Project Habakkuk

Project Habakkuk or Habbakuk (spelling varies; see below) was a plan by the British during the Second World War to construct an aircraft carrier out of pykrete (a mixture of wood pulp and ice) for use against German U-boats in the mid-Atlantic, which were beyond the flight range of land-based planes at that time. The idea came from Geoffrey Pyke, who worked for Combined Operations Headquarters.

History

Initial concept

Geoffrey Pyke was an old friend of J.D. Bernal and had been recommended to Lord Mountbatten, Chief of Combined Operations, by the Cabinet minister Leopold Amery. Pyke worked at Combined Operations Headquarters (COHQ) alongside Bernal and was regarded as a genius by Mountbatten.

Pyke conceived the idea of Habbakuk while he was in the United States organising the production of M29 Weasels for Project Plough, a scheme to assemble an elite unit for winter operations in Norway, Romania and the Italian Alps. He had been considering the problem of how to protect seaborne landings and Atlantic convoys out of reach of aircraft cover. The problem was that steel and aluminium were in short supply, and were required for other purposes. Pyke realized that the answer was ice, which could be manufactured for only 1 per cent of the energy needed to make an equivalent mass of steel. He proposed that an iceberg, natural or artificial, be levelled to provide a runway and hollowed out to shelter aircraft.

Habakkuk

Habakkuk (ⁱ/həˈbækək/ or ⁱ/ˈhæbəkʊk/; Hebrew: חֲבַקּוּק‎; also spelled Habacuc) was a prophet in the Hebrew Bible. He is the author of the Book of Habakkuk, the eighth of the collected twelve minor prophets.

Life

Almost nothing is known about Habakkuk, aside from what few facts are stated within the book of the Bible bearing his name, or those inferences that may be drawn from that book. His name appears in the Bible only in Habakkuk 1:1 and 3:1, with no biographical details provided other than his title "the prophet." Even the origin of his name is uncertain.

For almost every other prophet, more information is given, such as the name of the prophet's hometown, his occupation, or information concerning his parentage or tribe. For Habakkuk, however, there is no reliable account of any of these. Although his home is not identified, scholars conclude that Habakkuk lived in Jerusalem at the time he wrote his prophecy. Further analysis has provided an approximate date for his prophecy and possibilities concerning his activities and background.

Zuccone

Lo Zuccone (Italian pronunciation: [lo dzukˈkoːne]; Italian: literally, pumpkin; figuratively bald-head) is a marble statue by Donatello. It was commissioned for the bell tower of the Florence Cathedral of Florence, Italy and completed between 1423 and 1425. It is also known as the Statue of the Prophet Habakkuk, as many believe it depicts the Biblical figure Habakkuk.

The statue is known for its realism and naturalism, which differed from most statuary commissioned at the time.. Zuccone is reported to have been Donatello's favorite, and he was said to swear by the sculpture, "By the faith I place in my Zuccone." Donatello is said to have shouted "speak, damn you, speak!" at the marble as he was carving it. It has been described as the most important marble sculpture of the fifteenth century. It is now in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo in Florence.

References

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Habakkuk (fanzine)

Habakkuk was a science fiction fanzine edited by Bill Donaho. It was nominated for the 1961, 1967 and 1995 Hugo Awards for Best Fanzine.

Habakkuk (named after the editor's cat) was published in three phases, which Donaho referred to as "Chapters". Chapter I consisted of six issues (referred to as "Verses") published from February 1960 to July 1961, included illustrations by Trina Robbins, Bjo Trimble, Bill Rotsler, and George Metzger; and articles by Donaho, Art Castillo, Ray Nelson, Ted White, rich brown and Kris Neville. This version earned Habakkuk its first Hugo nomination. Chapter II was three issues and ran from May 1966 to February 1967 in FAPA. It included art by Steve Stiles, and articles by Donaho, Castillo, White, Nelson, Alva Rogers, Colin Cameron and Gordon Eklund. This "Chapter" earned Donaho a nomination for the Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer, and a second Hugo nomination for Habakkuk. Chapter III consisted of four issues from Fall 1993 (an 8-page "con report" on Confrancisco) to Fall 1994. The final Chapter included a cover by Robbins (by then mostly known for her work as an underground cartoonist), articles by White, and book reviews by Deb Notkin. This iteration of Habakkuk earned it its third Hugo nomination.