Aerial
Refueling of Tactical Aircraft
A SAC KC-135 tanker refuels
an F-4 while a wingman waits his turn.
The War in Southeast Asia
was fought at great cost, including the loss of more than 58,000 American
lives. After many years reflection over the loss of friends in a war our
country lost, I’ve come to believe that through their sacrifices, they
helped pay for advances in the American military that helped with the cold war
and help in our ongoing war against terrorism.
For example, I think in terms of advances in precision-guided
munitions, side-firing gunships, the massive use of helicopters for ground
troops and aeromedical evacuation from the battlefield, rapid aeromedical
evacuation from the theater to CONUS, deep penetration Search and Rescue for
downed aircrewmen, B-52s for conventional bombing; etc. I see the transition
to the routine aerial refueling of tactical aircraft as a major advance.
Prior to the Vietnam War,
the USAF’s fleet of KC-135 aerial tankers operated almost exclusively in
support of SAC’s force of intercontinental bombers faced off against the
Soviet Union. The main exceptions were the annual deployments of tactical
fighters to Europe and South Korea in exercises such as Reforger to
demonstrate our capability to rapidly deploy CONUS-based forces to scenes of
rising tension.
From very early on in the
War in Southeast Asia, SAC’s KC-135s were integrated in the battle plans to
take the war to North Vietnam using Thai-based F-105s and F-4s.
Even though the distance from Thai bases to targets in North Vietnam
were relatively short, aircraft payloads were increased by hitting tankers
both inbound to and outbound from the target.
As the years passed, this became such a routine that virtually our
entire tactical force gained experience that would prove useful in winning
future wars.
