Comment by Animats

> You could actually make something that kind of sorta worked for an aircraft carrier by joining tens of thousands of small pontoons and support ships.

In fiction: "Tom Swift and his Ocean Airport" (1934) [1] In reality, a floating pontoon airport, with over 10,000 pontoons, was built during WWII, as "Project Sock".[2] It worked OK in a protected bay. Once large planes could cross the Atlantic, and small carriers with small planes were built for convoy protection, there was no military need. Floating airports have been tried a few times since, but it's never been worth the trouble.

Prefabricated pontoons were a big thing in WWII. Used for bridges, barges, docks, etc. Useful when you really need a temporary structure in a hurry, and aren't too concerned about its long term lifespan.

Putting multiple transformers in series is quite possible, but it's rarely done because it's less efficient than a larger transformer and takes up more space.

[1] https://www.tomswift.info/homepage/oceanair.html

[2] https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2024/f...