Editing JATO (section)

==Post WWII==
{{Full citations needed|section|date=November 2023}}
[[File:JATO takeoff from snow, Hercules,109th Airlift Wing.ogv|thumb|right|[[LC-130]] cargo plane RATO takeoff from snow]]

After [[World War II]] JATO was often used to overcome the poor thrust of early [[jet engine]]s at low speeds or for assisting heavily loaded aircraft to take off.  For example, the propeller engined [[Avro Shackleton]], when heavily laden with fuel for long maritime surveillance flights, relied on [[Armstrong Siddeley Viper]] turbojets for takeoff.

The world's first [[jet airliner]], the [[de Havilland DH 106 Comet]], included a design provision to carry two [[hydrogen peroxide]]–powered [[de Havilland Sprite]] booster rockets intended to be installed for "[[hot and high]]" conditions from airports such as Khartoum and Nairobi.<ref name = 'popmech 149'>{{cite journal |last1=Cookman |first1=Aubery O. Jr |url={{GBurl|6NkDAAAAMBAJ|p=149}} |title=Commute by Jet |journal=Popular Mechanics |volume=93 |issue=4 |date=April 1950 |pages=149–152 }}</ref><ref name = 'francis 98-102'>Francis 1950, pp. 98–102.{{full|date=January 2025}}</ref> These were tested on thirty flights, but the [[de Havilland Ghost]] jet engines alone were considered powerful enough and some airlines concluded that rocket motors were impractical.<ref name="Birtles p. 125">Birtles 1970, p. 125.{{full|date=January 2025}}</ref> Nevertheless, Sprite fittings were retained on production Comet 1s but were rendered unnecessary with subsequent engine upgrades.<ref>Gunn 1987, p. 269.{{full|date=January 2025}}</ref>

In the late 1950s, [[zero-length launch]] experimental programs for launching fighter aircraft were carried out by the [[United States Air Force]], the [[German Air Force]] and the [[Soviet Air Forces]] using high-thrust, short-burn duration booster designs of similar appearance and function. The USAF used a modified [[Republic F-84]], designated EF-84G, which used the [[MGM-1 Matador]] cruise missile's Aerojet General–designed, 240&nbsp;kN (26 short ton) thrust-level solid fuel booster of two second thrust duration. The Soviet VVS used a modified [[MiG-19]] fighter, designated SM-30, launched from a special launcher, and using a nearly identical solid-fueled rocket booster design to that of the EF-84G, but of a much more powerful, 600&nbsp;kN (64 short ton) thrust level. The [[F-100 Super Sabre|F-100]] and [[F-104 Starfighter|F-104]] were also used for zero-length launch experiments, with similarly powerful drop-away booster units to the Soviets' SM-30 experiments.<ref>{{cite web |last=Goebel |first=Greg |date=1 May 2012 |title=The Zero-Length Launch Fighter |url=http://www.vectorsite.net/avzel.html |publisher=Greg Goebel / In The Public Domain |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422093446/http://www.vectorsite.net:80/avzel.html |archive-date=22 April 2012}}</ref>

Also in the 1950s the JATO Junior was an attempt by Aerojet Engineering to introduce smaller JATO units to small commercial aircraft, but was blocked by the U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics.  Aerojet claimed that the smaller JATO bottle, delivering 250 pounds of thrust for 12 seconds could help a light private plane, that normally requires almost {{cvt|900|ft|m}} of runway to clear a {{cvt|50|ft|m}} high obstacle, could do the same with {{cvt|300|ft|m}} of runway with a JATO Jr unit.<ref>{{cite journal |url={{GBurl|ANkDAAAAMBAJ|p=163}} |title='Baby' Jet Unit Boosts Light Plane into Air |journal=Popular Mechanics |volume=93 |issue=2 |date=February 1950 |page=163 }}</ref> JATO Junior bottles mounted to the engine nacelles were briefly offered as a factory option on the [[Beechcraft Twin Bonanza]]; they were promoted not as a takeoff aid, but rather as a means to extend glide distance during a [[forced landing]] in unfavorable terrain. However, it is not known whether the bottles were ever actually installed on a production Twin Bonanza or used in any instance other than factory test flights.<ref name=eaa12-22>{{cite magazine |last=Caldwell |first=Kris |date=December 2022 |title=Beech D50C Twin Bonanza |url=https://sportaviation.mydigitalpublication.com/publication/?m=53731&i=767519&p=1&ver=html5 |url-access=subscription |magazine=EAA Sport Aviation |location=Oshkosh, Wisconsin |publisher=[[Experimental Aircraft Association]] |access-date=January 20, 2023 |pages=34–36}}</ref>

The [[Boeing 727]] had provision for Aerojet JATO assist for use in "hot and high" conditions, particularly at [[Mexico City International Airport|Mexico City]] and [[El Alto International Airport|La Paz]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boeing-727.com/Data/type%20cert/typecert200ser.html |title=Type Certification Data 727-200 Series |publisher=Boeing-727.com |date= |accessdate=20 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tailsthroughtime.com/2010/04/ive-always-had-soft-spot-for-boeing-727.html |title=Tails Through Time: The Boeing 727 JATO Option |access-date=27 April 2017 |archive-date=1 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201211111/http://www.tailsthroughtime.com/2010/04/ive-always-had-soft-spot-for-boeing-727.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> A JATO option was available for the [[Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner]] to increase take-off weight while maintaining one-engine inoperative climb requirements.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}}

In late 1980 the United States military operation plan [[Operation Credible Sport]] was intended to rescue hostages held by Iran using [[C-130]] cargo planes modified with rocket engines to enable a very short take off and landing. The plan was canceled after an accident occurred during a test landing when the forward-facing JATO units designed to slow the aircraft fired before the downward-facing units (designed to cushion the landing) did, causing the aircraft to crash-land.

JATO became largely unnecessary as the take-off thrust of jet engines improved and is now rarely used even when operating heavily laden from short runways or in "hot and high" conditions.{{citation needed|date=April 2018}} It is occasionally used in exceptional circumstances, on specially equipped, mostly military, aircraft.<ref>{{cite journal |url={{GBurl|biYDAAAAMBAJ|p=150}} |title=Booster Kick Off Civilian Planes |journal=Popular Science |volume=166 |issue=6 |date=June 1955 |page=150 }}</ref>