Air Launched
Aircraft that are dropped from a mothership, usually at altitude. All are manned unless noted otherwise.
| Year | Country of origin | Name of Aircraft | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1944 | Germany | Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenberg | manned V-1 Flying Bomb dropped from Heinkel He 111 or rail launched |
| 1945 | Japan | Ohka | air-launched kamikaze aircraft |
| 1947 | United States | Bell X-1 | first aircraft to break the sound barrier in level flight (Also conventional take off on one occasion) |
| 1953 | United States | Douglas D-588-II Skyrocket | supersonic research aircraft |
| 1955 | United States | Bell X-2 | supersonic research aircraft |
| 1959 | United States | North American X-15 | hypersonic research aircraft |
| 1969 | United States | Martin Marietta X-24A | re-entry/lifting body research aircraft |
| 1973 | United States | Martin Marietta X-24B | re-entry/lifting body research aircraft |
Read more about this topic: List Of Rocket Aircraft
Famous quotes containing the words air and/or launched:
“... anybody is as their land and air is. Anybody is as the sky is low or high, the air heavy or clear and anybody is as there is wind or no wind there. It is that which makes them and the arts they make and the work they do and the way they eat and the way they drink and the way they learn and everything.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
“A book is like a child: it is easier to bring it into the world than to control it when it is launched there.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)