World Merchant Fleets 1975
1.) Britain: 9625 vessels of 102,678,143 tons
2.) Japan: 7749 vessels of 79,384,926 tons
3.) USA: 6427 vessels of 69,750,717 tons
4.) Norway: 3952 vessels of 42,653,254 tons
5.) Greece: 3255 vessels of 35,841,078 tons
6.) USSR: 7983 vessels of 24,932,525 tons
7.) Italy: 2872 vessels of 17,764,096 tons
8.) Germany: 2644 vessels of 15,845,733 tons
9.) France: 2961 vessels of 12,536,954 tons
10.) Spain: 2210 vessels of 10,048,849 tons
- The very notable absences from the equivalent time on Earth are Liberia and Panama, with the former having the second largest world fleet due to flag of convenience registration. This has not occurred here, due to a number of reasons, including it first being seen in an event not seen on DE, namely Prohibition
- The majority of ships and types that ended up with a FoC are still under US registration here
- The British equivalents from our Earth were ships flagged as Cyprus, Singapore and Hong Kong
- Larger tonnages come from the very large supertankers plying the world’s oceans, with multiple orders of Batillus class size and quite a few Esso Northumbria sized vessels coming from British yards; 12 of the latter in 1966 alone, and a further two dozen for British Petroleum in 1969, with more being ordered for the other British oil supermajors
- In addition, there is a tendency for newer ships replacing wartime tonnage to be noticeably larger
- The British Merchant Navy consists of 132 ocean liners and cruise ships, 525 passenger ships and ferries, 2489 oil tankers, 187 liquefied gas carriers, 95 chemical tankers, 83 bulk/oil carriers, 623 ore & bulk carriers, 3276 general cargo ships, 260 container ships, 76 vehicle carriers, 256 ro/ro ships, 324 refrigerated freighters, 1236 coasters, 29 livestock carriers, 24 merchant submarines and 10 atomic powered merchant ships
- Historically in 1975/76, the entire CW fleet was 906 oil tankers of 20,510,641t, 39 LNG tankers of 711,253t, 34 chemical tankers of 187,844t, 57 bulk/oil tankers of 3,791,546t, 504 ore & bulk carriers of 9,913,119t, 3106 general cargo ships of 11,599,563t, 109 container ships of 1,528,018t, 6 vehicle carriers of 24,194t, 15 livestock carriers of 33,804t, 11 miscellaneous cargo ships of 22,497t and 1 miscellaneous tanker of 799t for 4788 ships and 48,323,278t
- Historical data from Lloyds can be found here: https://lloyds-production.s3.amazonaws. ... esized.pdf
- This provides for some interesting level of comparison, as well as conclusions that your author was severely scarred by Count von Count on Sesame Street to this very day in his tendency to tally up and analyse statistics. At the bottom line, the different size of countries, consolidation of fleets AND the lack of flag of convenience, size of the economy, and more advanced oil industry does make a lot of categories fall into place
- I continued to separate passenger ships, coasters and reefers to illustrate some of the differences in DE nomenclature and practice, with West Indian sea trade providing a significant part of British fruit, tobacco and sugar (and a lot being shipped to the USA as well, naturally) ; coasters having a distinct type, design and role given the presence of large nasties out to sea throughout most of DE's written history; and there still being a not inconsiderable amount of migration by ship
- The very large numbers of leftover Empire (here an actual design rather than a mere designation and corresponding to the historical Ocean/Fort ships, being built in Britain, Canada, America and New Avalon), Liberty (12,000t of cargo) and Victory ships (15,000t cargo) started to see replacement a tad earlier with the British SD20 (based on the @ SD14) design by Austin and Pickersgill http://www.marcle.co.uk/sd14.htm
- These came as the result of a 1960 requirement for a new general purpose cargo ship (being driven by the Thompson Administration's severe concern over mobilisation requirements and a proper reinforcement of Europe in the case of the balloon going up after the relative schmozzle of 1960, as compared to a very much civil lead requirement of ~ 1966 driven predominantly by Greek shipping owners), which resulted in the first ship being commissioned in 1962
- Those extra 5 years meant a lot more orders and decent service, as, even in 1975/76, there hasn't yet been a decisive shift in favour of container ships and bulk carriers on the shipping scene, even if it is starting. A total of 496 SD20s have been completed to date, with more still yet on the books, as compared to a total of 211 in 1968-1988
- London's Royal Docks remain quite functional as of 1976, with 4 docks (Royal Albert Dock, Royal Victoria Dock, King George V Dock and Queen Elizabeth II Dock) all refurbished and capable of taking ships up to a size of 1200ft x 140ft, which roughly translates to 100,000t to 120,000t ships, depending on draught
- Shipping containers to this point are a mixture of 10ft x 10ft x 10ft CONEX containers and 20ft containers
Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1860
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1860
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
Coming in May 1976
- A nuclear powered bus sets out on a journey from New York to San Francisco
- Hapless criminals plot to hijack a U.S. Navy battleship
- Japanese scientists begin development of a cybernetic organism
- A Panam Boeing 2707, Clipper Liberty Bell, completes a flight around the world
- Quite a few very close soccer results in England and Europe
- Jim Jones is arrested for heresy, conspiracy and a number of other crimes
- Hawaiian air defence exercises result in some improvements
- A mild wet spring in Britain thanks to weather control gives way to a perfect mild summer
- Meat consumption rises in the USSR
- The NBA merges into the ABA
- Tim Severin and other adventurers begin an attempt to cross the Atlantic in a coracle
- An alleged attempt on the life of Argentine Premier Rodriguez leaves him slightly scarred and deformed, but with unbowed resolve
- The Judgment of Paris between French and American wine takes place
- Lebanon continues to stabilise
- An Anglo-American tank conference takes place, and some initial carrier and escort agreements are reached
- The British General Election is very close indeed…
- A nuclear powered bus sets out on a journey from New York to San Francisco
- Hapless criminals plot to hijack a U.S. Navy battleship
- Japanese scientists begin development of a cybernetic organism
- A Panam Boeing 2707, Clipper Liberty Bell, completes a flight around the world
- Quite a few very close soccer results in England and Europe
- Jim Jones is arrested for heresy, conspiracy and a number of other crimes
- Hawaiian air defence exercises result in some improvements
- A mild wet spring in Britain thanks to weather control gives way to a perfect mild summer
- Meat consumption rises in the USSR
- The NBA merges into the ABA
- Tim Severin and other adventurers begin an attempt to cross the Atlantic in a coracle
- An alleged attempt on the life of Argentine Premier Rodriguez leaves him slightly scarred and deformed, but with unbowed resolve
- The Judgment of Paris between French and American wine takes place
- Lebanon continues to stabilise
- An Anglo-American tank conference takes place, and some initial carrier and escort agreements are reached
- The British General Election is very close indeed…
-
Bernard Woolley
- Posts: 1246
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 4:06 pm
- Location: Earth
Re: Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
I'm guessing said bus is big?- A nuclear powered bus sets out on a journey from New York to San Francisco
Stopped by a navy cook with an interesting past?- Hapless criminals plot to hijack a U.S. Navy battleship
“Frankly, I had enjoyed the war… and why do people want peace if the war is so much fun?” - Lieutenant General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1860
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
It is indeed a Big Bus. 
Not so much stopped by a cook with an interesting past, or a wry back, but rather, being foiled by a Swedish chef, a frog talk show host, a bear comedian, a gonzo stuntman, a lively drummer and an Academy Award winning diva.
Not so much stopped by a cook with an interesting past, or a wry back, but rather, being foiled by a Swedish chef, a frog talk show host, a bear comedian, a gonzo stuntman, a lively drummer and an Academy Award winning diva.
-
Bernard Woolley
- Posts: 1246
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 4:06 pm
- Location: Earth
Re: Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
Well, I much prefer that to a cook with a habit of getting his lad out!Simon Darkshade wrote: ↑Sat Feb 28, 2026 1:06 pmNot so much stopped by a cook with an interesting past, or a wry back, but rather, being foiled by a Swedish chef, a frog talk show host, a bear comedian, a gonzo stuntman, a lively drummer and an Academy Award winning diva.
“Frankly, I had enjoyed the war… and why do people want peace if the war is so much fun?” - Lieutenant General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart
-
jemhouston
- Posts: 6153
- Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2022 12:38 am
Re: Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
With that bunch, I'd rather face the navy cook with an interesting past, I'd be in less pain.Simon Darkshade wrote: ↑Sat Feb 28, 2026 1:06 pm It is indeed a Big Bus.
Not so much stopped by a cook with an interesting past, or a wry back, but rather, being foiled by a Swedish chef, a frog talk show host, a bear comedian, a gonzo stuntman, a lively drummer and an Academy Award winning diva.
