图片：
本文原载于1993年1月发表的《Code One》杂志，详细介绍了空中加油技术的发展历程及在海湾战争期间行动与作用，本贴由【无定河边骨】于2006-09-07 15:09:21发表于DSZH。
Aerial Refueling
This article appeared in the January 1993 issue of Code One Magazine.
空中加油
本文原载于1993年1月发表的《Code One》杂志
An F-16 carefully closes on a KC-10 tanker from below. As the fighter nears, a long boom extends down from the rear of the KC-10. The fighter pilot flips a switch and the receiver door atop his fuselage drops in. Stabilizing his approach about seventy-five feet behind the KC-10, the pilot throttles back to match his speed with the tanker's. The fighter pilot nudges the throttle forward and his jet inches closer while staying aligned with the end of the boom.
一架F-16从下方小心翼翼地靠近一架KC-10加油机。在战斗机靠近的过程中，一根长管从KC-10的后方向下伸出。战斗机的飞行员掀动开关收起机身上方的受油口舱盖。在稳定接近到KC-10后方75英尺的位置后，飞行员收回油门将速度调整为与加油机同步。战斗机飞行员一点点地向前推动油门杆，他的飞机在与加油管保持在同一轴线上的同时一英寸一英寸地向其靠近。
The pilot makes only minute control inputs. Guided by lights beneath the tanker, the fighter pilot maneuvers into position. As the end of the boom passes from sight, the boom arm swings overhead so close the pilot could reach up and grab it were it not for the canopy. The boom operator in the rear of the tanker looks down at the fighter and guides the end of the boom into the receptacle behind the cockpit. As soon as the end of the boom is lined up with the connector, the boom operator forces it home into the receptacle, locking into the fighter. The F-16 pilot hears a thunk behind his head and another air-to-air refueling operation is underway.
飞行员只能进行微小的控制操作。在加油机下方灯光信号的指引下，战斗机飞行员进入到了加油位置。当加油管的顶端移出视野时，加油管的身管距离飞行员是如此之近以至于就像如果没有座舱盖的话就可以伸出手来一把抓在手里。位于加油机后方的加油管操作员向下观察着这架战斗机并将加油管的顶端插入座舱盖后方的受油口中。一旦加油管的顶端对齐连接器，加油管操作员就将其插入受油口，使之锁定在战斗机上。F-16的飞行员听到头后面传来“铛”的一声，就知道又一次的空中加油行动开始进行了。
Pumps whine as jet fuel flows through the hollow boom into the F-16 at the rate of 200 gallons per minute. In just under seven minutes, nearly 10,000 pounds of fuel are transferred and the thirsting fighter is topped off. A quick thumbs-up, a slight spray of fuel at disconnect, and another aerial refueling is completed. The boom instantly retracts and raises out of the way. The F-16 backs off. The pilot flips a switch and the fuel receptacle door closes. The F-16 slips to the side to allow the next fighter its turn at the pump.
在油泵的轰鸣声中航空燃油以每分钟200加仑的流量通过加油管进入F-16的油箱。仅仅7分钟后，大约10,000磅的燃油就传送完毕，饥渴的战斗机完成了加油。一个拇指示意，一丝脱离连接时轻微的油雾之后，又一次的空中加油就完成了。加油管很快地向上收起并缩回。F-16向后退去。飞行员掀动开关关闭受油口舱盖。F-16向边上滑开以便下一架排队等候的战斗机进行加油。
Day or night, good weather or bad, aerial refueling keeps our military aircraft in the air, extending their endurance, range, and payload and vastly increasing their effectiveness. When duty calls at the far reaches of the globe, aerial refueling allows a rapid response. Without aerial refueling, the face of modern combat would be changed. Most strategic and tactical air missions could never be undertaken.
无论白天黑夜，好天气或是坏天气，空中加油使得我们的军用飞机可以在天空飞翔，扩大它们的续航力、航程、有效载荷并且不同程度地增加它们的作战效能。当远方甚至是地球另一边的任务呼叫到来时，空中加油允许我们做出快速反应。没有空中加油，现代战争的面貌就会改变。绝大多数的战略和战术飞行任务将永远无法得以实行。
The importance of aerial refueling was reemphasized during the Gulf War. Getting the warplanes and their support equipment and personnel as well as ground combat troops, equipment, and supplies to the Middle East required an extraordinary aerial refueling effort on short notice. The first group of deployed F-15s required seven refuelings during their fifteen-hour flight direct to Saudi Arabia from Langley AFB, Virginia. Once in theater, aerial refueling continued to play a critical role. Without it, the F-117A stealth fighter would have run out of fuel before it could drop its bombs with impunity. Many aircraft returned to refueling points with barely any fuel left. When the exigencies of the war ate into a fighter's planned fuel reserve, tankers picked up the slack. As one tanker pilot boasted during the war, "Fighter jocks buy drinks for tanker crews; not the other way around."
