All language subtitles for Air.Warriors.S05E02.KC-135.Stratotanker.WEB.h264-CAFFEiNE[eztv]

♪ ♪

Narrator: When thirsty
aircraft need a drink,

The kc-135 serves them up.

Pilot: Looks
like he's taking gas.

Col. Lenderman: Some
people have referred to it as

A flying gas station.

Narrator: Born to
service the cold war,

Tested in the heartland...
Pilot: Mayday. Mayday.

Dr. Hopkins: As with any
new airplane, the kc-135

Had things to work out.

Narrator: ...And christened
in the skies of south vietnam,

Lt. Col. Casteel:
They called us the
young tiger because tigers --

They're very fierce.

Narrator: This flying behemoth
is smack dab in the middle

Of every air campaign.

Rebecca: Without the kc-135
we wouldn't have air power

As we know it today.

Narrator: The
kc-135 stratotanker:

American air
power's unsung hero.

Col. Lenderman: Nobody
kicks "a" without tanker gas.

[♪ theme music ♪]

♪ ♪

Narrator: June
19th, 2013. Afghanistan.

A rocket attack kills
four u.S. Army soldiers.

The taliban
claims responsibility.

The response is
fast and furious.

U.S. Commanders mount an
aggressive air campaign.

U.S. Fighters fly
around the clock,

Watching over
troops on the ground.

Keeping the fighters on
constant patrol is crucial,

But their endurance is
just four hours, or even less.

The solution:
Air-to-air refueling.

For that, they
rely on the kc-135.

Col. Lenderman: Behind
me here is the kc-135,

Known officially
as the stratotanker,

But for those that have
operated it or maintained it

Pretty much just the tanker.

Narrator:
The kc-135 has a hundred
and thirty feet wing span.

It's a hundred and
thirty-six feet long

And almost four stories tall.

It can carry up to two hundred
thousand pounds of fuel.

The stratotanker's
specialty: Pumping gas.

There are tanks in its
forward fuselage, center,

Back fuselage, and upper deck.

There are three
more in each wing.

This flying gas tank is
designed for one crucial thing:

Aerial refueling.

Col. Lenderman: Aerial
refueling is the process

Of taking two aircraft and
getting them into the same spot

In the sky at about the
same time and joining together

And then passing that fuel from
the tanker to the receiver.

[radio chatter]

Col. Lenderman: In-flight
refueling enables the air force

To do what it does, which
is global reach, global power

And global vigilance. Nobody
kicks "a" without tanker gas.

Narrator:
In afghanistan, coalition
pilots fly over twenty types

Of fixed-wing aircraft.
The kc-135 refuels almost all.

Mjr. Baker:
We refueled reconnaissance
aircraft, fire aircraft,

Bomber aircraft.

Narrator: Major derrick baker
has piloted kc-135s in war zones

For more than 9 years.

Mjr. Baker: Usually you
had a pretty general idea

Of what you were
going to refuel that day,

But of course any plan is a
plan until it hits execution

And then all of a
sudden you have to adapt.

Narrator: November 2013.
Operation enduring freedom.

Major baker and his
three-person crew head out

Over the eastern
border near pakistan,

A hotbed for enemy activity.

Mjr. Baker: Our
initial flight plan that day

Was to refuel
several sets of f-16's.

They were pretty much the
biggest part of our gas bill

At that time. Everything
seemed like a normal day to us.

♪ ♪

Narrator: High above
afghanistan, baker and his crew

Meet up with the
f-16s and begin to refuel.

Mjr. Baker: It takes about
five minutes to refuel an f-16.

It's not a huge amount of time,

And it being a fighter aircraft,

They don't take a
huge amount of fuel.

Narrator: Baker is
halfway through the refuel

When he hears a troops in
contact call on the radio.

He knows this is no
longer an ordinary mission.

Mjr. Baker: Troops in contact
is troops that are taking fire

On the ground. When
that comes across the radio,

It perks everybody's ears up.

We know that it's
critical. Lives are at stake.

Narrator: The f-16s
race towards the firefight,

With the kc-135 not far behind.

Mjr. Baker: The gas
was critical for them

To be able to stay
on station longer,

So we decided we
needed to be closer

To where the operations were.

♪ ♪

Narrator: To refuel in a
hurry, the kc-135 relies on

A 12-foot tube attached
to the back of the aircraft.

It's called the boom.

The boom lets
parched aircraft guzzle gas

At a thousand
gallons of fuel per minute.

That's enough fuel in one minute

To operate an average
family car for an entire year.

Col. Lenderman:
The boom extends out

While the receiver
aircraft comes up,

And then the boomer will
fly that boom into a receptacle

And then we offload the fuel.

Narrator: It's a delicate
ballet, two multi-ton aircraft

Flying five hundred miles an
hour, just a dozen feet apart.

Controlling this
carefully choreographed dance

Is a crewman called the boomer.

