Retro Space part 2 - Space Tanks and Space 1955

Space Tank

What would a space tank be like in 1955?  If energy weapons were unavailable, how might it work?  We cam imagine that in low gravity, the recoil of the main gun would rock the tank ferociously. I am reminded of stories crewmen told of the old M551 Sheridan Light Tank. Its 152mm gun was great for firing the Shillelagh missile. Using the conventional rounds was another matter. It rocked the vehicle and knocked out the missile launcher’s electronics. The main gun of a tank firing a 76mm gun or larger would likely do the same or worse in low gravity.

The big problem is having an engine large enough to power the tank. We have already discussed the problem of engines, fuel and the need for oxygen. The tank would require an electric motor and a very large battery. That meant it would have to be relatively light. Vehicles the size of the Patton series (M46, M47, M48) then in use would be too heavy both to transport and to power.

Solutions existed at the time for the gun and the tank’s size. The recoilless rifle and rocket launcher were both viable weapons which had little recoil. The problems were that they had a back blast and that the shells would have to carry their own oxygen if used in a vacuum or a low-oxygen atmosphere. One of the weapons of the time combined a one-man tank with six recoilless rocket launchers mounted on the outside of the hull. The Ontos was used by the Marine Corp in Vietnam as a type of mobile direct-fire artillery. Such a vehicle was light enough that it could be battery-powered with 1950s technology. Of course, it would require significant alteration.

Another light vehicle tested by the Army could have been used. The experimental T92 light tank could be adapted to carry a recoilless weapon on top. Many light tanks could be fitted with external missiles the size of the Nike, Hawk and Little John rockets. One successful type of mounting was for small rockets. The American Calliope and Soviet Katyusha could be fitted to light vehicles. Each fired a battery of small rockets.

For the recoilless rifle and rocket launcher to be recoilless, the backblast would have to be directed outside the vehicle. There would also have to be some space between the back of the vehicle and another object like a wall or cliff.  There is always a give and take with weapons systems. For the ability to fire without recoil, the backblast is a problem

Reloading can be difficult. Perhaps an automatic system would be made to slide the tube forward, bringing the back end into the crew compartment for reloading. The Swedish S tank had its breech in back, outside the vehicle. Someone would have to go outside to reload. The Ontos also had to be loaded from outside. That is not very convenient in the midst of a battle!

A vehicle would have enough room to make a recoil-absorbing buffer for light automatic weapons. A light machine gun could be used with a recoil buffer.

Among good toy tanks to convert into retro vehicles are the old MPC snap together toys. The four that are easiest to get are the tank destroyer (loosely based on the T92), open carrier with 106mm gun based on the Weasel, and an open-back Armored Personnel Carrier. These could easily be converted to retro space combat vehicles. Indeed, they can also be made into futuristic ones.

MPC also had a heavy carrier track and an open-backed track. These are harder to find, but are easily made into model space vehicles.

Marx made several tracked space vehicles for its Operation Moonbase playsets. These included a tracked wrecker, tracked vehicle with water or fuel tanks, and a vehicle with plow. All had hooks to pull a trailer and giant wheels. These wheels were supposed to be a way to transport liquids. There was also an eight-wheeled vehicle that looked like a large armored car. Marx’s vehicles were mostly one-piece castings with snap-on wheels underneath and perhaps one or two snap-on parts.

The Hamilton’s invaders sets had an odd “tank” and armored car with clear dome cockpits. The tank was more like an assault gun.

Projectile weapons in space

Projectiles such as bullets and heavier rounds work according to the laws of physics. On Earth with its gravity and atmosphere, the path of a shell is affected by velocity, gravity and windage. Windage is the flow of air that may push a round off course. Higher velocity can minimize the affect of windage.

Three things will stop a round: gravity, air resistance and an object. Velocity can resist all of them, to a point. As the round loses velocity, gravity will exert more force until it pulls it to the ground. The only exception is if the round hits an object solid enough to stop it. Air resistance and objects cause the round to lose velocity.  Light objects slow it down more than air. Heavier objects can slow or stop it. Gravity itself will pull a projectile down eventually.

A low atmosphere means less air resistance, so the projectile travels further. The same goes for low gravity. A vacuum offers no resistance. The projectile will proceed unless it hits an object or gravity gets it. With enough velocity, it can travel over the curve of a planet to escape gravity, at least theoretically. On the other hand, denser atmosphere and stronger gravity will slow a bullet faster then Earth’s normal atmosphere.

Theoretically, a pellet fired in deep space could travel at its original velocity indefinitely. The reality is that it would be affected by solar winds, cosmic rays, and the minuscule gravity from very distant celestial objects. A bullet would travel a very long distance, at least thousands of miles, before various cosmic forces slowed it significantly. It may even be able to go millions of miles, like the Voyager space mission.