空中加油的重要性在海湾战争期间再次得到了强调。将作战飞机和它们的保障装备、相关人员跟陆军参战部队、装备、补给一起在短期之内运送到中东需要相当规模的空中加油的努力。首批部署的F-15战斗机在从位于弗吉尼亚州的兰利空军基地直接飞赴沙特阿拉伯的十五个小时里需要进行7次的空中加油。在此之后，空中加油继续扮演着重要的角色。如果没有空中加油，F-117A战斗机在能够来去自由地投下炸弹之前油箱就空空如也了。许多战机在返回加油点的时候几乎都是没有剩下多少燃油了。当战争中的突发事件消耗了某架战斗机的返程油量时，加油机挺身而出缓解危机。就如同一名加油机飞行员在战争期间自夸的那样：“战斗机飞行员要为加油机的机组买喝的；例来都是这样。”
Fighter crews weren't the only ones dependent on aerial refueling during the war. Large command-and-control aircraft, like the E-3 AWACS and the E-8 Joint-STARS, also depended on these flying gas stations to stay aloft so they could provide the continuous mission control and reconnaissance our forces required. Cargo aircraft, including the giant C-5 Galaxy, used aerial refueling to speed delivery of their cargo and to increase their loads. And bombers, like the venerable B-52, used refueling so they could carry maximum bomb payloads over long distances from remote bases.
战斗机飞行员不是唯一的一个要在战争中依赖空中加油的人。大型指挥与控制飞机，比如E-3空中预警机和E-8联合星电子侦察机，也要依赖这些飞在天上的飞行加油站来保证我军所要求的连续任务控制和侦察的功能。货物运输机，包括巨型的C-5银河，都通过空中加油来提高货物运送的速度和自身的货物载重能力。还有轰炸机，比如老资格的B-52，通过空中加油使得其可以装载最大重量的炸弹从遥远的基地进行远程奔袭。
Fuel is a necessary evil in aircraft. It's a heavy energy source that consumes space. Fighters like the F-16 trade fuel capacity for performance and payload. For short-range air defense, the tradeoff works just fine. To fly long distances, however, designers resort to auxiliary fuel tanks in various configurations. With rare exceptions, pilots would choose not to carry auxiliary fuel tanks in combat, whether for air-to-air or for tactical missions. The tanks increase fuel consumption, reduce ordinance payloads and G limits, and tend to reduce top speed of the aircraft. Dropping the tanks before combat solves these problems, but the practice is wasteful and involves other compromises. Even with extra tanks, a fighter could never cross the vast oceans by the most direct route without running dry. The only practical answer is to pick up extra fuel along the way.
油料问题是飞机与生俱来的弱点。它是浪费有效空间的重要根源。像F-16这样的战斗机为了油箱的容量牺牲了性能和有效载荷。对于短距离的防空行动，这种牺牲尚可接受。但是当进行远程飞行时，设计师们只能求助于各种挂载方案里的辅助油箱。很少有例外的是，飞行员们并不愿意在战斗中选择携带辅助油箱，无论是空对空任务还是战术任务。这些油箱增加了燃油的消耗，降低了常规有效载荷和G值上限，并且还会减小飞机的最大速度。在战斗之前抛掉这些油箱可以解决这些问题，但这种行为是一种浪费并且没有解决根本问题。即便是携带外挂油箱，一架战斗机也无法在燃油用心之前以最短的路径飞越广阔的大洋。唯一可能的作法是在飞行途中更换外挂油箱。
By refueling in the air, aircraft can go the distance. Fighters can also stay lean and mean or carry maximum combat payloads. Aerial refueling makes a big difference in what the F-16 can do and how it gets it done. Fuel is a precious commodity, but in the midst of combat, survival often requires the pilot to sacrifice it. Getting safely back to base may require an aerial refill. Maj. Ron MacKenzie of the 336th Aerial Refueling Squadron of the AF Reserve remarks that "during Desert. Storm it was not unusual to hear pilots yelling for gas." More than one combatant made contact practically flying on fumes.
通过空中加油，飞机可能飞越这个距离。战斗机还可以挂载常规或者是最大的战斗载荷。空中加油极大改变了F-16的战斗能力和作战方式。油料是一种珍贵的易耗品，但是在战斗中，生存的需要要求飞行员不能对其斤斤计较。安全飞回基地可能会需要进行空中加油。空军预备役第336空中加油中队的少校隆·麦克肯泽说“在沙漠风暴行动中呼叫燃油的情况并不是个别的。”不止一个作战人员在呼叫过程中显得心急火燎。
Even long-range bombers like the F-111 often need tankers to complete their missions, especially when other countries don't permit overflights. The successful F-111 raid on Libya could never have been accomplished without air-to-air refueling. This situation repeated itself during the Gulf War. Flying out of European bases, bombers denied overflight permission had to fly lengthy, indirect routes to stay over international waters.
即使是像F-111这样的远程轰炸机也经常需要加油机的协助来完成它们的任务，特别是在其它国家不允许其飞越的时候。如果没有空中加油F-111空袭利比亚的行动将不可能成功完成。这样的情况在海湾战争中再一次出现。从欧洲的基地起飞后，没有飞越许可的轰炸机不得不进行长时间飞行，沿着国际水域上空的间接路径前进。
During operations in the Persian Gulf, USAF KC-135s and KC-10s completed over 85,000 aerial refuelings. They offloaded to receiver aircraft over 1.2 billion pounds of fuel, about 190 million gallons. These figures don't include USAF C-130 tankers, Navy tankers, or foreign tankers. "People at home saw all these photos of sleek fighters during the war," remarks TSgt. Phil Stidham of the 336th, a KC-135 boom operator during Desert Storm, "but they never saw the tankers. Few people realize that not one sortie, with the exception of maybe some B-52 sorties, was flown without tanker support."