Pilots get a
seat in the cockpit.

Boomers fly
underneath the cabin floor,

In a compartment
called the boom pod.

Mcfalls: It gives us the optimal
angle to look out the window

And see the receiver aircraft
as he's behind us and below us.

Mcfalls: We're
talking to the receiver,

We're talking to our pilots,

We're making sure
that the other aircraft

Isn't doing anything unsafe.

At times it can be very
stressful because we're

Responsible for two aircraft

In very close
proximity to each other.

♪ ♪

Narrator: Over afghanistan,
major baker and his crew

Pull into position
just outside the firefight.

[explosions]

[gunfire]

It's a dangerous location.

Mjr. Baker: There
was a lot of aircraft,

And we could see that it
was kind of like a beehive.

So we were being
extra vigilant because

We wanted to make sure nobody

Accidentally comes
into our airspace,

Because then we
are in a lot of danger

Of running into that aircraft.

Narrator: A midair collision
isn't the only threat.

Baker's large, defenseless
tanker is an easy target.

Mjr. Baker:
Air defense artillery,
surface-to-air missiles,

Man pads or man
portable air defense systems,

You're always planning
to stay away from danger

As much as you can, but when
you're actually in the mission

You just don't have
time to think about

What the dangers could be.

Narrator: The
kc-135 circles warily,

Refueling the
f-16s again and again.

The jets continue to
pound the enemy below.

[explosions]

Mjr. Baker: One would come up,
get gas for five minutes or so,

And then twenty minutes later
another one would come up.

It was a busier
day than normal, but

It's what we're used to doing
quite often in afghanistan.

Narrator: Baker and
his crew circle patiently.

Two hours later, the
f-16s slow their attack.

Mjr. Baker: We could tell
that the troops in contact

Was starting to wind down,

And it was just going to flow
back into a normal day for us.

Narrator: In the boom
pod, the boomer gets ready

To refuel the
f-16s one last time.

Mjr. Baker: We were
going to top him off

With a little bit more gas,
they were going to go home,

And we would go on to
to our next refueling.

When he came up, that's
when things got a little crazy.

♪ ♪

Narrator: The two
aircraft line up.

Before they can
connect, the boomer notices

Something wrong with the f-16.

Mjr. Baker: Our boom
operator, he said that

It looked like a very
large cloud of fuel spray

Was coming out of the
back of the aircraft.

And it was coming out
from a location that it

Doesn't usually come
out of by the engine.

Narrator: The kc-135 acts fast,
connecting the boom once again

And giving the fighter gas.

But the f-16
radios back bad news.

Mjr. Baker: The gas
that we were giving him

Was coming out of the
back of his aircraft.

He was not receiving
fuel in his fuel gauge

That he normally would.

Narrator: The two planes
fly over enemy territory.

For the f-16, bailing
out is not an option.

Mjr. Baker: We were
right on the border

Of pakistan and afghanistan,
and our combat operations

Were really
intense in that area.

So we didn't want him to
be in that kind of danger.

Narrator: Baker
radios his boom operator

And tells him to keep
connected, no matter what.

Mjr. Baker: We knew
that he wasn't going to

Be able to remain airborne
on the amount of gas he had.

The fuel leak was
still getting worse.

There was more spray
coming out of his aircraft.

And we could tell in his
voice that the situation

Was pretty dire.

♪ ♪

Narrator: High over afghanistan,
major derrick baker

And his kc-135 crew pump
gas into a leaking f-16.

Fuel sprays out of
the f-16's engine.

Without constant refueling, the
f-16's pilot may have to bail.

Mjr. Baker:
Essentially at that point

We're just feeding his engines
and trying to keep his tank

At the current level so
he doesn't run out of gas.

Narrator: The kc-135
and the f-16 fly connected

Through enemy skies.

One sudden move from either
aircraft could spell disaster.

Mjr. Baker: We did
have a lot to worry about.

As you can imagine,
having two aircraft

Really close to each other,

In fact actually
touching each other,

And then conducting air
refueling over enemy territory

You are going to
have some danger.

Narrator: It's thirty
minutes to the border,

Plenty of time for
something to go wrong.

Mjr. Baker: We were a lot
slower and less maneuverable.

We are also looking out
to make sure nobody decides

To start shooting at us as well.

Narrator: Finally, the
air base is within sight.

The f-16 disconnects
and descends downward.

♪ ♪

Baker makes a radio call and
confirms mission accomplished.

The jet is safely on the ground.

Mjr. Baker: It felt
really good to know

That we were part of
saving the aircraft,

And also the bigger
part -- the pilot's life.

Narrator: With the f-16 safe
on the ground, the tanker crew

Turns its attention
towards the next mission.

Mjr. Baker: Everybody is
always going to need gas.

It's a high demand.

And right after he got on the
ground, after a quick high five,

We went off to another refueling
and continued the day.

