b'Refueling Through The CenturyThe first attempts at air refueling started in 1921 with five-gallon gas cans. On October 2, 1921, a US Navy Lieutenant in the back of aHuff-Daland HD-4 used a grappling hook to snag a gas can from a float in the Potomac River, and on November 21, 1921 a wing walker with a gas can strapped to his back climbed from an airborne Lincoln Standard to a Curtiss JN-4 and proceeded to pour the gas into the aircrafts tank. Air Mobility CommandHistory Office By Erin Lasleywww.amc.af.mil/About-Us/AMC-History/View/Article/ 1475424/refueling-through-the-century/It may be hard to believe, but nearly 100 yearshave passed since the first air-to-air refueling took place in 1923. On June 27th of that year, two specially equipped The first air-to airDe Haviland DH-4Bs took flight and one flew six hours refueling using a gravity-flow and 38 minutes while the other served as a refueler using hose occurred in 1923a gravity-flow hose. The Army Air Service saw this as a promising start until tragedy occurred on November 18, 1923, when the refueling hose became entangled around the wings of the aircraft and killed the pilot of the refueler aircraft. The Army Air Service pretty much scraped theidea of aerial refueling after the accident. As other countries fiddled around with the idea ofaerial refueling during the 1920s, the U.S. concentrated on demobilization after World War I and the home front defense. It wasnt until 1929 when the U.S. jumped backinto the air refueling game and broke records. During thefirst week of January, 1929, the whos who of Army Air Corps pioneers showed up to take a whack at refueling. Using an aircraft named the Question Mark, Major CarlU.S. Air Force photosA. Spatz (later spelled Spaatz), Captain Ira C. Eaker, Lieutenant Elwood Quesada, Lieutenant Harry A. HalversonTo wage war against the Empire of Japan, the U.S. Army and crewman Staff Sergeant Roy W. Hooe, flew the FokkerAir Forces would need to fly its aircraft further than it had C-2 high winged monoplane, with two 96-gallon wing tanks,ever before. With the assistance of civilian contractors,for a total of 150 hours and 40 minutes between Santathe Army Air Forces experimented with new concepts ofMonica and San Diego, California. While in the air, two Douglas C-1 bi-planes with 150-gallon tanks refueled theair refueling. Question Mark over the seven days of flying.Using modified B-24 Liberators as tankers, the Army Air This was all accomplished with ground, hand and Forces were able to extend the B-17 Flying Fortresss range flashlight signals as radios during 1929 were too heavy to 1,500 miles. However, by 1943, manufacturers in the and unreliable.U.S. were already stretched to the limit and were not able As historic and record breaking as the Question Mark to construct the modified B-24s and B-17s needed for refueling was, the U.S. Army was not impressed enoughrefuelings. Nor was there nearly enough time to train refueling Cue World War II and the fight in the Pacific.aircrews who were needed elsewhere in the fight immediately. 18 Power In The Pines 2023 JBMDLAir and Space Open House'