Device used to launch aircraft from ships
F-14 Tomcat
preparing to connect to a catapult on
USS
Saratoga
An
aircraft catapult
is a device used to allow aircraft to take off in a limited distance, typically from the deck of a vessel. They can also be installed on land-based runways, although this is rarely done. They are usually used on
aircraft carriers
as a form of
assisted take off
.
In the form used on aircraft carriers the catapult consists of a track, or slot, built into the
flight deck
, below which is a large piston or
shuttle
that is attached through the track to the
nose gear
of the aircraft, or in some cases a
wire rope
, called a
catapult bridle
, is attached to the aircraft and the catapult shuttle. Other forms have been used historically, such as mounting a launching cart holding a
seaplane
on a long girder-built structure mounted on the deck of a
warship
or
merchant vessel
, but most catapults share a similar sliding track concept.
Different means have been used to propel the catapult, such as
weight
and
derrick
,
gunpowder
,
flywheel
,
air pressure
,
hydraulic
, and
steam power
, and
solid fuel rocket
boosters. The U.S. Navy is developing the use of
Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch Systems
with the construction of the
Gerald R. Ford
-class
aircraft carriers.
Historically it was most common for
seaplanes
to be catapulted, allowing them to land on the water near the vessel and be hoisted on board, although in WWII (before the advent of the
escort carrier
) conventional
fighter planes
(notably the
Hawker Hurricane
) would sometimes be catapulted from "
catapult-equipped merchant
" (CAM) vessels to drive off enemy aircraft, forcing the pilot to either divert to a land based airstrip, or to jump out by parachute or ditch in the water near the
convoy
and wait for rescue.
History
[
edit
]
First recorded flight using a catapult
[
edit
]
Samuel Langley
's catapult, houseboat and unsuccessful man-carrying
Aerodrome
(1903)
Aviation pioneer
and
Smithsonian
Secretary
Samuel Langley
used a spring-operated catapult to launch his successful flying models and his failed
Aerodrome
of 1903.
[1]
Likewise the
Wright Brothers
beginning in 1904 used a weight and derrick styled catapult to assist their early aircraft with a takeoff in a limited distance.
[2]
On 31 July 1912,
Theodore Gordon Ellyson
became the first person to be launched from a U.S. Navy catapult system. The Navy had been perfecting a compressed-air catapult system and mounted it on the Santee Dock in
Annapolis, Maryland
. The first attempt nearly killed Lieutenant Ellyson when the plane left the ramp with its nose pointing upward and it caught a crosswind, pushing the plane into the water. Ellyson was able to escape from the wreckage unhurt. On 12 November 1912, Lt. Ellyson made history as the Navy's first successful catapult launch, from a stationary coal barge. On 5 November 1915, Lieutenant Commander
Henry C. Mustin
made the first catapult launch from a ship underway.
[3]
Application timeline
[
edit
]
Interwar and World War II
[
edit
]
A
Supermarine Walrus
being launched from the catapult of
HMS
Bermuda
(1943)
The US Navy experimented with other power sources and models, including catapults that utilized gunpowder and flywheel variations. On 14 December 1924, a Martin MO-1 observation plane flown by Lt. L. C. Hayden was launched from
USS
Langley
using a catapult powered by gunpowder. Following this launch, this method was used aboard both
cruisers
and
battleships
.
[4]
By 1929, the German ocean liners
SS Bremen
and
Europa
had been fitted with compressed-air catapults designed by the
Heinkel
aviation firm of Rostock,
[5]
with further work with catapult air mail
across the South Atlantic Ocean
, being undertaken during the first half of the 1930s, with
Dornier
Wal
twin-engined flying boats.
Up to and during
World War II
, most catapults on aircraft carriers were hydraulic. United States Navy catapults on surface warships, however, were operated with explosive charges similar to those used for 130-millimeter (5-inch) guns. Some carriers were completed before and during World War II with catapults on the hangar deck that fired
athwartships
, but they were unpopular because of their short run, low clearance of the hangar decks, inability to add the ship's forward speed to the aircraft's airspeed for takeoff, and lower clearance from the water (conditions which afforded
pilots
far less margin for error in the first moments of flight). They were mostly used for experimental purposes, and their use was entirely discontinued during the latter half of the war.