Narrator:
In afghanistan, kc-135s
offload millions of gallons

Of gas every month,

Allowing u.S.
Aircraft to go anywhere

Without ever
having to land to refuel.

Mjr. Baker: Missions
don't happen without gas.

Fighters, bombers,
reconnaissance aircraft,

None of that
stuff is going to fly

If it doesn't have a
tanker to be able to keep it

Up in the air.

Narrator: Staying
up in the air forever,

And giving american
air power unlimited reach.

That's been the kc-135's
mission for over fifty years.

♪ ♪

August 29, 1949. A
remote test site in kazakhstan.

Soviet scientists unveil
their latest weapon...

[explosion]

...The atomic bomb.

For the united
states of america,

It's an unwelcome surprise.

Rebecca: The
soviets' atomic bomb

Came as almost a
complete shock to the world.

Narrator: Rebecca grant is one
of the foremost civilian experts

On air force
history and aircraft.

Rebecca: The u.S. Was no longer
the sole nuclear superpower.

This meant game
on for the cold war.

Narrator: Capitalist america
locks into a nuclear arms race

With its communist foes.

Rebecca: The soviet
union, they'd just taken over

Most of eastern europe,
and there was great fear

That the large soviet army

Could roll right
through western europe

With almost nothing to stop it.

Armies were still poised
on the brink of another war,

And this time they
were poised on the brink

Of a potential nuclear war.

[explosion]

♪ ♪

Narrator:
Stockpiling nuclear weapons

Quickly becomes
priority number one

For the u.S.
Department of defense,

A priority it entrusts
to an air force department

Called strategic air command.

Dr. Hopkins:
Strategic air command, sac,

Was the ability to
project the atomic bomb

And conventional bombs on
targets in the soviet union.

Narrator: Dr.
Robert s. Hopkins iii

Is an aviation historian
and former kc-135 pilot.

Dr. Hopkins: Sac became
really the favored component

Of the u.S. Air force,
and it ultimately became

The cornerstone of
american defense strategy.

Narrator: Strategic air
command's most powerful weapon

Isn't its nuclear warheads.

It's the man who controls
them: General curtis lemay.

Lemay is determined to beat
the soviets at their own game.

Dr. Hopkins: Lemay argued that
we have to preserve capitalism,

And if communism is a threat,
we need to defeat communism.

He never used
the word deterrence.

It was always defeat.

Narrator: Lemay's talk
gets a lot of attention.

But he's missing the
tools to back up his plans.

Rebecca: When lemay took
over strategic air command,

He was horrified
at what he found.

Planes lacked spare parts,
the crews didn't have training

In the kind of
missions that they needed,

And his bombers
didn't really have the range

To execute nuclear attacks.
Lemay set out to fix all that.

Narrator: Lemay's first order
of business: Get more planes.

In just two years, the number
of atomic-capable bombers

Grows from less than thirty-six
to over two hundred and fifty.

That solves the
problem of numbers.

But it doesn't solve
the problem of range.

Rebecca: Lemay's vision
for strategic air command

Was that this force would
head straight for targets

In the soviet union and attack
them with nuclear weapons,

Hit the targets
precisely and return home.

Narrator: The heart
of the soviet empire

Is deep in enemy territory, too
far for the bombers to reach.

Rebecca: No bomber at
the time had enough fuel

To surely execute
that mission and return.

So the solution was
to employ a technology

That was waiting in the wings,

And that was
in-flight air refueling.

♪ ♪

Narrator: Airmen have
dreamed of unlimited flight

Ever since they took to the sky.

Rebecca: It was
obvious to airmen that

Range was a huge limitation,
and by the early 1920s

Experiments on air refueling
technology were well underway.

Rebecca: One of the first
experiments was more of a stunt.

A wing walker took a can of gas

And walked from one
biplane into another biplane

And poured the can
of gas into that tank.

♪ ♪

Narrator: In 1935, british
aviation pioneer sir alan cobham

Comes up with a better method.
He calls it looped hose.

In the looped hose method,
the tanker trails a cable

With a 50-pound weight.

The receiver trails a
cable with a grappling hook.

The two aircraft cross,
trying to link these lines.

When the lines catch
on, the receiver operator

Attaches the tanker's
line to his fuel tank.

Then, the tanker climbs
high above the receiver,

Using gravity to
allow the fuel to flow.

♪ ♪

In 1949, the air force
shows off the new technology.

A b-50 superfortress
named lucky lady ii

Teams up with
four kb-29m tankers,

Using the looped
hose method to refuel.

The lucky lady remains
in the air for 94 hours

As it flies around the world.

Dr. Hopkins: What's
amazingly complicated

Is just coordinating
that kind of flight.

We didn't have global
communications networks,

So to tell a tanker
crew the bomber is airborne

And be ready to refuel
him at such and such a time

Was still limited to telegrams,
transatlantic cables,

And occasionally
high-frequency radios.