在波斯湾行动期间，美国空军的KC-135和KC-10完成了超过85,000次的空中加油。它们向受油机输送了超过12亿磅的燃油，大约有1.9亿加仑。这一数字还不包括美国空军的C-130加油机，海军的加油机，以及其它国家的加油机。“人们在家里看到了战争期间所有的外形光鲜的战斗机的照片，”第336中队的技术军士菲尔·斯蒂德哈姆评论说，他是沙漠行动中的一名KC-135加油管操作手，“但他们从没有看到过加油机。很少有人能够认识到可能除了一些B-52攻击波之外，每一个攻击波的飞行都有加油机进行支援。”
The history of refueling aircraft in flight goes back to 1918 when a Navy Reserve pilot, Lt. Godfrey Cabot, snagged gasoline containers from his biplane with a grappling hook. However, the first recorded air-to-air refueling took place in 1921 when Wesley May, a barnstorming stuntman, strapped a five-gallon gas can to his back and stepped from the wing of his Lincoln Standard to the wing skid of a Curtis JN-4. He unstrapped the can and emptied its contents into the Jenny's fuel tanks.
空中加油机的飞行历史可以追溯到1918年，当时的海军预备役飞行员，够得弗雷依·卡勃特上尉从他的双翼机上用爪钩获取油箱。然而，第一次有记录的空中加油发生在1921年，当时声名显赫的特技人威斯利·梅，将一个5加仑的油罐挷在自己的背上，从他林肯·斯坦得飞机的机翼上行走到一架柯蒂斯JN-4型飞机的机翼滑撬上。他解下了油罐将里面的燃油倒入到柯蒂斯JN-4型飞机的油箱里。
Aerial refueling developed in fits and starts from its gutsy beginnings. In July of 1923, the Army Air Service, predecessor to the Air Force, conducted the first successful air-to-air refueling that used a hose to refuel one aircraft from another. Later that year, two Air Service lieutenants, John Richter and Lowell Smith, used aerial refueling to fly their de Havilland DH-4B for thirty-seven hours and over 3,200 miles over southern California. They were refueled fifteen times from another DH-4B, receiving seventy-five gallons of fuel through a hose as well as oil and other supplies. The lieutenants went on to demonstrate practical applications of the new capability by flying non-stop from the Canadian border to Tijuana, Mexico, covering the 1,300 miles in twelve hours with two refuelings. An accident the following month abruptly ended their cycle of experimentation.
空中加油从这次勇敢的起点开始了它的稳步发展。1923年的7月，美国陆军航空队，也就是后来的美国空军，用软管成功进行了从一架飞机到另一架飞机的首次空中加油。在该年晚些时候，两名陆军航空队的中尉，约翰·里卡特和洛威尔·史密斯，在南加里福利亚洲上空通过空中加油技术让他们的德·哈威兰德DH-4B型飞机飞行了37小时，航程超过3,200英里。他们从另一架DH-4B型飞机上进行了15次的空中加油，通过软管接收了75加仑的燃油以及其它补给品。这两名中尉继续通过从加拿大边境到墨西哥提华纳市的不着陆飞行验证其实际应用，12小时里经过两次空中加油后的航程达1,300英里。在此后一个月里的一次事故突然中止了他们的实验计划。
Aerial Refueling
This article appeared in the January 1993 issue of Code One Magazine.
空中加油
本文原载于1993年1月发表的《Code One》杂志
An F-16 carefully closes on a KC-10 tanker from below. As the fighter nears, a long boom extends down from the rear of the KC-10. The fighter pilot flips a switch and the receiver door atop his fuselage drops in. Stabilizing his approach about seventy-five feet behind the KC-10, the pilot throttles back to match his speed with the tanker's. The fighter pilot nudges the throttle forward and his jet inches closer while staying aligned with the end of the boom.
一架F-16从下方小心翼翼地靠近一架KC-10加油机。在战斗机靠近的过程中，一根长管从KC-10的后方向下伸出。战斗机的飞行员掀动开关收起机身上方的受油口舱盖。在稳定接近到KC-10后方75英尺的位置后，飞行员收回油门将速度调整为与加油机同步。战斗机飞行员一点点地向前推动油门杆，他的飞机在与加油管保持在同一轴线上的同时一英寸一英寸地向其靠近。
The pilot makes only minute control inputs. Guided by lights beneath the tanker, the fighter pilot maneuvers into position. As the end of the boom passes from sight, the boom arm swings overhead so close the pilot could reach up and grab it were it not for the canopy. The boom operator in the rear of the tanker looks down at the fighter and guides the end of the boom into the receptacle behind the cockpit. As soon as the end of the boom is lined up with the connector, the boom operator forces it home into the receptacle, locking into the fighter. The F-16 pilot hears a thunk behind his head and another air-to-air refueling operation is underway.
