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My nickname here stems from my long affection for the plans made in the early 1960s for how Britain's Armed Forces would look in the 1970s.
Most regular visitors here will have heard of TSR2. This strike aircraft was planned to replace Canberras and Valiants as a theatre strike aircraft. But there were also plans for the P1154 Harrier to replace Hunters in RAF close air support squadrons while the AW681 four jet transporter was to become the standard airlifter.
Meanwhile the Royal Navy had ordered five Polaris submarines to enter service at the end of the 60s replacing the RAF Vulcans and Victors. Plans called for some of these to serve on into the 70s.
Fleet submarines with nuclear power were follow ons to Valiant and Warspite with more boats to be built after the R class completed.
The Royal Navy's surface fleet would get a new aircraft carrier (CVA01) to enter service in the early 70s. A second vessel would then be ordered. Of its existing four big carriers Eagle and Hermes would serve alongside CVA01. Apart from the Buccaneer strike aircraft Phantoms were on order to be the fighters. Alternatives to replace both planes were VG designs like the BAC583 and the AFVG.
Sadly the impressive 1962 Escort Cruiser had been put on hold while the T82 destroyer would introduce Seadart and Ikara to the fleet. Conversion of the recently completed Tiger class gun cruisers would allow Seaking ASW helos to join the fleet.
Meanwhile the Army was getting the Chieftain main battle tank and the FV432 troop carrier as well as the Abbot self propelled gun. A family of airportable wheeled and tracked vehicles was being developed. Heavier weapons like artillery and nuclear missiles were US NATO types. Blue Water had already died but was a member of my randomly jotted forces.
Reality brought some disappointing downgrades but probably larger numbers than those planned in the early 60s.
A combination of Vulcans and Buccaneers replaced TSR2 while Jaguar almost exactly replaced 1154. The more practical P1127 RAF became the Harrier and was used in ways 1154 could not have been. The immortal Hercules replaced 681. In the longer run the VG Tornado provided the fighter/attacker VG first examined in the early 60s though not until 1985 rather than 1975.
Polaris entered service though the fifth boat was sacrificed to political dogma. The Fleet Submarine evolved into S and T class boats with US supplied missiles but again in the 80s rather than 70s.
The surface fleet went into a decline from which it has never recovered. The Ark Royal carried the planes planned for CVA01 until 1978 but the catapult carrier in RN service died with it. Three cruisers with through decks and helicopters received a handful of Harriers from 1980 to the early years of the 21st Century. The RN became a frigate navy with some air defence variants called destroyers. Individual ships were more capable than their predecessors. Costs soared reliability fell. 26 Leanders became 13T23s which then limped into the 2000s.
The British Army saw out the Cold War with the kit mentioned above. Its strengths and weaknesses were shown in 1991 when it took the whole Army to get one Division to the Gulf.
After return to old battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan a much smaller Army remained as brave as it was underequipped. One can only wonder how it would survive in Ukraine.
With hindsight the 70s turned out not as good as I had dreamed in the 60s but they were a better time than they might have been. Since 1991 the decline set in motion in 1956 or 1966 has become a rout.
Plenty of scope then for an alt UK thread to draw in stories from the others.
The TSR2 provides a good starting point. It was the only large combat aircraft programme left to UK industry. The resulting aircraft looks in retrospect nothing like a Canberra replacement. Perhaps its the white paint job or the size but the prototype looked to me as a kid and still does shout out: V Bomber!
Eventually the RAF agreed and 48 Vulcan B2s did the job from 1969 to 1983 (longer than the original planned life of TSR2?)
F111K and the very similar UKVG are closer to what TSR2 should have been. Compact and with a decent range.
Like all 60s kids VSTOL was obviously cool. My fondness is shown by my avatar of the crazy AVS design. But the more I look at Jaguar and P1154 the more I think a more powerful Jaguar could have replaced both Hunter and some Lightnings. It looks like a mini F4 and shows BAC could have done it.
681 flew in the 70s as the Kawasaki C1 and the McDd YC15.. The Soviet IL76 always reminds me of Belfast mated with 681. But the Herc was too hard an act to beat.
