In 1940, he proposed the use of a single-place strap-on rotor kite in place of a conventional parachute, to deliver a soldier accurately to a battlefield.

Hafner was briefly interned as an alien, but was released to pursue the feasibility of the idea at the Central Landing Establishment (CLE) located at RAF Ringway.

The third evolution, designated "M.3", had metal rotor blades, and after further modifications made the first successful launch and descent from a De Havilland Tiger Moth.

The Rotachute Mark I design initially comprised a tubular steel framework with a single seat, rubber-mounted rotor hub, hanging control column, skid undercarriage, and a self-inflating rear fairing made of rubberised fabric with integral tailplane.

The Ministry of Aircraft Production sub-contracted construction of parts to specialist firms including F. Hills and Sons, Airwork General Trading, Dynaflex, Dunlop, and H. Morris & Co.

[1][2] In January 1942, trials of the Rotachute Mark I were conducted to assess the aerodynamic characteristics while on the truck-mounted rig, with pilot control of the aircraft in forward motion.

On 11 February 1942, the prototype Rotachute was first manually flown from a wheeled trolley while under tow behind a Humber car at Ringway, after starting the rotor by hand.

Meanwhile, the Mark III had been produced, with a tail section comprising a wooden framework covered in doped linen fabric plus a rigid tailplane.

They continued to be flown in ground-based and inflight trials until late 1943, to help research flight characteristics for a follow-on project, the Hafner Rotabuggy, an air-towed land vehicle with autogiro capabilities.