It looks like Bell Labs was working on this idea toward the end of the war, and it probably wasn’t implemented, at least on a very large scale. But this ad from the September 1945 issue of Popular Mechanics sounds like a good idea for quickly laying lines for military field telephones. Instead of having men do the work on the ground, possibly through enemy territory, an airplane does the job, at a rate of 16 miles in 6 – 2/3 minutes. One end, with a weight and parachute, is dropped to the ground. Then, wire is spooled out continuously.