Abstract
This paper is concerned with the machinery for the launching of aircraft from and the recovery of aircraft on to the flight decks of aircraft carriers. The machinery to do this is hydraulic—except for the working fluid of slotted cylinder catapults, which is steam—and is required to control the application of large amounts of energy, in a short period, precisely in accordance with a set programme, with complete consistency and absolute reliability. Hydraulic machinery has successfully met all these requirements for fifty years, being developed and revised to keep pace with the increases in the performance of carrier-borne aircraft.
The major developments—catapults for launching and arresting gear for recovery—are described, together with some items of ancillary equipment that demonstrate the versatility of hydraulic machinery. Simple principles have always been used, but the designs have always made use of the most advanced techniques of hydraulic engineering.
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