The Miracle Material Behind the Largest Ship Ever | Tales From the Bottle
The biggest ship in history? Made from an unusual and obscure building material? How’d that go?
“Project Habakkuk or Habbakuk (spelling varies) was a plan by the British during the Second World War to construct an aircraft carrier out of pykrete, a mixture of wood pulp and ice, for use against German U-boats in the mid-Atlantic, which were beyond the flight range of land-based planes at that time. The plan was to create what would have been the largest ship ever at 600 metres (1,969 ft) long, which would have been much bigger than even the USS Enterprise and the USS Gerald R. Ford, the largest naval vessel ever, at 342 metres (1,122 ft) long. The idea came from Geoffrey Pyke, who worked for Combined Operations Headquarters. After promising scale tests and the creation of a prototype on Patricia Lake, Jasper National Park, in Alberta, Canada, the project was shelved due to rising costs, added requirements, and the availability of longer-range aircraft and escort carriers which closed the Mid-Atlantic gap that the project was intended to address.”
More on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Habakkuk
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@Qxir
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
CORRECTION: the model made for testing was built with regular ice, not pykrete (they only discovered pykrete after the model was completed).
I also mention pykrete is stronger than concrete, and should clarify that pykrete's tensile strength is greater, but it is not as tough as concrete in terms of crushing strength!
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@donalddierkes3474
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
Hmmm…I need a big ship to launch airplanes off of that floats…wait a minute…ice floats too. Hmmm…
@davidrobertson5700
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
Oceans sawdust and wood chippings and a ton of government bs paperwork not just ice lol
@pontiacfan76
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
I cant imagine this would very safe to land on.
Leave it to the military to make things more complicated
@svihl666
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
Nice video
@EvgeniX.
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
they just needed to attach an engine to an iceberg and ride that thing for a good while until it melts
@Ezio-Auditore94
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
I thought they would hollow out part of a large iceberg to do it
@The_Red_Blueberry
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
this could work in the arctic but no a carrier
@teddypunch
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
A good idea for interstellar craft. No need to worry about melting in space!
@Leatherargento
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
The little ice cube falling over 😮😊
@RubyRaccoon-f9h
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
Why can't they just use it full time in Antarctica 😮so that it never melts
@VashStarwind
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
Dam. Bro didnt even wanna build a 10 ft boat first to prove the concept. Dream big I guess.
@thecamocampaindude5167
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
8:36 The wreck of the Project Habakkuk prototype lies at the bottom of Patricia Lake in Jasper National Park, Canada.
@chengizkhan8741
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
Just like what these bastards did in Gaza.. nothing new from the British.
@mrtortoise3766
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
You mentioned that it was torpedo proof but I think what’s more impressive is this thing would be resistant to 16 inch shells
@PTNLemay
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
It feels like Pykrete would only be useful for arctic or antarctic bases. Since it's kind of like synthetic permafrost.
@Cupit29
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
It's because it melts.
@PaithanMycerinus
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
government ingenuity at it best 🤦♂
@BrianPerry-r8p
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
Meta
@agent_skully
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
You mean "The Largest Ship Never."
@ElectricHellKnight
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
LTT needs to make a self-cooling computer out of this stuff.
@jinx8624
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
nice to know the origin of pykrete
@PotatoTheProgrammer
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
6:13 6 7
@nickotine343
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
4:09 let’s go! Alberta mentioned!
@tyrothethird3081
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
Here's a crazy idea: pykrete spaceship. Space is cold enough you don't have to worry about melting
@wisecup2
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
You know pykrete could have been used at fortifications
@peterjones596
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
Well, if nothing else, why not use it for artic bases?
@harryballsagna-s2e
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
after discovering the channel recently im sad to say this is prolly the last unwatched video, looking fwd to more
@lizichell2
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
"I can't believe it's not aircraft carrier" 😂😂😂
@minimalgrammar1276
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
I was more thinking you just build these for doing work in the Arctic.
@reachandler3655
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
🤔 I wonder… adding red food colouring to pykrete body part sculptures for Halloween, the melting red liquid would add to the creepiness.
@SuperMcgenius
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
As someone who identifies as an ice cube I find this very disturbing😂😂😂
@DarkInvader1963
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
Fun Fact: "Lord Mountbatten" Was Called "Lord Non-Combatten" Because He Was Never In Any War. Just Look 👀 At All Those Medals, I Think Someone Got Jealous. I.R.A. ?
@adamb.c.1553
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
Pickles and Milk! Milk and Pickles!!
Cucumber Cows are Known to Be Fickle!!!
@majorkramer
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
Maybe they should have tried plastic & wood pulp?
@ItsMee-b2i
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
I got a use for Pykrete: indestructible icebergs, in case you need to sink the Olympic for an insurance payout. JP Morgan, call me if you want to make a deal.
@kittycolaXXVII
September 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm
wow i read about the pyke thing in a horrible history book