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After the Cuban missile crisis in 1962 the US replaced its land based medium range ballistic missiles in Europe. While the Minuteman ICBM was the main national deterrent system, the role of countering Russian missiles aimed at Western Europe was taken on by Polaris (later Poseidon) submarines based in Holy Loch (UK) and Rota (Spain).
The Soviet Union countered in turn by developing the SS20 mobile missile to add to its ageing SS4/5 force, which remained in service.
NATO did not respond to this until Helmut Schmidt cast doubt on whether a US President would sacrifice Chicago for Hamburg. Then began the lengthy two track decision that saw Cruise missiles and Pershing 2 sent to Europe.
However, the US had another possibility: single stage Minuteman.
Had Kennedy not been followed by Johnson and Nixon but by an ardent anti-communist like Goldwater or Wallace and West Germany had seen Franz Josef Strauss as Chancellor, NATO might have countered developments like the tracked Scamp/Scapegoat (never deployed) with its own weapons in West Germany and possible elsewhere (Turkey). Single stage Minuteman would have been one option. The UK looked at air and land launched Polaris. So that might also have been offered.
Fast forward to the present day and INF is again an issue with Russia deploying missiles uniquely targeting Western European cities. Pershing 2 was sufficient to give Andropov and Gorbachev nightmares and arguably brought the first major thawing of the 80s Arms Race: the INF Treaty. I imagine the US could produce a similar weapon in short order though I doubt NATO would ask for its deployment. France of course has the capability (Hades) to produce its own counter. Hope Mr Putin knows this...
 
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So what is the AH scenario you want to explore?
 
I recently filled my mind brain and HD with Force de frappe alternatives.
I dug out things like

- Franco Germano Italian solid fuel IRBMs, 1957-1959 F-I-G agreements

- Same players toying with Polaris ideas

- Great Britain trying to join the party with Blue Streak in 1958

- NATO MLF projects:dual keys Polaris on barges, railways, surface ships and even nuclear subs

- France trying to screw ELDO and Europa to get Blue Streak back as an IRBM for the Force de Frappe (April 1960 to Nassau)

- Alternate Nassau: Black Knight IRBM "plan B" if no Polaris. British Hound Dogs and Minutemans.

-MacMillan and JFK trying to bribe / seduce / lure De Gaulle out of an independant french nuclear deterrent; with proposals involving things like Blue Water, V-bombers, TSR-2, Polaris, Skipjack and Dreadnought SSNs... unbelievable.
De Gaulle did not moved by an inch.
 
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Italy with ALPHA missile
ALBM Skybolt from British bomber
 
My alternate history was one in which Chancellor Franz Josef Strauss takes over in Germany instead of the mild mannered Ludwig Erhard.
Strauss agrees with De Gaulle that the Berlin crisis and Kennedy's move to gradual escalation rather than massive retaliation will not deter the Soviet Union.
De Gaulle decouples France from the NATO military structure and its HQ plus US forces leave France.
The surprise Goldwater victory in the 1964 election brings a President more in tune with FJS. Goldwater offers to deploy Single Stage Minuteman/Land Polaris to West Germany (and Turkey). The fall of Kruschev adds to pressure to show strength.
De Gaulle while impressed by Goldwater, does not want to see FJS having access to MRBMs and proposes a nuclear guarantee by France using its developing Triad of Mirage IVs, SSBNs and MRBMs on the Plateau D'Albion coupled with deployment of an extra French Corps in Germany.
Strauss is a cunning and patient politician who speaks French and English fluently. He is content to make Washington and Paris work for their influence.
In London the new Labour government of Harold Wilson embarks on massive defence cuts to try and balance the books. Polaris is unpopular with the loud CND movement, especially after Goldwater becomes President. Wilson sees early entry to the European Economic Community (EEC) as the only way of getting Britain back on its feet.
De Gaulle suggests that if Britain were to follow France rather than the US militarily he would be happy to support UK admission.
Wilson scraps the Nassau agreement and the five R class submarines are built as SSNs replacing the C class, which were delayed in real life by Polaris.
Wilson does not yet want to give up Britain's East of Suez commitment or the V Force. The RAF having lost TSR2 and P1154 are told to take Buccaneer and P1127 instead to save scarce Dollars.
The RN Phantom buy is cancelled, as is CVA01. But the existing carrier force may still be replaced in the 70s with numbers and types to be determined. A joint BAC Dassault fighter/attacker would serve both AFs and Ns.
By 1966 the NATO alliance is in a very different place from.1962.
 
Not really sure that works.
Starting with Science, strategy, politics and technology.

Science: there is no way to successfully decouple UK and US science in the Bomb. Heath asked just that question looking to offer up UK Science on the Bomb to France and got that reply from UK Scientific experts.

Strategy: UK Deterrent existence is tied to the effort to maintain independence. Through which UK interests hold European independence from USSR as paramount. In much the same way as it was to defend against Adolf, the Kaiser, Napoleon and Spain.
For this reason then the logic of the SSBN and SLBM are unambiguous.
It goes without saying that this is neither quite US or French interests.

Technology: at that time, the UK was readying itself to develop it's own solid fuel SLBM. Hence the trial 54" rocket.
By this, we can see it is paramount to field the SSBN/SLBM system.

Politically it is humiliation to offer up to France, and counter to post-Suez concensus of staying close to the US. Domestically it's not an easy sell.
 
'Technology: at that time, the UK was readying itself to develop it's own solid fuel SLBM. Hence the trial 54" rocket.'

I think that that is over egging the pudding.
 
'Technology: at that time, the UK was readying itself to develop it's own solid fuel SLBM. Hence the trial 54" rocket.'

I think that that is over egging the pudding.
Maybe but it wasn't beyond the UK Scientific and Industrial base to achieve it.
 

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