Suspended Runway ~ 1943 Office of Strategic Services (OSS); World War II; Brodie System (Patreon)

more at http://quickfound.net/

'On the construction and operation of portable overhead cableway used during World War II for the launching and landing of light aircraft. Describes the runway assembly; and operation. Shows the equipment used on the plane. A light plane undergoes launching and landing exercises.'

Originally a public domain film from the National Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied.

The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brodie_landing_system

Wikipedia license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

The Brodie landing system was a method of landing light aeroplane devised by James H Brodie, a Captain of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. The method of landing involved catching a hook attached to the plane with a sling which itself was attached to a cable. This system proved useful in landing aircraft in normally unsuitable terrain, such as the jungle or in mountains, and also afforded good camouflage.

Similar non-conventional landing apparatus were previously deployed in limited numbers for airborne aircraft recovery on the 1930s US Navy dirigibles to retrieve small fighters. The Brodie system differed in that the system was based on a wire capture with a larger (longer) target to hit by the pilot. Even though it could be mounted to moving objects, it was also suitable for fixed installations in the jungle.

Brodie was issued US Patent # 2, 435,197, # 2,488,050, # 2,488,051, # 3,163,380 for variations of the landing system.

The system was also used for landing light aircraft on ships, allowing existing ships to be converted to light aircraft carriers with little structural changes. Brodie and test pilot Flight Officer Raymond Gregory were awarded the Legion of Merit for their work on the system in 1945. Brodie envisioned scaling the system up to capture planes as heavy as 7000 lbs...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piper_J-3_Cub

The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is Piper Aircraft's most-produced model, with nearly 20,000 built in the United States. Its simplicity, affordability and popularity invokes comparisons to the Ford Model T automobile.

The aircraft is a high-wing, strut-braced monoplane with a large-area rectangular wing. It is most often powered by an air-cooled, flat-4 piston engine driving a fixed-pitch propeller. Its fuselage is a welded steel frame covered in fabric, seating two people in tandem.

The Cub was originally intended as a trainer and had great popularity in this role and as a general aviation aircraft. Due to its performance, it was well suited for a variety of military uses such as reconnaissance, liaison and ground control. It was produced in large numbers during World War II as the L-4 Grasshopper. Many Cubs are still flying today. Notably, Cubs are highly prized as bush aircraft.

The aircraft's standard chrome yellow paint has come to be known as "Cub Yellow" or "Lock Haven Yellow"...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airborne_aircraft_carrier