en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JATO
1 correction found
After firing, the rocket was released from the back of the plane to fall into the water and sink.
CAM-ship Hurricanes were launched by a rocket-powered catapult trolley on the ship, not by a booster attached to the aircraft and then dropped into the sea.
Full reasoning
This sentence describes the British CAM-ship launch system incorrectly.
For CAM ships, the rocket motors were part of the ship's catapult/trolley system, not a disposable rocket mounted on the airplane itself. An RAF Museum historical journal explains that the launch method used "surplus rocket projectile motors, held in banks on the trolley and fired in succession, to power the launch." An RAF historical-branch narrative likewise describes CAM ships as being equipped with rocket take-off gear installed in merchant vessels.
So the aircraft was being hurled off the bow by a rocket-powered catapult/cradle/trolley. The article's wording that "the rocket was released from the back of the plane" misstates how the system worked.
2 sources
- Seek and Sink (RAF Museum / RAF Historical Society Journal)
"surplus rocket projectile motors, held in banks on the trolley and fired in succession, to power the launch"
- Air Defence of Great Britain, Vol. IV (RAF Air Historical Branch)
"20 sets of rocket take-off gear had been ordered for installation in merchant vessels" and each CAM ship "would be equipped with rocket take-off gear"