So air refueling to get
lucky lady around the world

Was an extremely
difficult undertaking.

Narrator: The flight is
impressive, but not perfect.

Rebecca: The looped hose
had a lot of disadvantages.

One, trouble
reeling out the hose.

Two, trouble
locking on the hose,

And finally, problems
with the rate of flow of fuel.

It was time for a much
better technology solution.

Narrator: In 1949 cobham
tests a new way to refuel:

Probe and drogue.

In the probe and
drogue method, the tanker

Unspools a long hose.

At its end is a
basket, or drogue.

On the receiver side: A probe.

The pilot on the receiver
side maneuvers the probe

Into the tanker's drogue.

When the probe forms
a seal with the basket,

The fuel starts pumping.

It's good enough

For the navy and the
air force's smaller jets.

But strategic air
command's large bombers

Demand something more.

Dr. Hopkins: Sac found
that the probe-and-drogue

Could not
transfer fuel fast enough

To refuel a heavy bomber
in a short amount of time.

Rebecca: Aerial
refueling had to happen

Not just between one
tanker and one receiver

But between dozens of tankers

And potentially
hundreds of receivers

To make lemay's vision
of nuclear deterrents work.

He needed a method that
could be reliable and quick

And refuel hundreds of
aircrafts, not just one.

Narrator: Soon after taking
office, lemay asks boeing

To find a faster way
to deliver the fuel.

Rebecca: They came up with
what we call the flying boom.

Narrator:
In the flying boom method, the
tanker extends a steerable boom.

The receiver has a
receptacle to catch it.

The receiver pilot
flies his aircraft

Into the "contact"
position, then holds it steady

While the boom operator steers
the boom into the receptacle.

The boom latches in, and
sends a signal to the tanker

To start pumping gas.

Rebecca: The flying
boom was a big success.

And the number one reason
was it allowed the tanker

To transfer fuel at
a much higher rate.

Narrator: Strategic air
command adds the flying boom

To its kb-29s and kb-50s

And commissions a
tanker called the kc-97

With a flying boom built in.

But the kc-97's piston-powered
engines make it a poor match

For strategic air
command's new jets.

Dr. Hopkins: As a
simple matter of aerodynamics,

A piston-powered tanker and
a jet-powered bomber receiver

Were utterly incompatible.

♪ ♪

Narrator: Lemay has the
jets. He has the pilots.

To defeat the soviets,
he needs one more thing:

A jet-powered tanker.

Rebecca:
Lemay believed if he had the
jet bomber and the tanker

That was an
unstoppable combination.

♪ ♪

Narrator: May
1954. The pentagon.

The air force puts out a
call for the new jet tanker.

The prize: A contract
with a projected value

Of 2 billion dollars.

Behind the scenes, lemay
already has his winner: Boeing.

Its 367-80 has
been in development

For more than two years.

Dr. Hopkins: Boeing
president bill allen

Had the vision to understand
the need for a jet tanker.

He committed fifteen
million dollars of boeing money

To build a four-engine
jet transport jet tanker.

Narrator: A lockheed
design wins the competition.

But while lockheed brags about

What its tanker will be able to
do, boeing's is already flying.

Dr. Hopkins: Boeing
owned several b-52s.

A b-52 was able to
refuel from the dash 80.

So, although lockheed won the
competition, the air force said,

"until lockheed can
build all these tankers,

Let's buy some boeing
tankers based on the dash 80."

And ultimately lockheed's
winning design was scrapped.

Boeing got the
contract to build 820 kc-135s.

Lemay needed tankers
and he needed them now.

♪ ♪

Narrator: July 18th,
1956. Renton, washington.

Boeing rolls out the
kc-135a stratotanker.

The tanker's fuel
capacity is 31,000 gallons,

More than double the kc-97's.
It flies 125 mph faster.

To show off the new
tanker's range, a kc-135

Flies nonstop from the
united states to buenos aires,

With lemay at the controls.

The six-thousand-mile
journey sets a world record

For long-range,
non-refueled flight.

Rebecca: This sent a strong
message to the soviet union.

There was no
target, no point on earth

That couldn't be
reached by sac's bombers,

As long as they had those
tankers to help them out.

♪ ♪

Narrator: In July 1957
lemay makes another move,

Becoming the air
force's vice chief of staff.

His old command post
continues its nuclear mission.

Strategic air command
taps some of its best pilots

To fly the new tanker.

They train hard to
master control of the plane.

Dr. Hopkins: As
with any new airplane,

The kc-135 had
things to work out.

Although boeing designed
a really good airplane,

It wasn't perfect.

♪ ♪

Narrator:
January 1965. Mcconnell
air force base, wichita.

A kc-135 takes off on a
routine refueling exercise.

Rebecca: The plane encountered
trouble almost right away.