[4]
Test launch of a Hurricane using the rocket-catapult of a CAM ship,
Greenock
, Scotland, 31 May 1941
Many naval vessels apart from aircraft carriers carried float planes, seaplanes or amphibians for reconnaissance and spotting. They were catapult-launched and landed on the sea alongside for recovery by crane. Additionally, the concept of
submarine aircraft carriers
was developed by multiple nations during the interwar period, and through until WW2 and beyond, wherein a submarine would launch a small number of floatplanes for offensive operations or artillery spotting, to be recovered by the submarine once the aircraft has landed. The first launch off a
Royal Navy
battlecruiser was from
HMAS
Australia
on 8 March 1918. Subsequently, many Royal Navy ships carried a catapult and from one to four aircraft; battleships or battlecruisers like
HMS
Prince of Wales
carried four aircraft and
HMS
Rodney
carried two, while smaller warships like the cruiser
HMNZS
Leander
carried one. The aircraft carried were the
Fairey Seafox
or
Supermarine Walrus
. Some like
HMS
Nelson
did not use a catapult, and the aircraft was lowered onto the sea for takeoff. Some had their aircraft and catapult removed during World War II e.g.
HMS
Duke of York
, or before (
HMS
Ramillies
).
During World War II a number of ships were fitted with rocket-driven catapults, first the
fighter catapult ships
of the Royal Navy, then
armed merchantmen
known as
CAM ships
from "catapult armed merchantmen". These were used for convoy escort duties to drive off enemy reconnaissance bombers. CAM ships carried a
Hawker Sea Hurricane 1A
,
[i]
dubbed a "Hurricat" or "Catafighter", and the pilot bailed out unless he could fly to land.
[6]
While imprisoned in
Colditz Castle
during the war, British prisoners of war planned an escape attempt using a falling
bathtub
full of heavy rocks and stones as the motive power for a catapult to be used for launching the
Colditz Cock
glider from the roof of the castle.
Ground-launched
V-1s
were typically propelled up an inclined launch ramp by an apparatus known as a
Dampferzeuger
("steam generator").
[8]
Steam catapult
[
edit
]
Elements of the catapult of
Charles de Gaulle
, disassembled during her refit in 2008
Final checks on an aircraft catapult prior to flight operations aboard
USS
John C. Stennis
Following World War II, the Royal Navy was developing a new catapult system for their fleet of carriers. Commander
C. C. Mitchell
,
RNV
, recommended a steam-based system using a slotted cylinder as an effective and efficient means to launch the next generation of naval aircraft. Trials on
HMS
Perseus
, flown by pilots such as
Eric "Winkle" Brown
, from 1950 showed its effectiveness. Navies introduced steam catapults, capable of launching the heavier
jet
fighters
, in the mid-1950s. Powder-driven catapults were also contemplated, and would have been powerful enough, but would also have introduced far greater stresses on the airframes and might have been unsuitable for long use.
[4]
At launch, a release bar holds the aircraft in place as steam pressure builds up, then breaks (or "releases"; older models used a pin that sheared), freeing the piston to pull the aircraft along the deck at high speed. Within about two to four seconds, aircraft velocity by the action of the catapult plus apparent wind speed (ship's speed plus or minus "natural" wind) is sufficient to allow an aircraft to fly away, even after losing one engine.
[9]
Nations that have retained large aircraft carriers, i.e., the United States Navy and the
French Navy
, are still using a
CATOBAR
(Catapult Assisted Take Off But Arrested Recovery) configuration. U.S. Navy tactical aircraft use catapults to launch with a heavier warload than would otherwise be possible. Larger planes, such as the
E-2 Hawkeye
and
S-3 Viking
, require a catapult shot, since their thrust-to-weight ratio is too low for a conventional rolling takeoff on a carrier deck.