For the soldier fighting in a low atmosphere, low gravity situation, it means that he can shoot further. Of course, he will have to learn to compensate his aim for the new conditions. At normal combat ranges, he will be more vulnerable. Projectiles will be coming at him faster and harder than usual. In some cases, a 9mm pistol fired in low gravity and low atmosphere could have the range and impact of a 30.06 rifle on Earth.

Machine guns would likely need a large recoil buffer for low gravity. While such a thing could easily be added to a vehicle, it might be bulky and awkward for infantry using light machine guns like the Browning .30 caliber and the M60. The buffer might have to be carried separately from the weapon. It would be put on while setting up the weapon.

Grenades, like ammunition, would have to carry their own oxygen for use in low or no atmosphere conditions. A special explosive would be needed that yielded a high blast for very little oxygen. Concussion and fragmentation grenades might not have the same blast power as their conventional counterparts used in atmosphere. Then again, in a low or no atmosphere with low gravity, fragments would not meet resistance from air.  The blast effect would be less than a normal grenade, but the fragmentation may be the same or even greater without resistance of air and gravity.

Thermite grenades would require an air supply. They might even be issued in two parts: a thermite can and an oxygen tank of the same size. Incendiary grenades would have little impact in low atmosphere or vacuum environments. Fire needs oxygen, and the kind of fire sets by incendiaries would need a lot of it.

Explosive warheads on rockets, missiles and other ordnance would need enough air to ignite. An oxygen supply might be built into an air-tight warhead. Again, science would have to develop an explosive that needed less air to do its work.

Whose Op Is It Anyway?

The norm is that the branch of service who first develops or discovers something is the one who owns it. Secret German technology from World War II would have been the province of the Army. The Navy would be the one turning up Japanese secret technology, since they operated across the Pacific. That is, except for operations in New Guinea and the Phillipines. Those were Army operations.

Our secret technology would have been found by the Army. That would have invoked Army Intelligence and the Office of Strategic Services. Because of its expertise in flying ,the Army Air Corps would play a dominant role in the future of the technology. I believe the whole operation would be assumed by the Air Force when it was formed from the Army in 1947.

Operating crews for the new technology would be Air Force personnel. Security would be provided by the Air Police. The Air Force has few personnel trained for sustained ground combat. These include liasons from the Strategic Air Command who travel with Army combat operations. They direct air support, especially bombers. The other are the Air Commandos, an elite unit trained for rescuing downed pilots under fire. Normally, air bases are distant enough that any ground combat will be handled by the Army.

For forays with the space technology, the Air Force will have ways to consolidate successful landings. They would create their own landing force that would include explorers, security personnel, engineers to build temporary structures etc. As combat troops for on-planet situations, they have options. They may create special armed landing parties, somewhat similar to the traditional Naval use of Marines. They may also develop larger ground formations or they may transport Army personnel for the purpose. The problem is one of purpose. The Air Force is supposed to fly. Ground operations are the work of the Army.

Either way, ground troops would need specialized training and would probably have to go through a screening process.

Would NASA or something like it emerge as a space program? Might the space operations eventually become a separate branch? Might this branch handle non-combat exploration, evoking the military only when needed? We have seen the evolution of NASA away from the Air Force to become its own civilian government agency. Many of its space crewmen are from Air Force and Navy Aviation. A specific branch for space travel makes sense.

Though space travel might be available, it would not change the status of things here on Earth all that much. There would still be tensions between nations. The military would be needed to protect the country. Just as NASA has not caused the end of conflicts here, so a Space 1955 situation would not end it in an alternate reality. The Air Force would be committed to national defense. Creating a separate branch focusing strictly on space would allow the Air Force to stick to its mission. nonetheless, the Air Force would be the guiding military branch to handle space travel in the early years of the program. When the split would be made is hard to decide. Space still might be strictly Air Force in 1955. Then again, it may already be transitioning into another arm of the government, in the alternate history scenario.

*****

Sergeant Horner leaned back in his chair, taking a sip of beer. He looked at the fellows at his table, grinned, and finished his tale,”

“Now, you know how dusty it is out at the G5 sector on the big red rock. We were holding off at least a squad of Bemmies out there. Lousy shots. Those big buggy eyes don’t help them aim any better...”

The other soldiers guffawed knowingly. Almost everyone sitting in that NCO club knew the Bemmies’ reputation for poor marksmanship.

“Okay, so we just about scattered them when my arm shakes and I hear a crack.  The damn bug-eyes got a lucky shot and hit my M9's stock. Blasted the air reservoir. I was about to crawl over and grab the side-arm from the kit box when three of them rushed me. They love the hand-to-hand fight.”

The other men nodded. It was a known fact that the Bemmies liked to brawl rather than shoot.

