Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 2:33:26-2:34:38

Why an airship carrier fails the sustainment test

Sustained carrier operations require replacement weapons and maintenance facilities that an airship's aircraft payload does not account for.

Aircraft CarriersAirshipsMaintenanceNaval AviationNaval Logistics
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Question

Could large airships have served as cheaper airborne aircraft carriers?

Short answer

Carrying aircraft is only part of the requirement. A carrier must also maintain and rearm them far from land for weeks or months.

Notes

An airship's lifting capacity does not establish whether it can support a naval air group. Carrier operations require stores of replacement weapons and facilities to maintain aircraft far from land. Those facilities have to keep the air group operating for weeks or months. A payload comparison can therefore make the concept look more practical than it is.