Translate

Sunday, 2 March 2014

British Second World War Aircraft Carrier Project Habakkuk or Habbakuk 1942-1943


This carrier was to be made of pykrete (wood pulp+ice) and to be used as a base aircraft used against the German submarines active in the Mid Atlantic. An idea of the British inventor Geoffrey Pyke (9 November 1893-22 February 1948) employed at the Combined Operations Headquarters. In the Canadian Jasper National Work started men in 1943 to built at Lake Louise, Alberta a model with the dimensions 18 x 9 metres or 60x30 feet with a weight of around a 1.000 tons. The intention was to have the model completed for 1944. As raw materials was 300.000 tons of wood pulp, 125.000 tons of fireboard insulation, 35.000 tons of timber and further more 10.000 tons of steel supplied. They started at the Lake with making large ice blocks. In December that year was decided to abandoning the project. When actually finished the definitive carrier had as to have as dimensions 2.000 x 300 x 200 (depth) feet with a hangar capacity of 200 Spitfire fighters and another 100 Mosquito bombers. She would to have a speed of 6-7 knots and a range of 7.000 miles thanks to a fuel bunker capacity of 5.000 tons with a daily consumption of 120 tons. Her crew was to have numbered 404 officers and 3.216 petty officers and men.