The Surprising Story Of Aerial Refueling

this episode is brought to you by brilliant in November of 1911 a trivial yet historically significant event would occur over the city of anzer during the Italo Turkish war in Libya Italian lieutenant and pilot Julio gavot would drop four grapefruit sized grenades from an altitude of 600 ft onto ottoman military positions from his ETR to monoplane while no casualties were inflicted this event is widely accepted as the very first aerial bombardment from a heavier than air aircraft within 2 years the bomber would become a stable of aerial Warfare as purpose-built aircraft came into service however even in ideal conditions these early bombers were limited to just 3 to 4 hours of flight time limiting their range and flexibility the ability to carry large ordinance loads to targets at much further distances proved to be challenging for early military Aviation at the time in both both the civil and Military World a practical method for traversing large distances including major bodies of water without the need for service Landings was also highly sought after immediately after World War I Aviation development stagnated as The Limited range and payload capacity of aircraft of the time offered little appeal to the public while airframe and engine designs were constantly evolving air-to-air refueling was seen as the only immediate solution to the range extension problem particularly for military applications however it would take almost three decades of experimentation with the concept for the first system to become operationally practical the first attempts at aired air refueling were carried out as dangerous stunts performed by civilian Pilots known as Barnstormers at flying circuses in these demonstrations a crew member of the fueling aircraft would climb from its wing to the wing of the receiving aircraft with a fuel can in hand there he would manually refuel the receiving aircraft and subsequently climb back to his own aircraft after refueling the first true systematic attempt of inflight refueling was conducted on October 3rd 1920 in Washington DC by Lieutenant Godfrey L cabat of the United States naval Reserve cat's test employed a trilling rope with an attached grappling hook fitted to his Huff Donal aircraft the hook was used to retrieve a 5G gasoline can that was floating on a on the patomic river despite the relatively minor amount of fuel taken on cat's experiment marked the very first time an aircraft's range was extended without Landing for refueling CID would report the results of his tests to the Army aircore command recommending the use of his grappling hook method of retrieving fuel to facilitate the transatlantic delivery of aircraft however his findings were not met with enthusiasm and his idea was quickly dismissed despite its rejection cit's experiment piqu the interest of fellow aviators of the time inspiring others to conduct their own often hazardous attempts at inlight refueling despite the efforts none of these attempts would yield any practical results finally in 1923 World War I veteran Pilots Captain LEL Smith and lieutenant John RoR would devise a method to deal with the flight duration limits that plague them during combat under the approval of their base commander major HH Arnold at Rockwell field in San Diego California and employing R's pre-war engineering experience the duo created a pair of test tanker aircraft by fitting two airod dh4b biplanes with 50-ft hoses which could be lowered to a similar receiving aircraft Smith and RoR had conducted their first test flight on April 20th successfully connecting the tanker's hose to the receiving aircraft in flight and maintaining the connection for over 40 minutes though no fuel was ever transferred a few months later numerous test flights were flown over a circular course with the team achieving their first flight endurance record on June 27th at 6 hours and 37 minutes of flight time 2 months later a flight endurance of 37 hours was achieved using nine refuelings with over 686 gallons of fuel being transferred midair by October 25th Smith and RoR had conducted their first real world tests by flying non-stop from sumus Washington to Tiana Mexico using the equipment and techniques they had developed taking over 12 hours to complete with refueling occurring over Eugene Oregon and Sacramento California the flight served as proof of the viability of air-to-air refueling for military use despite the success of these tests the dangers of air-to-air refueling would become apparent less than a month later during a crash at an air show at Kelly Field Texas caused by a refueling host tangling up in the propeller of the receiving aircraft this event became the first ever fatality caused by midair refueling as the 1920s progress Aviation enthusiasts worldwide experimented with the technique in the pursuit of new aerial long-distance records however for the most part air-to-air refueling was seen as a performing Stunt by the aviation Community the next major milestone in air-to-air refueling would come in 1929 by Captain IRA eer and major Carl spatz with the in of a flight endurance record of almost 151 hours that covered more than 11,000 Mi more than doubling the previous record Under The Reluctant support of the United