alternate history

Inspired by the Projects that should have been killed at birth thread's recent conversation about the B-1s futility/utility I thought I'd make a "What If" thread if the AMSA/B-1 program never saw flight. So for whatever reason the AMSA program is not revived by the Nixon Administration...

When I chatted with East German friends in the 80s before the Wall came down I was interested in how both Regime critical church people and pro Regime journalists agreed that 1968 had been a missed opportunity to reform the Communist system. Since the fall of the Wall it has been claimed that...

The UK nuclear deterrent has become after the NHS a political commitment for both Tory and Labour PMs to show their metal. But an earlier Tory PM, Harold Macmillan had his doubts as did Sir Winston Churchill. Macmillan got on well with the new young US President. Kennedy for his part saw the UK...

Kissinger never gets to leave Germany. The United States wins every war of the twentieth century. In the 21st century the United States is the most respected and influential power in the world and succeeds in creating a free, rich and democratic global society.

I've already asked this on the battlecruisers forum but I ask here as well: https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/alltheworldsbattlecruisers/the-decisive-battle-at-antivari-t9042.html#p23148 Historically the Battle of Antivari was a minor battle at the start of WW1 and the first one of the...

An interesting take on the A4 Skyhawk in Royal Navy service with nice artwork. http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/skyhawkinfaaservicejh_1.htm

"The Heinkel He 177 Greif (Griffin) was a long-range heavy bomber flown by the Luftwaffe during World War II. Purpose-designed for high-altitude bombing with pressurized crew accommodation. The He 177 A-7 R2 variant was intended to use original "power system" engines, each of which consisted of...

"Patlabor 2" featured two improved F-15 and F-16 variants designed by Shōji Kawamori. Recently HMA Garage released 1/144 models kits of those designs along with detailed artworks. Links provided are from model kits webstores that show materials from HMA but not available on their site. F-15...

the sale of the Gorshkov was, and still is one of India's most controversial naval acquisitions. I recalled that it was close to not going through due to changes in pricing and schedule. Lets assume that India decided NOT to go with the Gorshkov - How would this happen? - What would India's...

A knotty design conundrum! Using some 'imagineering', what if the Curtis XP55 'Ascender' and the Kyushu J7W 'Shinden' went into production and both spawned navalised variants for carrier deployment. The thorny issue of deck landing arises; 3-point tricycle landing gear means the awkward...

Surprisingly we have not had a thread devoted to how the RAF should have replaced its Canberras? The Canberra was such a success that it was even bought by the USAF as the Martin B57. With the benefit of hindsight it ought to have been simple. The Buccaneer S2 did the job for a while with 2 RAF...

G'day folks, consider this. The TSR2 goes into service and later requires a SLEP, what engines are avaulable and could a big wing be fitted/would it be an improvement?

The year 1968 will always be remembered for its upheavels. But it also saw Nixon elected in the USA and the Breshnev doctrine crush new thinking in Eastern Europe. Alternative departures from real history in 1968 could go either way. The toymaker Marx went so far as to make a President Hubert...

What if the Sino-Soviet split did not occur? Basically there were ideological differences between Mao and Khruschev, which led to the split. Lets say in this scenario, both sides were a bit more flexible about the interpretation of Communism and agreed to some how respect each others...

Germany was experimenting with various VTOL aircraft during the cold war in the end they didn't go for any of them. in this alternate scenario.. what if Germany did order some into production? 1. Which design would be the most likely to lead to operation? they had the VAK 191, DO 31 (this...

The thread about the V Force has shown how brilliant some of the researchers here are at providing us with material unique to this site. So as we are still a bit limited in where and what we can do this Summer, I am adding the subject which has cropped up in many other threads: RAF Fighter...

I am delighted that others are already making good use of the Alt 60s US Navy thread. It probably needs a balancing thread to cover the Soviet Navy, which for both the USN and the RN was "the enemy fleet in being". After the fifties scare surrounding the Swerdlow class cruisers, the nuclear...

The Royal Navy in the 1960s has been the place for many alternative history threads helped by the excellent books on the subject and the enthusiasm of Brits like me for CVA01 and co. The US Navy offers even more scope for programmes that could have been. Some thoughts to kick things off...

Vought took General Dynamics design and offered the V-1600, 1601 and 1602 McDonnel Douglas took Northrops design and transformed the YF-17 to what would become the F-18 and won However in this scenario, lets say one of Vought's design won. At that time Sec Def, Schlesinger was heavily pushing...

What if the Iranian revolution never succeeded.. either changes were made that prevented it from occurring, or that it occurred but failed. How would it affect US relations with Iran? Would they still continue to import US weapons? Iran relations with other Mid-East countries? would there...