Unsinkable aircraft carrier
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An unsinkable aircraft carrier is a term sometimes used to refer to a geographical or political island that is utilized to extend the power projection of a military force. Because such an entity is capable of acting as an airbase and is a physical landmass incabable of being destroyed, it is in effect an aircraft carrier that cannot be sunk.
The British Isles during World War II, Taiwan since the Chinese Civil War, and the modern state of Israel have all been considered unsinkable aircraft carriers in regards to United States military forces. The name Airstrip One, applied to Great Britain in George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, may be a reference to this concept.