States war department a group of Army aircore Air crew led by the two would fly two Douglas C1 aircraft configured as tankers and a fuer tri motor monoplane named the question mark as the receiver aircraft the tankers were fitted with an additional 150g gas tank and a 40G oil tank using the refueling technique developed by Smith and RoR the tankers carried a 50-ft hose that would be lowered to the receiver aircraft which itself was modified with a large fuel funnel that led to its fuse Lodge tank on January 1st the question mark took off from vanis California and began its endurance attempt major spats would stand on a platform on the question mark in order to catch the hose lowered from the tanker and place it into the funnel throughout the entire flight 42 contacts were made with the tankers with almost 5,000 gallons of gasoline and 245 gallons of oil being transferred ultimately a failure of one of the fuer engines led to the termination of the flight among the goals of the test eer and spats had demonstrated that it was possible to transfer bomber and fighter aircraft overseas by refueling in flight however their report to the war department remained largely ignored for many years primarily due to the lack of aircraft engine reliability for long duration operations while some commercial interest lingered particularly for transatlantic flights very little attention was given to Aerial refueling in the United States until after World War II during the early 1930s in England long-distance aviation pioneer and member of the World War I Royal flying Corps sir Allan kobam would carry out his own studies on aerial refueling with the use of a especially adapted AirSpeed corer receiver aircraft and a handle page type W10 as the tanker by 19 1935 would demonstrate a technique known as grapple line looped hose air-to-air refueling in this procedure the receiver aircraft would Trail a steel cable which was then grappled by a line shot from the tanker the line was then drawn into the tanker where the receiver's cable was connected to the refueling hose the receiver would then draw back its cable bringing the tanker's fuel hose with it once the hose was connected the tanker climbed slightly above the receiver aircraft where fuel would flow flow under Gravity using this technique cin was able to conduct a non-stop flight from London to India using inflight refueling to extend the flight duration by the late 1930s kum's company flight refueling limited or F frl would become the very first producer of a commercially viable aerial refueling system their loopt design began to be used experimentally to refuel several large transatlantic Crossing aircraft known as flying boats upon the outbreak of World War II commercial Trials of the system had ceased with attention being shifted towards military applications by the Royal Air Force in the final year of World War II fr's looped hose refueling system would be equipped to Lancaster and Lincoln bombers in preparation for an offensive against Japan however the war had concluded before the system could ever be used in combat after World War II the progression into the cold war led the United States Air Force for the first time to prioritize the development of equipment and techniques for air aerial refueling due to concerns of the ability to conduct long range operations in March of 1948 the US Air Forces air material command initiated the gem program in the hopes of developing long-range strategic capabilities through the study of aircraft winterization air-to-air refueling and advanced electronics within the program Strategic Air Command was tasked with operational suitability testing of all developments the airto a refueling program in particular was given top priority within gem at the time the only proven operable refueling mechanism available worldwide was fr's grapple line Loop hose system this led to initial testing beginning with air material command procuring enough equipment from frl to convert 100 b29 into receivers and 60 b29 into tankers however the US Air Force had modified fr's system by adding Auto coupling to the refueling nozzle eliminating the need to fly to a lower altitude and de pressure drives the aircraft for air crew to manually couple the fuel hose after a year of training and testing with the modified frl air-to-air refueling system it would be used by the b50 super Fortress lucky lady 2 of the 43rd bomb wi to conduct the first non-stop flight around the world taking off on February 26th 1949 lucky lady 2 flew non-stop around the world in 94 hours and 1 minute with four aerial refilling from four pairs of B 29 based tankers the flight started and ended at Carwell Air Force Base in Fort Worth Texas with the refuelings occurring near the azors Saudi Arabia the Philippines and Hawaii while the famous flight proved to be successful and was relatively uneventful one of the tankers was lost in a landing mishap killing the crew of nine while the around the world flight demonstrated in effect unlimited range for aircraft under aerial refueling it was discovered that f system was not practical for widespread use it was unwieldy and difficult to use and had the additional disadvantage of using components manufactured overseas this led to the Air Force seeking out a better