What if the Iceland eruptions that happened in 2010 happened to occur in 1940 just after the fall of France and before the Battle of Britain? What sort of effects would come out of that?
WI: Iceland eruption in 1940
- Thread starter Anime Ninja
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Not much, there's no jet engines to clog up. At most the RAF and Luftwaffe use June and July to fit dust filters over their engines air intakes. Now if Etna, Visuvious or Santerinei blew that would have massive implications on the war in the Med.
Ätna did erupt in 1942. I even saw a picture once, that IIRC showed a couple of allied bombers passing by pretty close.
I also know that Vesuvius also erupted in 1944... and destroyed the funnicular railway that had been built there but didn't much else, apart from serve as a metaphor.
There was a similar discussion about 18 months ago. Basically as has been said, not a lot. The volcano isn't big enough to produce enough ash that it would be a danger to piston engines as these are a lot less vulnerable to volcanic ash than jet engines
It should also be said that the closing down of European airspace in 2010 due to the eruption was due to a very risk averse reaction by air traffic controllers - a reaction I incidentally agree with. There is a world of difference between accepting a low risk of adverse effects on plane engines in a peaceful environment when the worst that could happen would be the loss of income and people being delayed and accepting smaller risks when national survival is at stake
When I mentioned the Vulcanos in the Med I should have said that the amount of disruption depends on the size of the bang. Santorinei destroyed a whole civilisation and we all know what Vesuvius is capable of. An eruption of those magnitudes could bring operations in the Med to a screeching halt.
Alex Richards
Donor
If Vesuvius does a '79, there's a pretty good chance that half of Naples gets wiped off the map. This probably doesn't cause the war to end immediately, but the post-war effects are going to be pretty large.
Daffy Duck
Banned
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The 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull was relatively tame when it comes to Volcanic Eruptions (VEI 4). If you had a eruption on the scale of Katla (VEI 6), I could seem pretty signifigant effects on the use of air power, even in World War II...VEI 4 eruption, not so much of an effect.
The 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull was relatively tame when it comes to Volcanic Eruptions (VEI 4). If you had a eruption on the scale of Katla (VEI 6), I could seem pretty signifigant effects on the use of air power, even in World War II...VEI 4 eruption, not so much of an effect.
We could have a major POD if a larger volcano erupted in 1940 and its ashes had changed the climate....strong winters in Europe 1940 - 1941 could have generated almost the same effect that the German army faced in Russia during 1942 - 1943 winter, slowing down land campaigns.
Maybe two or three years of harsh European winter could have strained the German land army and German logistics as well, giving chance to a sooner Allied invasion of Europe (I imagine that D-Day could have happened in 1943 instead of OTL 1944).
Maybe two or three years of harsh European winter could have strained the German land army and German logistics as well, giving chance to a sooner Allied invasion of Europe (I imagine that D-Day could have happened in 1943 instead of OTL 1944).
Could any country maintain an overseas war with a disaster of this magnitude at home? If nothing else the morale of you fighting men is going to be not just rock bottom but several miles underground. If this was a result of enemy action things would be diferent but this is an enemy they can't fight.
Alex Richards
Donor
Well, it might knock Italy out of the war, depending on when it was (if it happens at the time of the OTL eruption, that won't really have any effect on them), but Germany will still be fighting.