KC-97 Stratofreighter | |
---|---|
KC-97L in Ohio Air National Guard markings | |
Role | Aerial refueling tanker |
Manufacturer | Boeing |
Introduction | July 14, 1951[1][2] |
Retired | June 1978[3] |
Primary users | United States Air Force Spanish Air Force |
Produced | 1951–1956[4][5] |
Number built | 811 |
Developed from | Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter |
The Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter was a aerial refueling tanker aircraft based on the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter. It was succeeded by the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker.
Design and development[]
The KC-97 Stratofreighter was an aerial refueling tanker variant of the C-97 Stratofreighter (which was itself based on the Boeing B-29 Superfortress), greatly modified with all the necessary tanks, plumbing, and "flying boom." The cavernous upper deck was capable of accommodating oversize cargo accessed through a very large right-side door. In addition, transferrable jet fuel was contained in tanks on the lower deck (G-L models). Both decks were heated and pressurized for high altitude operations.
Note: Occasionally the KC-97 has been quoted as "Stratotanker". However, all reputable sources refer to the KC-97 as Stratofreighter, not -tanker. This includes both Boeing and the USAF themselves.[6][7]
Operational history[]
The USAF began operating the KC-97 in 1950. It purchased a total of 811 KC-97s from Boeing,[5][8][9] as opposed to only 74 of the C-97 cargo version.[10][11][12] The KC-97 used piston engines, fueled by aviation gasoline, but it carried jet fuel for its refueling mission. It therefore used independent (transfer valves) systems for both types of fuel, and was able to transfer its aviation gas 145 to off-load to the receiver in an emergency (known as a "SAVE").
These tankers were vitally important to the world-wide Boeing B-47 Stratojet strategic operations. An example was the support of Arctic reconnaissance flights from Thule Air Base.
While it was an effective tanker, the KC-97's slow speed and low operational altitude complicated refueling operations with jet aircraft. B-52s typically lowered their flaps and rear landing gear to slow the aircraft enough to refuel from the KC-97. In addition, a typical B-52 refueling engagement profile would involve a descent that allowed the aircraft pair to maintain a higher airspeed (220-240 knots). In the early 1960s, the Tactical Air Command added General Electric J47 jet pods from retired KB-50 tankers to produce the KC-97L. The jet pods increased performance and made the KC-97 more compatible with jet aircraft.
In 1956, SAC began phasing out the KC-97 in favor of the KC-135. KC-97s continued operating with Tactical Air Command, the Air Force Reserve, and the Air National Guard. The KC-97 was finally retired completely in 1978, when the Texas and Utah Air National Guards exchanged their KC-97Ls for C-130s and KC-135s, respectively.
Variants[]
- Source: AIRTime[13]
- KC-97A
- Three C-97As were converted into aerial refueling tankers with rear loading door removed and a flight refueling boom added. After the design was proven, they were converted back into the standard C-97A.
- KC-97E
- aerial refueling tankers with rear loading doors permanently closed, 60 built. Some were later converted into transports as the C-97E.
- KC-97F
- 3800hp R-4360-59B engines and minor changes, 159 built. Some were later converted into transport as the C-97F.
- KC-97G
- Dual-role aerial refueling tankers/cargo transportation aircraft. KC-97G models carried underwing fuel tanks. 592 built.
- EC-97G
- ELINT conversion of three KC-97Gs. 53-106 was operated by the CIA for covert ELINT operations in the West Berlin Air Corridor.
- C-97G
- 135 KC-97Gs converted to transports.
- GKC-97G
- Five KC-97Gs were used as ground instruction airframes.
- JKC-97G
- One aircraft was modified to test the underwing General Electric J47-GE-23 jet engines, and was later designated KC-97L.
- HC-97G
- KC-97Gs converted for search and rescue operations, 22 converted.
- KC-97H
- One KC-97F was experimentally converted into a hose-and-drogue refueling aircraft.
- YC-97J
- two KC-97G conversion with four 4250 kW Pratt & Whitney YT34-P-5 turboprops, dropped in favour of the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker.
- C-97K
- 27 KC-97Gs converted to troop transports.[14]
- KC-97L
- 81 KC-97Gs modified with two J47 turbojet engines on underwing pylons.