飞行员只能进行微小的控制操作。在加油机下方灯光信号的指引下，战斗机飞行员进入到了加油位置。当加油管的顶端移出视野时，加油管的身管距离飞行员是如此之近以至于就像如果没有座舱盖的话就可以伸出手来一把抓在手里。位于加油机后方的加油管操作员向下观察着这架战斗机并将加油管的顶端插入座舱盖后方的受油口中。一旦加油管的顶端对齐连接器，加油管操作员就将其插入受油口，使之锁定在战斗机上。F-16的飞行员听到头后面传来“铛”的一声，就知道又一次的空中加油行动开始进行了。
Pumps whine as jet fuel flows through the hollow boom into the F-16 at the rate of 200 gallons per minute. In just under seven minutes, nearly 10,000 pounds of fuel are transferred and the thirsting fighter is topped off. A quick thumbs-up, a slight spray of fuel at disconnect, and another aerial refueling is completed. The boom instantly retracts and raises out of the way. The F-16 backs off. The pilot flips a switch and the fuel receptacle door closes. The F-16 slips to the side to allow the next fighter its turn at the pump.
在油泵的轰鸣声中航空燃油以每分钟200加仑的流量通过加油管进入F-16的油箱。仅仅7分钟后，大约10,000磅的燃油就传送完毕，饥渴的战斗机完成了加油。一个拇指示意，一丝脱离连接时轻微的油雾之后，又一次的空中加油就完成了。加油管很快地向上收起并缩回。F-16向后退去。飞行员掀动开关关闭受油口舱盖。F-16向边上滑开以便下一架排队等候的战斗机进行加油。
Day or night, good weather or bad, aerial refueling keeps our military aircraft in the air, extending their endurance, range, and payload and vastly increasing their effectiveness. When duty calls at the far reaches of the globe, aerial refueling allows a rapid response. Without aerial refueling, the face of modern combat would be changed. Most strategic and tactical air missions could never be undertaken.
无论白天黑夜，好天气或是坏天气，空中加油使得我们的军用飞机可以在天空飞翔，扩大它们的续航力、航程、有效载荷并且不同程度地增加它们的作战效能。当远方甚至是地球另一边的任务呼叫到来时，空中加油允许我们做出快速反应。没有空中加油，现代战争的面貌就会改变。绝大多数的战略和战术飞行任务将永远无法得以实行。
The importance of aerial refueling was reemphasized during the Gulf War. Getting the warplanes and their support equipment and personnel as well as ground combat troops, equipment, and supplies to the Middle East required an extraordinary aerial refueling effort on short notice. The first group of deployed F-15s required seven refuelings during their fifteen-hour flight direct to Saudi Arabia from Langley AFB, Virginia. Once in theater, aerial refueling continued to play a critical role. Without it, the F-117A stealth fighter would have run out of fuel before it could drop its bombs with impunity. Many aircraft returned to refueling points with barely any fuel left. When the exigencies of the war ate into a fighter's planned fuel reserve, tankers picked up the slack. As one tanker pilot boasted during the war, "Fighter jocks buy drinks for tanker crews; not the other way around."
空中加油的重要性在海湾战争期间再次得到了强调。将作战飞机和它们的保障装备、相关人员跟陆军参战部队、装备、补给一起在短期之内运送到中东需要相当规模的空中加油的努力。首批部署的F-15战斗机在从位于弗吉尼亚州的兰利空军基地直接飞赴沙特阿拉伯的十五个小时里需要进行7次的空中加油。在此之后，空中加油继续扮演着重要的角色。如果没有空中加油，F-117A战斗机在能够来去自由地投下炸弹之前油箱就空空如也了。许多战机在返回加油点的时候几乎都是没有剩下多少燃油了。当战争中的突发事件消耗了某架战斗机的返程油量时，加油机挺身而出缓解危机。就如同一名加油机飞行员在战争期间自夸的那样：“战斗机飞行员要为加油机的机组买喝的；例来都是这样。”
Fighter crews weren't the only ones dependent on aerial refueling during the war. Large command-and-control aircraft, like the E-3 AWACS and the E-8 Joint-STARS, also depended on these flying gas stations to stay aloft so they could provide the continuous mission control and reconnaissance our forces required. Cargo aircraft, including the giant C-5 Galaxy, used aerial refueling to speed delivery of their cargo and to increase their loads. And bombers, like the venerable B-52, used refueling so they could carry maximum bomb payloads over long distances from remote bases.
