Tailhook

[1] The tailhook was first demonstrated at sea on 18 January 1911 by the aviator Eugene Ely, having successfully landed aboard the armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania with the aid of the device.

During the Great War, the number of aviators of the United States Navy rose from 38 to 1,650, which engaged in numerous duties in support of the Allies, specialising in combat air patrols and submarine spotting.

[3] During early 1930, the US Navy began development of an adjustable hydraulic-based arresting gear arrangement, which proved capable of absorbing the energy of aircraft landing not only at higher speeds but greater weights as well.

[3] The US Navy developed and operated a test rig throughout the 1950s, consisting of a car, guided by a concrete I-beam and propelled by a pair of jet engines.

The test rig was capable of simulating different aircraft weights and speeds, the former being adjusted by adding or subtracting steel plates that were loaded onto the modified car.

[5] These trials supported efforts to develop increasingly effective arrestor gear that was suited for the larger and more powerful jets entering naval aviation at that time.

[5] While the tailhook is predominantly operated in a naval context, numerous land-based aircraft have also been fitted with them to assist with slowing down landings during emergencies.

One highly unorthodox incident, known as "Pardo's Push", occurred during the Vietnam War in March 1967, involving a United States Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II piloted by Bob Pardo assisting a second heavily damaged Phantom II in exiting the combat zone by pushing his aircraft against the other's deployed tailhook, reportedly halving its rate of descent temporarily.

The tailhook's function is to snag one of these cables, preferably the third of the four available, in order that the resistance provided by the arrestor gear can be conveyed to the aircraft, enabling it to decelerate more rapidly.

Should a tailhook of an aircraft become inoperative or damaged, naval aviators have limited options: they can divert to shore-based runways if any are within range, or they can be "barricaded" on the carrier deck by a net that can be erected.