Did you hear about the time a tanker "towed" a fighter?

SSgt Alex Robinson — Sat, 26 Sep 2015 23:50:11 -0400

http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/the-time-a-tanker-saved-a-fighter-that-was-falling-apar [login to see] ?ref=yfp

The Time A Tanker Saved A Fighter That Was Falling Apart Over The Atlantic

On the 5th of September, 1983, 4 USAF F-4E Phantom jets were flying over the Atlantic en route to Europe along with the support of a KC-135 known as “North Star.” These five aircraft were part of a larger number of Phantoms and tankers on a routine trans-Atlantic flight. To make the crossing, the Phantoms would need to tank a total of 8 times to fill their thirsty engines.

Response by CSM Carl Cunningham made Sep 27 at 2015 12:04 AM

CSM Carl Cunningham — Sun, 27 Sep 2015 00:04:04 -0400

Pretty cool. I love history.

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Sep 27 at 2015 12:18 AM

Capt Seid Waddell — Sun, 27 Sep 2015 00:18:55 -0400

A tanker saved an F-4 when I was in Viet Nam too. The F-4 was streaming fuel from battle damage and looking for a tanker; before he could hook up the F-4 flamed out. The tanker "tobogganed" - descending at the same rate as the F-4 - until the F-4 was able to hook up and get his engines restarted. They flew back to base hooked up and the F-4 landed safely.

Response by SGT Scott Bell made Sep 27 at 2015 9:59 AM

SGT Scott Bell — Sun, 27 Sep 2015 09:59:41 -0400

thanks for sharing.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Sep 27 at 2015 11:55 AM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Sun, 27 Sep 2015 11:55:25 -0400

Fantastic story.

Response by SGT David D. made Sep 28 at 2015 4:46 PM

SGT David D. — Mon, 28 Sep 2015 16:46:46 -0400

Wow, no quit in there game!