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Boeing KC-97 Stratotanker

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KC-97 Stratotanker
KC97
KC-97 in Ohio Air National Guard markings
Role Strategic tanker
Manufacturer Boeing
Introduction 1950
Retired 1978
Primary users United States Air Force
Spanish Air Force
Number built 816
Developed from C-97 Stratofreighter

The Boeing KC-97 Stratotanker was a United States strategic tanker aircraft based on the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter. It was succeeded by the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker.

Design and development[]

The KC-97 Stratotanker was an aerial refueling tanker variant of the C-97 Stratofreighter (which was itself based on the 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.

Operational history[]

A-7 180ARS

Two USAF A-7 Corsair IIs refueling from a KC-97.

The USAF began operating the KC-97 in 1950. It purchased a total of 816 KC-97s from Boeing, as opposed to only 74 of the C-97 cargo version. 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 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 J-47 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[1]
XC-97
prototype, 3 built.
YC-97
cargo transport, 6 built.
YC-97A
troop carrier, 3 built.
YC-97B
fitted with 80 airliner-style seats, one in 1954 redesignated VC-97D, retired to MASDC 15 December 1969.
C-97A
transport, 50 built.
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.
C-97C
medical evacuation transports, 14 C-97As converted during the Korean War (also designated MC-97).
VC-97D
staff transport conversions, 1 YC-97A, 2 C-97As converted, plus the YC-97B. Later designated C-97D.
C-97E
KC-97Es converted to transports.
KC-97E
aerial refueling tankers with rear loading doors permanently closed, 60 built.
C-97F
KC-97Fs converted to transports.
KC-97F
3800hp R-4360-59B engines and minor changes, 159 built.
C-97G
135 KC-97Gs converted to transports.
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.
KC-97G
dual-role aerial refueling tankers/cargo transportation aircraft. KC-97G models carried underwing fuel tanks. 592 built.
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
KC-97Gs converted to troop transports.
KC-97L
81 KC-97Gs modified with two J47 turbojet engines on underwing pylons.

Operators[]

Boeing KC-97L Stratotanker Albacete 3

Spanish Boeing KC-97L Stratotanker at Albacete

Boeing KC-97L Stratofreighter Zeppelinheim USAF

KC-97L Zeppelinheim

Flag of Spain Spain

Israel

United States

The following USAF wing organizations flew the various KC-97 models at some time during their existence:[2]

Active duty[]

Air National Guard[]

Accidents and incidents involving the KC-97[]

  • 9 May 1957 - KC-97F-55-BO, 51-0258, c/n 16325, 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.[3]
  • 18 July 1957 - The 380th Bomb Wing suffers its first peacetime major accident when KC-97G-28-BO, 52-2737, c/n 16768, 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.[4] Three survivors.[5]
  • 29 October 1957 - KC-97G-27-BO Stratotanker, 52-2711, c/n 16742, of the 509th Bomb Wing,[6] 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.[7][8]
  • 14 December 1959 - KC-97G Stratotanker, 53-0231, c/n 17113, 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." [9] 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.[10]
  • 15 April 1960 - Twenty-four airmen escape with their lives when KC-97G-23-BO Stratotanker, 52-0919, c/n 16612,[5] 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.[11][12]
  • 27 June 1960 - A KC-97G-27-BO, 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 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. KWF are Lt. William Burgess, commander, of Indian Lake, New York; Technical Sgt. Robert Costello, boom operator, of Springfield, Illinois; Lt. Raymond Kisonas, navigator, of Waterbury, Connecticut; Lt. Lewis Turner, co-pilot, of Spokane, Washington; and Master Sgt. Harold Young, flight engineer, of Selma, Alabama. Wreckage covers five acres and is still there.[13][14][15]
  • 17 September 1971 - KC-97G, 4X-FPR / 033, c/n 16714, of the Heyl Ha'Avir (Israeli Air Force), is shot down by Egyptian missiles over Suez, Egypt, seven of eight-man crew on board killed.[16]

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, and N1365N known as Tanker 97 and operated until recently as an aerial firefighting airtanker by Hawkins & Powers.

Static displays include:

In popular culture[]

The Stratotanker is shown in Strategic Air Command, refuelling a B-47 and in Bombers B-52 refueling B-52s.

Photo gallery[]

Specifications (KC-97L)[]

Data from USAF Museum [17] and FAS.[18]

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[]

References[]

  1. ↑ for KC-97: AIRTime Publishing. (2006). International Air Power Review, Vol 20. ISBN 1-880588-91-9
  2. ↑ Rarenstein, Charles. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings: Lineage and Honors Histories 1947-1977. ISBN 0-912799-12-9
  3. ↑ http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19570509-1
  4. ↑ Strategic-air-command.com: Plattsburgh AFB, NY - SAC - 380th Bomb Wing - B-47, B-52, FB111A Retrieved on 2011-12-1.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_serials/1952.html
  6. ↑ JoeBaugher.com: 1952 USAF Serial Numbers, Retrieved on 2011-12-1
  7. ↑ Smithsonian Institute, "All That Remains", Air & Space Magazine, Washington, D.C., November 2002. Retrieved on 2011-12-1
  8. ↑ AircraftArchaeology.com: KC-97G, #52-2711 crashed 29 Oct 1957, 35 miles north of Flagstaff., Retrieved on 2011-12-1
  9. ↑ Associated Press, "Two Chutists Found Safe", Lincoln Evening Journal and Nebraska State Journal, Tuesday 15 December 1959, page 3.
  10. ↑ Aviation-Safety.net Accident: 14 Dec 1959 KC-97G Stratotanker, Retrieved on 2011-12-1
  11. ↑ http://www.lincolnkings.com/lafb/crashdigest.htm
  12. ↑ http://www.307bwassoc.org/memberphotos2.htm
  13. ↑ MeWreckchasers.com: REMEMBERING THE CREW OF KC-97G 52-2728, by Peter Noddin, Dirago Flyer, October 2001
  14. ↑ 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
  15. ↑ SunJournal.com: Oxford Hills The ultimate sacrifice; wreck sites a reminder of military plane disasters, Retrieved on 2011-12-1
  16. ↑ http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19710917-1
  17. ↑ "Boeing KC-97L". USAF Museum. http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=374. Retrieved 2011-12-02. 
  18. ↑ "KC-97 Stratotanker". Federation of American Scientists WMD Resources. http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/usa/bomber/kc-97.htm. Retrieved 2011-12-02. 

External links[]

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