[4]
Steam catapults types
[
edit
]
Types previously or still operated by the British, U.S. and French navies include:
[9]
[10]
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
Type
|
Overall length
|
Stroke
|
Capacity
|
Carriers
|
BS 4
|
|
151 ft (46 m)
[17]
|
|
HMS
Ark Royal
(2 catapults)
|
C-11 and C-11-1
|
225 feet (69 m)
|
211 feet (64 m)
|
39,000 pounds (18 t) at 136 knots; 70,000 pounds (32 t) at 108 knots
|
SCB-27C
Essex
-class
conversions,
USS
Coral Sea
, bow installations on
USS
Midway
and
USS
Franklin D. Roosevelt
, waist installations on
USS
Forrestal
and
USS
Saratoga
|
C-11-2
|
162 feet (49 m)
|
150 feet (46 m)
|
|
Waist catapults on USS
Midway
and USS
Franklin D. Roosevelt
|
C-7
|
276 feet (84 m)
|
253 feet (77 m)
|
40,000 pounds (18 t) at 148.5 knots; 70,000 pounds (32 t) at 116 knots
|
USS
Ranger
,
USS
Independence
, bow installations on USS
Forrestal
and USS
Saratoga
|
C-13
|
265 feet (81 m)
|
250 feet (76 m)
|
78,000 pounds (35 t) at 139 knots
|
Kitty Hawk
class
, USS
Midway
after SCB-101.66 modernization,
USS
Enterprise
|
C-13-1
|
325 feet (99 m)
|
310 feet (94 m)
|
80,000 pounds (36 t) at 140 knots
|
One installation on
USS
America
and
USS
John F. Kennedy
, all on
USS
Nimitz
,
USS
Dwight D. Eisenhower
,
USS
Carl Vinson
, and
USS
Theodore Roosevelt
|
C-13-2
|
325 feet (99 m)
|
306 feet (93 m)
|
|
USS
Abraham Lincoln
,
USS
George Washington
,
USS
John C. Stennis
,
USS
Harry S. Truman
|
C-13-3
|
261 feet (80 m)
|
246 feet (75 m)
|
60,000 pounds (27 t) at 140 knots
|
French aircraft carrier
Charles de Gaulle
|
Bridle catchers
[
edit
]
USS
Saratoga
underway. The bridle catchers are the extensions at the end of the forward catapults
The protruding angled ramps (Van Velm Bridle Arresters or horns) at the catapult ends on some aircraft carriers were used to catch the bridles (connectors between the catapult shuttle and aircraft fuselage) for reuse. There were small ropes that would attach the bridle to the shuttle, which continued down the angled horn to pull the bridle down and away from the aircraft to keep it from damaging the underbelly. The bridle would then be caught by nets aside the horn. Bridles have not been used on U.S. aircraft since the end of the
Cold War
, and all U.S. Navy carriers commissioned since then have not had the ramps. The last U.S. carrier commissioned with a bridle catcher was USS
Carl Vinson
; starting with USS
Theodore Roosevelt
the ramps were omitted. During
Refueling and Complex Overhaul
refits in the late 1990s?early 2000s, the bridle catchers were removed from the first three
Nimitz
-class
aircraft carriers. USS
Enterprise
was the last U.S. Navy operational carrier with the ramps still attached before her inactivation in 2012.
[
citation needed
]
Like her American counterparts, the French aircraft carrier
Charles De Gaulle
is not equipped with bridle catchers because the modern aircraft operated on board use the same launch systems as in US Navy.
[18]
Because of this mutual interoperability, American aircraft are also capable of being catapulted from and landing on
Charles De Gaulle
, and conversely, French naval aircraft can use the US Navy carriers' catapults. At the time when the
Super Etendard
was operated on board of the
Charles de Gaulle
, its bridles were used only once, as they were never recovered by bridle catchers.
The carriers
Clemenceau
and
Foch
were also equipped with bridle catchers, not for the Super Etendards but only to catch and recover the
Vought F-8 Crusader
's bridles.
[
clarification needed
]
Electromagnetic catapult
[
edit
]
A computer-generated model of the linear induction motor used in the EMALS.
The size and manpower requirements of steam catapults place limits on their capabilities. A newer approach is the electromagnetic catapult, such as
Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System
(EMALS) developed by General Atomics. Electromagnetic catapults place less stress on the aircraft and offer more control during the launch by allowing gradual and continual acceleration. Electromagnetic catapults are also expected to require significantly less maintenance through the use of solid state components.
[19]
Linear induction motors
have been experimented with before, such as Westinghouse's Electropult system in 1945.
[20]
However, at the beginning of the 21st century, navies again started experimenting with catapults powered by linear induction motors and
electromagnets
. Electromagnetic catapult would be more energy efficient on
nuclear-powered
aircraft carriers and would alleviate some of the dangers posed by using pressurized steam. On
gas-turbine
powered ships, an electromagnetic catapult would eliminate the need for a separate steam boiler for generating catapult steam. The U.S. Navy's
Gerald R. Ford
-class
aircraft carriers and PLA Navy's
Type 003
aircraft carrier included electromagnetic catapults in their design.
[21]
[22]
Civilian use
[
edit
]
From 1929, the German
Norddeutscher Lloyd
-liners
SS
Bremen
and
Europa
were fitted with compressed air-driven catapults designed by the
Heinkel Flugzeugwerke
to launch mail-planes.
