F-Force????? Probably not...?

[Malcolm Orr]

Please excuse the slightly contentious title, it's intended to provoke interest more than anything else.

I loved the article by Dave Tree - exceptionally well put together and researched. However, I'm not sure that F-Force was the name, and here's why (the argument depends on there being no other facts than the ones from the article). Oh and I am in no way challenging Dave's research etc - this is just friendly debate around a point of interest!

My hypothesis is that the force is 'Special Weapons Force'

The case for Special Weapons force...

1. The prototypes are said to have been labelled 'Special Weapons F' - my hypothesis is that the F stands for Force, ie it's a truncated way of writing 'Special Weapons Force'

2. The other single initial forces have logos designed around the initial - Z and Q - and this is true of SAS as well (though three letters and also the dagger is included). The Red Shadows and Space Force, both of whom have names that aren't acronyms of single letters, are represented by symbols, not stylised letters. On the basis of this trend, the logo of a hypothetical F-Force would be based on an F, not a rocket. This would lend itself to the theory again that the name of the force was Special Weapons force, with a rocket as a logo, rather than F Force that should have a F as a logo.

3. From the article, the only reference to F is that single letter after Special Weapons F. If F is the Force designation (I don't think it was though, but I'll go along with it for the example) then Special Weapons was part of it too - it appears on all 4 bagged prototypes. So that would make it 'Special Weapons F Force' and that is understandably too complicated.

There could be other evidenced not yet presented that makes the designation F Force more likely, but if the evidence is based on the writing on the bagged prototypes alone, then I'm 100% sure this unit's intended name is Special Weapons Force, shortened to Special Weapons F on the bag...

[Double-Tap]

makes sense.
i prefer Special Weapon Force to F Force myself.
Bill

[Ross SC]

this actually makes a LOT of sense!
thinking about it "special weapons f" would suggest the "f" was being used as an abbreviation for force. is there no way of checking this, is there no contact with anyone from palitoy?
personally i hope this theory is true, coz it sounds way cooler!

[Malcolm Orr]

It makes more sense unless for some reason there's extra info - like a letter etc using F Force as a proper name. On the evidence of the clues in the article itself, F-Force seems less likely than Special Weapons Force.

[paul463]

I tend to agree with you to some extent. I went looking for WW2 references for Special Weapons (albeit at the end of a night on call) and only found reference to the Fat Boy A Bomb. I'm not sure that the force would be Special Wpns Force though, as early literature regarding Z Force refered to them as Heavy Wpns Force. There would maybe have been a catchy name or some other letter designation for the Force.

You have made some interesting points and I'm sure that we will be debating this new force for some time to come.

[Double-Tap]

i think WE should decide.
what about a poll- SW Force or F Force.
whatever the outcome its canon.
Bill

[Malcolm Orr]

I tend to agree with you to some extent. I went looking for WW2 references for Special Weapons (albeit at the end of a night on call) and only found reference to the Fat Boy A Bomb. I'm not sure that the force would be Special Wpns Force though, as early literature regarding Z Force refered to them as Heavy Wpns Force. There would maybe have been a catchy name or some other letter designation for the Force.

You have made some interesting points and I'm sure that we will be debating this new force for some time to come.

On the basis of that, one would assume the logo comes into play. When Z Force were Heavy Weapons Force, I wonder if the logo was different...

If Heavy W Force was a pre logo designation, then one would think Special Weapons Force would have been pre-logo too.

Alternatively, if your point stands (and it very well might) then there may exist a logo for Z force that originates from a time before the Z when they were Heavy Weapons force. I wonder if Space Force would have ended up as S-Force or something???

(As for a letter designation, then X-Force would have beem ideal - x for experimental - if the trademark hadn't been an issue!)

[Malcolm Orr]

i think WE should decide.
what about a poll- SW Force or F Force.
whatever the outcome its canon.
Bill

That brings up a point I mentioned when we were looking for a name for Haggis - noone will ever really answer it, and as the main dedicated site to AF then our decisions on the unknown and unlikely to ever be known are the next best thing to canon.

(Somewhere in the universe the people who shaped the English language are probably turning in their graves at my spelling, grammar and tautologies in my posts!!)

[Ross SC]

if were voting, i'd still stick with special weapons force!

[Andy1672]

Perhaps Mister Tree has some documentation to clarify the "F" ?