Flying Aircraft Carrier

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Tropes and genres
Synonym(s)Flying Aircraft Carrier, Helicarrier, Cloudbase, Valiant
Related tropes/genresS.H.I.E.L.D., U.N.I.T., Spectrum
1983 program book for Orycon: 8 ½ x 11, 48 pages. Front cover by R. Williams.
Related articles on Fanlore.

Flying Aircraft Carriers and other flying ships have been a staple of science fiction and comics since the nineteenth century[1]; early examples appear in the works of Jules Verne, George Griffith, and other authors of this period. The first real-world examples were airships which carried one or more fighters, from the 1930s onward.[2]

Typically fictional flying aircraft carriers are heavier than air aircraft supported by jets, propellers or antigravity, although dirigibles appear occasionally. They serve as mobile headquarters, barracks and aircraft carriers, much like their floating counterparts, but aren't limited to the oceans. They are most often associated with "secret" agencies such as S.H.I.E.L.D., Spectrum and U.N.I.T.. There is usually some vagueness about the power sources required to keep several thousand tons floating in the air; nuclear or solar power seem the most common choices. In the canon in which these vehicles appear they are generally attacked or go wrong sooner or later, at which point the wisdom of spending billions on something that will fall out of the sky if the power goes out, rather than floating on the surface, becomes debatable.

Canon Examples

Fan Works

References

  1. ^ TV Tropes Airborne Aircraft Carrier (accessed June 25 2015)
  2. ^ Airborne Aircraft Carrier on Wikipedia (accessed June 24 2015)