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1860
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
A little froglet named Robin once told me that the Cook was a bit of a muppet, so you might want to rethink that one. 
I do plan to employ the DE version of the character of Casey Ryback at some point, but absolutely not in the silly yet fun (for 11 year old boys) hagiography that was Under Siege.
He simply isn't needed here, though, as Miss Piggy's karate is far, far superior to his stuff.
*Simon notes that once again, an offhand pop culture reference gets more uptake than the serious stuff; perhaps dropping the Cold War plotline for a Del Boy and Fred Sanford crossover is in order *
I do plan to employ the DE version of the character of Casey Ryback at some point, but absolutely not in the silly yet fun (for 11 year old boys) hagiography that was Under Siege.
He simply isn't needed here, though, as Miss Piggy's karate is far, far superior to his stuff.
*Simon notes that once again, an offhand pop culture reference gets more uptake than the serious stuff; perhaps dropping the Cold War plotline for a Del Boy and Fred Sanford crossover is in order
*-
Belushi TD
- Posts: 1665
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 11:20 am
Re: Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
You do a very good and thorough job of the serious stuff. There's not much room for questions or comments, and virtually no plot holes. So not a lot of people are able to comment on it.Simon Darkshade wrote: ↑Sat Feb 28, 2026 1:24 pm A little froglet named Robin once told me that the Cook was a bit of a muppet, so you might want to rethink that one.
I do plan to employ the DE version of the character of Casey Ryback at some point, but absolutely not in the silly yet fun (for 11 year old boys) hagiography that was Under Siege.
He simply isn't needed here, though, as Miss Piggy's karate is far, far superior to his stuff.
*Simon notes that once again, an offhand pop culture reference gets more uptake than the serious stuff; perhaps dropping the Cold War plotline for a Del Boy and Fred Sanford crossover is in order
The pop culture references have a LOT more room for commenting.
Belushi TD
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1860
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
I might have to start posing some questions on the technical military stuff to lure you in get some input.
In May:
- There will be some more bits on the CVVs, with British interest being further piqued by the need of some of the second rank CW fleets to replace their older aircraft carriers and being right out of the CVN market due to cost
- A new USAF headquarters will begin construction in New Carmel, Axtell, TX
- What type of units would be best suited for reinforcement of Denmark?
In May:
- There will be some more bits on the CVVs, with British interest being further piqued by the need of some of the second rank CW fleets to replace their older aircraft carriers and being right out of the CVN market due to cost
- A new USAF headquarters will begin construction in New Carmel, Axtell, TX
- What type of units would be best suited for reinforcement of Denmark?
-
Belushi TD
- Posts: 1665
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 11:20 am
Re: Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
What's the main threat to Denmark? I don't think I've ever had a full understanding of where the border between the "Red Hordes" of the Dark Earth's Warsaw Pact equivalent is with the West. Are we talking paratroops? Amphibious landing? Maleficent magery? Space Nazis?Simon Darkshade wrote: ↑Mon Mar 02, 2026 2:46 pm I might have to start posing some questions on the technical military stuff to lure you in get some input.
In May:
- There will be some more bits on the CVVs, with British interest being further piqued by the need of some of the second rank CW fleets to replace their older aircraft carriers and being right out of the CVN market due to cost
- A new USAF headquarters will begin construction in New Carmel, Axtell, TX
- What type of units would be best suited for reinforcement of Denmark?
Belushi TD
P.S. I don't know why, but it felt REALLY good to be able to write "Space Nazis" as a threat and actually be serious about it for once!
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1860
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
You are quite welcome.
The threat to Denmark is different than @, as rather than an Inter-German border, the Iron Curtain runs down the Oder-Neisse. Less of a direct threat of a Soviet push up through Schleswig Holstein.
In general, the Iron Curtain runs down the Oder Neisse, then along the northern border of what was Czechoslovakia on Earth, then traces around Romania to the Black Sea.
Threats:
1.) Soviet Air Rifle divisions, Naval Infantry divisions and Rifle divisions, plus the same from the Poles and ‘East Germans’.
2.) Significant tactical air power
3.) Baltic Fleet, after it gets through the Swedes and Germans
4.) Long Range Aviation medium bombers
So it is similar to our history, but that bit of extra distance lessens the direct overland threat.
The threat to Denmark is different than @, as rather than an Inter-German border, the Iron Curtain runs down the Oder-Neisse. Less of a direct threat of a Soviet push up through Schleswig Holstein.
In general, the Iron Curtain runs down the Oder Neisse, then along the northern border of what was Czechoslovakia on Earth, then traces around Romania to the Black Sea.
Threats:
1.) Soviet Air Rifle divisions, Naval Infantry divisions and Rifle divisions, plus the same from the Poles and ‘East Germans’.
2.) Significant tactical air power
3.) Baltic Fleet, after it gets through the Swedes and Germans
4.) Long Range Aviation medium bombers
So it is similar to our history, but that bit of extra distance lessens the direct overland threat.
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1860
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
Sneaky Sneak Preview of May
May 4: Queen’s Park Rangers win the Football League Championship on the final day of the season, edging ahead of Liverpool with a come from behind win over Leeds United 5-3 and finishing the season with 25 wins and 10 draws. This follows on from Southampton United’s 1-0 victory in the F.A. Cup over Manchester United and Heart of Midlothian beating Glasgow Rangers to win the Scottish Cup last Saturday, in what some sporting journalists are dubbing ‘The May of Upsets’ ; it leaves Liverpool keen for some measure of redemption in the upcoming UEFA Cup.
May 7: USN and RN representatives sign a memorandum of understanding for the joint design and development of new classes of conventionally powered Medium Aircraft Carriers and Destroyer Escorts. The former are projected as displacing up to 87,000t, deploying a full sized air group, having a top speed of 35 knots and being equipped with a fully modern suite of defensive missiles, guns and lasers, whilst the latter are envisaged as being between 7200 and 7500 tons, and carry an armament of two Medium Calibre Guns, fore and aft vertical launch systems carrying a variety of surface to air and anti-submarine missiles, a number of other unspecified systems still under development, and operate two helicopters. The U.S. Navy is considering a requirement for at least 8 conventional carriers and 80 destroyer escorts, whilst the Royal Navy has identified a potential role for 6 carriers and 64 destroyer escorts; there is a perceived utility in being able to replace current carriers in service with New Avalon, South Africa and New Zealand, in addition to certain other potential export orders.
May 8: The sunset over southern and eastern England turns the sky a brilliant violet hue, with the incidence being described as a side effect of weather control enchantments. The new precipitation schedules, which have seen 4.5” in January, 4” in February and 3.5” per month through March and April, have lead to a high levels of water supplies in reservoirs and generally mild and ambient temperatures. The summer long range forecast is for a daily mean of 57 degrees, maximum daytime temperatures between 78 and 82 and 3” per month of scheduled rainfall, largely timed for nighttime hours and designed for maximum benefit to agriculture, business, tourism, sport, transport and community needs by Bernard, the Meteorological Office‘s intelligent super computing engine.
May 11: The Red Army begins a surprise exercise in Byelorussia, following on from earlier spring exercises, and apparently testing a number of new tactics, weapons and formations in a defensive orientation. Subsequent reports obtained by Western intelligence assets indicate that there is some concern in Soviet defence ranks that the Red Army’s primarily offensive mission, training and doctrine is creating something of a potential vulnerability; the comparative lack of combat testing of Soviet heavier weapons systems has started to become more noticeable of late. There is some concern within American and British intelligence that perhaps too much intelligence of real value is being inadvertently supplied by double, triple and quadruple agents in order to keep up their cover.
May 23: Reverend James Jones, minister of the independent Christian sect known as the People’s Temple, is arrested in a joint operation by the SFPD, FBI and the Templars, on secular charges of conspiracy, sedition, violations of the Smith Act, assault and alleged sexual impropriety, as well as religious charges of heresy, staging fake miracles and false prophethood. After the conclusion of the investigation, Jones is tried for his federal and state criminal offences and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment, with the religious offences by tried by the Disciples of Christ and sentenced to be laicised and excommunicated, and the People’s Temple disbanded. An appeal by Jones, based upon the coordination between the FBI and Templars being a violation of the Establishment Clause, is subsequently dismissed.
May 26: A witness in a case of alleged embezzlement reveals under cross examination that the British campaign to eat more fish, ‘Fish the Dish’, had apparently been used for the purposes of laundering large amounts of money subsequently delivered into a variety of innocuously named community and cultural organisations, such as the League for the Preservation of Hedgerows and the ‘Cat Distribution System’. The presiding judge, Sir John Dredd, immediately halted proceedings, called counsel into his chambers for consultations and subsequently dismissed the jury. Judge Dredd, recently known for sentencing a pair of burglars to 36 years hard labour, has something of an idiosyncratic reputation, but in this case, which is subsequently classified under the Defence of the Realm Act, appears to have the full backing of the Home Office.
