Great Britain. Project Habakkuk. The British attempt to determine whether an iceberg could serve as an aircraft carrier. Due to the ease with which icebergs capsize, the project nearly dies, but then comes the invention of pykrete, a mixture of water and wood pulp that, when frozen, is stronger than regular ice, melting more slowly and thus preventing the “ship” from sinking. Pykrete could be worked like wood and cast into molds like metal, and once immersed in water, an insulating shell of wet wood pulp could form on its surface, protecting its interior from further melting. However, Perutz encountered a problem: ice has a viscous flow, and his tests showed that a pykrete ship would slowly collapse if it were not cooled to -16°C. To achieve such a surface, the vessel would need insulation and a refrigeration system and a complex system of ducts. Perutz proceeded to conduct experiments on the feasibility of pykrete and its optimal composition at a secret location beneath the Smithfield Meat Market in the City of London. The research took place in a meat refrigeration room behind a protective screen of frozen animal carcasses.