Operators[]
Israel
The following USAF wing organizations flew the various KC-97 models at some time during their existence:[15]
Active duty[]
- 2d Bombardment Wing (Medium) - Hunter AFB, Georgia (1953–1963)
- 9th Bombardment Wing (Medium) - Mountain Home AFB, Idaho (1954–1965)
- 11th Air Refueling Wing - Altus AFB, Oklahoma (1957–1958)
- 19th Bombardment Wing (Medium) - Homestead AFB, Florida (1955–1961)
- 22d Bombardment Wing (Medium) - March AFB, California (1952–1962)
- 22d Air Refueling Squadron
- 22d Air Refueling Squadron - (relocated as a GSU to McChord AFB, Washington
- 320th Air Refueling Squadron
- 26th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (Medium) - Lockborne AFB, Ohio (1953–1955; 1956–1958)
- 28th Bombardment Wing (Heavy) - Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota (1962–1964)
- 97th Air Refueling Squadron - GSU Malmstrom AFB, Montana
- 40th Bombardment Wing (Medium) Schilling AFB, Kansas(1953–1960)
- 42d Bombardment Wing (Heavy) - Limestone AFB, Maine (1955–1957)
- 43d Bombardment Wing (Medium) - Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona (1953–1960)
- 44th Bombardment Wing (Medium) - Lake Charles AFB, Louisiana (1953–1960)
- 68th Bombardment Wing (Medium) - Lake Charles AFB, Louisiana (1953–1957)
- 70th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing (Medium) - Little Rock AFB, Arkansas (1955–1961)
- 90th Bombardment Wing (Medium) - Fairchild AFB, Washington (1955–1960)
- 91st Bombardment Wing (Medium) - Glasgow AFB, Montana (1952–1957)
- 93d Bombardment Wing (Medium) - Castle AFB, California (1953–1957)
- 96th Bombardment Wing (Medium) - Altus AFB, Oklahoma (1954–1958)
- 97th Bombardment Wing (Medium) - Biggs AFB, Texas (1954–1957)
- 98th Bombardment Wing (Medium) - Lincoln AFB, Nebraska (1954–1963)
- 100th Bombardment Wing (Medium) - Portsmouth AFB/Pease AFB, New Hampshire (1956–1966)
- 301st Bombardment Wing (Medium) - Barksdale AFB, Louisiana/Lockborne AFB, Ohio (1953–1963)
- 303rd Bombardment Wing (Medium) - Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona (1953–1956; 1960)
- 305th Bombardment Wing (Medium) - MacDill AFB, Florida (1951–1959)
- 306th Bombardment Wing (Medium) - MacDill AFB, Florida (1951–1962)
- 307th Bombardment Wing (Medium) - Lincoln AFB, Nebraska (1955–1960)
- 308th Bombardment Wing (Medium) - Hunter AFB, Georgia (1953–1959)
- 310th Bombardment Wing (Medium) - Smoky Hill AFB/Schilling AFB, Kansas (1952–1963)
- 320th Bombardment Wing (Medium) - March AFB, California (1952–1960)
- 321st Bombardment Wing (Medium) - Pinecastle AFB, Florida (1954–1956)
- 340th Bombardment Wing (Medium) - Whiteman AFB, Missouri (1954–1962)
- 341st Bombardment Wing (Medium) - Dyess AFB, Texas (1956–1960)
- 376th Bombardment Wing (Medium) - Barksdale AFB, Louisiana/Lockborne AFB, Ohio (1953–1963)
- 379th Bombardment Wing - Homestead AFB, Florida (1956)
- 384th Air Refueling Wing (Heavy) - Little Rock AFB, Arkansas (1961–1963)
- 397th Bombardment Wing (Heavy) - Dow AFB, Maine (1963–1964)
- 407th Strategic Fighter Wing - Great Falls AFB, Montana (1957)
- 497th Air Refueling Wing - Plattsburgh AFB, New York (1962–1964)
- 499th Air Refueling Wing - Westover AFB, Massachusetts (1963–1965)
- 11th Air Refueling Squadron - GSU Dover AFB, Delaware
- 19th Air Refueling Squadron - GSU Otis AFB, Massachusetts
- 99th Air Refueling Squadron (Operated KC135 & EC-135 aircraft Only)
- 303d Air Refueling Squadron - GSU Kindley AFB, Bermuda
- 305th Air Refueling Squadron- GSU McGuire AFB, New Jersey
- 384th Air Refueling Squadron - Westover AFB, Massachusetts (1963–1965)
- 500th Air Refueling Wing - Selfridge AFB, Michigan (1963–1964)
- 509th Bombardment Wing (Heavy) - Walker AFB, New Mexico/Pease AFB, New Hampshire (1954–1965)
- 4397th Air Refueling Training Wing - Randolph AFB, Texas (1958–1963)
- 4397th Combat Crew Training Squadron
- 4050th Air Refueling Wing - Westover AFB, Massachusetts (1955–1962)
- 11th Air Refueling Squadron - GSU Dover AFB, Delaware
- 19th Air Refueling Squadron - GSU Otis AFB, Massachusetts
- 26th Air Refueling Squadron - Westover AFB, Massachusetts
- 303d Air Refueling Squadron - GSU Kindley AFB, Bermuda
- 305th Air Refueling Squadron- GSU McGuire AFB, New Jersey
- 384th Air Refueling Squadron - Westover AFB, Massachusetts (1963–1965)
- 4060th Air Refueling Wing - Dow AFB, Maine/Plattsburgh AFB, New York (1955–1962)
- 4108th Air Refueling Wing - Plattsburgh AFB, New York (1961–1965
- 4045th Air Refueling Wing - Selfridge AFB, Michigan
- 4061st Air Refueling Wing - Malmstrom AFB, Montana
- 4081st Air Refueling Wing - Ernest Harmon AFB, NFLD (19?? - 1966)
Air National Guard[]
- 106th Air Refueling Group - NAS New York/Floyd Bennett Field, then Suffolk County Airport, New York (1962–1972)
