Editing Tailhook (section)

{{Short description|Aircraft device which allows arrested landings on aircraft carriers}}
{{About|the aircraft device|the fraternal organization|Tailhook Association|the scandal involving that organization|Tailhook scandal|other uses|tail hook (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Caught the wire! (3579526989).jpg|thumb|Aircraft's tail hook catching the wire while landing on an aircraft carrier]]
[[File:F-15 Tail Hook.jpg|thumb|F-15 tailhook. Most USAF tactical jet aircraft have tailhooks for emergency use.]]

A '''tailhook''', '''arresting hook''', or '''arrester hook''' is a device attached to the [[empennage]] (rear) of some military [[fixed-wing aircraft]]. The hook is used to achieve rapid [[deceleration]] during [[Modern US Navy carrier air operations#Touchdown|routine landings]] aboard aircraft carrier [[flight deck]]s at sea, or during emergency landings or aborted takeoffs at [[Arresting gear#Land-based systems|properly equipped]] airports.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Dictionary of Aviation |first=David W. |last=Wragg |isbn=9780850451634 |edition=first |publisher=Osprey |year=1973 |page=42}}</ref>

The tailhook was first demonstrated at sea on 18 January 1911 by the aviator [[Eugene Burton Ely|Eugene Ely]], having successfully landed aboard the armored cruiser [[USS Pennsylvania (ACR-4)|USS ''Pennsylvania'']] with the aid of the device. It was not until the early 1920s that a practical system, paired with deck-mounted [[arresting gear]], was devised and put into use. During the 1930s, numerous vessels were thus equipped, permitting the use of increasingly heavy combat aircraft at sea during the [[Second World War]]. Following the introduction of [[jet propulsion|jet-powered]] aircraft during the 1950s, arrestor technology was further advanced to permit aircraft operating at greater speeds and weights to land aboard aircraft carriers. The system has continued to see widespread use into the twenty-first century.