May 4: Queen’s Park Rangers win the Football League Championship on the final day of the season, edging ahead of Liverpool with a come from behind win over Leeds United 5-3 and finishing the season with 25 wins and 10 draws. This follows on from Southampton United’s 1-0 victory in the F.A. Cup over Manchester United and Heart of Midlothian beating Glasgow Rangers to win the Scottish Cup last Saturday, in what some sporting journalists are dubbing ‘The May of Upsets’ ; it leaves Liverpool keen for some measure of redemption in the upcoming UEFA Cup.
May 7: USN and RN representatives sign a memorandum of understanding for the joint design and development of new classes of conventionally powered Medium Aircraft Carriers and Destroyer Escorts. The former are projected as displacing up to 87,000t, deploying a full sized air group, having a top speed of 35 knots and being equipped with a fully modern suite of defensive missiles, guns and lasers, whilst the latter are envisaged as being between 7200 and 7500 tons, and carry an armament of two Medium Calibre Guns, fore and aft vertical launch systems carrying a variety of surface to air and anti-submarine missiles, a number of other unspecified systems still under development, and operate two helicopters. The U.S. Navy is considering a requirement for at least 8 conventional carriers and 80 destroyer escorts, whilst the Royal Navy has identified a potential role for 6 carriers and 64 destroyer escorts; there is a perceived utility in being able to replace current carriers in service with New Avalon, South Africa and New Zealand, in addition to certain other potential export orders.
May 8: The sunset over southern and eastern England turns the sky a brilliant violet hue, with the incidence being described as a side effect of weather control enchantments. The new precipitation schedules, which have seen 4.5” in January, 4” in February and 3.5” per month through March and April, have lead to a high levels of water supplies in reservoirs and generally mild and ambient temperatures. The summer long range forecast is for a daily mean of 57 degrees, maximum daytime temperatures between 78 and 82 and 3” per month of scheduled rainfall, largely timed for nighttime hours and designed for maximum benefit to agriculture, business, tourism, sport, transport and community needs by Bernard, the Meteorological Office‘s intelligent super computing engine.
May 11: The Red Army begins a surprise exercise in Byelorussia, following on from earlier spring exercises, and apparently testing a number of new tactics, weapons and formations in a defensive orientation. Subsequent reports obtained by Western intelligence assets indicate that there is some concern in Soviet defence ranks that the Red Army’s primarily offensive mission, training and doctrine is creating something of a potential vulnerability; the comparative lack of combat testing of Soviet heavier weapons systems has started to become more noticeable of late. There is some concern within American and British intelligence that perhaps too much intelligence of real value is being inadvertently supplied by double, triple and quadruple agents in order to keep up their cover.
May 23: Reverend James Jones, minister of the independent Christian sect known as the People’s Temple, is arrested in a joint operation by the SFPD, FBI and the Templars, on secular charges of conspiracy, sedition, violations of the Smith Act, assault and alleged sexual impropriety, as well as religious charges of heresy, staging fake miracles and false prophethood. After the conclusion of the investigation, Jones is tried for his federal and state criminal offences and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment, with the religious offences by tried by the Disciples of Christ and sentenced to be laicised and excommunicated, and the People’s Temple disbanded. An appeal by Jones, based upon the coordination between the FBI and Templars being a violation of the Establishment Clause, is subsequently dismissed.
May 26: A witness in a case of alleged embezzlement reveals under cross examination that the British campaign to eat more fish, ‘Fish the Dish’, had apparently been used for the purposes of laundering large amounts of money subsequently delivered into a variety of innocuously named community and cultural organisations, such as the League for the Preservation of Hedgerows and the ‘Cat Distribution System’. The presiding judge, Sir John Dredd, immediately halted proceedings, called counsel into his chambers for consultations and subsequently dismissed the jury. Judge Dredd, recently known for sentencing a pair of burglars to 36 years hard labour, has something of an idiosyncratic reputation, but in this case, which is subsequently classified under the Defence of the Realm Act, appears to have the full backing of the Home Office.
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1860
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
May 1976
May 1: An investigation into the disappearance of MS Berge Istra last December concludes that the most likely explanation for her loss was an attack by a sea monster of tremendous size, possibly Godzilla itself. To assuage concerns from Lloyds and other marine insurers, the USN, RN, RCN, RAN and IJN announce a series of coordinated patrols along major Pacific shipping lanes, as well as stepping up aerial maritime patrol patterns.
May 2: Opening of a new very large particle accelerator at the headquarters of the Commonwealth Nuclear Research Agency outside Oxford. The new synchrotron is contained in a special underground circular tunnel with a circumference of 25 miles specially excavated by master dwarven engineers, and is to be used for a number of expansive particle physics experiments, including with antimatter; there has been interest in its potential for application in the starship programme.
May 3: 30 year old Australian swimmer Linda McGill becomes the first woman or man to swim around the entirety of Hong Kong Island, a distance of over 44 miles, completing the feat in 25 hours and 19 minutes. Her feat is supervised, but by no means aided, by the Royal Navy’s Hong Kong Squadron (currently consisting of the cruisers Phaeton and Spartacus, the destroyers Calypso, Cavalier, Dervish and Fury, the frigates Māori, Gurkha, Afridi and Zulu, 5 sloops, 6 corvettes, 4 submarine chasers, 8 seaward defence boats, 12 harbour defence motor launches, 24 motor gunboats and 20 patrol boats), owing to the crowded waters around Hong Kong and the potential for accidents or misadventure.
May 4: Queen’s Park Rangers win the Football League Championship on the final day of the season, edging ahead of Liverpool with a come from behind win over Leeds United 5-3 and finishing the season with 25 wins and 10 draws. This follows on from Southampton United’s 1-0 victory in the F.A. Cup over Manchester United and Heart of Midlothian beating Glasgow Rangers to win the Scottish Cup last Saturday, in what some sporting journalists are dubbing ‘The May of Upsets’ ; it leaves Liverpool keen for some measure of redemption in the upcoming UEFA Cup.
May 5: James Carter of Georgia wins the Georgia and Alabama Democratic primaries, gaining a total of 62 delegates, whilst Senator Robert F. Kennedy wins resoundingly in Indiana and Pennsylvania and Senator Henry Jackson secures the bulk of the 125 delegates from Texas. Senator Kennedy is now widely regarded as the favourite to win the nomination, possibly as early as June should his current lead in California and Ohio be maintained. On the same day, the Pan Am Boeing 2707 'Clipper Liberty Bell' completes a record round the world flight in just over 20 hours; more time could have been saved if not for a baggage handlers strike in Toyko.
May 6: An earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter Scale strikes the Friuli region in Northern Italy, with its epicentre around the town of Gemona del Friuli. Over 1000 people are killed, almost 200,000 are left homeless and the impacts of the quake are felt across the border in Austria-Hungary and in Yugoslavia. The Italian government rushes aid and military support to the area and US, French and British aircraft carriers are diverted from an exercise in the Adriatic Sea to offer support with their helicopters and Rotodynes.
May 7: USN and RN representatives sign a memorandum of understanding for the joint design and development of new classes of conventionally powered Medium Aircraft Carriers and Destroyer Escorts. The former are projected as displacing up to 87,000t, deploying a full sized air group, having a top speed of 35 knots and being equipped with a fully modern suite of defensive missiles, guns and lasers, whilst the latter are envisaged as being between 7200 and 7500 tons, and carry an armament of two Medium Calibre Guns, fore and aft vertical launch systems carrying a variety of surface to air and anti-submarine missiles, a number of other unspecified systems still under development, and operate two helicopters. The U.S. Navy is considering a requirement for at least 8 conventional carriers and 80 destroyer escorts, whilst the Royal Navy has identified a potential role for 6 carriers and 64 destroyer escorts; there is a perceived utility in being able to replace current carriers in service with New Avalon, South Africa and New Zealand, in addition to certain other potential export orders.
May 8: The sunset over southern and eastern England turns the sky a brilliant violet hue, with the incidence being described as a side effect of weather control enchantments. The new precipitation schedules, which have seen 4.5” in January, 4” in February and 3.5” per month through March and April, have lead to a high levels of water supplies in reservoirs and generally mild and ambient temperatures. The summer long range forecast is for a daily mean of 57 degrees, maximum daytime temperatures between 78 and 82 and 3” per month of scheduled rainfall, largely timed for nighttime hours and designed for maximum benefit to agriculture, business, tourism, sport, transport and community needs by the Meteorological Office‘s intelligent super computing engine.
