1. Flying Aircraft Carrier – USS Macon/USS Akron
The flying aircraft carrier was first crafted by German engineers in the early 1930s. Prague-born engineer Dr. Karl Arnstein of Ohio was the one who built the aircraft which took its first flight in April 1933. The first was called the USS Macon and later, the USS Akron, a sister ship, was built. They were both blimp-like and not shaped like today’s aircraft carriers. The USS Macon was able to carry five F9C “Sparrowhawk” airplanes that could be launched as well as retrieved during flight. Following a highly damaging event during 1934 due to flying too high of an altitude over Arizona, the USS Macon crashed on February 12, 1935 due to a structural failure during a storm.