421st ARS Boeing YKB-29T-90-BW Superfortress 1954

The Boeing KB-29 was a modified

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

B-29 Superfortress for

air refueling Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft ...

needs by the

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

. Two primary versions were developed and produced: KB-29M and KB-29P. The 509th and 43d Air Refueling Squadrons (

Walker AFB Walker Air Force Base is a closed United States Air Force base located three miles (5 km) south of the central business district of Roswell, New Mexico. It was opened in 1941 as an Army Air Corps flying school and was active during World ...

, NM and Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ respectively) were created in 1948 to operate the KB-29M tankers. The

303d Bombardment Wing 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

at Davis-Monthan AFB flew B-29s and KB-29s from 1951 to 1953 that provided training for strategic

bombardment A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire or by dropping bombs from aircraft on fortifications, combatants, or towns and buildings. Prior to World War I, the term was only applied to the bombardment of defenseless or undefended objects, ...

and air refueling operations to meet SAC's global commitments.Strategic-Air-Command.com's 303d BW
Davis-Monthan AFB Deployed at Sidi Slimane AB, French Morocco, 5 Oct – 6 November 1952.

Variants

KB-29M

: ''Section source: Baugher and National'' 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 55lb 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 ''Lucky Lady II'' is a United States Air Force Boeing B-50 Superfortress that became the first airplane to circle the world nonstop. Its 1949 journey, assisted by in-flight refueling, lasted 94 hours and 1 minute. The plane later suffered an acc ...

'' during her famous

circumnavigation Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first recorded circumnavigation of the Earth was the Mage ...

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 Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft a ...

' 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 manoeuvers 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 Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This ca ...

, at RAF Tarrant Rushton, Tarrant Rushton in the United Kingdom.

KB-29P

: ''Section source: Baugher and NationalNational Museum Fact Sheet on KB-29P variant
Official Site''

In an effort to improve on the probe-and-drogue system, Boeing developed a Aerial refueling#Boom and Receiver, rigid flying boom system, which was first used on the KB-29P. The boom was mounted on the aftmost end of the KB-29P, and used a V-tail-like set of control surfaces for stabilization at its far end. With the V-tail-style surfaces, still used on most USAF tanker aircraft in the 21st century, the boom could be manoeuvered by the operator. The flying boom system was selected by SAC as the preferred method for refuelling their bombers and, because of the massive size attained by SAC, it became the most common method for Aerial Refueling, In-Flight Refueling in the USAF and was used on KC-97 Stratofreighter, KC-97s and also on modern tankers such as the KC-135 Stratotanker, the KC-10 Extender, and the KC-46 Pegasus. The KB-29P was operated by 420th Air Refueling Squadron based at RAF Sculthorpe Norfolk during the mid-1950s. From 1954 to 1957, the 407th Air Refueling Squadron was based at Great Falls Air Force Base. Later the base name was changed to Malmstrom Air Force Base.

Specifications (KB-29P)

References

Sources

* Swanborough, F.G. and Peter M. Bowers. ''United States Military Aircraft since 1909''. London:Putnam, First edition, 1963.

External links

Baugher's Encyclopedia of Bombers
B-29 Index Page {{DEFAULTSORT:Boeing Kb-29 1940s United States special-purpose aircraft 1940s United States military tanker aircraft Boeing military aircraft, KB-29 United States military tanker aircraft Air refueling Four-engined tractor aircraft Boeing B-29 Superfortress, KB-29 Mid-wing aircraft Four-engined piston aircraft