Aerial Refueling History
In 1917, Alexander P. de Seversky, a pilot in the Russian navy, proposed the idea of refueling combat planes in flight as a way to increase their range. He emigrated to the U.S. and went to work as engineer for the War Department. De Seversky received the first patent for the process in 1921.
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Stunt Flight
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The first air-to-air fueling was done as a stunt. Wesley May, a wingwalker, climbed from one aircraft to another on November 12, 1921. May carried a can of fuel on his back rather than using a hose.
Early Tests
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The U.S. Army began tests in 1923 to devise a practical way of lowering a hose from one aircraft to another. A DH-4B biplane was modified as a tanker and a 50-foot hose was lowered to the receiving plane. The hose was equipped with a quick shutoff valve in case it was disconnected. The occupant of the back seat of the receiving plane had to grab the hose and connect it.
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World Records
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A new world record was established by a DH-4B using the technique on August 27, 1923. The flight lasted more than 37 hours. Private pilots then attempted to break the record using aerial refueling. By July 1930, the record was 647.5 hours. A Curtiss Robin monoplane set this record with nearly 27 days in the air. Pilots stayed in cramped cockpits for weeks, leaving only to climb on scaffolding to service the engines.
Improved Technology
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While new records were being set, the dangling hose method remained in use. A Royal Air Force squadron leader developed the looped hose method in 1930. This involved a line being trailed by the receiving plane and a grapnel to capture it for the tanker.
Varying Interest
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Aircraft with twice the speed and range were developed in the 1930's, which caused the U.S. Army Air Corp to temporarily lose interest in aerial refueling. American interest increased during World War II. However, problems in design and crew training delayed implementation of new refueling procedures.The introduction of the B29, which had a 1500-mile range, reduced American interest once again.
However, the British Air Establishment focused upon aerial refueling from 1930 to 1937 as a way to reduce aircraft weight at takeoff. They believed this could relieve wear and tear on the machines.
Better Methods
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The use of long-range jet bombers of the Strategic Air Command in the 1950's made better methods of refueling in the air even more critical. Important developments included a larger diameter pipe that allowed fuel to flow six times as fast. A single-point refueling system on the receiving plane eliminated refueling multiple tanks.
The Soviet Union experimented with several methods. One was a wingtip-to-wingtip technique that never succeeded. Ultimately, they preferred to operate closer to their air bases.
Despite numerous technological advances, commercial airlines have found the use of dedicated aircraft as tankers to be too expensive.
Search and Rescue
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Methods of increasing the range of rescue helicopters were explored to rescue American airmen downed over North Vietnam. An experiment to refuel a Jolly Green Giant helicopter from a KC-130 airplane in 1965 was successful. This became a standard method to reach deep into North Vietnam on search-and-rescue missions.
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