NOMISYRRUC
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Introduction
This thread exists in the same fictional universe as my other Post-War British Aviation threads & the Argus class Fleet Aircraft Carriers thread. It is an unashamed piece of wishful thinking that employs loads of hindsight which (by definition) the people at the time didn't have the benefit of. Therefore, if you don't like that sort of thing, read no further.
From Dakota to Comet
The POD was too late to affect the development of the transport aircraft used between the middle 1940s and middle 1950s. Therefore, the number of Dakotas, Hastings, Valettas & Yorks used by the RAF was the same as IOTL and there were no qualitative improvements to those aircraft.
The number of Comets may have been different because the "Big Trident" with Medway engines was built ITTL and the RAF may have bought 5 of them instead of the 5 Comet C.4s it bought IOTL. As I've mentioned the "Big Trident" about 350 Tridents were sold ITTL instead of 117 (about 18% of the 1,949 Boeing 727s & Tridents built instead of 6%) and the Nimrod of TTL was a development of the "Big Trident" instead of the Comet.
Operational Requirement 161 and Specification C.3/46
They produced the Hawker Siddeley Hartlepool (a British equivalent to the Lockheed Hercules) with the 10ft x 10ft cargo bay planned for the HS.681. 177 were built for the RAF instead of the Beverley, Argosy and Hercules. The first 49 aircraft (which built instead of the Beverley) were built to Hartlepool C.1 standard with Clyde or Proteus engines, the last 128 (which were built instead of the Argosy, Hercules & HS.681) were built to Hartlepool C.2 or C.3 standard with Tyne engines and the surviving C.1s may have had Tynes fitted in the 1960s. It entered service with No. 47 Squadron, RAF in March 1956 and all other things being equal there were usually 8 squadrons from November 1962 to May 1970.
The type sold moderately well on the export market. The first export customer was the RAAF which bought 24 instead of the 12 C-130A and 12 C-130E they purchased IOTL. Other customers included the RCAF which bought 28 instead of their 4 C-130Bs & 24 C-130Es; the RNZAF which bought 5 instead of their 5 C-130Hs; and the SAAF which bought 16 in place of their 7 C-130Bs & 9 Transalls. Furthermore, at least 18 Hartlepools with Tyne engines were sold on the civil market instead of the 18 civil Argossies of OTL.
The non-RAF sales totalled 91 aircraft and increased the total number of Hartlepools built to at least 268 aircraft by 1970, which was dwarfed by the number of Hercules transport aircraft that Lockheed sold on the military and civil markets, but was still a great improvement on the 74 Argosies and 49 Beverlies built IOTL.
Operational Requirement 315 and Specification C.132
They produced the Short Stockton (a British equivalent to the Lockheed Starlifter) whose hold had the 12ft x 12ft cross-section of the OTL Short Belfast, so it was effectively the SC.5/45 of OTL, but a decade earlier and with RR Conway engines instead of RB.178s. 54 were built for the RAF consisting of one prototype, 29 Stockton C.1 and 24 Stockton C.2 instead of the 7 V.1000, 23 Britannia, 10 Belfast & 14 VC.10 ordered IOTL. The Stockton C.2 (which was built instead of the Belfast & VC.10) had more powerful Conway engines and the earlier aircraft might have had their engines modified to this standard. All other things being equal it entered service with No. 99 Squadron, RAF in June 1959 and there were 4 squadrons (Nos. 10, 53, 99 & 511) by July 1966.
The RCAF bought 24 Stockton C.1s and 4 Stockton C.2s which increased the total built to 82. The C.1s were purchased instead of the 12 Yukons built for the RCAF IOTL and the C.2s (which replaced its Comets) were purchased instead of the 5 Boeing 707s bought in the early 1970s. According to the Bertram Charles Frandsen in "The Rise and Fall of Canada's Cold War Air Force" the RCAF wanted 24 Yukons as a one-for-one replacement for its North Stars and before that it had a requirement for 28 North Stars which was changed to 24 North Stars and 4 Comets (because the former was out of production) but only two Comets were purchased.
The Valetta Replacement
Is either the OTL Hawker Siddeley Andover, or a development of the OTL Handley Page Herald, which ITTL was the BAC Herald because Handley Page and Miles became part of the British Aircraft Corporation circa 1948. Whichever aircraft was chosen, it was built in the same numbers as the Andover IOTL, entered service at the same time as the Andover IOTL and equipped the same number of RAF squadrons as the Andover IOTL.
