The Most Accessible Olympics Ever - Yeah, Right...

We've had ministers, LOCOG and BoJo all claiming London 2012 would be "the most accessible Olympics ever", but the sad reality is that they have actually slashed the budget for accessibility improvements and quietly dropped targets for improvement (while still proclaiming their virtual sainthood to the masses).

 Out of 270 Tube stations, only 66, virtually all in the suburbs, have step free access to the platform, and 49 of those then have a step up to the train.

 Good enough, or a sick joke?

More Jet Sturgeons

Hypothetical markings for a Sturgeon NF.II of 1782 NAS, serving with the British Pacific Fleet and shore-based at Manus in August 1946 for defence of the fleet anchorage at Seeadler Harbour against night-raiders.

Short Jet Sturgeon

The complicated development of the Short Sturgeon started with the S.6/43 requirement for a high-performance torpedo bomber and reconnaissance aircraft with a weight of no more than 24,000lb. Short Brothers were not invited to tender, but when the initial estimates from the firms that had been approached came in it became apparent that a twin-engined aircraft meeting all of the requirements was unlikely to weigh less than 26,000lbs, while a single-engined aircraft was unlikely to have better performance than those already in service. The S.6/43 requirement was allowed to continue, in case something useful might arise out of it, and there is some evidence to suggest Shorts submitted uninvited proposals for both single and twin-engined aircraft to meet S.6/43, which, like the proposals from other manufacturers, were not adopted.

Meanwhile the initial requirement was split in two with the torpedo bomber becoming O.5/43, and eventually the Fairey Spearfish, while the reconnaissance aircraft became S.11/43 for a reconnaissance aircraft with bomber capability to operate from the Ark Royal and Hermes class carriers that were building for service with the Royal Navy off Burma and Malaya and in the Pacific. Shorts submitted the twin Merlin S.38 Sturgeon as their tender, while Armstrong Whitworth proposed the twin Merlin powered AW.54 and, after the AW.54 was criticized for lack of power, the AW.54A with two MetroVick F.3 turbojets, submissions were also made by Blackburn and Fairey with twin Merlin designs and Westland with a mixed-power design with a Pratt and Whitney R.4360 radial in the nose and a Halford H.1 turbojet in the tail. On 19th October 1943 Shorts received an order for three Sturgeon S.1 prototypes, with the tailored requirements following in February 1944.

The Sturgeon S.1 flew for the first time on 7th June 1946, and proved to have excellent handling. As initially developed it was a neat and compact three-seater with navigator and radio-operator carried within the fuselage, powered by two 2080hp Merlin 140s driving contra-rotating propellers (in order to minimise the yaw from asymmetric power in the single engine out situation). Provision was made in the design for the later replacement of the Merlins with Griffons. Fuel tanks held 410 gallons of fuel. ASV radar was carried in the nose, while armament comprised 2 or 4 .50 Brownings in the lower nose, a single 1000lb bomb, or equivalent combinations of smaller bombs or depth charges, in the bomb bay, and up to 16 60lb/3 inch Rocket Projectiles under the wings. Two F.52 cameras and a single F.24 camera were carried for the reconnaisance role, which was intended to be flown with a crew of two and a 180 gallon long-range tank in the bomb bay.

A contemporary article on the Sturgeon S.1 can be found here.

Unfortunately by the time the Sturgeon flew the war was over and construction of the Ark Royal and Hermes class carriers had been suspended. It was theoretically possible to operate the Sturgeon from the Illustrious and Colossus class carriers, but at the cost of keeping the aircraft on deck at all times and of having to rework the arrester gear on the Illustrious class. The requirement for the Sturgeon S.1 was therefore abandoned. The Sturgeon did see successful service with the fleet, but as the largely shore-based Sturgeon TT.2 high speed target tug with a grossly elongated nose holding a camera position. Later in their career a handful were reworked as TT.3s with a nose much closer to the original design. Later still Shorts attempted to develop the Sturgeon into the SB.3 as a competitor for the Fairey Gannet, replacing the engines with Armstrong Siddeley Mamba turboprops and installing a grotesque nose housing both a large radar scanner and two sensor operator positions. Unfortunately the downward exhaust of the Mambas, which varied with thrust, destabilized the SB.3's handling throughout the envelope and it proceeded no further.

