Floating fortress

Floating fortress is a term used to describe expansive sea bases (i.e. squadrons of commercial vessels loaded with heavy military equipment and supporting logistical stocks), as well as battleships or carriers which accompany the sea bases. The term's etymology is derived from the WWII-era B-17 Flying Fortress, which were employed by the United States Air Force during raids on Germany.

Examples

*San Juan de Ulúa, a fortress on an island, located near the Mexican seaport of Veracruz.

* The historic Venetian Arsenal, included ships known as "galleass"; these were merchant vessels which were modified to hold heavy artillery. This included guns mounted on wheeled carriages.

Fictional references

Floating fortress references abound in video games (in particular computer role-playing games) as well as print media. However, it should be noted these are often depicted as airborne vessels.
* Floating fortress was the vehicle of choice for "The Sinistrals", a quartet of demigods featured in Lufia & the Fortress of Doom, the 1993 RPG;
* A floating fortress served was home to the Wind Crystal and Wind Fiend, characters from the Final Fantasy video game;
* Noted author George Orwell's political novel Nineteen Eighty-Four includes several references to such vessels belonging to Oceania. They are depicted as nearly unsinkable, and as such one of the few examples of technology being enhanced under the Party's watch.

References

* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3834/is_200404/ai_n9356365/print Wings of Gold: Naval Strike Warfare in the 21st Century]
* [http://www.nqsouthern.com/digitalpublication/digitalpublications/index.cfm?dpid=89&section_id=549&article_id=2619 QM2 will be floating fortress]
* [http://www.newspeakdictionary.com/ns-dict.html Newspeak Dictionary]