The Catapult That Ended Up in Hollywood

The history of launching planes into the air.

Anyone who has ever seen Top Gun or its sequel, Maverick, knows the catapult that became a standard piece of equipment on aircraft carriers. Few will know that it has its origins in the English countryside. 

Archaeologists have recently found the remains of a World War II-era catapult designed to launch bomber planes into the air. This discovery was made in Oxfordshire, England.