بوينغ كي بي-29 سوبرفورتريس

مصدر القسم: باوغر ^{[ 1 ]} وناشونال ^{[ 4 ]}

The B-29 played an important role in developing the effective use of aerial refueling during the late 1940s. The first aircraft involved in this programme were the KB-29M tanker and B-29MR receiver. At first, a grappling system, known as the looped hose method, was used; the tanker would enter formation flight behind, above and to the left of the receiver. It would then unreel a hauling cable attached to a 55-pound (25 kg) weight to make it dangle near vertically. The receiver would trail a hauling cable ending in a drag cone (to make this trail near horizontally) and a grapnel. With both cables trailed, the tanker would cross to the right of the receiver so the two cables snagged each other. With cables snagged, the tanker hauled both into its fuselage where the receiver's cable was connected to the tanker's hose. This was then hauled into the receiver. After connecting with internal fuel compartments pumping would begin. When the receiver was full the process was reversed allowing the tanker to recover its hose and the receiver its hauling cable. While this system was clumsy, it was often used in the late 1940s before a better system was developed. It was most notably used to refuel the Lucky Lady II during her famous circumnavigation of the globe in 1949. This helped sway the argument as to whether the USAF or US Navy should provide the US's nuclear delivery capability. The USAF won with the consequential massive expansion of the USAF's Strategic Air Command and cancellation of the US Navy's super carriers.

The looped hose method was only of use with large multi-crew planes since crew members were required to assist in the hauling in. A modified method known as the probe and drogue system was developed to allow single seat aircraft to be refuelled in the air. With jet fighters suffering from short range there was a need for these to be refuelled in the air and several KB-29Ms were modified to use 'probe-and-drogue' systems, in which the refueling hose has a torus-shaped para-drogue attached to the end, and the receiving aircraft has a probe on its nose or wing, which the pilot manoeuvres into the drogue to link the hose.

One KB-29M, redesignated YKB-29T, was modified to have another two refueling hoses on its wingtip. It served as the prototype for the KB-50D.

The refuelling systems were developed and installed by Flight Refuelling Ltd, at Tarrant Rushton in the United Kingdom.

Section source: Baugher^[2] and National^[5]

في محاولة لتحسين نظام التزود بالوقود التقليدي، طورت شركة بوينغ نظام ذراع التزود بالوقود الطائر الصلب ، والذي استُخدم لأول مرة في طائرة KB-29P . تم تركيب الذراع في الطرف الخلفي للطائرة، واستُخدمت مجموعة أسطح تحكم على شكل ذيل على شكل حرف V لتحقيق الاستقرار في نهايتها. وبفضل أسطح التحكم على شكل ذيل على شكل حرف V، والتي لا تزال تُستخدم في معظم طائرات التزود بالوقود التابعة لسلاح الجو الأمريكي في القرن الحادي والعشرين، أصبح بإمكان المشغل التحكم في الذراع. اختارت قيادة الطيران الاستراتيجية (SAC) نظام ذراع التزود بالوقود الطائر كطريقة مفضلة لتزويد قاذفاتها بالوقود، ونظرًا للحجم الهائل الذي وصلت إليه هذه القيادة، أصبح هذا النظام الطريقة الأكثر شيوعًا للتزود بالوقود أثناء الطيران في سلاح الجو الأمريكي، واستُخدم في طائرات KC-97 ، وكذلك في طائرات التزود بالوقود الحديثة مثل KC-135 ستراتوتانكر ، و KC-10 إكستندر ، و KC-46 بيغاسوس . كانت طائرة KB-29P تُشغّل من قبل السرب 420 للتزود بالوقود جواً، المتمركز في قاعدة سكولثورب الجوية التابعة لسلاح الجو الملكي البريطاني في نورفولك، خلال منتصف خمسينيات القرن الماضي. ومن عام 1954 إلى عام 1957، كان السرب 407 للتزود بالوقود جواً متمركزاً في قاعدة غريت فولز الجوية . وفي وقت لاحق، تم تغيير اسم القاعدة إلى قاعدة مالمستروم الجوية .