To solve this, the German admiralty considered a number of different options, including a folding seaplane (Arado Ar 231).

If the U-boat captain was forced to abandon it on the surface, the tether would be released and the Fa 330 would descend slowly to the water.

[4] As Allied air cover in other theatres of the war was considered too much of a threat, only U-boats operating in the far southern parts of the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden[2] used the Fa 330.

[6] After the war, the British government did successful experiments towing Fa 330s behind ships and jeeps, but the development of the helicopter quickly occupied the attention of the military.

In February 2013, Aviation Week and Space Technology reported that L-3 Communications was testing its Valkyrie, an unpowered, tethered autogyro that weighs 210 pounds (95 kg), which is intended to serve as a cheap alternative to a shipborne helicopter.