The crew started dumping fuel.

The plane banked to the left

As the pilot made a
frantic mayday call.

Pilot: Mayday. Mayday.

Rebecca: And then
the jet took a nosedive.

♪ ♪

Narrator: 1965. Wichita, kansas.

A kc-135 refueling tanker takes
off on a training mission.

Just moments later,
it falls from the sky.

The consequences
are devastating.

Rebecca: The kc-135 ended
up crashing in a neighborhood,

Spewing 32,000 gallons of
jet fuel onto the ground.

Narrator: The crash leaves
a crater fifteen feet deep.

A dozen homes go up in
flames. Thirty people die.

Investigators discover
that a mechanical failure

Caused the pilot
to lose control.

Rebecca: The tragedy
proved that flying gas

May look like the
easiest thing in the world,

But it isn't always the
easiest thing in the world.

Narrator: The crash
forces an examination

Of the whole tanker fleet.

No deficiencies are revealed,

But concerns about
the tanker remain.

Eight months later,

The kc-135 has a chance
to redeem itself in war.

♪ ♪

August 1965. The united states
finds itself face to face

With the communists. But not in
the soviet union, in vietnam.

The air force sends its
best aircraft off to battle.

But strategic air command
declines to join the fight.

Dr. Hopkins: Sac
opposed using b-52s and kc-135s

In southeast asia.

Sac had one mission,

And that was to put
h-bombs on the kremlin.

Narrator:
In vietnam, the air force
relies on piston-powered kb-50s

To refuel its aircraft.

But the kb-50s are soon
grounded with corrosion,

And the kc-97s
can't pick up the slack.

The kc-97 is too slow
for the supersonic fighters,

So strategic air command
reluctantly sends its kc-135.

The stratotanker's
young pilots are eager

To put their training to use.

Lt. Col. Casteel: So
somebody in sac headquarters

Came up with a neat name that we
all loved called young tiger.

Narrator:
Lieutenant john casteel
was an aircraft commander

And kc-135 pilot
for twelve years.

Lt. Col. Casteel: They
called us the young tiger

Because tigers are very fierce.

We considered
ourselves fierce too I guess.

Narrator: May 31, 1967.
Casteel and his kc-135 crew

Fly through the gulf of tonkin.

They normally fly with a boom,
but today they're equipped

With a drogue adapter
to support two f-104s.

Lt. Col. Casteel: Our mission
was to refuel the two 104s,

And then we were to
leave and go to okinawa.

And on our way home,
we then started hearing

This terrible
stuff on the radio.

Narrator: Just miles
away, two navy a-3 tankers --

Nicknamed "whales" --
have run into trouble.

Lt. Col. Casteel: They
were running out of gas

Just like the airplanes
they were supposed to refuel.

Narrator: The whales are
on site to support two f-8s

Tasked with keeping
watch over a downed pilot.

♪ ♪

Lt. Col. Casteel: The navy
pilot was out in the open,

Surrounded by
anti-aircraft guns,

And the navy pilots
were trying to bomb, strafe,

Kill the people that
had the anti-aircraft guns.

Narrator: The planes have
been on the scene for hours

With no real change
for the man on the ground.

Lt. Col. Casteel:
Those fighters flew around

In circles and
circles around him.

And the tankers
were not going to leave

Until they got
their airplanes out.

They weren't being
cowboys, they were doing

What they thought
was the right thing.

Narrator: The whales refuel
the f-8s twice with no problem,

Until one whale notices
something wrong with his plane.

Lt. Col. Casteel:
The tanker could offload
it to another airplane,

But due to a valve malfunction,
he could not burn it.

He was going to run out of gas

With four thousand pounds of
fuel behind him he couldn't use.

They called us and they
said we're in real trouble.

Narrator: Their kc-135 quickly
heads toward the action,

And straight into danger.

Lt. Col. Casteel: I
realized that we were getting

Into enemy territory that
tankers were not supposed to go.

When you are flying a
gas can with 200,000 pounds

Of flammable liquid in it, it's
not a good idea to be shot at.

So we proceeded anyway,
because now we're talking

To the people that
we're gonna try and save.

And it gets personal.

Narrator:
Moments later, casteel and
his crew arrive on the scene.

The struggling whale
hooks up right away.

Lt. Col. Casteel:
The flight leader said,

"I'm going to put
the number two guy on.

He's in worse shape than I am.

He's got all of his
fuel warning lights on."

He was really just about as
close as you can be out of gas

And still be in the air.

Narrator:
The whale takes a drink,
then leaves so his wingman

Can get on the drogue.

Suddenly, two f-8s make a
fast approach from below.

The kc-135 is surrounded
by four navy aircraft.

All of them need fuel.

Casteel tells the
second whale to move in

And quickly starts the transfer.

Suddenly, one of the f-8s
moves into the whale's drogue

And locks on,
forming the first-ever

Three-aircraft daisy chain.