“I dropped what was left of the rifle. Those buggy bums thought they had me, but I gave them a surprise that they never recovered from. I snatched up my entrenching tool and let them have it.  Wham! Wham! Wham! Shattered their face plates and let that “healthy” Martian atmosphere do the rest. Ya gotta love that tool. Best thing to come out of the last World War,” Horner said.

Retro Space part 1 - For Sci Fi Readers and Gamers

Radio Punk

I grew up with the kind of spacemen that inspired the old Archer and Ajax figures. Prior to the Mercury flights, we thought spacemen would look like the toys. Reality trumps fiction. Toy spacemen made ever since have usually been in the mold of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo type astronauts. That is, except for a few fictional types such as Star Trek and Star Wars. Even then, modern characters in space suits were more like conventional astronauts.

Along with toy spacemen were old movie posters featuring futuristic astronauts in various adventures. The Buck Rogers serials and others like them gave us an idea of space that would be very cool with a touch of Art Deco and Streamline artistic flair. Thinking of them made me wonder where such spacemen might represent real astronauts. Just as they were suited for space operas in the 1950s, might they be appropriate if we had gotten into space by the middle of that decade?

What with Steampunk trying to create an alternate history with the technology of the late 1800s, I wondered. Could we not do the same with technology developed in the decade after World War II?  Perhaps...perhaps, if we can come up with a means to go into space without overstepping the limits of plausible deniability.

The following is based on some random speculation I did about ten or twelve years ago.

I call it “radio-punk”.

A thought experiment from a few years ago based itself on an unusual premise. What if some kind of unfinished secret Nazi technology was found at the War’s end that could make space travel possible? I have heard old conspiracy theories about everything from flying saucers to levitating occult devices. For sake of science fiction, let us suppose that one of them was viable. Though it would not have been ready by the end of the War, it could be developed further afterward. Remember Space 1999? How about Space 1955? It would be an alternate history kind of thing.

Getting to space would be one thing. What about dealing with the vacuum and the intense cold of Space? How about shielding from solar radiation and cosmic rays?  How about the Van Allen Radiation Belt?  Our astronauts did not have to deal with the Van Allen Belt until the Apollo Missions to the Moon. The Belt was only discovered in 1958. That I think of it, in Space 1955, dealing with the Van Allen Belt could be an episode all in itself.

In real time, a lot of advances in technology were accomplished between 1955 and 1969. Several of them were crucial to making the Moon landing a success. I do not know all of them. One necessity was a pressurized suit that shielded the wearer from extreme temperatures and radiation. Look at the evolution of Space Suits from the Mercury crew, whose gear was not very different from a high-altitude military pilot, to the Moon suits worn by the Apollo crew. Not being expert, I do not know how many of the materials used were even a thought in 1955.

If these things could be handled with the secret Nazi technology and 1950s ingenuity, what might they be? The first Laser was made in 1960. That pretty much precludes laser communications, laser navigation, laser rangefinders and energy weapons for our 1955 space crew. I do not know how advanced we were with transistors in 1955, or how much of a radio or video would still require vacuum tubes. Video cameras were large and awkward at the time. Broadcasting television signals was a much bigger operation. It took years to miniaturize many of these things. Communication would require more equipment and space in 1955.

As for armaments, things would be quite different without ray guns and other energy weapons. I imagine for close range, spring-loaded weapons might be useful for no or low gravity. A spear gun or even small crossbow type gadget may be the thing, especially since there is no atmosphere to slow the projectile. Rockets would be ideal, from larger missiles fired from a space ship to man-carried rockets like those fired from a bazooka. Rockets would have to carry their own oxygen if used in a vacuum or an atmosphere lacking it. Weapons used inside a spacecraft would have to be low-velocity projectile weapons with ammo that does not penetrate the hull. They would rely on the air in the craft for ignition. For ground combat with gravity, but low or no atmosphere, or an atmosphere lacking oxygen, there could be projectile weapons. A powerful air gun, working along the lines of CO2 pellet guns, might work. It would have to carry its own propellent. Firearms would have to be adapted for the purpose. First, they would need to have an oxygen supply to provide ignition. Second, the projectile’s powder would have to be formulated to give plenty of power with less oxygen. Firearms would likely have their own small oxygen tank, either external, internal, or both. A soldier would be in trouble if he ran out of ammo or air.

Of course. there is always a chance of getting alien technology. One might discover it left behind  on a moon or planet in our solar system. We may capture some in a skirmish with aliens. Suppose an alien culture developed energy weapons, but never had the transistor or solid-state electronics? Even on Earth, all cultures did not develop evenly. That would allow for the ray guns carried by old style toy spacemen.

Speaking of space, a lot of things might trickle down from the secret technology into the everyday world. It may affect air travel and the future development of aircraft, for instance. In the series inspired by Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle, the Nazis developed a supersonic passenger jet akin to the Concorde SST called “the Rocket.” Might a different technology lead to different aircraft with capabilities superior to those in real time?

