Requiem for a Rocket Fighter: - The Saunders Roe P177N Fleet Fighter

[Hobbes]

Nice work Duncan; I still have a soft spot for the 177.

[PR19_Kit]

1. HTP reacts violently with water: do you really want a damn great tank of it in an aircraft carrier, no matter how well protected?

I don't think so.......

The ground crews flooded the area with water to counteract any spills when it was used in the Blue Steel and (as T-Stoff) in the Me-163. HTP reacts with other catalysts to produce steam and oxygen, the catalysts can be many things, including something as innocuous as a handkerchief. The Navy used HTP as a fuel in two submarines at one time, the Excalibur and Explorer. OK, they didn't work that well but using it in a submarine would not indicate that it didn't mix with water!

[Weaver]

1. HTP reacts violently with water: do you really want a damn great tank of it in an aircraft carrier, no matter how well protected?

I don't think so.......

The ground crews flooded the area with water to counteract any spills when it was used in the Blue Steel and (as T-Stoff) in the Me-163. HTP reacts with other catalysts to produce steam and oxygen, the catalysts can be many things, including something as innocuous as a handkerchief. The Navy used HTP as a fuel in two submarines at one time, the Excalibur and Explorer. OK, they didn't work that well but using it in a submarine would not indicate that it didn't mix with water!

Sorry, yes, you're quite right: water dilutes it (I was getting confused with something else). Nevertheless, it remains a highly reactive substance which is dangerous when in contact with a wide range of common materials. It's accidental release on a an open rocket launch pad is quite dangerous enough: the possibility of it being released into the closed, complex and densely-packed environment of a carrier represents an appalling risk in my view.