There is a good reason why this idea really never took off (pardon the pun) That is airships don't fare well when faced with machine guns.... they tend to go 'pop'
Challenge: Make The Flying Aircraft Carrier Happen
- Thread starter jkay
- Start date
David S Poepoe
Banned
Actually they don't. Michael York's movie Zeppelin gives you a good idea that when shot up an airship does lose lift capability and altitude, but it generally doesn't immediate crash to earth. The same can be said about blimps. Phosphorus bullets do eventually ignite hydrogen, but thats dependent upon the right mixture of escaping hydrogen and oxygen.
Macon surves TL post 2
Following Macon and Akron's successes, and with the naval airship advocates NOT having died in a flaming crash, the Navy decides to build two bigger airship-based carriers. At this point, there is no thought of trying for capital ships-equivalents in the next generation, as, even if doubled to ten planes, these will be the biggest airships made, at 12M ft^3 of bag, half again bigger than Hindenburg. But, being 5x faster than sea-based carriers, it's hard to think of better scouts.
The new scout carriers are made to carry ten instead of five aircraft. Their loads end up being cut to 6, and the Macons' to 3, to carry WWII aircraft and ammo and, later, bombloads.
The scout carriers and the Macon and Akron see action in WWII as escort carriers. They're very effective, because they can often spot U-Boats from the carriers, and more easily keep track with them and dispatch planes to them, and, of course, they can get to where the action is much faster. They become the favorite escort carriers in the war, though there's grumbling because launching the entire flight of planes is slow.
As WWII heats up, we put plenty of these in production, as U-Boats are understood to be a big priority. The British and Japanese also build several scout carriers as well.
None are lost to enemy action, because, though U-Boats have AA guns, it's hard to score a hit on a high target when you're being hunted. A handful of hits are scored, low on impact because, like in all big airships, the bags are made with plenty of cells, and easy to fix the outside of. The Macon and two USN carriers do fail for other reasons during the war, though.
1934: Construction begins on two 20-plane Air Scout Carriers
1936: USS San Diego and Los Angeles are launched
(notice, barring a severe mistake, I've satisfied the challenge requirements here, but I do want to explore a couple posts more)
--------- More coming ---------
Following Macon and Akron's successes, and with the naval airship advocates NOT having died in a flaming crash, the Navy decides to build two bigger airship-based carriers. At this point, there is no thought of trying for capital ships-equivalents in the next generation, as, even if doubled to ten planes, these will be the biggest airships made, at 12M ft^3 of bag, half again bigger than Hindenburg. But, being 5x faster than sea-based carriers, it's hard to think of better scouts.
The new scout carriers are made to carry ten instead of five aircraft. Their loads end up being cut to 6, and the Macons' to 3, to carry WWII aircraft and ammo and, later, bombloads.
The scout carriers and the Macon and Akron see action in WWII as escort carriers. They're very effective, because they can often spot U-Boats from the carriers, and more easily keep track with them and dispatch planes to them, and, of course, they can get to where the action is much faster. They become the favorite escort carriers in the war, though there's grumbling because launching the entire flight of planes is slow.
As WWII heats up, we put plenty of these in production, as U-Boats are understood to be a big priority. The British and Japanese also build several scout carriers as well.
None are lost to enemy action, because, though U-Boats have AA guns, it's hard to score a hit on a high target when you're being hunted. A handful of hits are scored, low on impact because, like in all big airships, the bags are made with plenty of cells, and easy to fix the outside of. The Macon and two USN carriers do fail for other reasons during the war, though.
1934: Construction begins on two 20-plane Air Scout Carriers
1936: USS San Diego and Los Angeles are launched
(notice, barring a severe mistake, I've satisfied the challenge requirements here, but I do want to explore a couple posts more)
--------- More coming ---------
Sounds good, except there's a hole in your theory:
Blips are more or less limited in speed to what they reached IRL. IIRC that's below 150 km/h. WWII airplanes probably have a higher take-off and landing speed than that speed.
So untill the CTOL and STOVL/VTOL planes like the Harriers come around, you're limited to helicopters and more exotic flying stuff.
But when CTOL/VTOL/STOVL comes around, airships (perhaps with some armouring to withstand the high temperatures) make excellent mini commandocarriers. Loaded with marines, helicopters and AV-8B/JSF.
David S Poepoe
Banned
The British are not going to experiment again with rigid airships since they have no secure supply of helium and the R101 disaster just ended their interest in airships. They may use blimps.
Actually, the likes the Macon and Akron will be important in bridging the North Atlantic Gap in escorting convoys. They themselves are of only secondary importance to the aircraft that they carry. Their planes will either scout of u-boats and directly attack them or alert the nearest destroyers.
Also, you must check the naming by 1936 to make sure that San Diego and Los Angeles are not being used on cruisers.
Take off speed...
Since the planes are scouts, super high performance isn't needed. So, it shoul;d be possible to design a plane with broad wings and big flaps for a lower stall speed.
And, the research might lead people to the concept of variable geometry wings in the 1930's, though they would, IMVHO, not be actually developed until much later.
Since the planes are scouts, super high performance isn't needed. So, it shoul;d be possible to design a plane with broad wings and big flaps for a lower stall speed.
And, the research might lead people to the concept of variable geometry wings in the 1930's, though they would, IMVHO, not be actually developed until much later.
Great, I've always wanted to own an ornithopter!
Seriously, at most you could hang a trio of Fieseler Storchs. Those have excellent (low) landingspeed and are basically the best STOL in WWII.
Untill helicopters anything else exotic comes around, this will be the limit.
I can't imagine you'll succeed at hanging something truly usefull like either a fighter (Hurricane, like on CAM ships with catapult?) or a true patrolaircraft like the Catalina.
Unfortunately planes like the Storch have a very limited range (less than 400 km IIRC), not something which matches well with flying over long stretches of sea in an already single-engined plane!
Other than these disadvantages planes with low landingspeed which you require also usually have a very low max speed; the Storch (again), has a max speed of 175 km/h at optimal altitude.
That's not that much less than the airship itself, so why not use multiple smaller airships without aircraft if the low speed doesn't bother you?
Conclusion:
Unless you can get something heavy like a decently armed fighter or a true patrolaircraft on these things, they're close to useless.
A very large airship with a bit of a solid (aluminium?) runway on top could catapult Hurricane's, but recovering probably is either too dangerous/impossible.
Too bad such an airship is probably too expensive for the few advantages it gives. You're probably better off building more CAM-ships.
Well, as far as PODs go, I'd say that a good one would be preventing the crash of the USS Shenandoah. Major modifications to the ship were being planned, and she probably would have been capable of carrying a fighter by 1927. Where it goes from there, I haven't thought of yet.
Well, Los Angeles was the name of another airship being used in the '30s in OTL.
Yes retired 32 briefly flew in 33 and decommed and scrapped in 39. If a ZRCV was built LA would more the likely retired to free up the Name.
So again the names San Diego and Los Angeles would both be available.
So again the names San Diego and Los Angeles would both be available.
David S Poepoe
Banned
USS Los Angeles was retired and deflated since it was worn out, at least by the USN's opinion. Also there is a bit of a shortage of helium immediately on hand and the processing of it is expensive.