Would the new technology affect ground vehicles? How might that work?

Suppose the new technology only applied to air and space travel. What kind of vehicles could be made to explore other planets? The Lunar Rover used batteries, but its technology was far in advance of what was available in 1955. Back then, batteries did not last as long and needed to be handled with more care. Leaking was a big problem for dry cell batteries in the 1950s. The electric motors of the day tended to be large and needed a large power source. Battery operation would have been ponderous because of all the batteries that were needed. Steam and internal combustion engines would be impractical because they need oxygen for the fuel that provides heat. As with powering electric motors, a lot of batteries would have to be used to provide enough heat for just a little steam. There is also the problem of water. Transporting water for a steam-powered vehicle would use up valuable space. A space rover powered like a bicycle might work on smooth terrain. It would have to be small and light, and could not carry much more than the passengers pushing the pedals.

Solar panels and similar technology were nowhere in sight in the 1950s. Energy sources would have to be brought.

As you can see, Space 1955 is more difficult, requires more time, more space, heavier and bigger objects that what could be made in 1969. Just as modern technology is well advanced of that used for the Apollo missions, so the Apollo technology was a quantum leap ahead of 1955. Look at what we had in our everyday lives back then. Radios, televisions, appliances and the like were bigger and heavier. Very few had electronics. Tube technology was at its height. Most things were heavier because most were made of metal and wood. The plastics were heavier and thicker.

How would we reconcile that with the idea of space travel and interplanetary adventurers?  How might the technology be explained?  To devise technology from that era taking the place of its modern counterpart, you would have to go back to 1950s tech and then bring it forward by another route. This route would be limited to the materials and know-how of the time. For instance, there would be a lot of wires and tubes. Transistors and solid state were relatively new and rather primitive as compared to what was available a decade later.

Keep in mind that this is all wildly speculative. I do not have the background in science history to know enough 1950s “state of the art”. Likewise, I do not have the kind of specialized knowledge about space travel and astronomy to know all of the  conditions to be overcome for the safety of astronauts. With Space 1955, I was having fun stretching a few ideas. Frankly, I do not know if it would have been remotely possible, even by stretching the limits of plausible deniability. Still and all, it was fun to consider.

Besides, the old fictional space suits and the old style rocket ships with fins look a darn sight better than the real things that emerged since 1960. NASA does amazing things, but compared to the Buck Rogers serials, it looks bland. And while Buzz Aldrin could probably out-think, out-shoot, out-fight and out-smart Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon and the rest of them, their stuff still looked better.

*****

Aliens 1955

During the original Star Trek series, Aliens began to change. Most of Star Trek’s alien encounters involved humans or creatures very close to human. Things were not so in the 1950s. A look at the covers of science fiction novels and magazines shows a very weird variety of creatures. While green was the most popular color for aliens, the shape of them was truly bizarre. There were tall ones, short ones, thick ones and skinny ones. Most had pointy ears and big buggy eyes., A nickname for standard sci-fi aliens was “Bemmies”, a take on the acronym for Bug Eyed Monster. One thing that is notable is that many looked like mythical beings as described in old folktales from around the world. Sci-fi had given a scientific update to the general run of trolls, ogres, demons, imps, gnomes and hobgoblins. There were also assorted clunky robots, from sinister cylinders to boxy metal men to “Robbie” of forbidden planet. One funny example was a robot who opened the door to the underground world in Gene Autry’s “The Phantom Empire”. The top of the robot’s head was shaped like a cowboy hat.

Keeping a 1950s sci-fi flavor to Space 1955 would be enhanced by aliens like those of the 1950s. For toy soldier buffs, plastic makers Lido and Marx both produced their own ranges of alien spacemen.  They are a bit hard to find these days. Lido’s aliens and robots were quite bizarre. Marx’s “Moonbase Alpha” aliens were just a little less so. If you cannot find the ones you like, sculpt your own or look at fantasy figures. Many of them can be converted to 1950s-style alien spacemen.

One of the more bizarre alien space things was a series of cards from the early 1960s called “Mars Attacks.” They were about an alien invasion of Earth and the depravity of the invaders. Some of the cards were quite gruesome, too. A movie of the same name was made in 1996, including some retro elements. One could get some ideas about aliens of the 1950s from the movie and cards. If anything the movie was a lot of fun.

Alien space ships, vehicles and other equipment was often illustrated on the covers of science fiction.  They can be used to devise your own alien airdromes and motor pools.

******

Game Adjustments

There would not need to be many game adjustments made to incorporate Space 1955 / Radiopunk. Most alterations would be to work at a level of lower technology. Many things accepted in current futuristic sci-fi would not even be on the drawing boards in the 1950s. A problem might be in finding suitably large alien figures if you use the old Ajax and Archer type figures.

Part II will be posted tomorrow