For the first prequel, riot control during a ‘British Spring’ means reimagining the security forces between 1968 and 1974. My obvious points of reference are Northern Ireland and the Warsaw Pact Ground Forces. But it’s not so straightforward…
How Things Were
When not in berets, the British army of that time wore ‘tin pot’ (1944 pattern) helmets. In urban areas, they also wore US M1952 flak vests. The 7.62mm L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle was standard issue, and the Sterling L3/4A1 Submachine Gun was also carried. Batons and basic Perspex shields would be carried during riots (with the glaring exception of Bloody Sunday), while snatch squads wore minimum kit with a visored motorcycle helmet and baton. CS gas was commonly employed, and baton rounds (rubber or plastic bullets) were fired from Webley-Schermuly riot guns. The Royal Ulster Constabulary were also armed and wore flak vests.
When it came to vehicles, the list included strengthened Land Rovers and a variety of armoured vehicles, including the ubiquitous GKN Sankey FV-1611 ‘Pig’ (often fitted with hinged mesh screens), and the Alvis Saracen armoured personnel carrier. Apart from Centurion AVREs bulldozing through barricades during Operation Motorman, tanks were not deployed for fear of creating hysteria — the Prague Spring was an all-too recent memory. Finally, while conscription was standard practice throughout the Warsaw Pact, it wasn’t always so in East Germany. There, conscription only began in 1962 because recruitment to the NVA (Nationale Volksarmee) had become increasingly difficult. By contrast, the British army was able to maintain its level of volunteers once National Service ended with the last call-ups on 31 December 1960.
What Would Have Changed?
Now, in the world of The Retrieval Chamber, the British ‘tin pot’ helmet would have been the German M1944 Stahlhelm, followed by the updated M1956. Luckily, these were all very similar and although other Eastern Bloc countries developed their own helmet designs, they tended to base them on East German and Soviet patterns. In 1955 Britain would have joined the Warsaw Pact and, as with other members, maintained her own distinct uniform, recruitment policy and age restrictions. Flak vests were available in the Soviet Bloc, the USSR producing a number of 6B1s in the late 1950s.
So where would the biggest differences lie? In arms and, mostly, in armour. Throughout the Warsaw Pact, the AKM assault rifle, an update of the AK47 Kalashnikov, was standard. And while Britain would certainly have produced Land Rovers and army lorries, when it came to tanks everything was bought from the USSR or built under licence. However, there was a degree of autonomy when it came to armoured personnel carriers, and both Poland and Czechoslovakia designed and produced their own.
If Britain had not followed suit, the ‘Pig’ equivalent would likely have been the BTR-40B; both were about the same size and carried 6 troops plus a crew of 2, although the BTR-40B had in incredibly convoluted interior rather than easy-to-debus bench seats. Replacing the Saracen is trickier still, as next up in size was the 6-wheeled BTR-152K. While the Saracen carried up to 9 in the back, the BTR-152K was more like an armoured bus, comparable in size to the Bedford MK army lorry and carrying 18, though still more suited to British streets than the huge 8-wheeled BTR-60. It also had bench seats for quick debussing. So, would the BTR-152K have proved the most practical option, or would Britain have followed Poland and Czechoslovakia in developing their own personnel carriers based on specific needs?
Finally, if if Britain had deployed tanks during the ‘Uprising’, they would likely have been T54/55s due to cheapness. Both Poland and Czechoslovakia refused the T-62 tank because of its high price compared to the older T-55; indeed, Bulgaria was the only member of the Warsaw Pact to operate T-62s on any scale.
Thus from 1967, my British soldier would have enlisted at 17 and served a term of 3, 6 or 9 years, as per actual history. He would likely have served in a numbered regiment, as per Warsaw pact practice (indeed, as Britain did before 1881). However, an additional might be added in honour of its location or a famous communist, for example, the ‘16th Motor Rifle Regiment “Robert Uhrig”’.
Further Reading
For further reading on the above, I highly recommend:
- RIPLEY, Tim, Security Forces in Northern Ireland 1969–1992 (Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 1993, 2008, 2011)
- ROTTMAN, Gordon, Warsaw Pact Ground Forces (London: Osprey Publishing, 1987, repr. 1988, 1995, 1998)
- THOMPSON, Andy, Cars of Eastern Europe: The Definitive History (Yeovil: Haynes Publishing, 2011)
Photos:
Humber Pig FV1612, Alvisfun, Wikimedia. This image is believed to be in the public domain.
BTR-152 armoured personnel carrier, by LutzBruno, CC BY-SA 3.0.