Ancient history

The Cold War and the submarines - aircraft carriers of the Americans

In the 1950s the US Navy also considered the idea of ​​a nuclear powered submarine aircraft carrier. The AN-1 submarine would carry eight aircraft. Although the AN-14 was never built, it could have written its own page in naval history.

It is worth noting that the idea of ​​aircraft carrier submarines was pioneered by the Japanese during World War II, who built large submarines capable of carrying aircraft for the purpose of bombing the USA.

The AN-1 would be a variant of the Halibut-class submarines, each of which could carry five Regulus cruise missiles the size of a small aircraft.

The AN-1 would have a length of about 150m. it could develop a maximum speed of 16 knots in a dive and would have a 15,000 hp nuclear reactor. In addition to the aircraft, it would carry eight torpedo tubes, six forward and two aft.

The submarine would carry eight fighters which would be launched vertically. The Boeing-designed fighters developed a maximum speed of Mach 3. Aircraft would also hover vertically.

The plan to use the submarine provided for underwater navigation to the Soviet or Chinese shores and then launching the nuclear-armed aircraft. Still, a submarine force of the type could be the first line of air defense for the US and Europe.

Today, with the threat of hypersonic weapons and ballistic weapons against surface targets, large aircraft carriers are threatened. So the old idea of ​​submarine aircraft carriers seems even more reasonable, especially now that drone technology has advanced so much.