Ryan X-13 Vertijet
The Ryan X-13 Vertijet was an experimental pure-jet tailsitter built by Ryan for the U.S. Air Force to test whether a fighter could operate without runways or carriers. Two prototypes were built around a Rolls-Royce Avon turbojet; the aircraft hung from a mobile trailer, took off vertically, transitioned to horizontal flight, and landed by hooking a wire on the trailer. After a first conventional flight in December 1955, Girard made the first vertical takeoff and landing in May 1956, and on 11 April 1957 the second prototype completed the full cycle from the trailer. The Air Force ended development in 1957 for want of an operational requirement, and both prototypes survive in museums.