Recovery Hook, Film Capsule

This is a hook used by the 6594th Test Group flying C-130s out of Hickam AFB in Hawaii to recover the capsules containing exposed film from classified photoreconnaissance satellites. A trapeze-like apparatus was let out of the back of the aircraft and the hooks on it snagged the lines of the capsule's parachute. The capsule and apparatus were then wound into the aircraft. The film was removed from the capsule at Hickam and flown to the East Coast for analysis. It is not known whether this hook was actually used in a recovery.Michael Meyer, the son of Col. Edwin Meyer who commanded the 6594th Test Group from 1965-1968, donated this artifact to the Museum in 2013.