- 126th Air Refueling Wing - O'Hare International Airport, Illinois (1953–1976)
- 128th Air Refueling Wing - General Mitchell Air National Guard Base, Wisconsin (1962–1977)
- 134th Air Refueling Wing - McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base, Tennessee (1964–1977)
- 146th Air Transport Wing- Van Nuys, California (1962–1967)
- 136th Air Refueling Wing - NAS Dallas, Texas (1965–1978)
- 139th Air Refueling Group - Rosecrans Air National Guard Base, Missouri (1969–1976)
- 151st Air Refueling Group - Salt Lake City Air National Guard Base, Utah (1972–1978)
- 160th Air Refueling Group - Lockborne AFB, Ohio (1965–1975)
- 161st Air Refueling Group - Sky Harbor Air National Guard Base, Arizona (1972–1977)
- 171st Air Refueling Wing - Pittsburgh IAP Air Reserve Station, Pennsylvania (1972–1977)
Accidents and incidents involving the KC-97[]
- 9 May 1957 – KC-97F 51-0258 en route from Sidi Slimane Air Base, Morocco, to Lajes AB, Azores, ditches in the Atlantic 550 km (343.8 mls) SE of the Azores Islands following a double engine failure, no fatalities amongst the seven crew. The airplane floated for ten days and was sunk by USS Wisconsin.[16]
- 18 July 1957 – The 380th Bomb Wing suffers its first peacetime major accident when KC-97G 52-2737 from the 380th Air Refueling Squadron with a crew of eight explodes and crashes into Lake Champlain at 2128 hrs. when two of the four engines fail three minutes after take-off from Plattsburgh AFB, New York.[17] Three survivors.[18]
- 29 October 1957 – KC-97G 52-2711 of the 509th Bomb Wing,[19] out of Walker AFB, New Mexico, crashes 35 miles north of Flagstaff, Arizona, while on nine-hour low-level survey flight to determine minimum altitude restrictions for B-47 training routes. Aircraft was seen over Gray Mountain, Arizona, at altitude of 60 feet shortly after 0830 hrs., and then heard striking a cloud-shrouded cliff face, killing 16 crew and strewing wreckage for 200 yards along mountainside.[20][21]
- 14 December 1959 – KC-97G 53-0231 of the 384th Air Refueling Squadron, out of Westover AFB, Massachusetts, collides with a B-52 during a refueling mission at an altitude of ~15,000 feet. The aircraft loses the whole left horizontal stabilizer and elevator, the rudder, and the upper quarter of the vertical stabilizer. Crew makes a no-flap, electrical power off landing at night at Dow AFB, Maine, seven crew okay. "Spokesmen at Dow Air Force, Bangor, said the B52 [sic] apparently 'crowded too close' and rammed a fuel boom into the tail of a four-engined KC95 [sic] tanker plane."[22] Aircraft stricken as beyond economical repair. Two crew on the B-52 eject, parachute safely, and are recovered by helicopters in a snow-covered wilderness area. The bomber and remaining eight crew members continue to Westover AFB, where a safe landing is made.[23]
- 15 April 1960 – Twenty-four airmen escape with their lives when KC-97G 52-0919[18] of the 307th Air Refueling Squadron, 307th Bomb Wing, crashes and burns on take-off from Lincoln AFB, Nebraska, when the undercarriage collapses. The only casualties are two airmen who suffer leg fractures and five others who suffer minor cuts and burns.[24][25]
- 27 June 1960 – A KC-97G 52-2728 of the 380th Air Refueling Squadron, Plattsburgh AFB, New York, suffers failure of lubrication on an engine impeller shaft, during an evening four-hour training mission to refuel a Boeing B-47 Stratojet. During rendezvous at 15,500 feet, bomber crew sees the tanker's number one (port outer) powerplant burst into flames. A burning fuel leak threatens the wing integrity. As the bomber moves away from the burning tanker, the crew tries unsuccessfully to put out the blaze. The plane goes into a spin as the wing fails outboard of the engine and crashes on Jonathan Smith Mountain, a hill east of Puzzle Mountain in Newry, Maine. The flash of the fire is seen from as far away as Lewiston and Bridgton, and several people witness the crash, including hundreds of moviegoers at the Rumford Point Drive-In. All five crew are killed – two are found wearing unused parachutes. Wreckage covers five acres and was still there in 2010.[26][27][28]
- 17 September 1971 – KC-97G 4X-FPR/033 of the Israeli Air Force, is shot down by Egyptian missiles over Suez, Egypt, seven of eight-man crew on board killed.[29]
Survivors[]
A number of KC-97s survive, at least two of which are potentially airworthy: 52-2718 / N117GA Angel of Deliverance operated by the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation.,[30] and N1365N known as Tanker 97 and operated until recently as an aerial firefighting airtanker by Hawkins & Powers.