战斗机飞行员不是唯一的一个要在战争中依赖空中加油的人。大型指挥与控制飞机，比如E-3空中预警机和E-8联合星电子侦察机，也要依赖这些飞在天上的飞行加油站来保证我军所要求的连续任务控制和侦察的功能。货物运输机，包括巨型的C-5银河，都通过空中加油来提高货物运送的速度和自身的货物载重能力。还有轰炸机，比如老资格的B-52，通过空中加油使得其可以装载最大重量的炸弹从遥远的基地进行远程奔袭。
Fuel is a necessary evil in aircraft. It's a heavy energy source that consumes space. Fighters like the F-16 trade fuel capacity for performance and payload. For short-range air defense, the tradeoff works just fine. To fly long distances, however, designers resort to auxiliary fuel tanks in various configurations. With rare exceptions, pilots would choose not to carry auxiliary fuel tanks in combat, whether for air-to-air or for tactical missions. The tanks increase fuel consumption, reduce ordinance payloads and G limits, and tend to reduce top speed of the aircraft. Dropping the tanks before combat solves these problems, but the practice is wasteful and involves other compromises. Even with extra tanks, a fighter could never cross the vast oceans by the most direct route without running dry. The only practical answer is to pick up extra fuel along the way.
油料问题是飞机与生俱来的弱点。它是浪费有效空间的重要根源。像F-16这样的战斗机为了油箱的容量牺牲了性能和有效载荷。对于短距离的防空行动，这种牺牲尚可接受。但是当进行远程飞行时，设计师们只能求助于各种挂载方案里的辅助油箱。很少有例外的是，飞行员们并不愿意在战斗中选择携带辅助油箱，无论是空对空任务还是战术任务。这些油箱增加了燃油的消耗，降低了常规有效载荷和G值上限，并且还会减小飞机的最大速度。在战斗之前抛掉这些油箱可以解决这些问题，但这种行为是一种浪费并且没有解决根本问题。即便是携带外挂油箱，一架战斗机也无法在燃油用心之前以最短的路径飞越广阔的大洋。唯一可能的作法是在飞行途中更换外挂油箱。
By refueling in the air, aircraft can go the distance. Fighters can also stay lean and mean or carry maximum combat payloads. Aerial refueling makes a big difference in what the F-16 can do and how it gets it done. Fuel is a precious commodity, but in the midst of combat, survival often requires the pilot to sacrifice it. Getting safely back to base may require an aerial refill. Maj. Ron MacKenzie of the 336th Aerial Refueling Squadron of the AF Reserve remarks that "during Desert. Storm it was not unusual to hear pilots yelling for gas." More than one combatant made contact practically flying on fumes.
通过空中加油，飞机可能飞越这个距离。战斗机还可以挂载常规或者是最大的战斗载荷。空中加油极大改变了F-16的战斗能力和作战方式。油料是一种珍贵的易耗品，但是在战斗中，生存的需要要求飞行员不能对其斤斤计较。安全飞回基地可能会需要进行空中加油。空军预备役第336空中加油中队的少校隆·麦克肯泽说“在沙漠风暴行动中呼叫燃油的情况并不是个别的。”不止一个作战人员在呼叫过程中显得心急火燎。
Even long-range bombers like the F-111 often need tankers to complete their missions, especially when other countries don't permit overflights. The successful F-111 raid on Libya could never have been accomplished without air-to-air refueling. This situation repeated itself during the Gulf War. Flying out of European bases, bombers denied overflight permission had to fly lengthy, indirect routes to stay over international waters.
即使是像F-111这样的远程轰炸机也经常需要加油机的协助来完成它们的任务，特别是在其它国家不允许其飞越的时候。如果没有空中加油F-111空袭利比亚的行动将不可能成功完成。这样的情况在海湾战争中再一次出现。从欧洲的基地起飞后，没有飞越许可的轰炸机不得不进行长时间飞行，沿着国际水域上空的间接路径前进。
During operations in the Persian Gulf, USAF KC-135s and KC-10s completed over 85,000 aerial refuelings. They offloaded to receiver aircraft over 1.2 billion pounds of fuel, about 190 million gallons. These figures don't include USAF C-130 tankers, Navy tankers, or foreign tankers. "People at home saw all these photos of sleek fighters during the war," remarks TSgt. Phil Stidham of the 336th, a KC-135 boom operator during Desert Storm, "but they never saw the tankers. Few people realize that not one sortie, with the exception of maybe some B-52 sorties, was flown without tanker support."
在波斯湾行动期间，美国空军的KC-135和KC-10完成了超过85,000次的空中加油。它们向受油机输送了超过12亿磅的燃油，大约有1.9亿加仑。这一数字还不包括美国空军的C-130加油机，海军的加油机，以及其它国家的加油机。“人们在家里看到了战争期间所有的外形光鲜的战斗机的照片，”第336中队的技术军士菲尔·斯蒂德哈姆评论说，他是沙漠行动中的一名KC-135加油管操作手，“但他们从没有看到过加油机。很少有人能够认识到可能除了一些B-52攻击波之外，每一个攻击波的飞行都有加油机进行支援。”
The history of refueling aircraft in flight goes back to 1918 when a Navy Reserve pilot, Lt. Godfrey Cabot, snagged gasoline containers from his biplane with a grappling hook. However, the first recorded air-to-air refueling took place in 1921 when Wesley May, a barnstorming stuntman, strapped a five-gallon gas can to his back and stepped from the wing of his Lincoln Standard to the wing skid of a Curtis JN-4. He unstrapped the can and emptied its contents into the Jenny's fuel tanks.
