Standing Bear wrote:
Conversely, the British once fully funded studies on a battleship made of ice, purely to mollify a fearful public during the depths of World War II.
I believe that was an aircraft carrier made of ice mixed with sawdust and or ground-up newspaper. It was to be deployed in the far north Atlantic to cover the "air gap" where German U-boats could operate without being intercepted by long-range British aircraft. It would not be a highly mobile aircraft carrier in the usual sense, but rather a large man-made island that could be towed to any location and anchored. The craft would have had internal freezers to replenish the ice as it melted. Ice mixed with sawdust is incredibly tough material. It could easily withstand a German torpedo strike.
It was actually a sensible proposal, but it was no longer needed after the US began launching small "jeep" aircraft carriers made from converted freighters that carried a couple dozen aircraft. (The British called them "Woolworth" carriers.)
The proposal was not put forth to mollify the public. It was top secret. It was pursued because it appealed to Winston Churchill.
- Jed
