#tanker

that’s a Woody Hayes 121ARW Stratotanker (t. emery)

February 6, 1991. Night combat refueling mission over Saudi Arabia. KC-135E Stratotanker “Whale 05” (58-0013) is at 25,000 feet, heavy with fuel, when it flies into the wake turbulence of another tanker just two miles ahead. The jet rolls past 110 degrees left, then right, then left again. G-forces spike past 2.8. Both engines on the left wing are ripped clean off the pylons. Fire warning lights start screaming. Boom operator Senior Master Sergeant Steve Stucky looks out and delivers the six words nobody ever wants to hear: “They’re not on fire. They’re gone.” Four-engine tanker now has only two. Left-side hydraulics are dead. They’re at max weight, over a war zone, at night, and falling. Aircraft commander Lt. Col. Kevin Sweeney and the crew dump tens of thousands of pounds of fuel, fight the Dutch roll with speed brakes, and somehow get the giant back under control. They fly more than 200 miles back to Jeddah on the two remaining engines. The landing gear has to be cranked down by hand. They put it on the longest runway, blow several tires on rollout, and stop. Intact. The right engines were one bolt away from joining the left ones. All four men, Sweeney, Capt. Jay Selanders, Capt. Greg Mermis, and Stucky, later received the Distinguished Flying Cross. The three officers refused the medal unless the boom operator got one too. General Chuck Horner, the air boss for Desert Storm, later called it the finest piece of airmanship of the entire war. Two engines missing. Night. Combat. Still got it home. That’s a tanker crew. That’s the Stratotanker. 🇺🇸🫡#KC135 #Stratotanker #DesertStorm #USAF #AviationHistory #NeverQuit

KA-6D Intruder NK 514 of VA-196, USS ENTERPRISE (CVAN-65) 1972.

KA-6D NF 517 of VA-115, USS MIDWAY (CVA-41) 1971

South Atlantic Top-up - Lockheed C-130, MDD Phantom FGR2. Art by Chris French

A tanker exploded in the Strait of Hormuz after it reportedly hit a naval mine, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday. According to the same information, the ship had deviated from the route determined by the Iranian armed forces for the passage of ships through the strategically important sea passage. So far no official announcement has been issued by the Iranian…

KA-3D Skywarrior refueling an F-4H Phantom

Devil 524 tanker