[23]
These ships served the route between Germany and the United States. The aircraft, carrying mail?bags, would be launched as a
mail tender
while the ship was still many hundreds of miles from its destination, thus speeding mail delivery by about a day. Initially,
Heinkel He 12
aircraft were used before they were replaced by
Junkers Ju 46
, which were in turn replaced by the
Vought V-85G
.
[24]
German airline
Lufthansa
subsequently used dedicated catapult ships
SS
Westfalen
,
MS
Schwabenland
,
Ostmark
and
Friesenland
to launch larger
Dornier Do J
Wal
(whale),
Dornier Do 18
and
Dornier Do 26
flying boats
on the South Atlantic airmail service from Stuttgart, Germany to Natal, Brazil.
[25]
On route proving flights in 1933, and a scheduled service beginning in February 1934,
Wals
flew the trans-ocean stage of the route, between
Bathurst
,
the Gambia
in West Africa and
Fernando de Noronha
, an island group off South America. At first, there was a refueling stop in mid-ocean. The flying boat would land on the open sea, be winched aboard by a crane, refueled, and then launched by catapult back into the air. However, landing on the big ocean swells tended to damage the hull of the flying boats. From September 1934,
Lufthansa
had a support ship at each end of the trans-ocean stage, providing radio navigation signals and catapult launchings after carrying aircraft out to sea overnight. From April 1935 the
Wals
were launched directly offshore, and flew the entire distance across the ocean. This was possible as the flying boats could carry more fuel when they did not have to take off from the water under their own power, and cut the time it took for mail to get from Germany to Brazil from four days down to three.
From 1936 to 1938, tests including the
Blohm & Voss Ha 139
flying boat were conducted on the North Atlantic route to New York.
Schwabenland
was also used in an
Antarctic
expedition in 1938/39 with the main purpose of finding an area for a German whaling station, in which catapult-launched
Wals
surveyed a territory subsequently claimed by Germany as
New Swabia
. All of
Lufthansa
's
catapult ships were taken over by the
Luftwaffe
in 1939 and used as
seaplane tenders
in World War II along with three catapult ships built for the military.
After World War II,
Supermarine Walrus
amphibian aircraft were also briefly operated by a British
whaling
company, United Whalers. Operating in the Antarctic, they were launched from the
factory ship
FF
Balaena
, which had been equipped with an ex-navy aircraft catapult.
[26]
Alternatives to catapults
[
edit
]
The Chinese, Indian, and Russian navies operate conventional aircraft from "
short take-off but arrested landing
" (STOBAR) aircraft carriers. Instead of a catapult, they use
a ski jump
to assist aircraft in taking off with a positive rate of climb. Carrier aircraft such as the
J-15
,
Mig-29K
, and
Su-33
rely on their own engines to accelerate to flight speed. As a result, they must take off with a reduced load of fuel and armaments.
All other navies with aircraft carriers operate
short take-off and vertical landing
(STOVL) aircraft, such as the B variant of the
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II
, the
BAE Sea Harrier
, and the
AV-8B Harrier II
. These aircraft can take off vertically with a light load, or use a ski jump to assist a rolling takeoff with a heavy load. STOVL carriers are less expensive and generally smaller in size compared to CATOBAR carriers.
[27]
The British
Queen Elizabeth
-class aircraft carriers
were built to use STOVL aircraft due to the expected cost of an electromagnetic catapult; they do not have the means to generate steam for a conventional catapult.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
The Mk 1A Sea Hurricane was a simple conversion of battle-weary Hurricanes, in the expectation that they would be lost after one flight. There was no strengthening of the undercarriage for landing, merely the attachment points for the catapult launch.
- ^
McFarland, Stephen L. (1997).
A Concise History of the U.S. Air Force
. Ft. Belvoir: Defense Technical Information Center. pp.
2
.
ISBN
0-16-049208-4
.
- ^
Stephen J. Chant, Douglas E. Campbell (2013).
Patent Log: Innovative Patents that Advanced the United States Navy
. Syneca Research group, inc. p. 289.
ISBN
978-1-105-62562-6
.
- ^
"Our Navy Has the Best Seaplane Catapult; New Invention of Captain Washington I. Chambers Makes It Possible to Launch Aircraft from a Warship's Deck at Sea"
(PDF)
.
query.nytimes.com
. Retrieved
2015-11-24
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Launch and Recovery: From Flywheels to Magnets"
.
navalaviationnews.navylive.dodlive.mil
.
