Early jet-assisted take-off (JATO) flight, 1941. Take-off of the USA's first 'rocket-assisted' airplane, an Ercoupe fitted with a solid fuel JATO (Jet-Assisted Take-Off) booster. The Ercoupe took off from March Field, California, USA, and was piloted by Captain Homer A. Boushey Jr. This technology was developed at the Guggenheim Aeronautical Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology (GALCIT) and by NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics). These were precursor organisations to the JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) and NASA. Photographed on 12 August 1941.