May 9: The Bolivian Minister of State is assassinated by an unknown sniper near his mansion in upmarket La Paz, with his untimely death being a pre-arranged signal for a wave of violence across the Andean kingdom, and sparking fears of a full-blown Guevarist uprising in the restive countryside. Police investigating the shooting conclude that it was the work of a a professional marksman, with the shot being taken from upwards of 1600 yards away with a state of the art Whitworth sniper rifle.
May 10: Air Defence Command's and Tactical Air Command's plans for coordinated force increases and modernisation are approved, providing for an increase in TAC's fighter force by at least two air superiority and multi-role fighter wings per numbered air force and formation of a dedicated 'Silver Blade' central force of ADC fighters capable of deployment to any of the major quadrants of continental air defense, overseas holdings or allied countries at the direction of the President. This comes off the back of the establishment of two further Numbered Air Forces under TAC and one under SAC to control increase forces under the Kennedy Administration and the first stages of President Reagan's presidency, and the establishment of United States Northern Command for control of air, sea and land forces operating in Canada, Newfoundland, Greenland, Mexico, New Avalon and the British colony of Bermuda. The Department of the Air Force has issued production capacity requirements to the major US aerospace companies, with the goal of increasing tactical fighter production from the current annual level of 3200 to an interim one of 3600 by utilising latent capacity at Boeing, Lockheed-Martin and Curtiss-Wright. Further research and development on armament upgrades and logistical coordination is to take place at the new defense facility at Mount Carmel Air Force Base at Axtell near Waco in Texas.
May 11: The Red Army begins a surprise exercise in Byelorussia, following on from earlier spring exercises, and apparently testing a number of new tactics, weapons and formations in a defensive orientation. Subsequent reports obtained by Western intelligence assets indicate that there is some concern in Soviet defence ranks that the Red Army’s primarily offensive mission, training and doctrine is creating something of a potential vulnerability; the comparative lack of combat testing of Soviet heavier weapons systems has started to become more noticeable of late. There is some concern within American and British intelligence that perhaps too much intelligence of real value is being inadvertently supplied by double, triple and quadruple agents in order to keep up their cover.
May 12: For the second general election in a row, a debate between Prime Minister Stanley Barton and Opposition Leader Sir Enoch Powell is broadcast live on the BBC. Mr. Barton makes a persuasive case for Labour’s role in building a stronger British economy and a fair, just society, whilst Sir Enoch eloquently crafts an argument for a fresh approach that both builds upon current successes and offers a path towards a smaller tax burden upon the middle classes. Both men emphasise the importance of maintaining Britain’s security and her place in the world, and of ensuring that she can remain at the forefront of the technological revolution. Powell concludes by posing a question of whether the voters of Britain wish to see more of the same for the next five years, or if they are ready for change; Barton states plainly that the greatest days and golden age of the British Empire is still yet to come. Subsequent polling indicates that the public believe that Barton was the narrow winner of the debate, but that the larger part of the electorate has already made up their mind as to which party they support; some commentators draw the inference that it is likely that the election will be decided by a relatively small percentage of voters in new electorates who as yet have not seemed to fully commit to Labour, Liberal or the Conservatives, and that a hung parliament is a distinct possibility.
May 13: An agreement is reached whereby the American Basketball Association and the National Basketball Association are to merge their leagues as part of a new United States Basketball League for next season beginning in October, combining the 12 teams of the NBL and the 12 of the ABA into a new fully national competition, without the financial issues waylaying the NBA, or the incidents with a litigious dragon which have so vexed the ABA, as everyone knows.
May 14: Opening of the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail, a 6804 mile cycling trail stretching from Oregon through the mountain states, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Franklin before ending in Virginia. It has been established in readiness for the Bikecentennial, a mass bicycle ride by 10,000 riders in celebration of the 200th birthday of the United States. Several sections across Oregon and Idaho pass adjacent to some of the traditional territory of a tribe of bigfoot, with the route having been altered to accommodate the wishes of the reclusive creatures, following discussions with spokes-sasquatch Harry Henderson.
May 15: RAF Bomber Command completes its Future Forces Study, which postulates a force based around an advanced supersonic medium bomber to replace the now retiree Vickers Valiant and the Handley-Page Vengeance; the B.24/73 very long range strategic heavy bomber in combination with a new model of the legacy Avro Vulcan as a stand off missile carrier; the Supermarine Victory strategic penetrator; the TSR-2 in the strike bomber role; and the Vickers Thunderbolt as tactical interdiction strike bomber. The force structure is based on the numbers and types necessary to fulfil Britain’s statutory, treaty and alliance commitments on the size of the Royal Air Force and agreements on the deployment of specific minimum numbers of fighters, bombers, strike planes and attack aircraft across a number of theatres, concluding that ‘the bomber continues to be considered the most important and most versatile type of weapon in the aerial armies of the British Empire, as the combination of range, capacity and stand-off performance provides strategic planners and politicians alike with the broadest range of options.’ One appendix to the study does state that there may be role for a modern light attack aircraft to cater to some theatres, in conjunction with a potential Royal Navy carrier aircraft requirement, whilst another recommends proceeding with the acquisition of the Bristol Britannia II tactical transport plane.
May 16: TASS carries a feature article on the highly secretive Soviet starship programme, containing a number of carefully arranged and vetted photographs of unspecified manufacturing facilities working on what appear to be enormous turbines and metallic cylinders, and an extensive and predictably glowing interview with various officials on its scope and progress. Western observers note with interest that previous assertions that the ship would be ready by the year 2000 seem to be absent amid the lavish praise of Soviet scientific mastery.
May 17: French Premier d’Ambreville arrives in Washington D.C. on his official Super Caravelle for a state visit to the United States and is greeted by President Reagan. His visit, prior to a further attendance at the Bicentennial celebrations with the Marine Royale’s fleet, includes a state dinner at the White House and an impeccable English address to a joint sitting of Congress, where d’Ambreville highlights the constancy of French military support of the United States, most lately in Vietnam. Behind the scenes, intense discussions regarding potential arms sales occur.
May 18: British explorer and adventurer Tim Severin and his intrepid crew of four depart from Tralee, Ireland in a 36ft long leather boat with goat skin sails, aiming to prove that the legendary voyage of St. Brendan the Navigator was possible. After stopping off in the Hebrides, the Golden Isles, the Faroes and Hy Brasil, and wintering in Iceland, they successfully reach Newfoundland on June 26 1977, having successfully traversed the North Atlantic. During the voyage, Severin reports seeing a glimpse of a strange shining light, almost like a road in the darkness, stretching up into the predawn sky to the west.
May 19: Liverpool win the UEFA Cup, defeating Brugge KV 2-1 at the Olympiastadion in the second of their two games, having been victorious in the opening match at Anfield 3-2. The triumph, courtesy of a second half brace by star Kevin Keegan, comes as something of a belated and partial commiseration for their unexpected second place finish in the Football League behind Queen's Park Rangers.
May 20: Maiden trip of the Cyclops, a special atomic powered articulated triple-decker jumbo bus on a non-stop service between New York and Denver. After a number of unexpected incidents before the departure ceremony, the 'Big Bus' makes better than expected time, arriving in Denver 23 hours and 12 minutes after departure; it is hoped that subsequent trips can cut further time off the journey, and that it can be extended to San Francisco once appropriate route clearance and logistical issues are addressed. Whilst the utility of nuclear powered road vehicles is considered relatively niche even within the United States, it is thought that there may be some role for them to be used on particular locations in Mars; some scurrilous rumours suggest that the entire endeavour was merely a cover for a military experiment.
May 21: Destroyers of the Philippines Navy locate a suspected Soviet submarine in Philippines territorial waters off the coast of Panay and continue pursuing and monitoring the submerged contact until losing it in the Sulu Sea. Sonar operators report a curious new noise signature attached to the Soviet boat, suspected of being of the new Victor class, and its acceleration and diving capacity once in deep international waters. Expansive modernisation of the Philippines' naval capacity from its current level of 10 former USN Gearing and Fletcher class destroyers and 16 former USN Rudderow class destroyer escorts has been a priority of the current government, with discussions underway with the United States and other countries for the potential acquisition of modified Knox class ships, a specially designed destroyer and a light cruiser flagship.
May 22: Opening of an Anglo-American-Canadian tank conference in Washington D.C., which seeks to discuss potential coordination of emerging technologies in the area of armour, active protection, propulsion, main armament, specialist ammunition and electromagical warfare systems for the next generation of future British, U.S. and Canadian main battle tanks. Standing NATO agreements on the number of tanks contributed to SACEUR's command by the three nations and the exigencies of MBT purchases by many of the medium and smaller European states make the development of the putative successors to the Crusader and M-70 Marshall a matter of keen interest across the West, and the East.
