I don't think they were crazy, sisemen, simply trying to satisfy their prospective customers demands. Their customers anticipated a war in which the first targets would be every single runway, military and civil. Bristol Engines and Hawkers came up with a solution, but that created its own re-supply and support problems. These various transport projects sought to satisfy that demand, though I grant with varying degrees of reality.
Did you know that the TSR2 was to be VTOL enabled with a Shorts VTOL airborne aircraft carrier? Now that was crazy!