What materials haven’t humanity used
for the purposes of construction throughout our entire history?!
People have used everything they could—
stone, wood, iron, and even water
in its solid state of matter—ice.
In the 18th century,
the Ice House was built on the order of Empress Anna of Russia.
Today, ice hotels are successfully operating in Scandinavian countries,
Japan, and even Chile—
with its hotel located not far from the Choshuenco volcano.
However, entertainment for royals
and commercial real estate for extreme tourism is one thing,
but warships are a completely different story.
In the summer of 1942, Great Britain was in a difficult position—
German submarines and raiders were ravaging sea communication routes
that had always been used for importing essentials to the British Isles.
In order to protect their transports,
especially along the most important North Atlantic route
that connected Great Britain with the U.S.A. and Canada,
the British required air support.
Only aircraft carriers could provide this,
but there was a lack of warships of that type.
That was when Geoffrey Pyke—
an inventor, journalist, and scout—
submitted to Lord Mountbatten, Chief of Combined Operations,
a project for an aircraft carrier
made of ice.
The idea was to flatten the surface part of an iceberg
to create a landing strip,
but the idea of using natural icebergs was quickly abandoned—
icebergs of the required dimensions— 700 by 700 meters—
are rarely encountered in nature.
Natural icebergs are also prone to capsizing without warning.
Then a new construction material was invented—
pykrete—an alloy of water and wooden mass, or in common terms—sawdust.
Pykrete is sturdier than ice, it melts significantly more slowly,
and it doesn't submerge underwater as much.
The project was codenamed "Habakkuk"
in honor of the prophet from the Old Testament.
The first ice aircraft carrier was planned to be commissioned in 1944,
but work on it was halted in December 1943.
The project’s development required significant expenses,
while the U.S.A. had arranged the production of escort aircraft carriers,
so Habakkuk was no longer needed.
But in World of Warships, things are different…
Please welcome Habakkuk— a special Tier X ship.
The ice aircraft carrier is armed with an impressive dual-purpose battery
comprising 32 coupled 113 mm guns
and strong AA defenses, including 20 coupled 20 mm Oerlikon cannons
and 12 multibarrel QF 2-pounders Mark VIII.
Habakkuk's top speed is 7 knots,
but she doesn't need to turn— she can travel in any direction
thanks to several propulsion systems being installed along her perimeter.
The low speed and high visibility of Habakkuk
from ships—28.1 km—
and aircraft—43.8 km—
are the main downsides of the ice aircraft carrier.
That's why you need to hide behind an island as soon as you can—
only islands and smokes can save you from the enemy.
In addition to her artillery,
the ship's advantages are a solid pool of 627,100 HP
and a plethora of attack aircraft and torpedo bombers on board.
Moreover, her bombers carry Tallboys— real slayers of kings.
The maximum damage they can inflict is 18,600 HP;
they can penetrate 120 mm-thick armor;
and they have a 106% chance to set enemy ships on fire.
Another pleasant surprise is the Surveillance Radar consumable,
which is quite unusual for carriers.
The consumable activates automatically every 240 seconds,
and it can help you spot any approaching enemies.
Now, it's time for the quiz—
if you watched this Armada episode attentively,
you'll surely remember the first and last name of the person
who suggested building ice aircraft carriers.
If you do, please write it in the comments.
I want to stress it one more time— Habakkuk is a special ship.
Place your enemies in her cold grip...
And feel her power!
Your aircraft won't meet any obstacles on their way—
they will leave only scorched and sinking enemy ships behind.
Good luck, Captains!