May 23: Reverend James Jones, minister of the independent Christian sect known as the People’s Temple, is arrested in a joint operation by the SFPD, FBI and the Templars, on secular charges of conspiracy, sedition, violations of the Smith Act, assault and alleged sexual impropriety, as well as religious charges of heresy, staging fake miracles and false prophethood. After the conclusion of the investigation, Jones is tried for his federal and state criminal offences and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment, with the religious offences by tried by the Disciples of Christ and sentenced to be laicised and excommunicated, and the People’s Temple disbanded. An appeal by Jones, based upon the coordination between the FBI and Templars being a violation of the Establishment Clause, is subsequently dismissed.
May 24: The Judgement of Paris is held in the French capital, with five American and five French wines from the Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux, Chardonnay, Semillon, Bergeroux and Vierseau grapes, figuratively representing the best of the New World's and the Old World's red, white, gold, green and blue wines, being subjected to a blind judgment by twelve American, British and French expert judges. In a very narrow decision, the American wines come top in the red, white and blue categories, with the French proving dominant in the golden and green ones, and the subsequent victory to the New World wines is regarded as a tremendous upset; several of the foreign judges have to engage personal bodyguards before they can leave Paris, lest they come to some misfortune at the hands of an outraged vintner.
May 25: Pope Paul VI elevates 25 priests to the College of Cardinals, including several who are not publicly identified, as they dwell behind the Iron Wall under Communist oppression, and Jaime Sin, the Archbishop of Manila, who becomes only the third Philippines cardinal. His Holiness appears relatively hale and hearty at the ceremony, if looking unseasonably pale.
May 26: A witness in a case of alleged embezzlement reveals under cross examination that the British campaign to eat more fish, ‘Fish the Dish’, had apparently been used for the purposes of laundering large amounts of money subsequently delivered into a variety of innocuously named community and cultural organisations, such as the League for the Preservation of Hedgerows and the ‘Cat Distribution System’. The presiding judge, Sir John Dredd, immediately halted proceedings, called counsel into his chambers for consultations and subsequently dismissed the jury. Judge Dredd, recently known for sentencing a pair of burglars to 36 years hard labour, has something of an idiosyncratic reputation, but in this case, which is subsequently classified under the Defence of the Realm Act, appears to have the full backing of the Home Office.
May 27: Maiden broadcast of Dungeons & Dragons, a new high quality animated children's series about the adventures of six Earthly children aged between 10 and 15 in the fantastical world of Dungeons & Dragons, where they are transported after riding a new rollercoaster and take on the roles of ranger, paladin, wizard, barbarian, rogue and druid, guided and mentored by the mysterious Dungeon Master. It features an advanced new form of sorcerously-enhanced animation and attracts both immediate plaudits for its bold, serious and not entirely childish style, and some concerned criticism on it potentially leading to dabbling in the occult, paganism and communism from The Very Concerned Mothers of America organisation; this leads to the addition of a small disclaimer in the final catchy credits, which reads 'Dungeons and Dragons is a far-out game. Swords, poison, spells, battles, treasure and adventure! But its all imagination. Remember, don't try magic at home without your parent's permission.'
May 28: A number of Tamil MPs are investigated for sedition in Ceylon, after allegedly distributing leaflets advocating greater Tamil regional autonomy within the country, but no charges are laid after high level discussions take place. Despite some pressure by Sinhalese groups for Sinhala to be made the sole national language, this step has been almost entirely rejected on grounds of practicality by the Ceylonese political establishment, given the sheer number of English speaking residents from the various British and Commonwealth space and defence related facilities across the island, and the significant Anglo-Ceylonese community, which numbers almost 250,000.
May 29: The British general election sees the Conservative Party under the leadership of Sir Enoch Powell emerge as the largest party in the House of Commons, winning 362 seats to Labour's 340, with the Liberals winning 140, the Nationals 42, the Socialists 20, the Radicals 17, Imperialists 15, the new Social Democrats with 14 and Independents 12. The Conservatives are thus well placed for discussions with the Liberals over either a coalition or an agreement on supply and support, with their nominal grouping with the Nationals and Imperialists, and Prime Minister Stanley Barton advises Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to send for Sir Enoch to form a new government. The close poll, which as expected resulted in a hung parliament, brings to an end almost 12 years of continuous Labour government and raises the spectre of the potential for another election, should the Conservatives find themselves unable to navigate the exigencies of a minority government; the general consensus of the three major parties over most questions of economics, defence, industry and social development does present an opportunity for either a grand coalition or at the least a modus vivendi between the Government and Opposition.
May 30: The first national German Streitkräftes Tag is held, celebrating the unifying role of the German armed forces across the country, and recognising the contribution by German forces to the collective defence of the West, whether it be at home along the Iron Wall, or serving in foreign conflicts such as the late one in Indochina. With over 2.7 million personnel currently serving in the Deutsches Heer, Luftwaffe and Deutsches Marine along with almost four and a half million first line reserves, the Kaiser's armed forces are a popular national institution, albeit one that has not yet quite shed all of the historical baggage of the two world wars in the view of some Germans.
May 31: The Monaco Grand Prix, the first to be held on a new, expanded and safer circuit, is won by Tony Brise, the protege of Graham Hill, narrowly from Niki Lauda, Ronnie Peterson, James Hunt and Steve McQueen. As the eighth of the twenty four race circuit, now expanded with additional races in India, Singapore, Rhodesia, Chile, Cuba, Yugoslavia and Byzantine Greece, and thus lying at the first third of the season, some patterns and predictions are emerging, including the Championship being at this point a three-way contest between Hunt, Lauda and McQueen.
May 1: An investigation into the disappearance of MS Berge Istra last December concludes that the most likely explanation for her loss was an attack by a sea monster of tremendous size, possibly Godzilla itself. To assuage concerns from Lloyds and other marine insurers, the USN, RN, RCN, RAN and IJN announce a series of coordinated patrols along major Pacific shipping lanes, as well as stepping up aerial maritime patrol patterns.
May 2: Opening of a new very large particle accelerator at the headquarters of the Commonwealth Nuclear Research Agency outside Oxford. The new synchrotron is contained in a special underground circular tunnel with a circumference of 25 miles specially excavated by master dwarven engineers, and is to be used for a number of expansive particle physics experiments, including with antimatter; there has been interest in its potential for application in the starship programme.
May 3: 30 year old Australian swimmer Linda McGill becomes the first woman or man to swim around the entirety of Hong Kong Island, a distance of over 44 miles, completing the feat in 25 hours and 19 minutes. Her feat is supervised, but by no means aided, by the Royal Navy’s Hong Kong Squadron (currently consisting of the cruisers Phaeton and Spartacus, the destroyers Calypso, Cavalier, Dervish and Fury, the frigates Māori, Gurkha, Afridi and Zulu, 5 sloops, 6 corvettes, 4 submarine chasers, 8 seaward defence boats, 12 harbour defence motor launches, 24 motor gunboats and 20 patrol boats), owing to the crowded waters around Hong Kong and the potential for accidents or misadventure.
May 4: Queen’s Park Rangers win the Football League Championship on the final day of the season, edging ahead of Liverpool with a come from behind win over Leeds United 5-3 and finishing the season with 25 wins and 10 draws. This follows on from Southampton United’s 1-0 victory in the F.A. Cup over Manchester United and Heart of Midlothian beating Glasgow Rangers to win the Scottish Cup last Saturday, in what some sporting journalists are dubbing ‘The May of Upsets’ ; it leaves Liverpool keen for some measure of redemption in the upcoming UEFA Cup.
May 5: James Carter of Georgia wins the Georgia and Alabama Democratic primaries, gaining a total of 62 delegates, whilst Senator Robert F. Kennedy wins resoundingly in Indiana and Pennsylvania and Senator Henry Jackson secures the bulk of the 125 delegates from Texas. Senator Kennedy is now widely regarded as the favourite to win the nomination, possibly as early as June should his current lead in California and Ohio be maintained. On the same day, the Pan Am Boeing 2707 'Clipper Liberty Bell' completes a record round the world flight in just over 20 hours; more time could have been saved if not for a baggage handlers strike in Toyko.
May 6: An earthquake measuring 6.5 on the Richter Scale strikes the Friuli region in Northern Italy, with its epicentre around the town of Gemona del Friuli. Over 1000 people are killed, almost 200,000 are left homeless and the impacts of the quake are felt across the border in Austria-Hungary and in Yugoslavia. The Italian government rushes aid and military support to the area and US, French and British aircraft carriers are diverted from an exercise in the Adriatic Sea to offer support with their helicopters and Rotodynes.
