Billy Mitchell's Floating Airbases

[KJ_Lesnick]

Though he never pursued the idea, early on he had expressed an interest in floating airbases, expressing them as cheaper to build and superior to battleships.  Was he talking about

- An aircraft carrier?
- A runway mounted atop a towed barge with aircraft on it?
- Like a fixed runway at sea -- like an oil-rig, but with runways on it?

[scooter]

Though he never pursued the idea, early on he had expressed an interest in floating airbases, expressing them as cheaper to build and superior to battleships.  Was he talking about

- An aircraft carrier?
- A runway mounted atop a towed barge with aircraft on it?
- Like a fixed runway at sea -- like an oil-rig, but with runways on it?

I'd almost think he was thinking something along the lines of a truly Super-carrier, maybe even something along the lines of Habbakuk

[KJ_Lesnick]

scooter

I'd almost think he was thinking something along the lines of a truly Super-carrier, maybe even something along the lines of Habbakuk

Sounds odd because he was describing his mobile airbases as *cheaper* to build than battleships.  Something like that sounds exceedingly expensive...

[Green Dragon]

"Floating Airbases" always seemed to me like the large Barge option, maybe made from rapidly built Liberty Ship style hull sections, with a very large wooden deck on top capable of taking bombers. Doubt a Catamaran layout would work but maybe three or four long hulls might. Wouldn't like to stick it in the middle of an Atlantic storm though! Could have engines in two of the hulls for some mobility.

Paul Harrison

[KJ_Lesnick]

Paul Harrison

"Floating Airbases" always seemed to me like the large Barge option, maybe made from rapidly built Liberty Ship style hull sections, with a very large wooden deck on top capable of taking bombers.

I didn't know you could build a ship by chopping up a bunch of smaller ships and cobbling everything together.  I'd figure you'd need to do some refinements to the shape.

Doubt a Catamaran layout would work but maybe three or four long hulls might. Wouldn't like to stick it in the middle of an Atlantic storm though! Could have engines in two of the hulls for some mobility.

Nah, a catamaran hull would work.  They've been around for a long time and can work even at high speeds.  You could put engine rooms in both hulls and you'd have sufficient speed to work with.  

I'm wondering if Mitchell realized that this would be considered an Aircraft Carrier and would be subject to various limitations (such as the Washington Naval Treaty)

[The Rat]

You've just given me a crazy idea - helicopter bases, flying Sikorsky R-4s, disguised to look like little islands, complete with a palm tree. 

[rickshaw]

I remember reading that nowadays they have floating oil refineries.  One apparently is off the coast of Greenland but because of the dangers of icebergs its designed to be disassembled in a few days by unlinking the floating elements and moving them out of the way of the approaching iceberg.  This apparently happens every year or so, so they have some practice at doing it.

[jcf]

Armstrong floating airport, Popular Mechanics, June 1929.

http://books.google.com/books?id=w94DAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA938&dq=popular%20mechanics%20floating%20airfield&pg=PA938#v=onepage&q&f=false

[Stargazer]

And the great painted cover of the same... 

http://books.google.com/books?id=w94DAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&hl=fr&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

[RussC]

Remember the Habbakuk designs too.
 
As a military idea, floating islands are non practical in the nuclear era- But today might be a different story in the rebirth of counter insurgency interventionism.

Remember the flying airbases in the film "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" ?
 
Non military ideas are occasionally floated in the form of floating residential projects on the Inland Sea of Japan or in other Asian countries plus roaming colonies of Uber Libertarians who would go to Mars to avoid taxation.
 
Those early designs in Popular mechanics are a reflection of the shorter range of the period aircraft.

[Stargazer]

When you consider the surface of the oceans on this planet, it seems like sheer nonsense not to put it to better use by constructing floating platforms or undersea bases to take full advantage of it...

[RussC]

December 18, 1943' and B flight of Coastal Command Sqn 666 is in the pattern for base 235 "Orion" with their US built Northrop PBRM2 "Manta" ASW aircraft.
Location ...  "Somewhere mid-Ocean".
 

[markmarples]

i like that idea, but too expand on it, could it be submersible?

[RussC]

i like that idea, but too expand on it, could it be submersible?

It would look a bit different, but that could be done.  It would be very unwieldy underwater.

[Stargazer]

Great, Russ!!