Parasite aircraft

A parasite aircraft is a component of a composite aircraft which is carried aloft and air launched by a larger carrier aircraft or mother ship to support the primary mission of the carrier. The carrier craft may or may not be able to later recover the parasite during flight.

The first parasite aircraft flew in 1916, when the British launched a Bristol Scout from a Felixstowe Porte Baby flying boat. The idea eventually developed into jet bombers carrying fully capable parasite fighters. With the advent of long-range fighters equipped with air-to-air missiles, and aerial refueling, parasite fighters fell out of use.

Until the middle of the 20th century there was military interest in parasite fighters – fighter aircraft intended to be carried into a combat zone by a larger aircraft, such as a bomber. If the bomber were threatened, the parasite would be released to defend it. Parasite fighters have never been highly successful and have seldom been used in combat. A major disadvantage of a parasite aircraft was that it reduced the payload capacity of the carrier aircraft. Projects for this type were designed to overcome the great disparity in range between bombers and their escort fighters. Development of aerial refueling has made parasite fighters obsolete.

The first parasite fighters were launched and recovered from trapezes mounted externally to military airships. In 1915 Neville Usborne and another British officer worked on a plan to lift a BE.2C fighter under a SS-class non-rigid airship. This would allow the fighter to reach the height of a raiding Zeppelin rapidly while also conserving fuel. In the first experimental flight on 21 February 1916, the envelope lost pressure and the plane was prematurely separated from it at 4,000 feet. Both the officers were killed and there was no further experimentation with small airships.

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Wikipedia