The Jet Sturgeon shown here is based on an illustration of a Shorts proposal reproduced in British Secret Projects 3, and probably originated with N.21/45, an urgent FAA requirement for a night fighter to replace the Fairey Firefly. It is likely the unidentified design is the Shorts S.41. N.21/45 was written around the modification of the De Havilland Sea Hornet for the night fighter role, however this was considered high risk as the Sea Hornet was designed as a single-seater with the most compact fuselage possible, meaning space would need to be found to shoe-horn a radar operator into the fuselage somewhere, while a radar scanner would need to be installed in the nose, which was almost completely masked by the Sea Hornet's engines. The Assistant Chief of the Naval Staff (Air) therefore directed that a night fighter variant of the Sturgeon should be investigated as an alternative design against failure of the Sea Hornet NF.21. It was recognised that the Sea Hornet would be the superior combat aircraft, with considerably better performance, but the Sturgeon conversion would be considerably lower risk. In the event the Sea Hornet NF.21 was successfully deployed with the fleet in 1949.

The Jet Sturgeon Nightfighter retained the wing of the Sturgeon S.1, but replaced the Merlins with two Rolls Royce AJ.40 turbojets (Axial Jet, 4000lb thrust - the well-known Avon started as the AJ.60). The fuselage was modified, raising the nose relative to the engine nacelles to maximise the arcs of the AI radar in the nose radome (the Sea Hornet NF.21 ultimately carried ASH radar in an elongated 'thimble' radome, but the considerably larger radome of the Sturgeon would potentially have been able to carry other AI sets with larger antennae), while the tailplane was moved half-way up the tail in order to clear it from the jet efflux. The crew was reduced to pilot and radar operator, the latter having a canopy of his own. The Brownings of the S.1 were replaced by 4 20mm Hispanos, while the space freed by the elimination of the radiators, bomb load, cameras and radio-operator was used to increase the fuel load to 910 gallons in 9 separate tanks.

Short Seamew

The ungainly Short Seamew was designed for anti-submarine work from escort carriers to specification M.123D in 1951 and first flown in 1953. The requirement was intended to provide the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm and the RAF's Coastal Command with a simple, cheap aircraft capable of surge production to counter the rapidly growing Soviet submarine fleet - essentially a Cold War equivalent of the Fairey Swordfish. Following initial trials the Seamew was ordered for both the Royal Navy, as the AS.1 to replace the ASW-modified Avengers used by the RNVR Air Branch, and by Coastal Command, as the MR.2. However Coastal Command lost interest in the small Seamew as it faced cuts to its more capable Neptunes and Shackletons, while the Royal Navy order was cancelled in the 1957 defence cuts, which also eliminated the RNVR Air Branch in its entirety. In spite of its awkward looks, with fixed gear in an era of fast jets, the Seamew was fully capable of aerobatics and Short's chief test pilot claimed the Seamew's handling was 'vice-free', but other sources claim it had some vicious handling tendencies that were never entirely cured.

The Seamew was powered by the Armstrong Siddeley Mamba ASM.6 turboprop, sensors included ASV radar and sonobuoys, while armament comprised 4 275lb depth charges in the internal bomb-bay and 4 underwing rocket projectiles. By removing the radar and radome, the bomb-bay could potentially be extended from 14ft to 17ft, allowing carriage of 6 depth charges, or a torpedo.

A 1956 Flight article on the Seamew by Short's Chief Designer can be read here.

Handley Page HP.55

My newest art project is teaching myself to do 2D computer artwork, and I'm using aircraft profiles as the test subjects. I suspect I'm already butting up against the limits of what I can do with MS Paint, so I likely need to teach myself a more complex paint programme as well.

The subjects I'm choosing reflect another interest, in the more obscure aircraft of the post-WWI through WWII period. This is the Handley Page HP.55, a precursor of the Halifax that was one of the main British bomber aircraft of WWII.

The HP.55 was Handley Page's submission for the B.1/35 requirement for a twin-engined heavy bomber able to reach speeds to 230mph while carrying a heavier bombload than the B.3/34. The competition was won by the Vickers 284, an enlarged Wellington derivative which ultimately became the Warwick, but the Handley Page design was regarded favourably and was one of three prototypes commissioned on 7th October 1935 (alongside the Armstrong Whitworth AW.39 development of the Whitley and the Vickers Warwick). The HP.55 could be powered by either the Hercules or the Merlin, had a wingspan of 95 feet, and was expected to have a top speed of 251mph. However the contracts for both AW.39 and HP.55 were cancelled in June 1937. Armstrong Whitworth felt they had taken on too much work to be able to tender to the new B.12/36 heavy bomber requirement, while Handley Page's attention had drifted to the P.13/36 medium bomber and they wished to redesign the HP.55 to meet the new requirement (which they ultimately did as first the twin-engined HP.56, and then the four engined HP.57 Halifax).

