Parasite Aircraft

April 22, 2024 12:28 AM

Flying aircraft carriers show up in steampunk, dieselpunk and atompunk fiction so often, we can consider them a genre trope. From Castle Wulfenbach in Girl Genius to the British aircraft carriers in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow to the helicarriers of S.H.I.E.L.D., here is a look at these behemoths of the sky. from Flying Aircraft Carriers [Previously]
posted by chavenet (18 comments total)

A strange omission is that there is no mention of the originator of the concept: Jules Verne, with his 'Robur the Conqueror'.

Also, article author Nick Ottens missed out on the great game Crimson Skies, which was pretty much at the apex of the 'flying aircraft carrier' concept.
posted by LeRoienJaune at 12:54 AM on April 22 [12 favorites]

A flying ship carrier would be amusing.
posted by Phanx at 1:41 AM on April 22 [5 favorites]

Maybe this doesn't quite qualify, but I think another omission that I would include.
posted by Reasonably Everything Happens at 4:55 AM on April 22 [2 favorites]

The various Fallout games (and now TV show) continue the trope with the Prydwen.
posted by mrgoldenbrown at 5:57 AM on April 22 [4 favorites]

The Iron Vulture is one that I remember as especially fearsome from my childhood. I have not gone back to see how the series hold up, but think I’ll probably end up sharing it with my little one at some point.
posted by astrospective at 6:16 AM on April 22 [2 favorites]

I was just coming here to post the Iron Vulture! I attempted to build it out of legos so many times.
posted by being_quiet at 6:25 AM on April 22 [2 favorites]

It's about a retro-future which almost was, not about a sequel to 2019's Oscar-winning Best Picture.
posted by otherchaz at 7:28 AM on April 22 [1 favorite]

Here's some video of carrier ops on the airship USS Macon. Sparrowhawk biplanes being launched and recovered via a hook mechanism. In case you want to see the quote "merely a matter of pushing the planes off into space, where they can recover themselves with the ease of a bird thrown into the air." illustrated. Just bonkers we actually did this and it worked.

Also related, from MeFi's own Zarkonnen, there's Airships: Conquer the Skies. A game where you design and fight your own massive airship bases.
posted by Nelson at 7:43 AM on April 22 [5 favorites]

Cobra loved flying aircraft carriers:
Cobra #1

I love that the advantage of an aircraft is negated by flying about 10 ft off the ground.
posted by The_Vegetables at 7:50 AM on April 22 [2 favorites]

Nelson, thank you so much for posting that - I have read about the Macon (and Akron, etc), and seen photos, but had no idea there was actual video. Utterly amazing.
posted by davidmsc at 8:01 AM on April 22 [2 favorites]

The Flying Carriers(Part 1) & The Flying Carriers (Part 2) & The Flying Carriers (Part 3) & The Flying Carriers (Part 4)
posted by chavenet at 8:13 AM on April 22 [1 favorite]

While the SHIELD Helicarrier is one of the more iconic versions, I think Castle Wulfenbach may be the best and coolest around.
posted by sotonohito at 8:25 AM on April 22 [4 favorites]

The time-traveling air carrier Justice from the animated series/extended toy commercial Ring Raiders made a big impression on me as a youngster. Never had the carrier but the little planes were a lot of fun too.
posted by GalaxieFiveHundred at 9:24 AM on April 22 [1 favorite]

They missed Tom Swift Jr.'s Flying Lab which could launch the Kangaroo Kub and the Skeeter.

They also missed the US Air Force B-29 that was modified to carry a McDonnell F-85 fighter. That was unsuccessful.
posted by leaper at 9:45 AM on April 22 [1 favorite]

Can't believe they snubbed both the Protoss Carrier AND the Bebop. Outrageous.
(I love this post, thanks)
posted by McBearclaw at 11:32 AM on April 22 [3 favorites]

Pretty sure that when the SDF-1 Macross crashed on earth, they kitted it out with an aircraft carrier to replace its arm.
posted by nushustu at 11:40 AM on April 22 [2 favorites]

A flying ship carrier would be amusing.

So, this sort of thing?
posted by kickingtheground at 11:48 AM on April 22 [1 favorite]

It doesn't matter what outlandish thing fiction writers can dream up, there's always someone just crazy enough to build it :-)
posted by dg at 9:20 PM on April 23