Sea Airports

[Libelula]

Dear pals

I have heard about oversized "flattops" ideas and I would like to know if anyone has more information.

1. Long time ago, when I was a child I read about a WW2 Allied idea for the deffinitive aircraft carrier. A behemoth of about 500 m long that dwarfed its escort ships (it was a drawing) that would be unsunkable   And I remember that there was protected by a double hull filled with ice!!?.

2. In the same magazine (I can't remember which was but I think it was an English publication from the 50's) there was an story about WW2 Allied  floating airports in the Atlantic to allow an airbridge between US and UK to overcome the U-Boat treat over the convoys. The airport woul be big enough to operate C-46 and C-54 aircraft.

I think the second story could be true because I have a pic of a recent  US Sea Base project big enough to operate C-17 although in the Nuclear Weapons era it has little sense.

Happy New Year to everybody!!!  

[nev]

Hmmm, interesting....

Reminds how in Alpha Centauri (basically Civ in space) I would sometimes establish a sea colony solely for the purpose of being a mid-ocean base for my airforce.

Perhaps stretch some decking between 2 or more Oil Rig type platforms?  I agree though, they do seem awfully vulnerable.

Still, if the Japanese can level 2 mountains to create a man-made island and build an airport there (I've been there too), why can't one of the superpowers?

[lancer]

Hmmm, the idea of an airbase at sea sounds like a fine idea. Although it'd have to be big enough and strong enough to handle the Atlantics' weather, especially the North Atlantic.  

How would it be constructed?

How many levels would it be?? I'd guess three. Here's the makeup :-

Level 1 - Runways, taxiways, control tower, Fuelling/arming facilities and loading facilities for cargo/passangers

Level 2 - Hangerage and maintenance facilities, including alternate fuelling arming and loading facilities

Level 3 - accommodation, food halls; ATC; operations and airfield control.

Get the aircraft upto the top deck by means of lifts and away you go.

Would the runways be conventional lenght of land airfields; all cat launched or a mix of both.

Well, that my 2p's worth.....

[elmayerle]

The basic concept has been discussed for some time.  An early version showed up a few years back in Seafighter by James H. Cobb (I highly recommend his technothrillers).  It's ahighly modular concept to allow for a variety of sizes and uses.

[Joe C-P]

Dear pals

I have heard about oversized "flattops" ideas and I would like to know if anyone has more information.

1. Long time ago, when I was a child I read about a WW2 Allied idea for the deffinitive aircraft carrier. A behemoth of about 500 m long that dwarfed its escort ships (it was a drawing) that would be unsunkable   And I remember that there was protected by a double hull filled with ice!!?.

2. In the same magazine (I can't remember which was but I think it was an English publication from the 50's) there was an story about WW2 Allied  floating airports in the Atlantic to allow an airbridge between US and UK to overcome the U-Boat treat over the convoys. The airport woul be big enough to operate C-46 and C-54 aircraft.

I think the second story could be true because I have a pic of a recent  US Sea Base project big enough to operate C-17 although in the Nuclear Weapons era it has little sense.

Happy New Year to everybody!!!

Project Habakkuk, named after the shortest book in the Bible, wherein is the quote: "Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told."

During WW2 it was planned to build a giant aircraft carrier on a "hull" of this ice, with freezing equipment mounted in a wooden framework, overlaid with metal panels for landing strips. The ice-ship would have been big enough for twin-engine aircraft, and would have served to close the mid-ocean gap during the early days of the Battle of the Atlantic.

The idea was to use a kind of sawdust-laden ice, called "pykrete" after its inventor, Geoffrey Pyke. It was relatively bullet-proof, as demonstrated by him using a gun, a block each of regular ice and pykrete, and a small room full of navy brass, who were both scared and impressed when the bullet ricocheted off the pykrete and amid them.  

A small test framework was actually built, on the Great Lakes, and sank there when the idea was abandoned due to longer-range aircraft and escort carriers coming into service.

[Ollie]

Wasn't that iceberg carrier a Canuck project?  I read about that here on the board a while ago.

 

[Captain Canada]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the Canucks were in on that, they did a bunch of tests on a lake here in Ontario.

Sure woulda been a sight to see !

[Libelula]

Thank you very much information JoeP!!

I thought this iceberg supercarrier was only a fake. Reality is always beyond fantasy!!!

Here I enclose the sea airport I found in a "popular" science Spanish magazine. It dates back from 1997 and it is a study for the US Navy from the Norvegian corporation Kvaerner. It is C-17 capable and crew is 10000.

:ar:  

[Joe C-P]

Here I enclose the sea airport I found in a "popular" science Spanish magazine. It dates back from 1997 and it is a study for the US Navy from the Norvegian corporation Kvaerner. It is C-17 capable and crew is 10000.

:ar:

Oooooo... (Jaw drops, eyes glaze over, thoughts of super-duper carrier dance in my head.)        B)

Is that all there was, or did they give some details, especially dimensions?

[Libelula]

Sorry JoeP, no more information is in my hands but I have found Kvaerner's web

http://www.akyards.com/

I have seen a lot of beatiful ships here

May be we can contact its Public Relations Dept. for more information about the Sea Base!

I'll keep you updated

Antonio

[Nick]

There was a 1km floating airport testbed built by the Japanese in 1999, named Megafloat. By all accounts it was quite successful. See this link and the others on that page. Megafloat Airport

Apparently Nagasaki Airport floats. It was built on Mishima Island which floats in the harbour, but I don't know if its natural or man-made. They have a slight problem with local wildlife! Nagasaki Airport

The US military call the project Mobile Offshore Bases as this website shows MOB Report

HTH,
Nick B)  

[nev]

Osaka airport (where I staged out of) is built on a man made island.

[Libelula]

Hi JoeP,

you don't to address to kvaerner. Their project was included in the MOB project.

I add more links here. You will find pics and data about this and the rest of MOB projects.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/sys...mob-gallery.htm

http://www.dt.navy.mil/ip/mfp/paper30.html

[WeeJimmy]

After reading this thread, I knew I had heard of the floating airfield idea before.  And when Habakkuk, was mentioned, than I knew I had.  i found some pictures, hope they are of interest to you guys.

This one is  picture  of the imagined Seadrome of Frederick Creed, a Canadian inventor who made his fortune on his invention of the printing telegraph, but lost it all trying to promote his idea of "floating islands" for aircraft landings on the Atlantic. Creed actually designed a large floating station, solid enough to withstand Atlantic gales in 1918.  

[WeeJimmy]

This is a cross-section diagram of proposed floating airfields of ice, a top secret project in Canada during World War II until Atlantic ferry suystem eliminated their need.