By contrast with the manufacturers, the Air Ministry did not want to cancel the B.1/35 contracts and turned down the initial request. Although they finally gave in to their contractors, the HP.55 could easily have flown. If it had been adopted, then the near certainty is that it would have taken the name of a town starting with H. The development history of the Warwick gives us a likely pattern for the HP.55. The prototypes were originally due to fly in 1937, but in 1936 the Air Ministry increased the required fuel and bombload, then in 1937 started to move away from the Hercules and towards the Vulture and the Sabre which promised higher performance, finally settling on the Vulture in late 1938. The first prototype Warwick eventually flew with Vultures in August 1939, the second with Bristol Centaurus, following in April 1940. At one point in 1939 it was proposed to abandon any plan for production, but eventually orders were placed for 250 in December 1940, though the failure of the Vulture and scarcity of the Centaurus meant that they would have to use the inferior Double Wasp. An HP.55 that followed the Warwick's development path would likely have failed for identical reasons, but if it had been delivered as originally intended in 1937, then there might have been a brief opening for it as a partial replacement for the Wellington before the later four-engined heavies came on line.

The aircraft is shown in the colours of Q-Queenie of No. 446 Squadron, RAAF, with Bomber Command's No. 4 Group at Driffield in 1944-5, based on the profile here, and is based on the HP.55 illustration in British Secret Projects:3.

Shadow Unit: WTF?

For anyone who has found An Open Mind, without first being aware of Shadow Unit, a little explanation may be in order. An Open Mind is Shadow Unit fan fiction, but what's Shadow Unit, I hear you ask....

Imagine a world where Criminal Minds and the X Files, or Criminal Minds and Fringe co-exist, where down the corridor from the BAU is a unit the FBI prefer not to talk about, a unit charged with investigating crimes in which not just the law, but the rules of physics as we understand them have been broken. Welcome to the world of the Anomalous Crimes Task Force, better known to the team of agents assigned to it as the WTF.  The WTF team are the people whose job it is to hunt down the Gammas who commit these anomalous crimes, and ultimately to understand the Anomaly itself.

Shadow Unit is the creation of a team of speculative fiction authors led by Emma Bull and Elizabeth Bear, and exists on multiple levels; there are the Shadow Unit stories themselves, there is the metafiction within which Shadow Unit is a TV show produced by the WTF Network, there are the Live Journal blogs and the Tweets of the characters,in which the boundaries of fiction and real life blur as fans and characters cross paths, and there is the message board, where authors and fans, Deltas, interact. Take all that's good about Criminal Minds, the solid characterisation and intelligent writing that expects the audience to keep up, rather than be spoonfed, and cross it with a little bit of science fiction and a dash of horror, add characters we truly care about, characters who face being seriously hurt every time they confront a Gamma and authors' who openly state that our minds and emotions are there to be manipulated, and that's Shadow Unit.

The Shadow Unit stories are available through the Shadow Unit website, where we are currently in Season 4, while Seasons 1 through 3 are available as a series of E-books on Amazon. Shadow Unit is entirely reader funded, but the quality of writing, and the willingness to take risks, is as good as anything you will find in a dead-tree edition. Also to be found on the website are the Shadow Unit Wiki and the message board. So go on, take a peek into the Shadows....

Shadow Unit: An Open Mind (Hidden Extra)

Texan Hunter, Cuban-American Heart

Olympic Peninsula, Washington State,

Thursday, 13^th November, 2008

1125 Hours, PST

“You’re lagging, El Jefe, there’s a gap opening between you and Nikki.”

Stephen Reyes paused, glancing around as Hafidha’s voice whispered into his earpiece - trees, more trees, hanging moss shrouded trees, and nothing but trees, the only plus side was that for once it wasn’t raining. A double flash of fluorescent orange in the distance showed him where Nikki was escorting the local sheriff, all attempts to shed her having failed, but Hafidha was supposed to be another hundred yards beyond Nikki, with Chaz filling the gap between them. None of which stopped Hafidha being right and he upped his pace to close the gap in the skirmish line. They’d called it a search line to the extended line of thirty-odd Washington state troopers and local cops who were pushing through the woods a hundred yards behind them, but the WTF agents knew the truth, knew that a Gamma would die today.

“How are you doing that?” he demanded.

