How Sparrowhawks launched and returned in flight

The US Navy adapted an earlier British parasite-fighter idea into a reusable reconnaissance system tested first from Los Angeles and then built into Akron. A Sparrowhawk started inside the hangar, descended on the trapeze, released into the slipstream, and recovered by flying its overhead hook into the crossbar before being hoisted aboard. Pilots reportedly found the maneuver easier than a deck landing because the hook remained visible above them and did not pitch on an ocean swell. Wind, repeated hooking attempts, and the need to keep the engine running until the aircraft entered the hangar nevertheless made recovery demanding, while aircraft sometimes joined after takeoff as flying ballast. Two prototypes and six production Sparrowhawks were built; the quoted performance included 153.4 knots, a 258-nautical-mile range, a 19,200-foot ceiling, and two .30-calibre machine guns.