Static displays include:
- 52-0895–Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport in Central Point, Oregon, registered as N1365D.[31]
- 52-0905– Wisconsin National Guard Museum at Volk Field Air National Guard Base in Camp Douglas, Wisconsin.[32]
- 52-2624– At the now-closed Florence Air & Missile Museum, Florence, South Carolina.
- 52-2630– National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.[33]
- 52-2694– Located at Grant County International Airport, Moses Lake, Washington. Seen wearing civil registration N31338.[32]
- 52-2697– Grissom Air Museum at Grissom Air Reserve Base (former Grissom AFB) in Peru, Indiana.[34]
- 52-2961– Located in Greybull, Wyoming, registered as N29862.[32]
- 53-0151– Pima Air and Space Museum adjacent to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona.[35]
- 53-0198– Strategic Air and Space Museum adjacent to Offutt Air Force Base in Ashland, Nebraska.[36]
- 53-0218– Minnesota Air National Guard Museum, St. Paul, Minnesota. Displayed in C-97G configuration.[37]
- 53-0230– Air Mobility Command Museum at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware.[38]
- 53-0240– Eighth Air Force Museum at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana.[39]
- 53-0280– Tail section preserved in Zruč nad Sázavou, Czech Republic, registered as N49548.[39]
- 53-0282– Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, TX.[40]
- 53-0283– Solo's Restaurant adjacent to Peterson Air Force Base and Colorado Springs Municipal Airport in Colorado Springs, Colorado.[39]
- 53-0298– Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia.[41]
- 53-0327– Whiteman Air Force Base in Knob Noster, Missouri.[39]
- 53-0335– Carolinas Aviation Museum at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina.[42]
- 53-0354– Castle Air Museum at the former Castle Air Force Base in Atwater, California.[39]
- 53-0363– March Field Air Museum at March Air Reserve Base (former March AFB) in Riverside, California.[43]
- 53-0360– Malmstrom Museum, Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana. Displayed as 52-2638.[44]
- TK1-3– Museo del Aire (Spain) at Cuatro Vientos Airport in Madrid, Spain. Former USAF aircraft, AF Ser. No. 53-0189.[39]
In popular culture[]
The KC-97 Stratofreighter is shown in the 1955 film Strategic Air Command, refueling a B-47 in flight, and in the 1957 film Bombers B-52, refueling B-52s.
Specifications (KC-97L)[]
Data from USAF Museum[45] and FAS.[46]
General characteristics
- Crew: six (aircraft commander, copilot, navigator, flight engineer, radio operator, boom operator)
- Capacity: 9,000 gal (34,000 L) of jet fuel
- Length: 117 ft 5 in (m)
- Wingspan: 141 ft 2 in (m)
- Height: 38 ft 4 in (m)
- Wing area: ft² (m²)
- Empty weight: 82,500 lb (kg)
- Loaded weight: 153,000 lb (kg)
- Max. takeoff weight: 175,000 lb (kg)
- Powerplant:
- 2 × General Electric J47-GE-23 turbojets, 5,790 lbf (kN) each
- 4 × Pratt & Whitney R-4360-59 radial engines, 3,500 hp (kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 400 mph (644 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 230 mph (370 km/h)
- Range: 2,300 mi (3700 km)
- Service ceiling: 30,000 ft (m)
- Rate of climb: ft/min (m/s)
- Wing loading: lb/ft² (kg/m²)
- Power/mass (prop): hp/lb (kW/kg)
See also[]
- Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter
- Boeing B-50 Superfortress
- Boeing 377 Stratocruiser
- Aero Spacelines Pregnant Guppy
- Aero Spacelines Super Guppy
- Douglas C-124 Globemaster II
- Lockheed C-121 Constellation
- Lockheed L-1249 Super Constellation (R7V-2/YC-121F)
- List of military aircraft of the United States
- List of United States military aerial refueling aircraft
References[]
Citations[]
- ↑ Bach, p. 13
- ↑ Swanborough / Bowers 1989, p. 128.