“GPS chip in your cell,” she admitted.

“Let’s add my cell’s GPS to the list of things Hafidha has been ordered not to hack,” he said, “but put that order on hold until we’re out of this damn rainforest.”

“Si, Mi Generale,” the slightly mocking voice whispered. “Platypus, watch out, you’re coming up on a brook according to Google Earth.”

“Found it,” Chaz’s voice said, “More a bog than a brook, not deep enough for her to hide in – watch your footing.”

“Too late,” Hafidha said, “I’m in it up to my calves, which considering I’m wearing two hundred dollar ankle boots isn’t ideal. I don’t think antique leather and foetid pondweed really complement each other.”

“You people need to be quiet,” the voice of Sheriff Marion Lacombe demanded, “This isn’t the city and a stalking line is no use if you make enough racket to scare away every critter in the woods before you ever see them. People are no different, particularly those who spend as much time in the woods as Janey does.”

“Nikki,” Reyes said.

“On it, boss-man,” Nikki’s voice said, followed by a breath of half-heard whispers as she reminded Lacombe that they weren’t stalkers, they were beaters.

“Possible contact,” Chaz whispered, “I’ve got a boot-print still filling with water, angling slightly right I think.”

“Hafidha, up your pace slightly in case she’s trying to slip past us to the right,” Reyes ordered, “I’ll do the same to the left. Chaz, Nikki, Sheriff Lacombe, keep to the same pace. No one fires without identifying your target, no one fires to the flanks except Hafidha or me.”

Reyes grimaced, wishing he hadn’t had to send Sol off to points New Mexican, but hugged the MP5 tight to his chest and darted ahead through the trees.

“Contact,” Chaz called, echoing his call with a rapid series of single shots, “I missed, she’s rabbiting.”

“Chaz stay with her, Hafs, guide us on Chaz.” Reyes ordered, upping his pace and switching his heading to cut across the line.

“Chaz, we’re coming up from behind and left,” Nikki yelled, “I can see your jacket,”

“Still moving, fifty yards to my front,” Chaz panted, “browny-red shirt, brown pants.”

Reyes’ heart froze as the sharp report of a rifle echoed through the trees, started again as Chaz answered with more shots.

“She’s armed,” Chaz reported redundantly.

“Fire-trail coming up fast,” Hafidha warned, “I’m coming in on your right, Chaz.”

“I’m on the left,” Reyes panted, trying to make up the distance, Nikki and the Sheriff momentarily visible before the trees swallowed them again.

“Fire-trail, 100 metres,” Hafs called, “75, 50…”

Another rifle shot echoed through the woods, deeper, more piercing than the first.

“Target down,” Danny Brady’s laconic Texan accent reported.

Reyes broke out onto the trail as Chaz and Nikki cleared the body. Both kept their MP5s locked on the body as Chaz hooked the rifle clear with his foot, but there was little chance of even a Gamma walking away from the large calibre bullet that had all but obliterated the skull of the Skokomish Cannibal, AKA Janey Walters, 23 year old kindergarten teacher and church volunteer.

“Damn it, Agent Reyes,” Lacombe protested as soon as she saw him, “we could have brought her in. But you had your goddamned sniper gun her down without even a word. You set me up!”

Reyes looked past her to where Danny Brady was jogging steadily towards them along the trail. His outline was blurred by the ghillie suit he wore, but the .50 calibre sniper rifle he’d borrowed from the Seattle Field Office’s armoury was all too apparent.

“I seriously doubt anyone could have brought her in alive, and she did fire at us, I’ll remind you. I said I had another task for Agent Brady, I just didn’t tell you what it was.”

“Lurking ahead of us at every fire-trail,” Lacombe said, proving his estimation of her intelligence. “The one spot he would have a clear line of fire across our front with that monster he’s carrying. Now I understand why Agent Gates kept counting down the distance as we came close to every break in the trees. You never planned on bringing her in alive, did you?”

“I would far preferred to have brought her in alive,” Reyes told her, absolutely truthfully. But once they had found Janey Walter’s hidden diaries, the ones in which she had meticulously documented her experiments as her body changed, her discovery that her stomach could no longer tolerate anything but fresh human flesh, he had known that they could not take her back to Idlewood. They could catch her, they could hold her, but they could not feed her, and slow starvation was as cruel and unusual as it came. Casey Ramachandran and Amrita Srinivasan would have a field day with the diaries, the body would go to Frost, but for the WTF away team the job had finished the moment Danny Brady’s finger caressed the trigger.