Lt. Col. Casteel: He slid
right in there, and boom,

Connected with us.

We had a navy tanker connected
to our probe and drogue system

Taking fuel, and he was in turn
transferring fuel to the f-8.

Rebecca: The kc-135
became the top layer

Of an incredibly dangerous
intrepid stack of aircraft.

The risks to all of
them were very high.

Lt. Col. Casteel:
The navy tanker pilot

Had to hold that
airplane pretty steady.

Not only did he have to
fly in there that close

And get a connection
and get his own fuel,

He had to keep his
airplane steady so the next guy

Could get his.

Narrator: An hour later,
casteel and his crew break off,

Leaving the whale and
f-8s to continue the fight.

The kc-135 crew receives
the prestigious mackay trophy

For their actions, the
first tanker crew ever

To receive the award.

Dr. Hopkins: It was a
great, great feat of airmanship

And real courage, and
that I think is the legacy

Of the kc-135 in southeast asia.

Narrator: In
vietnam, kc-135s fly

Nearly two
hundred thousand sorties.

They off-load more than
8 billion pounds of fuel.

Lt. Col. Casteel:
We flew every mission

As though it were our
last. We did, every one.

And the reason for
that is you get sloppy,

And you are going to get
sloppy and kill somebody.

You better do it right.

Narrator: After the
war, the tankers return

To their primary
mission: Nuclear deterrence.

Kc-135 crews are on alert 24
hours a day, waiting for action.

Morale takes a nose dive.

Dr. Hopkins: There were too many
pilots, not enough airplanes,

Not enough missions,
not enough flying time.

Kc-135s were seen
as probably one or two

Of the worst possible
assignments you could get

Out of pilot training.

Narrator: On the surface,
tanker life may look dull,

But strategists realize it gives
air power a big advantage.

Rebecca: In world
war ii, to move fighters

From the united states to
europe, they either had to

Be disassembled
and put onboard ship

Or they had to be
flown up through canada,

Across greenland and iceland
and into europe that way.

The tanker opened up a whole
new world of possibilities.

Narrator: In 1981, the air
force introduces another tanker

Into the air fleet: The kc-10.

It shares refueling
duties with the kc-135,

And moves troops and cargo too.

Kc-135s act as an air bridge
allowing fighters and bombers

To reach europe
and asia quickly.

Rebecca: They flew in formation,
refueling at set intervals

Until the fighters
reached their destination.

It's an incredible addition to
combat power, deterrent power

In its own right. But it didn't
always go according to plan.

♪ ♪

Narrator: September 5, 1983.

Shaw air force
base, south carolina.

♪ ♪

Twenty-four air force
f-4 phantoms take off

On a transatlantic flight.

♪ ♪

At pease air force
base in new hampshire,

A kc-135 refueling
squadron takes off too.

Msg. Simmons: We rendezvous
with them out over the ocean.

And when they need
gas, we give it to them.

Narrator: Retired master
sergeant douglas simmons

Was a kc-135 boom
operator for sixteen years.

Msg. Simmons: You take
a line from new hampshire

Over to England,

You'll be able to see
there's not much out there.

It's all ocean.

♪ ♪

Narrator: Halfway
across the atlantic,

The kc-135 gets an urgent call.

[radio chatter]

One of the f-4s
has a failing engine.

It's losing gas,
and altitude, fast.

Msg. Simmons: He was dropping
out of the sky like a rock.

He was trying to keep it
airborne and out of the drink.

F-4 pilot says,
"tanker, we need you now."

So my aircraft commander put on
the throttles as far as they go

And then we broke
off from the formation,

And it is, "let's go get them."

♪ ♪

[radio chatter]

Narrator: The crippled
phantom needs more than gas.

It needs a tow, but how?

Simmons thinks
over his tanker history

And comes up with the answer.

Msg. Simmons: I
remembered over in vietnam

They towed some seriously
crippled aircraft over there

That were shot up.

So that was always
in the back of my mind.

Narrator: The boom is
just 5 inches in diameter.

It weighs just 800 pounds.

Using it to tow a
thirty-thousand pound jet

Is dangerous.

Msg. Simmons:
Anything could happen.

Boom got tore off and hit his
canopy and crushed his canopy,

And then they go
down in a ball of fire,

But he wasn't staying airborne,
so what else can you do?

It was the last option.

♪ ♪

Narrator: Three thousand
feet above the atlantic ocean,

A kc-135 crew
catches up to an f-4 phantom

With one dead engine.

Msg. Simmons: He
was cocked sideways

And just trying to nurse his
engine that was overheating.

He said, "well, I think
we're gonna go in the drink."

Narrator: Master
sergeant douglas simmons

Prepares to connect his
boom to the crippled plane.

It won't be an easy task.

The
stratotanker's first challenge:

Matching the
sinking fighter's speed.

