In the early 1950s, some senior officers thought that all US Navy carrier aircraft would be Vertical Take Off (VTO) machines within 10 years. They were wrong, but it took such machines as the X-13 Vertijet to prove it. The delta-winged X-13 used a unique landing method, involving a special trailer, a hook and a striped pole.To land the pilot had to approach the trailer's vertical base board without being able to see it. A pole marked with gradations protruded from the board and the pilot had to use this to judge his 'altitude' from the landing wire. In one demonstration at the Pentagon, the X-13 flew from its trailer, crossed the Potomac River, destroyed a rose garden with its thrust and landed in a net. Although this impressed the top brass, further funding was not forthcoming and the project petered out.