May 7: USN and RN representatives sign a memorandum of understanding for the joint design and development of new classes of conventionally powered Medium Aircraft Carriers and Destroyer Escorts. The former are projected as displacing up to 87,000t, deploying a full sized air group, having a top speed of 35 knots and being equipped with a fully modern suite of defensive missiles, guns and lasers, whilst the latter are envisaged as being between 7200 and 7500 tons, and carry an armament of two Medium Calibre Guns, fore and aft vertical launch systems carrying a variety of surface to air and anti-submarine missiles, a number of other unspecified systems still under development, and operate two helicopters. The U.S. Navy is considering a requirement for at least 8 conventional carriers and 80 destroyer escorts, whilst the Royal Navy has identified a potential role for 6 carriers and 64 destroyer escorts; there is a perceived utility in being able to replace current carriers in service with New Avalon, South Africa and New Zealand, in addition to certain other potential export orders.
May 8: The sunset over southern and eastern England turns the sky a brilliant violet hue, with the incidence being described as a side effect of weather control enchantments. The new precipitation schedules, which have seen 4.5” in January, 4” in February and 3.5” per month through March and April, have lead to a high levels of water supplies in reservoirs and generally mild and ambient temperatures. The summer long range forecast is for a daily mean of 57 degrees, maximum daytime temperatures between 78 and 82 and 3” per month of scheduled rainfall, largely timed for nighttime hours and designed for maximum benefit to agriculture, business, tourism, sport, transport and community needs by the Meteorological Office‘s intelligent super computing engine.
May 9: The Bolivian Minister of State is assassinated by an unknown sniper near his mansion in upmarket La Paz, with his untimely death being a pre-arranged signal for a wave of violence across the Andean kingdom, and sparking fears of a full-blown Guevarist uprising in the restive countryside. Police investigating the shooting conclude that it was the work of a a professional marksman, with the shot being taken from upwards of 1600 yards away with a state of the art Whitworth sniper rifle.
May 10: Air Defence Command's and Tactical Air Command's plans for coordinated force increases and modernisation are approved, providing for an increase in TAC's fighter force by at least two air superiority and multi-role fighter wings per numbered air force and formation of a dedicated 'Silver Blade' central force of ADC fighters capable of deployment to any of the major quadrants of continental air defense, overseas holdings or allied countries at the direction of the President. This comes off the back of the establishment of two further Numbered Air Forces under TAC and one under SAC to control increase forces under the Kennedy Administration and the first stages of President Reagan's presidency, and the establishment of United States Northern Command for control of air, sea and land forces operating in Canada, Newfoundland, Greenland, Mexico, New Avalon and the British colony of Bermuda. The Department of the Air Force has issued production capacity requirements to the major US aerospace companies, with the goal of increasing tactical fighter production from the current annual level of 3200 to an interim one of 3600 by utilising latent capacity at Boeing, Lockheed-Martin and Curtiss-Wright. Further research and development on armament upgrades and logistical coordination is to take place at the new defense facility at Mount Carmel Air Force Base at Axtell near Waco in Texas.
May 11: The Red Army begins a surprise exercise in Byelorussia, following on from earlier spring exercises, and apparently testing a number of new tactics, weapons and formations in a defensive orientation. Subsequent reports obtained by Western intelligence assets indicate that there is some concern in Soviet defence ranks that the Red Army’s primarily offensive mission, training and doctrine is creating something of a potential vulnerability; the comparative lack of combat testing of Soviet heavier weapons systems has started to become more noticeable of late. There is some concern within American and British intelligence that perhaps too much intelligence of real value is being inadvertently supplied by double, triple and quadruple agents in order to keep up their cover.
May 12: For the second general election in a row, a debate between Prime Minister Stanley Barton and Opposition Leader Sir Enoch Powell is broadcast live on the BBC. Mr. Barton makes a persuasive case for Labour’s role in building a stronger British economy and a fair, just society, whilst Sir Enoch eloquently crafts an argument for a fresh approach that both builds upon current successes and offers a path towards a smaller tax burden upon the middle classes. Both men emphasise the importance of maintaining Britain’s security and her place in the world, and of ensuring that she can remain at the forefront of the technological revolution. Powell concludes by posing a question of whether the voters of Britain wish to see more of the same for the next five years, or if they are ready for change; Barton states plainly that the greatest days and golden age of the British Empire is still yet to come. Subsequent polling indicates that the public believe that Barton was the narrow winner of the debate, but that the larger part of the electorate has already made up their mind as to which party they support; some commentators draw the inference that it is likely that the election will be decided by a relatively small percentage of voters in new electorates who as yet have not seemed to fully commit to Labour, Liberal or the Conservatives, and that a hung parliament is a distinct possibility.
May 13: An agreement is reached whereby the American Basketball Association and the National Basketball Association are to merge their leagues as part of a new United States Basketball League for next season beginning in October, combining the 12 teams of the NBL and the 12 of the ABA into a new fully national competition, without the financial issues waylaying the NBA, or the incidents with a litigious dragon which have so vexed the ABA, as everyone knows.
May 14: Opening of the TransAmerica Bicycle Trail, a 6804 mile cycling trail stretching from Oregon through the mountain states, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky and Franklin before ending in Virginia. It has been established in readiness for the Bikecentennial, a mass bicycle ride by 10,000 riders in celebration of the 200th birthday of the United States. Several sections across Oregon and Idaho pass adjacent to some of the traditional territory of a tribe of bigfoot, with the route having been altered to accommodate the wishes of the reclusive creatures, following discussions with spokes-sasquatch Harry Henderson.
May 15: RAF Bomber Command completes its Future Forces Study, which postulates a force based around an advanced supersonic medium bomber to replace the now retiree Vickers Valiant and the Handley-Page Vengeance; the B.24/73 very long range strategic heavy bomber in combination with a new model of the legacy Avro Vulcan as a stand off missile carrier; the Supermarine Victory strategic penetrator; the TSR-2 in the strike bomber role; and the Vickers Thunderbolt as tactical interdiction strike bomber. The force structure is based on the numbers and types necessary to fulfil Britain’s statutory, treaty and alliance commitments on the size of the Royal Air Force and agreements on the deployment of specific minimum numbers of fighters, bombers, strike planes and attack aircraft across a number of theatres, concluding that ‘the bomber continues to be considered the most important and most versatile type of weapon in the aerial armies of the British Empire, as the combination of range, capacity and stand-off performance provides strategic planners and politicians alike with the broadest range of options.’ One appendix to the study does state that there may be role for a modern light attack aircraft to cater to some theatres, in conjunction with a potential Royal Navy carrier aircraft requirement, whilst another recommends proceeding with the acquisition of the Bristol Britannia II tactical transport plane.
May 16: TASS carries a feature article on the highly secretive Soviet starship programme, containing a number of carefully arranged and vetted photographs of unspecified manufacturing facilities working on what appear to be enormous turbines and metallic cylinders, and an extensive and predictably glowing interview with various officials on its scope and progress. Western observers note with interest that previous assertions that the ship would be ready by the year 2000 seem to be absent amid the lavish praise of Soviet scientific mastery.
May 17: French Premier d’Ambreville arrives in Washington D.C. on his official Super Caravelle for a state visit to the United States and is greeted by President Reagan. His visit, prior to a further attendance at the Bicentennial celebrations with the Marine Royale’s fleet, includes a state dinner at the White House and an impeccable English address to a joint sitting of Congress, where d’Ambreville highlights the constancy of French military support of the United States, most lately in Vietnam. Behind the scenes, intense discussions regarding potential arms sales occur.
May 18: British explorer and adventurer Tim Severin and his intrepid crew of four depart from Tralee, Ireland in a 36ft long leather boat with goat skin sails, aiming to prove that the legendary voyage of St. Brendan the Navigator was possible. After stopping off in the Hebrides, the Golden Isles, the Faroes and Hy Brasil, and wintering in Iceland, they successfully reach Newfoundland on June 26 1977, having successfully traversed the North Atlantic. During the voyage, Severin reports seeing a glimpse of a strange shining light, almost like a road in the darkness, stretching up into the predawn sky to the west.
May 19: Liverpool win the UEFA Cup, defeating Brugge KV 2-1 at the Olympiastadion in the second of their two games, having been victorious in the opening match at Anfield 3-2. The triumph, courtesy of a second half brace by star Kevin Keegan, comes as something of a belated and partial commiseration for their unexpected second place finish in the Football League behind Queen's Park Rangers.
