Hawaii Stratotanker bound for US Air Force Museum

On 30 April 2022, the public is invited to join and welcome a Boeing KC-135R Stratotanker to the collection of the National Museum of the USAF at Wright Patterson AFB near Dayton (OH). The HH coded Stratotanker, with serial number 60-0329 (msn 18104/T0443), will come from the inventory of the 203d Air Refueling Squadron, a unit of the Hawaii Air National Guard's 154th Wing, located at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam near Honolulu (HI).

KC-135R 60-0329, joining the collection of the National Museum of the United States Air Force, accomplished an unprecedented refuelling operation that saved lives. However, the distinction did not occur during the relative safety of developmental testing. While conducting wartime refuelling operations in and over the Gulf of Tonkin (Vietnam) in May 1967, the Stratotanker received an emergency refuelling request from a six Navy planes; two A-3 Skywarriors, two F-8 Crusaders, and two F-4 Phantoms.

The KC-135 crew broke contact with the USAFs F-104s being fuelled at that time and went to meet the Navy planes. The emergency refuelling operation had to be conducted at 5,000 feet because the Navy planes did not have enough fuel to climb to a higher altitude. 

While refuelling one of the A-3s, one of the F-8s ran critically low on fuel. The KC-135 crew guided the F-8 to the A-3s refuelling boom and daisy chained a refuelling process from the KC-135 to the A-3 to the F-8. 

The group then repeated the process with the other two planes. In the aftermath, the USAF recognised the significance of this operation by awarding the crew the 1967 Mackay Trophy for most meritorious flight of the year.

Credit photos: USAF