On alert with SAC’s KC-97 tankers

INSIGHTS BOEING C-97 KC-97F 51-0246 with B-47B Stratojet 51-2263 on the boom. USAF The majority of C-97 production involved the KC-97 tanker versions. Much of the aircrew duty time was spent on alert at their home base. Nuclear-armed strategic bombers were located on hardstandings close to the end of the runway. Adjacent were an equal number of KC-97s. Aircrew for the alert bombers and tankers, together with support personnel, were housed in purpose-built accommodation bordering the dedicated hardstandings. The seven