May 20: Maiden trip of the Cyclops, a special atomic powered articulated triple-decker jumbo bus on a non-stop service between New York and Denver. After a number of unexpected incidents before the departure ceremony, the 'Big Bus' makes better than expected time, arriving in Denver 23 hours and 12 minutes after departure; it is hoped that subsequent trips can cut further time off the journey, and that it can be extended to San Francisco once appropriate route clearance and logistical issues are addressed. Whilst the utility of nuclear powered road vehicles is considered relatively niche even within the United States, it is thought that there may be some role for them to be used on particular locations in Mars; some scurrilous rumours suggest that the entire endeavour was merely a cover for a military experiment.
May 21: Destroyers of the Philippines Navy locate a suspected Soviet submarine in Philippines territorial waters off the coast of Panay and continue pursuing and monitoring the submerged contact until losing it in the Sulu Sea. Sonar operators report a curious new noise signature attached to the Soviet boat, suspected of being of the new Victor class, and its acceleration and diving capacity once in deep international waters. Expansive modernisation of the Philippines' naval capacity from its current level of 10 former USN Gearing and Fletcher class destroyers and 16 former USN Rudderow class destroyer escorts has been a priority of the current government, with discussions underway with the United States and other countries for the potential acquisition of modified Knox class ships, a specially designed destroyer and a light cruiser flagship.
May 22: Opening of an Anglo-American-Canadian tank conference in Washington D.C., which seeks to discuss potential coordination of emerging technologies in the area of armour, active protection, propulsion, main armament, specialist ammunition and electromagical warfare systems for the next generation of future British, U.S. and Canadian main battle tanks. Standing NATO agreements on the number of tanks contributed to SACEUR's command by the three nations and the exigencies of MBT purchases by many of the medium and smaller European states make the development of the putative successors to the Crusader and M-70 Marshall a matter of keen interest across the West, and the East.
May 23: Reverend James Jones, minister of the independent Christian sect known as the People’s Temple, is arrested in a joint operation by the SFPD, FBI and the Templars, on secular charges of conspiracy, sedition, violations of the Smith Act, assault and alleged sexual impropriety, as well as religious charges of heresy, staging fake miracles and false prophethood. After the conclusion of the investigation, Jones is tried for his federal and state criminal offences and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment, with the religious offences by tried by the Disciples of Christ and sentenced to be laicised and excommunicated, and the People’s Temple disbanded. An appeal by Jones, based upon the coordination between the FBI and Templars being a violation of the Establishment Clause, is subsequently dismissed.
May 24: The Judgement of Paris is held in the French capital, with five American and five French wines from the Cabernet Sauvignon and Bordeaux, Chardonnay, Semillon, Bergeroux and Vierseau grapes, figuratively representing the best of the New World's and the Old World's red, white, gold, green and blue wines, being subjected to a blind judgment by twelve American, British and French expert judges. In a very narrow decision, the American wines come top in the red, white and blue categories, with the French proving dominant in the golden and green ones, and the subsequent victory to the New World wines is regarded as a tremendous upset; several of the foreign judges have to engage personal bodyguards before they can leave Paris, lest they come to some misfortune at the hands of an outraged vintner.
May 25: Pope Paul VI elevates 25 priests to the College of Cardinals, including several who are not publicly identified, as they dwell behind the Iron Wall under Communist oppression, and Jaime Sin, the Archbishop of Manila, who becomes only the third Philippines cardinal. His Holiness appears relatively hale and hearty at the ceremony, if looking unseasonably pale.
May 26: A witness in a case of alleged embezzlement reveals under cross examination that the British campaign to eat more fish, ‘Fish the Dish’, had apparently been used for the purposes of laundering large amounts of money subsequently delivered into a variety of innocuously named community and cultural organisations, such as the League for the Preservation of Hedgerows and the ‘Cat Distribution System’. The presiding judge, Sir John Dredd, immediately halted proceedings, called counsel into his chambers for consultations and subsequently dismissed the jury. Judge Dredd, recently known for sentencing a pair of burglars to 36 years hard labour, has something of an idiosyncratic reputation, but in this case, which is subsequently classified under the Defence of the Realm Act, appears to have the full backing of the Home Office.
May 27: Maiden broadcast of Dungeons & Dragons, a new high quality animated children's series about the adventures of six Earthly children aged between 10 and 15 in the fantastical world of Dungeons & Dragons, where they are transported after riding a new rollercoaster and take on the roles of ranger, paladin, wizard, barbarian, rogue and druid, guided and mentored by the mysterious Dungeon Master. It features an advanced new form of sorcerously-enhanced animation and attracts both immediate plaudits for its bold, serious and not entirely childish style, and some concerned criticism on it potentially leading to dabbling in the occult, paganism and communism from The Very Concerned Mothers of America organisation; this leads to the addition of a small disclaimer in the final catchy credits, which reads 'Dungeons and Dragons is a far-out game. Swords, poison, spells, battles, treasure and adventure! But its all imagination. Remember, don't try magic at home without your parent's permission.'
May 28: A number of Tamil MPs are investigated for sedition in Ceylon, after allegedly distributing leaflets advocating greater Tamil regional autonomy within the country, but no charges are laid after high level discussions take place. Despite some pressure by Sinhalese groups for Sinhala to be made the sole national language, this step has been almost entirely rejected on grounds of practicality by the Ceylonese political establishment, given the sheer number of English speaking residents from the various British and Commonwealth space and defence related facilities across the island, and the significant Anglo-Ceylonese community, which numbers almost 250,000.
May 29: The British general election sees the Conservative Party under the leadership of Sir Enoch Powell emerge as the largest party in the House of Commons, winning 362 seats to Labour's 340, with the Liberals winning 140, the Nationals 42, the Socialists 20, the Radicals 17, Imperialists 15, the new Social Democrats with 14 and Independents 12. The Conservatives are thus well placed for discussions with the Liberals over either a coalition or an agreement on supply and support, with their nominal grouping with the Nationals and Imperialists, and Prime Minister Stanley Barton advises Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to send for Sir Enoch to form a new government. The close poll, which as expected resulted in a hung parliament, brings to an end almost 12 years of continuous Labour government and raises the spectre of the potential for another election, should the Conservatives find themselves unable to navigate the exigencies of a minority government; the general consensus of the three major parties over most questions of economics, defence, industry and social development does present an opportunity for either a grand coalition or at the least a modus vivendi between the Government and Opposition.
May 30: The first national German Streitkräftes Tag is held, celebrating the unifying role of the German armed forces across the country, and recognising the contribution by German forces to the collective defence of the West, whether it be at home along the Iron Wall, or serving in foreign conflicts such as the late one in Indochina. With over 2.7 million personnel currently serving in the Deutsches Heer, Luftwaffe and Deutsches Marine along with almost four and a half million first line reserves, the Kaiser's armed forces are a popular national institution, albeit one that has not yet quite shed all of the historical baggage of the two world wars in the view of some Germans.
May 31: The Monaco Grand Prix, the first to be held on a new, expanded and safer circuit, is won by Tony Brise, the protege of Graham Hill, narrowly from Niki Lauda, Ronnie Peterson, James Hunt and Steve McQueen. As the eighth of the twenty four race circuit, now expanded with additional races in India, Singapore, Rhodesia, Chile, Cuba, Yugoslavia and Byzantine Greece, and thus lying at the first third of the season, some patterns and predictions are emerging, including the Championship being at this point a three-way contest between Hunt, Lauda and McQueen.
-
Bernard Woolley
- Posts: 1246
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 4:06 pm
- Location: Earth
Re: Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
Great updates. I'm going to have to go back and read it again to really appreciate them!
EDIT: Glad to see the 'Big Bus' made it without any sabotage attempts, technical failures, or collisions with other road vehicles. Or, worse, splitting in two!
The UK election result is certainly 'interesting'. Are we looking at another election soon?
EDIT: Glad to see the 'Big Bus' made it without any sabotage attempts, technical failures, or collisions with other road vehicles. Or, worse, splitting in two!
The UK election result is certainly 'interesting'. Are we looking at another election soon?
“Frankly, I had enjoyed the war… and why do people want peace if the war is so much fun?” - Lieutenant General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1860
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
Bernard,
Thank you kindly. I’ve got to the stage where each day is its own little story, so many of them do have layers to them.
This particular Big Bus had a bit more watching over it than its counterparts, and not all trouble makes the news.
The election result is interesting indeed. The seat numbers come from me gaming it out using some election simulator bits and pieces that are on my computer as compared to this telephone. It has elements of the early 1920s at play, or the land prior to the split and collapse of the Liberal vote, but the nature of FPTP makes it difficult to really break through.