This thread exists in the same fictional universe as my other Post-War British Aviation threads & the Argus class Fleet Aircraft Carriers thread. It is an unashamed piece of wishful thinking that employs loads of hindsight which (by definition) the people at the time didn't have the benefit of. Therefore, if you don't like that sort of thing, read no further.
From Dakota to Comet
The POD was too late to affect the development of the transport aircraft used between the middle 1940s and middle 1950s. Therefore, the number of Dakotas, Hastings, Valettas & Yorks used by the RAF was the same as IOTL and there were no qualitative improvements to those aircraft.
The number of Comets may have been different because the "Big Trident" with Medway engines was built ITTL and the RAF may have bought 5 of them instead of the 5 Comet C.4s it bought IOTL. As I've mentioned the "Big Trident" about 350 Tridents were sold ITTL instead of 117 (about 18% of the 1,949 Boeing 727s & Tridents built instead of 6%) and the Nimrod of TTL was a development of the "Big Trident" instead of the Comet.
Operational Requirement 161 and Specification C.3/46
They produced the Hawker Siddeley Hartlepool (a British equivalent to the Lockheed Hercules) with the 10ft x 10ft cargo bay planned for the HS.681. 177 were built for the RAF instead of the Beverley, Argosy and Hercules. The first 49 aircraft (which built instead of the Beverley) were built to Hartlepool C.1 standard with Clyde or Proteus engines, the last 128 (which were built instead of the Argosy, Hercules & HS.681) were built to Hartlepool C.2 or C.3 standard with Tyne engines and the surviving C.1s may have had Tynes fitted in the 1960s. It entered service with No. 47 Squadron, RAF in March 1956 and all other things being equal there were usually 8 squadrons from November 1962 to May 1970.
The type sold moderately well on the export market. The first export customer was the RAAF which bought 24 instead of the 12 C-130A and 12 C-130E they purchased IOTL. Other customers included the RCAF which bought 28 instead of their 4 C-130Bs & 24 C-130Es; the RNZAF which bought 5 instead of their 5 C-130Hs; and the SAAF which bought 16 in place of their 7 C-130Bs & 9 Transalls. Furthermore, at least 18 Hartlepools with Tyne engines were sold on the civil market instead of the 18 civil Argossies of OTL.
The non-RAF sales totalled 91 aircraft and increased the total number of Hartlepools built to at least 268 aircraft by 1970, which was dwarfed by the number of Hercules transport aircraft that Lockheed sold on the military and civil markets, but was still a great improvement on the 74 Argosies and 49 Beverlies built IOTL.
Operational Requirement 315 and Specification C.132
They produced the Short Stockton (a British equivalent to the Lockheed Starlifter) whose hold had the 12ft x 12ft cross-section of the OTL Short Belfast, so it was effectively the SC.5/45 of OTL, but a decade earlier and with RR Conway engines instead of RB.178s. 54 were built for the RAF consisting of one prototype, 29 Stockton C.1 and 24 Stockton C.2 instead of the 7 V.1000, 23 Britannia, 10 Belfast & 14 VC.10 ordered IOTL. The Stockton C.2 (which was built instead of the Belfast & VC.10) had more powerful Conway engines and the earlier aircraft might have had their engines modified to this standard. All other things being equal it entered service with No. 99 Squadron, RAF in June 1959 and there were 4 squadrons (Nos. 10, 53, 99 & 511) by July 1966.
The RCAF bought 24 Stockton C.1s and 4 Stockton C.2s which increased the total built to 82. The C.1s were purchased instead of the 12 Yukons built for the RCAF IOTL and the C.2s (which replaced its Comets) were purchased instead of the 5 Boeing 707s bought in the early 1970s. According to the Bertram Charles Frandsen in "The Rise and Fall of Canada's Cold War Air Force" the RCAF wanted 24 Yukons as a one-for-one replacement for its North Stars and before that it had a requirement for 28 North Stars which was changed to 24 North Stars and 4 Comets (because the former was out of production) but only two Comets were purchased.
The Valetta Replacement
Is either the OTL Hawker Siddeley Andover, or a development of the OTL Handley Page Herald, which ITTL was the BAC Herald because Handley Page and Miles became part of the British Aircraft Corporation circa 1948. Whichever aircraft was chosen, it was built in the same numbers as the Andover IOTL, entered service at the same time as the Andover IOTL and equipped the same number of RAF squadrons as the Andover IOTL.
