Hi Dave more good stuff as usual.
About Ireland I have a few queries. I know that Bantry was mentioned as a nuclear target somewhere in Twilight 2000, but it may not be the prime or only target in southern Ireland.
Bantry Bay was an historical deep water anchorage for the Royal Navy. Bantry itself is a small town of less than 3,500 people with an economy based on fishing and tourism. A large oil terminal was constructed in the 1960’s by Gulf Oil on the southwestern end of Whiddy Island which lies a few miles from Bantry. A major accident occurred in 1979 when a French oil tanker exploded killing 50 people. The terminal has never been fully repaired but was transferred to Irish government control and remains the main oil terminal for Ireland.
Haulbowline Island in Cork Harbour is the main base and headquarters of the Irish Naval Service. But it’s nearly 10 miles from Cork City which is sheltered by a lot of islands and land as Cork Harbour is quite extensive. Haulbowline is not a very large base with an enclosed harbor and a few old docks and slipways. Some Irish ships are also moored adjacent Haulbowline Island on Great Island which also hosts the seaport town of Cobh and the now redundant but still existent dock and ship yard at Rushbrooke which has built ships for the Irish Naval Service in the past. A ferry port is also located on the mainland a few miles away to the south at Ringaskiddy with a deep water berth and ferry services to France. Ireland’s main oil refinery is also located about five miles southeast of from Haulbowline at Whitegate on the mainland and there is a diesel oil and gas burning electricity power station a few miles inland. I’m not sure it would be worth the trouble of a nuclear strike as the Irish Navy is tiny but I suppose others could use the naval base. But I think you would need quite a big nuclear warhead to really damage the area.
Shannon Airport may be a more worthwhile target. Its 10,500 foot runway is the most western major airport in Europe, and the nearest large runway to North America and I believe it was a designated emergency landing site for the space shuttle. It also has an aircraft maintenance and major cargo handling facility, and a lot of American and European multinational companies have factories, depots and facilities in the adjacent Shannon Free Zone industrial park. Aeroflot used to use it as a stopover point between Russia and Cuba until the early 1990’s before they got long ranged passenger jets. Despite Ireland’s neutrality I have seen USAF C-17’s, C-141’s, F-15’s and F-16s lined up on the tarmac as well as Canadian and German military aircraft. I also saw three Russian Antonov An-124 cargo jets parked at the cargo facility well away from the main terminal ten years ago. There so big you just couldn’t miss them.
Also Collins Barracks in Dublin is now part of the National Museum of Ireland. However it closed in 1997 so it could be still active in the Twilight War timeline.
There are also quite a few small airports or aerodromes along the northwest of Ireland that could be of use to Irish forces including Belmullet, Donegal, Knock, Letterkenny, Sligo and the military heliport at Finner Camp in Bundoran Co. Donegal.
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