy was also keeping a worried eye on Japan, as a significant commitment to the Far East will be almost impossible if the country is at war with Germany.

Progress on new engines for a new generation of FAA planes was progressing. The Centaurus was tested
in February 1938, and it was flight qualified in August. The Bristol Taurus engine was put on hold, as the Hercules engine seemed more suitable for the range of planes it was intended for, and the Hercules was in full production and was undergoing improvements. Stopping development of the unreliable Taurus allowed scarce engineering expertise to be transferred to the Hercules and Centaurus projects.

The sleeve valve production problem was
finally solved by the use of specialised machines, and the Hercules went into mass production. This will still take some time to ramp up to satisfactory levels, as there is now a serious shortage of skilled manpower. While this was anticipated, the amount required has been far higher than expected, and the RAF's Merlin engine still has the highest priority for production.

The Rolls-Royce
Griffon had been tested in late 1937, and is flight qualified in March 1938. Additional resources had been found by deciding that there would now not be any use for the originally propose Exe engine, originally considered for a FAA specification - it had been superseded by the Hercules. This is useful as Rolls Royce is heavily committed to Merlin development)

The Fairy P.24
was tested in March 38, flying in October. This engine is seen rather as a backup in case one of the others fails, although the nature of the 'dual' engine is of interest as a safety feature for patrol planes. While it is a promising engine, at the moment there are simply not the resources to consider engineering it and building it in full production.

Contracts for development of a new TBR prototype(based on a specification in 1936 that has changed a few times)
had been given to Fairy, Blackburn (on
strict
instructions it will be ready on time.), and Boulton-Paul. One condition was that each company would produce 2 prototypes, one using the Centaurus, one with a different engine. The FAA prefers a radial, but there is always the chance of a problem in development.

The Fairy
Spearfish flies with a Griffon engine in March, and the 2nd prototype with a Centaurus in September. The planes performance is very promising, although the size and weight of the aircraft is rather intimidating to aircrew who grew up flying the older planes. In fact it is obvious that the current catapults will not be suitable for the plane when loaded, and a new design capable of handling much heavier aircraft is put into development. It is thought possible that as a result of this the plane might have problems flying off the Ark Royal and the Illustrious (it is already considered too heavy for the Courageous and Glorious)

The Blackburn Blackadder flies with a Centaurus in October (Blackburn is late again), and won
't fly with the P.24 until 1939. The FAA are increasingly unhappy with Blackburn, who seem incapable of keeping to any sort of delivery timetable.

The Boulton-Paul SeaLance flies with a Griffon in May, and a Centaurus in October
. While it does not have the speed or carrying capacity of the Spearfish, it is a lighter aircraft and so is more suitable for the older carriers.

Trials of the SeaLance and the Spearfish look very promising, although there are issues with both the new engines (and the issue of cooling the radial
engine has only got worse with the increase in power - the Centaurus shows a disturbing tendency to melt on occasion).

A new fighter is wanted now that the new high-power engines are available. A specification was issued in 1937, and Hawker, Gloster and Martin-Baker are selected for prototypes (while Martin-Baker didn't win the fighter contract, the FAA were impressed with many of the features on the aircraft), and now Hawker have the Hurricane well into production they have some interesting
concept aircraft. It is hoped that the prototypes will fly towards the end of 1939.

France laid
down its first modern carrier, the Joffre, in October. It is not expected to be available until 1942 - French shipyards are not nearly as efficient as the British ones. Help was offered with the design, but the French have decided to design the ship themselves.

In the USA, the USS Wasp is launched in April. The new carrier fighter, the Brewster Buffalo, is undergoing testing and is expected to enter service next year. The FAA is not terribly impressed, as they consider the Goshawk to have better performance and armament, while the Buffalo isn't even in service yet. More promising is the Grumman Wildcat, but this isn't expected to be in service until 1940. Even so, the FAA consider the Goshawk to be marginally superior, and expect further improvements to increase this superiority.

In Germany, their first aircraft carrier, the Graf Zeppelin, was launched in September. It is expected to be completed sometime in early 1940, but the FAA considers it will take a considerable period before it becomes operational due to the lack of experience in Germany with carriers. Surprisingly there is still no indication of a carrier-borne torpedo plane in development. Intelligence confirms that a 'navalised' version of the Me109 fighter and Ju87 dive bomber are under development, and Naval Intelligence redoubles its efforts to find the 'missing' torpedo plane.