Zero-length hangar-deck catapults were intended to accelerate fighter launches. The concept tries to put an aircraft into the air without a conventional takeoff run along the flight deck. It is a specialised launch idea, not a solution to the carrier's wider aircraft-handling problems. The aside separates an experiment in launch rate from the hangar-height and elevator tradeoffs discussed immediately beforehand.
Notable Point · 2:09:21-2:09:46
Zero-length catapults aim at rapid fighter launches
A brief design aside identifies zero-length hangar-deck catapults as an attempt to launch carrier fighters rapidly.