solution After experiencing the operational limitations during the testing with frls grapeline Loop host system General Curtis lame commander of the US Air Force Strategic Air Command requested that Boeing develop a refueling system that could transfer fuel at a higher rate than was currently possible the solution to the problem came in the form of a flying boom refueling concept first conceptualized in 1948 by German scientist ba Holman while working for material Air Command the system went from idea to operational testing in less than 2 years the flying boom aerial refueling system is based on a telescoping rigid fueling pipe that is attached to the rear of a tanker aircraft the entire mechanism is mounted on a gimbal allowing it to move with the receiver aircraft the fueling nozzle at the end of the pipe is attached via a flexible ball joint this nozzle is designed to mate with a matching fuel receiver receptacle and within it a popet valve prevents the flow of fuel until it's properly mated once the nozzle is mated to the recepticle a locking mechanism engages for the duration of the fuel transfer what makes the flying boom design so effective is its ability to be steered by an operator this is accomplished by a pair of small hydraulically controlled moving air foils that when combined with the telescoping action of the boom can be used to fly the nozzle towards the receiver's receptacle in a typical flying boom aerial refueling scenario the receiver aircraft Rendevous with the tanker and maintains formation the receiver aircraft then moves to an inrange position behind the tanker under signal lights or radio guidance from the boom operator once in position the operator extends the boom to make contact with the receiver aircraft where fuel is then pumped through the Boom the first flight test of the flying boom system was done on September 16th 1948 using a reconfigured b29 it proved to be highly effective as it was far more stable permitting refueling at higher speeds it was also more resistant to weather interference and lightning strikes it also could pass up to 500 gallons of fuel per minute whereas frl system peaked at around 100 gallons per minute it performed so well that shortly after the lucky lady flight it was decided that further procurement of frl system was no longer necessary and the flying boom became the standard of strategic gear command with receptacles being installed on all future bombers between 1950 and 1951 116 b-29s were converted by Boeing to KB 29 flying boom tankers simultaneously Boeing would develop the world's first production aerial tanker the KC 97 Strat Freer while the KC 97 was effective its piston engines required gasoline while jet powered aircraft operated on a kerosene based fuel system furthermore the slower Cruise speed of the tanker forced some jet engine powered aircraft to slow dangerously close to their stall speeds in order to mate with the tanker's boom over the next few years these issues would be addressed with Boeing's development of the first high altitude highspeed jet powered flying boom aerial tanker the KC 135 Strat tanker based on the Boeing 367-80 airframe over 730 of these aircraft would be built and deployed over the next decade the CC 135 revolutionized aerial refueling with its ability to carry up to 30,000 gallons of fuel which could be both consumed and offloaded to receiving aircraft it could refuel at speeds as slow as 180 knots and as fast as 350 knots covering the needs of every aircraft within the Air Force's inventory it was also flexible being able to carry up to 880,000 lb of cargo and as many as 250 passengers if needed since its first flight on July 15th 1954 the KC 135 has been one of six military fixed Wing aircraft with over 50 years of continuous service it quickly became the primary refueling system of the US Air Force with contemporary versions of its flying boom system being able to pass fuel at up to 1,000 gallons a minute as the United States Air Force was developing the flying boom system it simultaneously requested that sir Alan cbum improveed FR rl's grapple line Loop hose refueling system specifically to accommodate fighter aircraft use by 1949 had devised the first prob and drogue aerial refilling system prob and drog refilling employs a flexible hose that Trails behind the tanker aircraft a powerr called a basket is attached at its narrow end to a valve which itself is fitted to the flexible hose via a ball joint coupling which in modern variants allow for up to 22° of misalignment during aerial refueling the droke stabilizes the hose in flight and provides a funnel to guide the insertion of a matching refueling probe that extends from the receiver aircraft the probe is generally fitted to the nose or fuse Lodge and it contains a valve which opens when mated with the droges forward internal receptacle permitting fuel flow on most high-speed aircraft the fueling probe is designed to be retracted when not in use in order to preserve the drogue and protect the receiver aircraft from structural damage from Sudden large aerodynamic loads while in contact the probe valve end is designed to break off at a purposely designed structural weak point forming a mechanical fuse to the connection when refueling operations are complete the hose is