Msg. Simmons: We're
going 300 some knots,

And they're down to 210 knots,

And so our overtake
speed is phenomenal.

Narrator: The kc-135 pilot
manages to slow his tanker.

The two planes cruise
just eighteen feet apart.

♪ ♪

The f-4 flies at an angle,
making it tough for simmons

To hook up his boom.

Msg. Simmons: His engine was
cocking his airplane sideways,

And his nose was up
descending down like this.

Where normally we're like this
in refuel, he was like this.

Narrator: The boom has built-in
electronic restrictions.

Boomers rely on them to
make a safe connection.

Msg. Simmons: You've got limits
up and down, left and right,

And in and out.

And if you're refueling and
you hit one of those limits

It automatically
disconnects the boom.

So it's a safety thing so
that you don't wreck the boom

Or you don't put a
hole through his canopy.

Narrator:
The struggling f-4 is too
crooked to automate anything.

This time, simmons has
to fly the boom manually.

Msg. Simmons: That's the
only way you can tow a fighter,

Is your limit is
disabled so that you can make

A solid connection.

Narrator: Flying the
boom manually is difficult,

But the f-4 is sinking fast.
It's the only way to save him.

Msg. Simmons: They were at
1,800 feet above the ocean.

I had a crew chief sitting
beside me on my left side, and,

Looking down, he goes, "god,
you could see a fish jump."

Narrator:
Simmons guides his boom
toward the f-4's receptacle.

The first time is a miss.

[radio chatter]

He tries again.

[radio chatter]

This time, he
makes the connection...

And tries to hold on.

Pilot [on radio]:
Looks like he's taking gas.

Narrator: The boom is
almost at the breaking point.

Msg. Simmons: You don't
know if it's gonna break off,

You don't know if he's
gonna flip and go down

Or knock our tail
off. You just don't know.

Narrator: With the
phantom drinking gas below,

The kc-135 begins a slow climb,

Towing the f-4 up
and into alignment.

Msg. Simmons: I'd tell
him, "okay, aircraft commander,

Start your climb," and
so he'd gradually start

Trying to level the flight
and start pulling him up.

Narrator: Over the next
three hours, the kc-135 coaxes

The f-4 higher,
lifting it to 6,000 feet.

Msg. Simmons: The
boom's kind of bent like this,

And he told us, "god,
I'm holding air speed.

I'm holding altitude."

Narrator: Finally, the
two aircraft approach land...

And an airstrip.

[radio chatter]

The f-4 makes the landing.

The kc-135 crew
follows close behind.

Simmons is recognized for
his outstanding airmanship.

Rebecca: This was an incredibly
risky mission for them all,

Requiring superb
flying skills from the tanker

To be able to hold that f-4 on
the boom in those unusual angles

And for that duration of time.

Narrator: Throughout the
1980s, the kc-135 air bridge

Moves american combat
aircraft around the world,

Ready to support the
air war at any time.

Rebecca: Lemay had been right.

The future of all air warfare
depended on the use of tankers.

Never would this be
more apparent than in 1991

In operation desert storm.

♪ ♪

Narrator:
Desert storm is the biggest
air war the world has ever seen.

In the middle of
it all, the kc-135.

Rebecca: You had to
have tankers in place

To support the fighter
and bomber operations,

Or that campaign would
not go according to plan.

Every fighter that took
off would get at least one

Air refueling on its strike
mission. Some would get more.

Narrator: 262 kc-135s
keep the fighters flying.

They average 360 sorties a day.

Rebecca: Desert storm
proved that the kc-135

Really was the ultimate tanker.

It was the tankers that let
the fighters mass and deliver

That hard punch to
the iraqi air force.

Narrator: But the tanker's
performance in desert storm

Is soon
overshadowed by other events.

The soviet union collapses.

America's greatest enemy
no longer exists as a nation.

♪ ♪

The air force reorganizes.

And in 1992,
strategic air command --

Which fathered the tanker
fleet -- passes into history.

For the first time
in almost forty years,

The kc-135 is not
on permanent alert.

Instead, the tanker
takes on transport duties

From the aging c-141 starlifter,

Refueling in less
than half its missions.

Dr. Hopkins:
Ultimately, what that meant was

The limited number of flying
hours left in the airframe

Were being spent on
things that had little to do

With air refueling and a lot to
do with transport operations.

Narrator: Kc-135s are
stationed all over the world.

But no one expected that one
of its most important missions

Would be over american skies.

♪ ♪

Narrator:
September 11, 2001. 6 am.

Bangor air
national guard base, maine.

A kc-135 crew
readies their tanker.

Col. Marshall: We were
planning to refuel some f-15's

Off of long island in an
overwater training area.

Colonel andrew
marshall has flown

On air national guard
stratotankers for 25 years.

Col. Marshall: It was a mission
that we were well familiar with,

And we anticipated no
surprises of any kind.

