Airborne aircraft carrier

An airborne aircraft carrier is a type of mother ship aircraft which can carry, launch, retrieve and support other smaller parasite aircraft.

The only dedicated examples to have been built were airships, although existing heavier-than-air aircraft have been modified for use in similar roles. Airborne aircraft carriers of various types appear in fiction, such as Cloudbase in Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, the Helicarrier from Marvel Comics, the Iron Vulture, a hybrid airship from Talespin, the Valiant from series 3 of Doctor Who, and an unnamed one in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.