Inflight refuelling was tested pre war with civilian trans-atlantic flying boats (and had been tested earlier in 1923 with USAAC aircraft).
Has anyone seen anything to say why it wasn’t used to extend the range of aircraft for the Battle of the Atlantic?
By: PMN1 - 1st October 2006 at 16:35
i don’t think the tanker aircraft had sufficent range to fly to the middle, refuel someone else, and then get back again.
That doesn’t stop its use now, in any case, would you necessarily have to fly all the way to the middle to get a useful extension to the receiving aircraft’s endurance?
By: RPSmith - 30th September 2006 at 02:09
Perhaps Cobham’s trials were not pursued after 1940 when IIRC the AW.23 they had been using was destroyed when Ford Aerodrome was bombeb in 1940??
Roger Smith.
By: bloodnok - 29th September 2006 at 17:17
i don’t think the tanker aircraft had sufficent range to fly to the middle, refuel someone else, and then get back again.
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September 29, 2006 at 4:25 pm