Well, thats all for now
Most regular visitors here will have heard of TSR2. This strike aircraft was planned to replace Canberras and Valiants as a theatre strike aircraft. But there were also plans for the P1154 Harrier to replace Hunters in RAF close air support squadrons while the AW681 four jet transporter was to become the standard airlifter.
Meanwhile the Royal Navy had ordered five Polaris submarines to enter service at the end of the 60s replacing the RAF Vulcans and Victors. Plans called for some of these to serve on into the 70s.
Fleet submarines with nuclear power were follow ons to Valiant and Warspite with more boats to be built after the R class completed.
The Royal Navy's surface fleet would get a new aircraft carrier (CVA01) to enter service in the early 70s. A second vessel would then be ordered. Of its existing four big carriers Eagle and Hermes would serve alongside CVA01. Apart from the Buccaneer strike aircraft Phantoms were on order to be the fighters. Alternatives to replace both planes were VG designs like the BAC583 and the AFVG.
Sadly the impressive 1962 Escort Cruiser had been put on hold while the T82 destroyer would introduce Seadart and Ikara to the fleet. Conversion of the recently completed Tiger class gun cruisers would allow Seaking ASW helos to join the fleet.
Meanwhile the Army was getting the Chieftain main battle tank and the FV432 troop carrier as well as the Abbot self propelled gun. A family of airportable wheeled and tracked vehicles was being developed. Heavier weapons like artillery and nuclear missiles were US NATO types. Blue Water had already died but was a member of my randomly jotted forces.
Reality brought some disappointing downgrades but probably larger numbers than those planned in the early 60s.
A combination of Vulcans and Buccaneers replaced TSR2 while Jaguar almost exactly replaced 1154. The more practical P1127 RAF became the Harrier and was used in ways 1154 could not have been. The immortal Hercules replaced 681. In the longer run the VG Tornado provided the fighter/attacker VG first examined in the early 60s though not until 1985 rather than 1975.
Polaris entered service though the fifth boat was sacrificed to political dogma. The Fleet Submarine evolved into S and T class boats with US supplied missiles but again in the 80s rather than 70s.
The surface fleet went into a decline from which it has never recovered. The Ark Royal carried the planes planned for CVA01 until 1978 but the catapult carrier in RN service died with it. Three cruisers with through decks and helicopters received a handful of Harriers from 1980 to the early years of the 21st Century. The RN became a frigate navy with some air defence variants called destroyers. Individual ships were more capable than their predecessors. Costs soared reliability fell. 26 Leanders became 13T23s which then limped into the 2000s.
The British Army saw out the Cold War with the kit mentioned above. Its strengths and weaknesses were shown in 1991 when it took the whole Army to get one Division to the Gulf.
After return to old battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan a much smaller Army remained as brave as it was underequipped. One can only wonder how it would survive in Ukraine.
With hindsight the 70s turned out not as good as I had dreamed in the 60s but they were a better time than they might have been. Since 1991 the decline set in motion in 1956 or 1966 has become a rout.
Plenty of scope then for an alt UK thread to draw in stories from the others.
The TSR2 provides a good starting point. It was the only large combat aircraft programme left to UK industry. The resulting aircraft looks in retrospect nothing like a Canberra replacement. Perhaps its the white paint job or the size but the prototype looked to me as a kid and still does shout out: V Bomber!
Eventually the RAF agreed and 48 Vulcan B2s did the job from 1969 to 1983 (longer than the original planned life of TSR2?)
F111K and the very similar UKVG are closer to what TSR2 should have been. Compact and with a decent range.
Like all 60s kids VSTOL was obviously cool. My fondness is shown by my avatar of the crazy AVS design. But the more I look at Jaguar and P1154 the more I think a more powerful Jaguar could have replaced both Hunter and some Lightnings. It looks like a mini F4 and shows BAC could have done it.
681 flew in the 70s as the Kawasaki C1 and the McDd YC15.. The Soviet IL76 always reminds me of Belfast mated with 681. But the Herc was too hard an act to beat.
Well, thats all for now
