While at Scapa Flow, Churchill planned to test-fire a prototype, and the prospect delighted him—until a senior Admiralty official traveling with the group interjected that each firing cost about £100 (roughly $6,400 today). As Peake watched, “The smile faded from the PM’s lips and the corners of his mouth turned down like a baby.” “What, not fire it?” Churchill asked. Clementine cut in: “Yes, darling, you may fire it just once.” “Yes, that’s right,” Churchill said, “I’ll fire it just once. Only once. That couldn’t be bad.” Wrote Peake, “Nobody had the heart to say that it would be bad, and he
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Lmao
