No story of the SR-71 would be complete without recognizing the importance of the KC-135Q model tankers and their crews in ensuring the successful and safe execution of every mission
The SR-71 would have a minimal range without air refueling, limited to approximately 2,000 nautical miles. With multiple air refuelings, the aircraft’s range could be extended to match the crew’s endurance limits. Numerous missions have surpassed 12,000 nautical miles. Forward basing of the SR-71 and KC-135Q tankers closer together allowed for quicker responses, shorter ranges, reduced mission durations, fewer air refuelings, and improved overall efficiency.
KC-135Q crews and their aircraft had distinct characteristics that set them apart from other Air Force units in multiple ways. As noted by Col. Richard H. Graham, a former Blackbird pilot, in his book SR-71 The Complete Illustrated History of THE BLACKBIRD: The World’s Highest, Fastest Plane, their aircrews were uniquely certified in the specific radio-silent rendezvous procedures used for the Blackbird, and their boom operators were the only personnel authorized to refuel the SR-71. The Q-model tankers were equipped with special plumbing that enabled the transfer of JP-4 and JP-7 fuel among different tanks. Their engines were capable of burning either JP-4 or JP-7 fuel. If the SR-71 landed somewhere JP-7 fuel was not available, the Q-model tankers flew in with the fuel and, through the use of transfer hoses on the ground, were able to refuel the SR-71.
No story of the SR-71 would be complete without recognizing the importance of the KC-135Q model tankers and their crews in ensuring the successful and safe execution of every mission. It can be confidently stated that an SR-71 never encountered fuel shortages, as demonstrated by the story told by former Blackbird pilot David Peters.
‘There are many stories of the loyalty, bravery, and reliability of our Q tanker guys. This is a great one for sure.
‘Ed Bethart and I were flying a mission out of Kadena, and it was definitely thunderstorm season. We were in heavy clouds headed to the tanker after takeoff, and as we got DF and distance contact, we couldn’t see a thing. As we closed in, we had our 2000 ft altitude separation, and at a mile had no contact. So, we told the guys to recheck their altimeter setting because we were coming up a thousand and in 1/2 mile. They confirmed their setting and altitude, and airspeed, so we moved up and in.
‘Still nothing.
‘Restated the whole thing and that we would come up 500 and close to a 1/4 mile. Still nothing then like bursting through a curtain, there he was right where he said he was.’
He continues,
‘We closed for hook up and got contact. I noticed that I kept ducking my head beside something that was hitting the windscreen. It was ice falling off the tanker.
‘I said, “Hey Teddy (Ted Bittel), you have Ice coming off.” About that time, Ed says we are at 290 kts and descending. Of course, Teddy could hear that on the boom interphone, and he said, “Yes, we have had the throttles frozen for the last half hour,” so we are trying to get the speed up for when you get heavier. It all worked out, and we got filled up.
‘However, the weather was so bad when we tried to climb out; we heard very heavy turbulence, rain, and lightning. Tried three times to accelerate but got violent unstarts each time. I tried going to manual inlets to open up and try to make it, but it just couldn’t do it, so we had to abort and return to Kadena.
’In the debrief, the maintenance guys came in and showed us that the waveguide antennas in the nose were gone, totally eroded by the rain. Then Chief Kelly came in and dropped a 20 lb block of ice on the table. He said it came from the flight control mixer quadrant.’
Peters concludes,
‘So, another of those stories where circumstances were incredibly difficult to the point of losing the mission, but not because our incredible Q guys weren’t there for us.’
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Photo by U.S. Air Force and Tony Landis Lockheed
