Martin-Baker Ejection Seat, Mk.3J, 1956. Display model, by Martin-Baker Aircraft Company, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, 1956

The introduction of jet-propelled military aircraft after World War 2 meant pilots needing to escape their strcken plane could no longer rely soley on a parachute. They had first to be propelled well away from the plane before opening their parachute. This ejector seat is of the type widely used by the RAF in the mid-1950s and was derived from the experimental version used by Bernard Lynch in 1946 for the first successful ejection escape. It used a telescopic gun fitted with explosive charges to propel the seat and pilot out of the aircraft at high velocity.