I don’t really know how to structure this question, but yeah, why is always Naval and never Aviation?
I think most generally it’s because naval analogues are probably the closest when you’re talking about large space-based fighting vessels. The air force doesn’t operate aircraft carriers, battleships, or destroyers. The navy, however, does (or did in the case of battleships). Those large sea based vessels often class quite nicely into a lot of sci-fi media for large ships.
The small ships you see are often based off of a carrier equivalent. Even when they’re terrestrially based, it makes a lot of sense to streamline your military structure to have just one “space force”, rather than trying to break it up into two entities like the “space navy” and “space air force”, each with their own standards and logistical supply networks.
That’s always been my take. The Navy has the experience with big-ship operations, and operating smaller craft from those large ships, and it’s supply and logistics would likely evolve from ocean to space faring ships.
The Marines are historically an amphibious force, an extension of the Navy, specialized in ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore operations; ship-to-surface would be the evolution of that.I think this is mainly it.
Additionally, aviation terminology is often very specialized, usually pertaining to aerodynamics and the like. But ship terminology is often more general.
For example, airplanes have aerofoils and control surfaces, where ships (both space and maritime) have thrusters.
I want a meme where the air force is like “we conquered the skies, next is space!” And the Navy is like guess what MFers.
Halo has the UNSC Navy, the UNSC Marines, and the UNSC Army working together in space.
Because they’re way more like ships than they are planes – Planes don’t stay in the air indefinitely or take long voyages, have large crews, etc – They often treat the fighter pilot space ship people like AF though – Like if I have a ‘carrier’ with a bunch of smaller ships on it
Because people don’t live in an airplane together for long periods of time. Pilots in sci fi are often aviation themed, but captains are naval because spaceships beyond our current level are closer to battleships, cruise ships, or aircraft carriers than fighter jets or passenger liners.
The purpose of Air Force is to monitor the skies, project power at a distance, and provide air superiority.
The purpose of Navy is to put a floating fortress off your shore and bombard your cities, carry around materiel, men, and aircraft, and patrol a vast volume of ocean.
So Navy structures fit the mission better, and this has been true since early SF.
They’re called “spaceships”
My theory is that they’re called ships cos if you switch off the engine, it’ll stop and just sit there
I have it on good authority that this does not happen with aeroplanes
Doesn’t happen with spacecraft either, despite what Hollywood often depicts. In order to ‘stop’ in space, you actually have to generate thrust. The scary thing that can happen if you lose your engine in space isn’t getting stuck in one place, it’s smashing into your destination at full speed.
The really scary thing if you lose your engine in space is that you might not smash into anything for a very very long time and die a slow death when you run out of air, water or food.
Well, start a garden in the weapons bay and everyone better get to work on the next generation of crew then.
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Or spacecraft commonly, as well.
Because space is an ocean.
Seriously mate, you didn’t warn about the TVTropes link? Some of us need to go to bed!
I was a good two hours on that bloody site, yawning my head off but unable to look away.
You must suffer with me
A notable exception is the Stargate franchise, where Earth’s spacecraft are largely run by the US Air Force.
It also makes sense to not focus on the naval aspects of space flight when you almost never actually fly through space, and almost all your potential theaters of war share a common border (the stargate).
Also ExFor series where the UN’s only starship is run by the US Army. But that’s more… a consequence of events that lead an infantry soldier to inexplicably be in command of a starship. He even mentions how unusual the whole situation is, and to be in command over actual UN Navy officers. But he remains in command through being the only experienced skipper of a space warship in all of humanity regardless of being in the Army.
He also muses that starships wouldn’t be best to be crewed by blue water navy forces, but rather submariners because they too cannot go above deck and are accustomed to long deployments in a tube. A lot of space warfare in that series is sensor evasion and standoff engagements, also like subs.
Haha also has funny lines like “I tossed the ball against the wall. I guess I should call it a bulkhead but I’m in the Army and we call them walls”
Love ExFor. Did you listen to the audio drama? I think it’s like book 7.5 or something
True, but it’s only because the Stargate program is an Air Force program
Why does it matter why?
Because it explains why I guess. It’s the Air Force who has the space ships because those were possible only thanks to the Stargate program which was run by Air Force for around 6 years I think before Earth got it’s first spaceship (if you don’t count the goa’uld glider with Air Force decals slapped on it)
In addition to what the others have said, in real life, international space law was based on maritime law. They even based directions on maritime law as the sailors used the stars to navigate, and that’s all you have in space to navigate with. So rockets and spacecraft call their directions the same as ships and sailing vessels, they have a port and starboard side, a bow and stern, up is zenith, down is nadir.
Fun fact the actual directions have some cool historical meanings. Nadir is the lowest point in elevation in the surrounding area, aka the bottom of the boat, and zenith is the area directly above you. So you could measure your latitude by measuring a star’s position relative to your zenith. Port was the side you docked on, because your steering oar was on your right. Starboard is a bastardization of the word stéorbord which is what the steering oar was called.
And it is important to note that the civilian aviation sector copied over civilian maritime sector.
The person in charge of the aircraft is the Captain, followed by numbers officers. This is similar to what happens in shipping. The chief flight attendant on an aircraft is the purser, which is the chief steward on a naval ship. There used to be Chief Engineer positions on some aircraft, similar to Chief Engineer positions on naval vessels.
The only reason the Air Force has its rank structure currently is because it branched off the Army.
I always had assumed Starboard being the opposite of port meaning you were navigating away from your home port to the stars.
Space warfare is much closer to naval warfare on Earth, so naval tactics and strategies are more transferable when applied to space. For example: taking weeks to maneuver, and firing at your opponent 100,000 of kms away.
Air sorties are typically completed within hours, because it is ultimately limited by the fuel they can carry.
In the US at least, Air Force officer ranks match the Army and Marines. Sci fi tends to use those ranks for ground fighting teams.
Ship structure makes sense for a large ship. There is no similar aviation structure, the guy ultimately in charge is the aircraft is the pilot in command, generally the one flying the aircraft.
Some technical terms make more sense too. A hull is watertight, it translates well to a ship in space. A fuselage is describing the shape of the main body of an aircraft.
It’s a ship. You use ship terms.
More specifically because travel in space is nearer travel underwater like a sub than flying in a plane.
Naval terminology is cooler.
“I’m the Captain of the USS Enterprise.”
Vs
“I’m the Colonel of the Exploration/Reconnaissance/Fighter craft Enterprise.”
spaceSHIP
It’s called a spaceSHIP
I’ll agree with the other posters that being on a spaceship maps better to being on a ship than it does being in an airplane, but I would add to it one other maybe overlooked factor: Robert Heinlein served in the navy and clearly had a massive hard-on for it and included all sorts of pro-war and pro-military themes in his work, and that all came from the POV of the navy and included lots of specifically naval elements to what was presented, and he was a big enough presence in the field that it left a mark that lasts to the present day.
