An airborne aircraft carrier is a type of mother ship aircraft which can carry, launch, retrieve and support other smaller parasite aircraft. [1] The only dedicated examples to have been built were airships, although existing heavier-than-air aircraft have been modified for use in similar roles.

The airborne aircraft carrier would have carried up to 22 fighter aircraft externally and would have had an internal dock capable of handling two air-to-ground shuttle transport aircraft.

Jul 16, 2020 · Key Point: Early disasters spelled the end for the flying aircraft carrier concept. Nearly a hundred years ago the U.S. Navy asked a question: if airplanes can fly through the air, why...

Dec 2, 2013 · Between 1917 and 1942, Britain, the U.S. and the Soviet Union experimented with the idea of flying aircraft carriers. The USS Macon, pictured here, was a helium airship that could launch and recover small warplanes.

An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and hangar facilities for supporting, arming, deploying and recovering shipborne aircraft. [1]

Nov 15, 2024 · What You Need to Know: The Akron-class airships, Akron and Macon, represented the pinnacle of rigid airship design and were the U.S. Navy’s only flying aircraft carriers. Built by...

Oct 11, 2023 · The USS Macon, a massive rigid airship commissioned by the US Navy, was renowned for its innovative design, allowing it to serve as a “flying aircraft carrier” by housing and deploying Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk biplane fighters.

1 day ago · As Simple Flying previously reported, the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is a multi-role aircraft, capable of air-to-surface, electronic warfare, intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance (ISR) and air-to-air missions in a single sortie. ... Possible future integration on China’s third aircraft carrier, Fujian

Apr 8, 2023 · A flying aircraft carrier sounds great until you consider the strides being made in anti-air missile technology at the time. Lockheed recognized the fact that its design was incredibly susceptible to missile attacks.

Feb 6, 2024 · The sinking of the Macon ended the Navy's experiment with flying aircraft carriers, but not the service's work with dirigibles.