Archived
from the original on 2015-11-25
. Retrieved
2015-11-24
.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the
public domain
.
- ^
"The Heinkel Catapult on the S.S. BREMEN"
.
histaviation.com
. August 3, 1929
. Retrieved
July 13,
2017
.
THE HEINKEL K2 catapult installed upon the North German Lloyd liner "Bremen," which figured prominently in the establishment of the recent trans-Atlantic mail record, is the result of two years of experimentation and development by Dr. Ernst Heinkel, its designer.
- ^
"HMS Ariguani aircraft carrier profile. Aircraft Carrier Database of the Fleet Air Arm Archive 1939-1945"
.
www.fleetairarmarchive.net
. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03
. Retrieved
2016-02-15
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link
)
- ^
Testator (2 May 2011).
"Фау 1 самолёт снаряд, 2 часть"
.
Archived
from the original on 11 April 2016
. Retrieved
24 April
2018
– via YouTube.
- ^
a
b
Friedman, Norman (1983).
U.S. Aircraft Carriers: An Illustrated Design History
. Naval Institute Press.
ISBN
978-0-87021-739-5
.
- ^
Power, Hugh Irvin (1996).
Carrier Lexington
. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press. p. 72.
ISBN
978-0-89096-681-5
.
- ^
"Chapter 4 STEAM CATAPULTS"
.
navyaviation.tpub.com
.
Archived
from the original on 2015-11-25
. Retrieved
2015-11-24
.
- ^
"Archived copy"
(PDF)
.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 2016-06-03
. Retrieved
2016-05-13
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link
)
- ^
"Archived copy"
(PDF)
.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 2016-06-03
. Retrieved
2016-05-13
.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
link
)
- ^
"CV-Cats&SkiRamps"
.
www.mnvdet.com
.
Archived
from the original on 27 August 2017
. Retrieved
24 April
2018
.
- ^
Aviation boatswain's mate E3 & 2
. Naval Education and Training Program Development Center. 1983. p. 152.
hdl
:
2027/uiug.30112101044656
.
- ^
TFX Contract Investigation Hearings Before the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Government Operations
. Washington DC: US Government Printing Office. p. 19.
hdl
:
2027/uc1.a0000159228
.
- ^
Denison, K. B. (April 1957).
"A steam catapult installation"
.
Journal of Naval Engineering
.
10
(2)
. Retrieved
2023-05-15
– via Naval Marine Archive ? The Canadian Collection.
- ^
"¤ A C A M ¤ Connexion"
.
www.acam.asso.fr
.
Archived
from the original on 8 August 2017
. Retrieved
24 April
2018
.
- ^
"History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places - Air & Space Magazine"
.
airspacemag.com
.
- ^
Linear Electric Machines- A Personal View ERIC R. LAITHWAITE PROCEEDINGS OF THE IEEE, VOL. 63, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 1975
- ^
"Gerald R Ford Class (CVN 78/79) ? US Navy CVN 21 Future Carrier Programme - Naval Technology"
.
naval-technology.com
.
Archived
from the original on 2013-12-20.
- ^
Gady, Franz-Stefan (6 November 2017).
"China's New Aircraft Carrier to Use Advanced Jet Launch System"
.
The Diplomat
.
- ^
"The Heinkel Catapult on the S.S. BREMEN"
.
histaviation.com
. August 3, 1929.
Archived
from the original on September 13, 2017
. Retrieved
July 13,
2017
.
THE HEINKEL K2 catapult installed upon the North German Lloyd liner "Bremen," which figured prominently in the establishment of the recent trans-Atlantic mail record, is the result of two years of experimentation and development by Dr. Ernst Heinkel, its designer.
- ^
Cook, John (March 2002).
"Shot from Ships: Air Mail Service on Bremen and Europa"
. Air Classics.
Archived
from the original on February 1, 2014
. Retrieved
February 27,
2013
.
- ^
Corporation, Bonnier (1 February 1933).
"Popular Science"
. Bonnier Corporation
. Retrieved
24 April
2018
– via Google Books.
- ^
London 2003, p. 213.
- ^
"Why I Joined the Dark Side"
. Archived from
the original
on 2015-05-20.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- London, Peter.
British Flying Boats
. Stoud, UK: Sutton Publishers Ltd., 2003.
ISBN
0-7509-2695-3
.
- Werrell, Kenneth P. (1985),
The Evolution of the Cruise Missile
, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama: Air University Press
.