Heritage restoration
A Douglas C-47 approaches a towline designed to pull a CG-4A glider into the air as part of a pickup technique, nicknamed the “snatch,” at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. A hook trailed from beneath the rear fuselage, and like a giant airborne fishing rod, the tow plane approached the glider. Two poles in the ground held the towline, attached to the glider. Flying just above ground level, the hook snagged the glider towline, pulling the glider from a standstill to 120 mph within seven seconds.(Courtesy photo)