then reeled up completely into an assembly known as the hose drum unit operational testing of the first prob and Drug refueling system began in 1950 under the supervision of World War II fighter Ace Colonel Dave Schilling due to the fighter specific nature of its design purpose Shilling would go on to improve on the design and proove its use with multiple aircraft simultaneously this multi- drill configuration offered a distinct advantage over the flying boom system in 1952 the United States Air Force decided to give probe and drog refueling a fullscale operational test under combat conditions in Korea f84 e of the 116th fighter bomber Wing were equipped with probes and KB 29 tankers were equipped with droges on their wing tips and Tails using the probe and drog system a new endurance record for a single engine fighter would be set over Korea at 14 hours in 15 minutes over five combat missions without Landing by the 1960s aerial refilling had become a routine operation with the prob and Drug system becoming the more popular choice globally because of its modular nature hardpoint pods that were self-contained hose drum units would be developed known as buddy pods they allowed a range of aircraft including other fighters to function as tankers additionally adapter units were developed that converted the ends of flying Boomer fueling pipes to droges for cross system tanker compatibility the progan drug system proved to be so versatile that it became standardized by NATO the US Navy and Marines and several Army aircraft the standardization allowed drog equipped tanker aircraft to refuel probe equipped aircraft from other nations the Soviet Union would even reverse engineer and adopt the NATO hos and Drug system effectively making them compatible with NATO tankers over the next 50 years AAL refueling would become commonplace in military use forming a a key element in Mission planning from a technical standpoint the reliability and effectiveness of these systems had led to very little change since their development in the 1950s however in recent years the emergence of unmanned aerial vehicle research would take aerial refueling beyond what was thought to be possible during the early days of Aviation on June 4th 2021 the US Navy conducted its first ever aerial refueling between a manned aircraft and an unmanned tanker using a Boeing mq 25 Stingray and a Navy F-18 Super Hornet conducted over Mascota Illinois the 4 and 1/2 hour test flight performed a series of both wet and dry contacts with the UAV with a total of 10 minutes of total contact time and transferring around 50 gallons of fuel the mq-25 program represents a larger Venture towards a future where carrier-based fleets are augmented by unmanned systems at the current trajectory of the program the Navy expects initial operational capabilities to occur around 2025 with an estimated 1third of Super Hornet flight hours being spent on refueling missions the Paradigm of how refueling is implemented in Mission planning May ultimately change drastically as large lingering manned tankers are slowly pushed into obsolescence it seems like a simple idea connecting a fuel line between two aircraft to transfer fuel but like most simple ideas in practice the complexity of the true scope of all variables involved begin to reveal themselves being able to quantify and measure the elements of a system are key to problem solving have you ever wanted to build a stronger understanding of the concepts of measurement and how to apply them well there's a free and easy way to get started immediately that's where brilliant.org comes in brilliant.org is my go-to tool for diving head first into learning A New Concept it's a website and app built off the principle of active problem solving because to truly learn something it takes more than just watching it you have to experience it brilliant is constantly developing their courses to offer the most visual Hands-On approach possible to make mastering the key Concepts behind today's technology effective and engaging one solid starting point I highly recommend is brilliant's measurement course in this course you'll explore some of the foundational ideas of mathematical measurement and its relationship to quantifying the aspects of the physical world using an incredibly intuitive set of exercises that will open your eyes to a new way of looking at things with brilliant you learn in depth and at your own pace it's not about memorizing or regurgitating facts you simply pick a course you're interested in and get started if you feel stuck or made a mistake an explanation is always available to help you through the learning process to try everything brilliant has to offer for free for a full 30 days and start learning stem today visit brilliant.org newmind or click on the link in the description below the first 200 of you will get 20% off brilliant's annual premium subscription that

Channel: New Mind

Views: 382,542

Keywords: air to air refueling, in flight refueling, IFR, aerial refueling, tanking, probe and drouge, flying boom, air tanker, kc-135, air force tanker, navy tanker, buddy pod, buddy store, fuel managment, military refueling, air refueling

Id: jJ_i4OzgaOQ

Length: 21min 44sec (1304 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 30 2023