- ↑ Bach, p. 31
- ↑ Bach, p. 14
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Swanborough / Bowers 1989, p. 127-129.
- ↑ Boeing History homepage
- ↑ National Museum of the US Air Force, factsheet Boeing KC-97L Stratofreighter
- ↑ Bach, p. 12
- ↑ Bowers 1989, p. 358-359.
- ↑ Bach, p. 4-7
- ↑ Bowers 1989, p. 353-358.
- ↑ Swanborough / Bowers 1989, p. 125-126.
- ↑ for KC-97: AIRTime Publishing. (2006). International Air Power Review, Vol 20. ISBN 1-880588-91-9
- ↑ Bowers 1989, p. 364.
- ↑ Rarenstein, Charles. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings: Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977. ISBN 0-912799-12-9
- ↑ http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19570509-1
- ↑ Strategic-air-command.com: Plattsburgh AFB, NY - SAC - 380th Bomb Wing - B-47, B-52, FB111A Retrieved on 2011-12-1.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1952.html
- ↑ JoeBaugher.com: 1952 USAF Serial Numbers, Retrieved on 2011-12-1
- ↑ Smithsonian Institution, "All That Remains", Air & Space Magazine, Washington, D.C., November 2002. Retrieved on 2011-12-1
- ↑ AircraftArchaeology.com: KC-97G, #52-2711 crashed 29 Oct 1957, 35 miles north of Flagstaff., Retrieved on 2011-12-1
- ↑ Associated Press, "Two Chutists Found Safe", Lincoln Evening Journal and Nebraska State Journal, Tuesday 15 December 1959, page 3.
- ↑ Aviation-Safety.net Accident: 14 Dec 1959 KC-97G Stratofreighter, Retrieved on 2011-12-1
- ↑ http://www.lincolnkings.com/lafb/crashdigest.htm
- ↑ http://www.307bwassoc.org/memberphotos2.htm
- ↑ MeWreckchasers.com: REMEMBERING THE CREW OF KC-97G 52-2728, by Peter Noddin, Dirago Flyer, October 2001
- ↑ Langeveld, M.Dirk, Staff Writer, "The ultimate sacrifice; wreck sites a reminder of military plane disasters", Sun Journal, Lewiston, Maine, 12 September 2010. Retrieved on 2011-12-1
- ↑ SunJournal.com: Oxford Hills The ultimate sacrifice; wreck sites a reminder of military plane disasters, Retrieved on 2011-12-1
- ↑ http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19710917-1
- ↑ Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 [2]
- ↑ [3]
- ↑ [4]
- ↑ [5]
- ↑ [6]
- ↑ [7]
- ↑ [8]
- ↑ 39.0 39.1 39.2 39.3 39.4 39.5 [9]
- ↑ [10]
- ↑ [11]
- ↑ .[12]
- ↑ [13]
- ↑ [14]
- ↑ "Boeing KC-97L". USAF Museum. http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=374. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
- ↑ "KC-97 Stratotanker". Federation of American Scientists WMD Resources. http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/bomber/kc-97.htm. Retrieved 2011-12-02.
Bibliography[]
- Bach, Martin: Boeing 367 Stratofreighter, Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, Aero Spacelines Guppies. NARA Verlag, Allershausen 1996, ISBN 3-925671-18-8.
- Bowers, Peter M.: Boeing Aircraft since 1916. Putnam Aeronautical Books, London 1989, ISBN 0-85177-804-6.
- Swanborough, Gordon and Bowers, Peter M.: United States Military Aircraft since 1909. Putnam Aeronautical Books, London 1989, ISBN 0-85177-816-X.
External links[]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to KC-97 Stratotanker. |
- KC-97 page at the National Museum of the United States Air Force
- Airworthy KC-97 Angel of Deliverance
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The original article can be found at Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter and the edit history here.