Mother ship

During World War II the Japanese Mitsubishi G4M bomber was used to carry the rocket-powered Yokosuka MXY7 Ohka aircraft, used for kamikaze attacks, within range of a target ship.

In a captive carry arrangement the payload craft, such as a rocket, missile, aeroplane or spaceplane, does not separate from the carrier aircraft.

Notable examples include: Some large long-range aircraft have been modified as motherships in order to carry parasite aircraft which support the mothership by extending its role, for example for reconnaissance, or acting in a support role such as fighter defence.

During World War II the Soviet Tupolev-Vakhmistrov Zveno project developed converted Tupolev TB-1 and TB-3 aircraft to carry and launch up to five smaller craft, typically in roles such as fighter escort or fighter-bomber.

[7] In November 2014, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) requested industry proposals for a system in which small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) would be launched and recovered by their existing conventional large aircraft, including the B-52 Stratofortress and B-1 Lancer bombers and C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster III transports.

Both the 1962 American Ranger and the 1966 Soviet Luna uncrewed landers were spherical capsules designed to be ejected at the last moment from mother ships that carried them to the Moon, and crashed onto its surface.

[14] The Scaled Composites White Knight series of aircraft are designed to launch spacecraft which they carry underneath them.

Adamski claimed to have met and befriended the pilots of these scout ships, including a Venusian named Orthon.

[16] The concept of a mother ship also occurs in science fiction, extending the idea to spaceships that serve as the equivalent of flagships among a fleet.

In many Asian languages, such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Indonesian, the word mothership (Chinese: 母舰, Japanese: 母艦, Korean: 모함, Indonesian: Kapal induk, literally "mother" + "(war)ship") typically refers to an aircraft carrier, which is translated as "aircraft/aviation mothership" (Chinese: 航空母舰, Japanese: 航空母艦, Korean: 항공모함, Malay: Kapal induk pesawat udara).