The constituency breakdown by region is:
England 510 (London 80, West Midlands 67, Yorkshire and the Humber 59, North West 60, North East 42, East Midlands 42, East Anglia 54, South East 64, South West 42)
Scotland 148
Ireland 140
Wales 76
Lyonesse 48
Overseas Territories 38 (Singapore 12, Malta 6, Cyprus 5, Gibraltar 2, Minorca 2, Cape Verde 2, Bermuda 2, St Peter's Island 1, Galapagos Islands 1, Easter Island 1, Falklands 1, Heligoland 1, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha 1, Azure Islands 1)
I’ve got some more analysis I’m going to slip into my notes, but there is unlikely to be another election soon, on account of the ‘numbers’ of the Conservative bloc - 419 vs Labour’s nominal 391.
This makes the Liberals more likely to provide some measure of support, *possibly* up unto a coalition with a few ministries going to them, such as Transport, Housing, the Environment and of course the Department of Administrative Affairs…
1976 result (960 seats) :
Conservatives 362
Labour 340
Liberal 140
Nationals 42
Radicals 17
Imperialists 15
Socialists 20
Social Democrats 14
Independents 12
1972 result (900 seats) :
Labour: 364
Conservative: 279
Liberal: 148
National: 44
Imperialist: 16
Independent: 18
Socialist: 15
Radical: 16
Thank you kindly. I’ve got to the stage where each day is its own little story, so many of them do have layers to them.
This particular Big Bus had a bit more watching over it than its counterparts, and not all trouble makes the news.
The election result is interesting indeed. The seat numbers come from me gaming it out using some election simulator bits and pieces that are on my computer as compared to this telephone. It has elements of the early 1920s at play, or the land prior to the split and collapse of the Liberal vote, but the nature of FPTP makes it difficult to really break through.
The constituency breakdown by region is:
England 510 (London 80, West Midlands 67, Yorkshire and the Humber 59, North West 60, North East 42, East Midlands 42, East Anglia 54, South East 64, South West 42)
Scotland 148
Ireland 140
Wales 76
Lyonesse 48
Overseas Territories 38 (Singapore 12, Malta 6, Cyprus 5, Gibraltar 2, Minorca 2, Cape Verde 2, Bermuda 2, St Peter's Island 1, Galapagos Islands 1, Easter Island 1, Falklands 1, Heligoland 1, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha 1, Azure Islands 1)
I’ve got some more analysis I’m going to slip into my notes, but there is unlikely to be another election soon, on account of the ‘numbers’ of the Conservative bloc - 419 vs Labour’s nominal 391.
This makes the Liberals more likely to provide some measure of support, *possibly* up unto a coalition with a few ministries going to them, such as Transport, Housing, the Environment and of course the Department of Administrative Affairs…
1976 result (960 seats) :
Conservatives 362
Labour 340
Liberal 140
Nationals 42
Radicals 17
Imperialists 15
Socialists 20
Social Democrats 14
Independents 12
1972 result (900 seats) :
Labour: 364
Conservative: 279
Liberal: 148
National: 44
Imperialist: 16
Independent: 18
Socialist: 15
Radical: 16
-
Bernard Woolley
- Posts: 1246
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 4:06 pm
- Location: Earth
Re: Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
After 12 years of government, a change of party often happens (except for viewers in Scotland). I wonder if comments will be made regarding the Liberals holding the balance of power despite dropping from 148 MPs in 1972 to 140 in 1976? Interestingly, if Labour was to convince the Socialists and Social Democrats to come in with them, they would have 374 MPs Vs the Conservative's 362. However, I get the impression that Barton would only try that if Powell fails to form a stable government. The Tories plus Liberals would be 502 MPs, but not a stable number.
There is certainly the possibility of a Vote of No Confidence early on in any Powell administration. It potentially only needs to make one mistake. If I were the Liberals, I would only offer Confidence and Supply and wait to see how long the government lasts.
There is certainly the possibility of a Vote of No Confidence early on in any Powell administration. It potentially only needs to make one mistake. If I were the Liberals, I would only offer Confidence and Supply and wait to see how long the government lasts.
“Frankly, I had enjoyed the war… and why do people want peace if the war is so much fun?” - Lieutenant General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1860
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
Splitting it into snippets for ease of my typing finger:Bernard Woolley wrote: ↑Fri Mar 13, 2026 3:57 pm After 12 years of government, a change of party often happens (except for viewers in Scotland).
I wonder if comments will be made regarding the Liberals holding the balance of power despite dropping from 148 MPs in 1972 to 140 in 1976?
Interestingly, if Labour was to convince the Socialists and Social Democrats to come in with them, they would have 374 MPs Vs the Conservative's 362.
However, I get the impression that Barton would only try that if Powell fails to form a stable government. The Tories plus Liberals would be 502 MPs, but not a stable number.
There is certainly the possibility of a Vote of No Confidence early on in any Powell administration. It potentially only needs to make one mistake. If I were the Liberals, I would only offer Confidence and Supply and wait to see how long the government lasts.
1.) Absolutely. That is the main driver here, as there is an absence of scandal, economic crisis or major areas of difference from the DE version of consensus.
2.) The Liberal drop occurred mainly due to shifting boundaries in some Irish and Scots seats, as well as the splitting of some previous constituencies in the Midlands into two, which did not evenly follow their voter base in those cases. The percentages will make a bit more sense, hopefully.
3.) The Imperialists are effectively a close ally of the Conservatives in virtually all but name, whilst the Nationals have ‘a strong base of support in the countryside of Ireland, Scotland and South West England and from Roman Catholics. Its policies focus on protectionism, physiocracy, traditionalism, populism, low taxation, land reform and robust defence of Britain and the Empire.’ That makes them frequent partners of the Conservatives.
4.) The Conservatives + Nationals + Imperialist + Liberals = 557, or a working majority/majority of 77. The Liberals, Labour, Socialists and SDs would get to 514, if the Socialists could be wrangled.
5.) The factor that you might not be crediting as much is that the Liberals have been out of office for 28 years, after having been one of the two Big Parties until the late 1920s. That type of ambition can lead to a big lure.
Additionally, and this is much more of a minor factor, there is a bit more of a ‘sportsmanlike’ approach to some aspects of politics, and this is exacerbated by the current nature of the parties; Barton’s Labour is a very different beast to our 1970s Labour.
-
Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1860
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
A little bit more on the election:
Turnout was 105,458,190 in Britain, or ~ 85.4% of the eligible population 21 and over. In the British Overseas Territories, turnout was 78% for 4,098,453. From British subjects living in the colonies or overseas, turnout was 62.4% for 6,115,247. Total turnout was 115,671,890
Conservatives: 39,124,952 (33.8%)
Labour: 35,929,656 (31.1%)
Liberal: 26,548,694 (23%)
National: 5,603,061 (4.8%)
Socialists: 2,247,485 (1.9%)
Radicals: 1,816,444 (1.6%)
Imperialists: 1,625,127 (1.4%)
Social Democrats: 1,473,918 (1.3%)
Independents: 1,302,553 (1.1%)
Total: 115,671,890
- The Liberal vote in pre-election polling was only a little higher than what they ended up with; the 34%/30%/24% at the start of the election was not far off the end result
- For a majority government (481+) something in the region of 40% or more of the popular vote would be required
British Overseas Territories: Population 5,254,427 (Singapore 3,254,179, Malta 679,480, Cyprus 624,957, Azure Islands 236,398, Cape Verde 154,079, Bermuda 87,552, Minorca 72,834, Gibraltar 64,952, St. Peter's 26,128, Falklands 25,873, Easter Island 9006, Saint Helena 8247 + Ascension 1254 + Tristan 562, Galapagos 5649 and Heligoland 3277)
Turnout was 105,458,190 in Britain, or ~ 85.4% of the eligible population 21 and over. In the British Overseas Territories, turnout was 78% for 4,098,453. From British subjects living in the colonies or overseas, turnout was 62.4% for 6,115,247. Total turnout was 115,671,890
Conservatives: 39,124,952 (33.8%)
Labour: 35,929,656 (31.1%)
Liberal: 26,548,694 (23%)
National: 5,603,061 (4.8%)
Socialists: 2,247,485 (1.9%)
Radicals: 1,816,444 (1.6%)
Imperialists: 1,625,127 (1.4%)
Social Democrats: 1,473,918 (1.3%)
Independents: 1,302,553 (1.1%)
Total: 115,671,890
- The Liberal vote in pre-election polling was only a little higher than what they ended up with; the 34%/30%/24% at the start of the election was not far off the end result
- For a majority government (481+) something in the region of 40% or more of the popular vote would be required
British Overseas Territories: Population 5,254,427 (Singapore 3,254,179, Malta 679,480, Cyprus 624,957, Azure Islands 236,398, Cape Verde 154,079, Bermuda 87,552, Minorca 72,834, Gibraltar 64,952, St. Peter's 26,128, Falklands 25,873, Easter Island 9006, Saint Helena 8247 + Ascension 1254 + Tristan 562, Galapagos 5649 and Heligoland 3277)