空中加油机的飞行历史可以追溯到1918年，当时的海军预备役飞行员，够得弗雷依·卡勃特上尉从他的双翼机上用爪钩获取油箱。然而，第一次有记录的空中加油发生在1921年，当时声名显赫的特技人威斯利·梅，将一个5加仑的油罐挷在自己的背上，从他林肯·斯坦得飞机的机翼上行走到一架柯蒂斯JN-4型飞机的机翼滑撬上。他解下了油罐将里面的燃油倒入到柯蒂斯JN-4型飞机的油箱里。
Aerial refueling developed in fits and starts from its gutsy beginnings. In July of 1923, the Army Air Service, predecessor to the Air Force, conducted the first successful air-to-air refueling that used a hose to refuel one aircraft from another. Later that year, two Air Service lieutenants, John Richter and Lowell Smith, used aerial refueling to fly their de Havilland DH-4B for thirty-seven hours and over 3,200 miles over southern California. They were refueled fifteen times from another DH-4B, receiving seventy-five gallons of fuel through a hose as well as oil and other supplies. The lieutenants went on to demonstrate practical applications of the new capability by flying non-stop from the Canadian border to Tijuana, Mexico, covering the 1,300 miles in twelve hours with two refuelings. An accident the following month abruptly ended their cycle of experimentation.
空中加油从这次勇敢的起点开始了它的稳步发展。1923年的7月，美国陆军航空队，也就是后来的美国空军，用软管成功进行了从一架飞机到另一架飞机的首次空中加油。在该年晚些时候，两名陆军航空队的中尉，约翰·里卡特和洛威尔·史密斯，在南加里福利亚洲上空通过空中加油技术让他们的德·哈威兰德DH-4B型飞机飞行了37小时，航程超过3,200英里。他们从另一架DH-4B型飞机上进行了15次的空中加油，通过软管接收了75加仑的燃油以及其它补给品。这两名中尉继续通过从加拿大边境到墨西哥提华纳市的不着陆飞行验证其实际应用，12小时里经过两次空中加油后的航程达1,300英里。在此后一个月里的一次事故突然中止了他们的实验计划。
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Aerial refueling development was renewed about five years later. On New Year's Day 1929, a Fokker C-2 trimotor nicknamed "Question Mark" (because no one was sure how long it might remain aloft) began a record-setting flight. The first refueling took place over the Rose Bowl as Georgia Tech edged California eight points to seven. Two Douglas C-1 biplanes used as tankers kept Question Mark aloft for seven days before a failing engine on the Fokker brought it back to the ground. During the flight, the aircrews transferred 5,660 gallons of fuel, 245 gallons of oil, as well as meals, water, batteries, and other supplies.
大约五年之后发展空中加油技术再一次被重新提起。1929年的元旦，一架被戏称为“问号”的福克C-2型三引擎飞机（因为没有人能确定它能在天上呆多久）开始了创记录的飞行。首次的空中加油发生在玫瑰碗体育场上空，当时佐治亚州的球队正在和加利福尼亚州的球队交锋，比分是8比7。两架道格拉斯C-1型双翼机作为加油机为“问号”为期7天的飞行提供保证，最终福克因为一个发动机停止工作回到了地面。在这次飞行中，两个机组输送了5,660加仑的燃油，245加仑的机油，以及食品，水，电池等等其它补给品。
Despite the achievement, development in the United States languished. The British conducted experiments with some success, but through World War II, long-range strategic missions and aerial refueling were greeted with skepticism by most of those in command. With few exceptions, little further development was done even though a great need existed. Doolittle's famous bombing raid on Tokyo from a precarious launch from an aircraft carrier is but one glaring example of the difficulties that had to be overcome because there was no way to refuel in the air.
尽管取得了这样的成就，这项技术的发展在美国还是凋零了。在英国进行的一些实验取得了成功，但是从第二次世界大战起，远程战略任务和空中加油又在大多数当权者的置疑中进入了人们的眼帘。几乎是在意料之中，空中加油由于极大的需求又取得了一点深入的发展。著名的杜特立从一艘航母上冒险起飞轰炸东京就是无法进行空中加油而不得不克服困难的一个耀眼的例子。
After the war, the long-range requirements of the Strategic Air Command renewed interest in aerial refueling. Development progressed rapidly, culminating on 22 March 1949 when "Lucky Lady II," a specially outfitted B-50A bomber, landed at Carswell AFB in Texas after completing the first non-stop around-the-world flight. The mission took ninety-two hours and covered nearly 24,000 miles. Fuel was dispensed from KB-29 tankers, a modification of the B-29 bomber. Air-to-air refueling was here to stay.
战后，战略空军司令部对于远程需要的目光重新落到了空中加油上。空中加油得到了快速发展，其顶峰出现在1949年3月22号，一架特殊改装过的B-50A轰炸机，“幸运女郎II”在首次完成不着陆环球飞行之后降落在得克萨斯州的卡斯威尔空军基地。此次任务历时92小时，航程接近24,000英里。燃油由KB-29加油机提供，它是由B-29轰炸机改装而来的。空中加油从此奠定了它的地位。
These early tankers used a cumbersome refueling system in which the receiver aircraft would grapple a contact line trailed by the tanker and then winch in the refueling hose to make the connection. The system worked fine in relatively calm air during the day. But making a connection in turbulence or at night was tricky.
