Retrorocket

Rockets were fitted to the nose of some models of the DFS 230, a World War II German Military glider.

Originally a request from the British Army as a method to drop heavy equipment or vehicles from aircraft flying at high speeds and altitudes, the project turned out to be a disaster and was largely forgotten after the war.

Although some of the tests turned out to be successful, Hajile was too unpredictable to be used in conventional warfare, and by the time the war drew to a close, with no chance to put the project into action, it was shelved.

For example, they were used to back the S-IC and S-II stages off from the rest of the vehicle after their respective shutdowns during the Saturn V's launch to Earth orbit.

Meanwhile, the succeeding stage may have posigrade ullage rockets, both to aid separation and ensure good starting of liquid-fuel engines.

The boosters of other orbital rockets are routinely destroyed after a single use by atmospheric reentry and high-speed impact in the ocean.

[7] Operation Credible Sport, a plan put forward by the US government in 1979 to rescue the hostages in Iran resulted in the construction of two modified Lockheed C-130 Hercules, designated YMC-130H, which featured retro-rockets to allow it to perform extremely short landings.

As part of the plan, these aircraft would land in the Shahid Shiroudi Stadium near the US Embassy in Tehran and use the retrorockets to come to a stop.