Were all familiar with pictures showing seaplanes being recovered by their parent vessel, but so far I've only come across one picture of a Hein Mat being used (Pic below is from Catapult Aircraft by Leo Marriott).
http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/i ... 90.20;wap2The Hein Mat recovery system used a mat on a roller that was unrolled directly astern the recovery ship. It was tried by several European navies but was discarded by the beginning of WWII. This should not be confused with the U.S. Navy system in which the recovery ship steamed in an arc into the wind to create a slick for the floatplane to land. A bright yellow sled was let out on a cable off to one side of the ship. A barb-like hook on the bottom of the central float engaged a cargo net on top of the sled and then sled and attached plane were hauled in to the side of the ship where a crane lifted the aircraft back aboard. Although not without problems, this system was successful enough to be used from the 1920's until the end of the
floatplane era after WWII.
I know the Swedish Navy used Hein Mats on there Gotland Class cruisers but I'm unaware of any others! Also does anyone know why the RN decided against the Hein Mat system? Any info or specs welcomed.
Regards
Andy H