The Royal Navy during the Second World War A30297

''Lily'' and ''Clover'' were two experimental floating airfields tested towards the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

by the

British Admiralty The Admiralty was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy until 1964, historically under its titular head, the Lord High Admiral – one of the Great Officers of State. For much of it ...

. Based on a similar concept to the Mulberry harbour used for the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

in 1944, ''Lily'' and ''Clover'' were two different types of floating airstrips that would allow the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

to operate aircraft before a shore base is secured and removed the need for an aircraft carrier. ''Lily'' was a collection of flotation units developed for the floating roadways used in the Mulberry harbour. Each was six feet across, plates being fitted on the top to form the runway. The complete structure could be towed and weighed 5,000 tons, taking 400 man-hours to construct. ''Clover'' was built mainly of wood with wooden deck planking which could take a load of eight tons. It weighed more than Lily at 5,200 tons but would take 21,000 man-hours to assemble. The resulting runway was long and wide with of parking area and for storage and maintenance. Trials were carried in the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde is the mouth of the River Clyde. It is located on the west coast of Scotland and constitutes the deepest coastal waters in the British Isles (it is 164 metres deep at its deepest). The firth is sheltered from the Atlantic ...

Lamlash Lamlash ( gd, An t-Eilean Àrd) is a village on the Isle of Arran, in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It lies south of the island's main settlement and ferry port Brodick, in a sheltered bay on the island's east coast, facing the Holy Isle. Lam ...

on the

Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; sco, Isle o Arran; gd, Eilean Arainn) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Historically part of Butesh ...

. Both an

Auster Auster Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1938 to 1961.Willis, issue 122, p.55 History The company began in 1938 at the Britannia Works, Thurmaston near Leicester, England, as Taylorcraft Aeroplanes (England) Limited, ma ...

and

Fairey Swordfish The Fairey Swordfish is a biplane torpedo bomber, designed by the Fairey Aviation Company. Originating in the early 1930s, the Swordfish, nicknamed "Stringbag", was principally operated by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy. It was also used ...

aircraft were used for the trials. The trial was a success and proved that both ''Lily'' and ''Clover'' could take aircraft up to with a landing speed in calm seas. Lily was tested successfully with waves but became dangerous at . ''Lily'' was maintained for nine-months with little deterioration, but ''Clover'' did not stand up as well. ''Lily'' was designed to be assembled from a merchant ship and it was clear that the structure could not be sunk by bombing, with damaged sections replaced as required. Landing technique was similar to an aircraft carrier, once the undulation was taken into account, with an

arrestor gear An arresting gear, or arrestor gear, is a mechanical system used to rapidly decelerate an aircraft as it lands. Arresting gear on aircraft carriers is an essential component of naval aviation, and it is most commonly used on CATOBAR and STOBAR ...

fitted similar to that used on Light Fleet Carriers. The floating airstrips were seen as a back-up for

escort carrier The escort carrier or escort aircraft carrier (U.S. hull classification symbol CVE), also called a "jeep carrier" or "baby flattop" in the United States Navy (USN) or "Woolworth Carrier" by the Royal Navy, was a small and slow type of aircraft ...

s and would have operated 48

Supermarine Spitfires The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Griff ...

. The concept was intended to be used for

Operation Downfall Operation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. The planned operation was canceled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, th ...

, the planned invasion of Japan, but the war in the Far-East ended before they were used operationally.

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite magazine, magazine=Aeromilitaria, publisher=

Air-Britain Air-Britain, traditionally sub-titled "The International Association of Aviation Enthusiasts", is a non-profit aviation society founded in July 1948. As from 2015, it is constituted as a British charitable trust and book publisher. History Air-Brit ...

, volume=28, issue=28, year=2002, issn=0262-8791, pages=21–22, title=Lily and Clover - The Floating Airstrips Airfields British inventions Naval aviation technology

See also

References