Thinking Outside the Box by bmac62
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Description
...See that big hook on top of the nose of this plane?
...In the early 1950s Cold War, the US Air Force had a dilemma. It was flying huge propeller driven B-36 bombers that were too slow to survive Soviet Air Defenses...or even to get to assigned targets.
...Early jet fighters were fast but had relatively short ranges and aerial refueling was still an unproven concept.
...The RF-84K Thunderflash was designed to be carried underneath a modified B-36 near to a reconnaissance or attack target, be released for a dash to the target and return to hook back up for a return to home base.
...prototypes proved the system worked but with even the most experienced pilots there were many near disasters during rehook-up. Imagine flying several hundred miles per hour a few feet from another aircraft and trying to thread a needle with that hook! Yikes:)
...by 1956, more advanced aircraft and reliable mid-air refueling techniques allowed this program to be shelved.
...for the aviation enthusiasts among you who'd like to see what this complex arrangement looked like, Click Here.
Bill
P.S. Location: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, Dayton, Ohio.
"Automotive Abstract"
Comments (33)
prutzworks
cool POV and story
Buffalo1 Online Now!
I never knew they tried this lash-up with a Thunderflash recon plane. Great POV.
Rainastorm
Humm...well that is a lot of info I did not know...for some reason my knowledge of planes has grown quite a bit over the last few months...haha...I will add this to the list! :-) You should have seen us at the airports Bill..."Oh there's one!!" click, click..."Oh look, haven't seen one of those yet!!" click, click People around us must have thought us crazy! LOL