这些早期的加油机使用的是一种笨重的加油系统，受油机必须象空中格斗那样与受油机建立起连接航线然后用绞车牵入软管建立连接。这套系统在天气相对平静的白天可以正常工作。但是在坏天气或者是夜间要建立连接就比较棘手了。
During the Korean War, a probe-and-drogue system was developed. In this system, still used today, the tanker unreels a refueling hose from the rear or from wing pods. At the end of the hose is a funnel-shaped drogue, a basket that resembles an oversized shuttlecock. The drogue stabilizes the trailing hose and provides a lead into the connector at the end of the hose. The receiver aircraft is fitted with a probe that extends out from the side of the fuselage or from the leading edge of the wing. The pilot guides the probe into the drogue to make the connection.
在朝鲜战争期间，出现了一套探头锥管系统。这套系统沿用至今，加油机从后方或者是机翼吊舱中放出加油软管。软管的末端是一个漏斗状的锥管，一个类似特大号羽毛球的篮子。锥管使拖曳的软管保持稳定并在软管的末端为连接对象提供指示。受油机装备有一个从机身一侧或者是机翼前缘伸出的探头。飞行员将探头插入锥管完成连接。
While this arrangement was a major improvement over its predecessor, it still had drawbacks. Early versions of the probe-and-drogue receiving equipment were bulky (especially for fighters) and fuel transfer rates were slow. The probe-and-drogue method also placed a high workload on the pilot of the receiving aircraft because the early drogues were not very stable and tended to wander in tight circles. Successfully hooking up took much practice and training.
尽管这种布置相对于它的前身来说是一个相当大的改进，但它还是有一些缺点。早期版本的探头锥管受油设备相当庞大（特别是对战斗机而言）并且油料的传送速率很低。探头锥管的方法对于受油机的飞行员来说是一项很高的工作负担，因为早期的锥管并不十分稳定而是在一个小的圆圈里摆动。成功对接需要大量的实践和训练。
大约五年之后发展空中加油技术再一次被重新提起。1929年的元旦，一架被戏称为“问号”的福克C-2型三引擎飞机（因为没有人能确定它能在天上呆多久）开始了创记录的飞行。首次的空中加油发生在玫瑰碗体育场上空，当时佐治亚州的球队正在和加利福尼亚州的球队交锋，比分是8比7。两架道格拉斯C-1型双翼机作为加油机为“问号”为期7天的飞行提供保证，最终福克因为一个发动机停止工作回到了地面。在这次飞行中，两个机组输送了5,660加仑的燃油，245加仑的机油，以及食品，水，电池等等其它补给品。
Despite the achievement, development in the United States languished. The British conducted experiments with some success, but through World War II, long-range strategic missions and aerial refueling were greeted with skepticism by most of those in command. With few exceptions, little further development was done even though a great need existed. Doolittle's famous bombing raid on Tokyo from a precarious launch from an aircraft carrier is but one glaring example of the difficulties that had to be overcome because there was no way to refuel in the air.
尽管取得了这样的成就，这项技术的发展在美国还是凋零了。在英国进行的一些实验取得了成功，但是从第二次世界大战起，远程战略任务和空中加油又在大多数当权者的置疑中进入了人们的眼帘。几乎是在意料之中，空中加油由于极大的需求又取得了一点深入的发展。著名的杜特立从一艘航母上冒险起飞轰炸东京就是无法进行空中加油而不得不克服困难的一个耀眼的例子。
After the war, the long-range requirements of the Strategic Air Command renewed interest in aerial refueling. Development progressed rapidly, culminating on 22 March 1949 when "Lucky Lady II," a specially outfitted B-50A bomber, landed at Carswell AFB in Texas after completing the first non-stop around-the-world flight. The mission took ninety-two hours and covered nearly 24,000 miles. Fuel was dispensed from KB-29 tankers, a modification of the B-29 bomber. Air-to-air refueling was here to stay.
战后，战略空军司令部对于远程需要的目光重新落到了空中加油上。空中加油得到了快速发展，其顶峰出现在1949年3月22号，一架特殊改装过的B-50A轰炸机，“幸运女郎II”在首次完成不着陆环球飞行之后降落在得克萨斯州的卡斯威尔空军基地。此次任务历时92小时，航程接近24,000英里。燃油由KB-29加油机提供，它是由B-29轰炸机改装而来的。空中加油从此奠定了它的地位。
These early tankers used a cumbersome refueling system in which the receiver aircraft would grapple a contact line trailed by the tanker and then winch in the refueling hose to make the connection. The system worked fine in relatively calm air during the day. But making a connection in turbulence or at night was tricky.
这些早期的加油机使用的是一种笨重的加油系统，受油机必须象空中格斗那样与受油机建立起连接航线然后用绞车牵入软管建立连接。这套系统在天气相对平静的白天可以正常工作。但是在坏天气或者是夜间要建立连接就比较棘手了。
During the Korean War, a probe-and-drogue system was developed. In this system, still used today, the tanker unreels a refueling hose from the rear or from wing pods. At the end of the hose is a funnel-shaped drogue, a basket that resembles an oversized shuttlecock. The drogue stabilizes the trailing hose and provides a lead into the connector at the end of the hose. The receiver aircraft is fitted with a probe that extends out from the side of the fuselage or from the leading edge of the wing. The pilot guides the probe into the drogue to make the connection.
