Zero-length launch
Videos
The zero-length launch system or zero-length take-off system is a PTOL method whereby jet fighters and attack aircraft could be launched using rocket motors to rapidly gain speed and altitude, in part
A USAF F-100D Super Sabre using a zero-length-launch system
F-84 during ZELL testing
A Lockheed F-104G during tests at Edwards Air Force Base
JATO
Videos
JATO is a type of assisted take-off for helping overloaded aircraft into the air by providing additional thrust in the form of small rockets. The term JATO is used interchangeably with the term RATO,
Zero-length launch
…Bachem Ba 349—World War II vertical launch rocket interceptor JATO CAM ship…
The first "rocket-assisted" take-off in the United States, a GALCIT booster fitted to an ERCO Ercoupe, at March Field, California, 1941
A German Arado 234 Blitz fitted with Starthilfe RATO units
Starthilfe RATO (left) on the starboard wing of Arado Ar 234 B-2 at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.
The US Navy's Blue Angels C-130 Hercules "Fat Albert" using JATO during takeoff