Secret Weapon: Book 1 in the Changed Course series

By Tony Dunning

What if one invention changed the course of naval history?

1909. In our history, Commander Godfrey Herbert's revolutionary manned torpedo was dismissed as impractical and forgotten.

But what if the Admiralty had said yes?

Hidden behind the walls of a secure naval dockyard, a handful of engineers, divers and submarine officers begin work on a weapon unlike anything the world has ever seen. As prototype follows prototype, disasters, espionage, political pressure and relentless engineering push the project to its limits. Every failure teaches another lesson. Every success brings Britain one step closer to changing the future of warfare.

While Europe drifts steadily towards the catastrophe of 1914, a secret organisation-known only to a select few as The Herbert Programme-develops a new kind of weapon capable of striking the world's greatest battleships from beneath the sea.

But Germany is watching.

As foreign intelligence closes in and war looms ever closer, Herbert and his team must decide whether they can perfect their invention before history catches up with them.

Meticulously researched and blending real historical figures with gripping alternate history, The Herbert Programme: Book One is the opening novel in an epic series exploring how a single decision in 1909 could reshape the twentieth century.

Perfect for readers of naval warfare, military thrillers, espionage, and realistic alternate history.

From the author of the bestselling An Alternate History series comes an all-new vision of the years before the First World War-where the race beneath the waves may prove even more important than the race for the Dreadnought.

The Herbert Programme has begun. History is about to dive beneath the surface.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0H7Z1JVXT
• ISBN13: 9798186070900
• Release Date: August 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 148 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"