“Good show,” said Wake-Walker. “It’s fortunate we persuaded the Prime Minister not to send
“Here, here!” said Tovey, seconding the matter as he tapped the table with his open palm.
The First Sea Lord sighed audibly, looking askance at Turing, then back at Tovey and Wake-Walker. “Well it seems as though you haven’t lost your ardor for battle, Admiral.” He smiled at Wake-Walker, mending fences. “Are you certain we can send the whole of Home Fleet’s heavy guns south like this? You understand that this means the plans for Jubilee will have to be cancelled.” He was refereeing to ‘Operation Jubilee’ the landing at Dieppe that was scheduled for 19 August, in just a few days time.
“I did have that in the back of my mind,” said Tovey. “Well, it can’t be helped. We won’t have the ships to cover this Dieppe raid and run for Gibraltar as well. I shouldn’t think we would want a division at sea in any wise until this
“And if this
“In a ship using advanced rocketry and capable of beating off two Italian battleships? If there’s anything I’ve learned in this war, Admiral, it’s that we must plan for the very worst case imaginable.”
“I suppose you’re correct,” Pound put in one last time. “You say the Germans will not be able to sortie
He did not have to argue the point further.
The meeting was adjourned, and the Sea Lords soon scattered to their urgent duties. As they were led out, Tovey made it a point to nudge Turing’s arm. “A brief word, professor?”
The two men were alone in the hallway now and Tovey spoke his mind. “Look here,” he began. “This remark you made about Captain Nemo caught my attention. I read that story as a boy, and it always stayed with me. I wonder about Admiral Pound’s theory on this. We’ve been making overtures to the Vichy French with this Torch operation in the planning. Darlan has been trying to woo the fleet at Toulon to change sides. Might this be a French battleship, a rogue ship that has decided to join our side, or perhaps even trying to reach Vichy ports in their African Colonies?”
“That makes good sense on one level, sir. If it was a battlecruiser out of Toulon it might certainly explain these last two engagements with the Italians. But the rocketry, sir. That was your point, and the odd man out in all this.”
Tovey nodded. “Well, I didn’t want to press the matter, particularly with Admiral Pound, but I have the feeling you haven’t quite fired a full broadside at us yet, professor Turing. Is there something else you haven’t told us? Something you’re holding back?”
Turing looked at him, appreciating the man’s candor and glad to be spoken to with a measure of respect. He knew his arguments would likely do little to dispel the rumors circulating about him in higher circles, that he was a bit of a maverick himself, a madman at times, with wild theories and undisciplined habits. He did not wish to encourage that line further, fearing where it might eventually lead if the authorities got too curious about him, but Tovey’s face was serious, receptive and wholly sincere. Was this his chance to truly speak his mind?
“I can’t say as I’ve got my hand on the neck of this one entirely, sir,” he compromised, “but I’ll say this much, Admiral. You and I both know that it takes years to build a ship of that size—massive resources. The Germans have very few shipyards capable of building something that big. It simply isn’t something that Germany, or any nation, could hide. Yes, we know the Japanese have been keeping a lid on a couple of monster ships of their own, but Rodgers and Bemis knew about those designs as early as 1938.”
Captain Fred F. Rogers was a U.S. naval attache in Tokyo, who had reported that ‘Japan had designs for warships of 45,000 to 55,000 tons.’ His successor, Harold M. Bemis, confirmed the report, the first clues that would eventually lead the American intelligence to the existence of the super battleships
“You see, sir. You just can’t hide something like this. The Japanese have tried mightily, but we still know about their covert battleship program. If this was a German ship, we should have known about it. As for these rockets used against our ships and planes… They’re graspable in our minds because we ourselves have similar projects in development, and we know the Germans have the same, but certainly not the French. I’ve been aware of Polish intelligence regarding development of a “flying torpedo” by the Germans, and there are other similar technologies they are working on. The Italians have been using air dropped torpedoes against this latest Malta convoy as well. But everything we have seen of these developments,
“Yes,” Tovey agreed. “I’ve thought this as well.”
“I have come to the conclusion that the Germans simply do not have the capability, or the technology this ship has demonstrated. It saw your ships well before you ever knew it was there—so it must have very advanced radar, far beyond anything we have today. It targeted your vessels with amazing precision, and with weapons so lethal that I frankly believe they are beyond the means of any nation on this earth to produce…” he paused, a glint in his eye. “At least at this point in time.” He knew he was running on now, and towards a very dangerous precipice, but here was a man willing to stand and listen to him. Perhaps he could lead him to the same conclusions he had drawn himself.
“I may have said too much here, admiral, so you can forgive me if I seem a young and foolish man, but I assure you, I am not.”
Tovey looked at him, his eyes creased with a warm smile. “No, professor, the last thing I would take you for is a fool, nor I do consider this line of thought to be in any way preposterous, as Admiral Pound might put it. You forget that I have seen these weapons first hand—seen them thunder in against my very own ship. You say such technology is beyond our means at this time, but how long before we might have weapons like this ourselves if we put our minds to it? Have you considered that?”
Turing’s mood seemed to darken with that, and there was a hint of hesitation, even fear in his eyes when he answered. “If you want my very best estimation, Admiral, it would take years of rigorous testing and development to reach this level of sophistication. You see it’s not that the technology is beyond our thinking. We know the road, and where it might lead us, it’s just that it will take us
“I see,” said Tovey, thinking deeply, his eyes betraying both uncertainty and concern, though he said nothing more on the matter, extending his hand. “Good work, Turing. Carry on, will you?”
“Thank you, sir. I shall.”
Tovey walked off to find a fast plane to Holyhead and Turing ambled slowly down the long corridor, still thinking about what he had said, and wondering if the government would end up putting the thumbscrews to him for his rash ideas. I wonder if he got what I was really aiming at, he thought to himself. No, you can’t come out with it plainly. That much is obvious given the reaction of men like Pound. No doubt there will be others very much like Pound and they would make your life a living hell if you push on this door too hard. But you’ve squeaked it open with Admiral Tovey, haven’t you? He listened to what you had to say, and perhaps he’ll come round to it on his own.
He looked at his wrist watch, realizing he had a plane to catch if he wanted to get back to Bletchley Park.
