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Curated by: Not A Pound For Air To Ground (219 videos)
Aircraft carriers depend on careful deck organisation as much as fast jets, and this video looks at the machines that quietly make flight operations possible: deck tractors. From improvised jeeps in the Second World War to purpose-built diesel tugs of the Cold War, these vehicles evolved alongside the growing size and weight of naval aircraft. I briefly compare how the United States, Britain, France and the Soviet Union each solved the same practical problem of moving, positioning and starting aircraft in confined, hazardous conditions at sea. It is a somewhat technical but hopefully revealing story about the hidden infrastructure that underpins carrier air power.