♪ ♪

Narrator: Marshall
reviews his checklist,

Confirms the fuel
load, and takes off.

♪ ♪

Just short of the
long island coast,

Marshall picks up some
strange radio chatter.

[radio chatter]

Col. Marshall: We
began to hear radio traffic

That didn't make much sense.

[radio chatter]

It was some urgent
calls on the radio,

And it became clear to us
that we were being directed

In kind of an unusual way.

Narrator: Marshall dials in
and receives his new orders.

It's not what he's expecting.

Col. Marshall: We
were being directed

To head over towards manhattan.
And that was unusual.

But seemed like
valid instructions

And valid clearance, so we
headed over in that direction.

Narrator: 15 minutes later, the
crew arrives over manhattan,

Ready to respond. The world
trade center catches their eye.

Col. Marshall: One of
the towers was on fire.

On our next pass around where
we got a good view of things,

We could see that
both of them were on fire.

And at that point, there's
no doubt in anybody's mind

That this was hostile action.

Narrator: By now, u.S.
Air space is on lockdown.

Civilian flights are grounded.

Military planes
patrol america's skies.

Col. Marshall: Nobody
knew whether there were

Additional intended targets

Or what the time phasing
might very well have been

Of additional attacks.

Col. Marshall: Nobody
really knew what was coming.

That's when the
activities of the day

Took on a different character.

♪ ♪

Narrator: September
11th, 2001. New york city.

Terrorists crash
two civilian airliners

Into the world trade center.

Col. Marshall: We all
assumed that it had been

An accident of some kind.

But it became clear shortly
after that there

Was a little more to the story.

♪ ♪

Narrator: Within
minutes, two f-15s arrive,

Tasked with defending the skies.

To keep the fighters
in the air: The kc-135.

Col. Marshall: We were
just calculating how much fuel

An f-15 burns and how
long we could stay on station.

A fighter without a tanker
is not fully combat capable.

Narrator: Colonel andy
marshall and his kc-135 crew

Refuel the f-15s flawlessly.

The fighters take
turns drinking fuel

As they protect new york
against further attacks.

But one hour later, tragedy.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

Col. Marshall:
When the towers fell,

We wanted to stay in the
fight for as long as possible

To do whatever it was we could.

Narrator: Marshall and
his crew continue to orbit,

Refueling the f-15s four times

And offloading
60,000 pounds of fuel.

Two hours later, they
land at mcguire air force base

In new jersey.

Col. Marshall: Another tanker
followed in close succession

Behind us.

We were sure there was
another tanker inbound

To provide support for
fighters on air cover.

♪ ♪

Narrator: In the months
after 9/11, 78 kc-135s support

6,000 sorties of fighters
guarding high-value targets.

It's a reawakening of the
kc-135's original mission:

To be ready to
refuel, anytime, anywhere.

Col. Marshall: We saw
a ten-year gap in alert,

And now we're
back on alert again.

Although the
purpose is different now,

The importance is
probably greater.

Col. Marshall: You can't have
big-time credible air defense

That will really stop
anything without a tanker.

And so there's a universal
understanding of that now,

No doubt.

♪ ♪

Narrator: 2003. Washington, dc.

The kc-135 is
beginning to show its age.

The general accounting
office files a report

Stating an urgent need to
replace the entire fleet.

Since 1993,
maintenance costs have doubled.

They're projected to
increase 130 percent more

In the next fifteen years.

Rebecca: Tests had
revealed that there might be

Problems in the
future with the kc-135.

No one wanted to
count on a single airframe

That might have a problem that
would ground the whole fleet.

Rebecca: No kc-135, no
operation desert storm.

No kc-135,

No ability to go after
terrorists around the globe.

No kc-135 and all these fighters
are just short-legged shooters

That don't have
the global reach.

♪ ♪

Narrator: February
2011. Seattle, washington.

Boeing debuts its
brand new tanker: The kc-46.

It's a tanker made
for a new generation.

The kc-46 ups the
kc-135's fuel capacity

To a whopping 212,000 pounds.

It can transfer fuel at twelve
hundred gallons a minute,

Twenty percent
faster than the kc-135.

It can refuel all fixed-wing
receiver aircraft at any time,

On every mission.

♪ ♪

The kc-46 is
scheduled to deliver in 2017.

Until then, the kc-135
continues its mission.

♪ ♪

On an average day, american
kc-135s refuel aircraft

All around the world, offloading
nearly 3 million pounds

Of fuel,

Refueling on a scale
that no other tanker can beat

And changing the course of wars.

Dr. Hopkins: The kc-135 has been

The single most influential
weapons system of the cold war.

Without tankers, bombers
could not reach their targets.

Narrator: Sixty
years after its birth,

This flying gas
station is still going strong.

The kc-135 is u.S. Air
power's great enabler.

Without refueling,
the air war stops.