在朝鲜战争期间，出现了一套探头锥管系统。这套系统沿用至今，加油机从后方或者是机翼吊舱中放出加油软管。软管的末端是一个漏斗状的锥管，一个类似特大号羽毛球的篮子。锥管使拖曳的软管保持稳定并在软管的末端为连接对象提供指示。受油机装备有一个从机身一侧或者是机翼前缘伸出的探头。飞行员将探头插入锥管完成连接。
While this arrangement was a major improvement over its predecessor, it still had drawbacks. Early versions of the probe-and-drogue receiving equipment were bulky (especially for fighters) and fuel transfer rates were slow. The probe-and-drogue method also placed a high workload on the pilot of the receiving aircraft because the early drogues were not very stable and tended to wander in tight circles. Successfully hooking up took much practice and training.
尽管这种布置相对于它的前身来说是一个相当大的改进，但它还是有一些缺点。早期版本的探头锥管受油设备相当庞大（特别是对战斗机而言）并且油料的传送速率很低。探头锥管的方法对于受油机的飞行员来说是一项很高的工作负担，因为早期的锥管并不十分稳定而是在一个小的圆圈里摆动。成功对接需要大量的实践和训练。
描述：图：从F-14后座上看软管加油及锥管
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These drawbacks were addresses by a new refueling concept used by today's Air Force - the flying boom. In this concept, a crew member in the rear of the tanker controls a telescoping rigid boom into a receptacle on the receiver.
这些缺点在如今空军使用的新的加油概念里得到了解决——使用飞杆加油。在这种概念里，加油机后方的一名机组成员控制一根可伸缩的硬管将其插入受油机的受油口。
The boom operator literally flies the boom into place using small airfoils, called ruddervators, near the boom's end. Guided by colored lights on the underside of the tanker, the pilot has only to maintain a position behind and below the tanker. The first KB-29s were outfitted in 1950 with the flying boom, which was installed in the old rear gunner's turret. Modifications to B-50 bombers as receivers for the boom-equipped tankers commenced simultaneously.
加油管的操作手通过位于加油管末端的、被称之为“调整舵”的小翼面来将加油管逐渐引入正确位置。在加油机下方彩色灯光的指引下，飞行员只需要将飞机保持在加油机的后下方。第一批带有飞杆的KB-29型加油机于1950年列装，飞杆安装在原来的尾部炮塔位置。对于作为飞杆加油受油机的B-50轰炸机的改造也同时展开。
这些缺点在如今空军使用的新的加油概念里得到了解决——使用飞杆加油。在这种概念里，加油机后方的一名机组成员控制一根可伸缩的硬管将其插入受油机的受油口。
The boom operator literally flies the boom into place using small airfoils, called ruddervators, near the boom's end. Guided by colored lights on the underside of the tanker, the pilot has only to maintain a position behind and below the tanker. The first KB-29s were outfitted in 1950 with the flying boom, which was installed in the old rear gunner's turret. Modifications to B-50 bombers as receivers for the boom-equipped tankers commenced simultaneously.
加油管的操作手通过位于加油管末端的、被称之为“调整舵”的小翼面来将加油管逐渐引入正确位置。在加油机下方彩色灯光的指引下，飞行员只需要将飞机保持在加油机的后下方。第一批带有飞杆的KB-29型加油机于1950年列装，飞杆安装在原来的尾部炮塔位置。对于作为飞杆加油受油机的B-50轰炸机的改造也同时展开。
描述：图：KB-29尾部照片
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描述：图：KB-29尾部的加油操作员
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By the early 1950s, with most fighters equipped with either refueling receptacles or probes, the first large-scale overseas deployments began. In July 1952, KB-29s supported the deployment of fifty-eight F-84Gs of the 31st Fighter Escort Wing from Turner AFB, Georgia, to bases in Japan. Three months later, seventy-five F-84Gs flew from Bergstrom AFB in Texas to Misawa Air Base in Japan. These deployments and others proved the practicality of sending large numbers of fighters overseas from bases in the United States.
到上世纪50年代初期，在大多数战斗机都装备了受油口或者是探头的情况下，首次大范围的海外部署开始了。1952年7月，KB-29加油机支援了第31战斗机护卫联队58架F-84G型战斗机从佐治亚州特纳空军基地到日本基地的部署行动。3个月后，75架F-84G从得克萨斯州的博格斯托姆空军基地飞往日本的三沢空军基地。上述及其它的部署行动证明了从美国本土基地跨洋派驻大量战斗机的可行性。
到上世纪50年代初期，在大多数战斗机都装备了受油口或者是探头的情况下，首次大范围的海外部署开始了。1952年7月，KB-29加油机支援了第31战斗机护卫联队58架F-84G型战斗机从佐治亚州特纳空军基地到日本基地的部署行动。3个月后，75架F-84G从得克萨斯州的博格斯托姆空军基地飞往日本的三沢空军基地。上述及其它的部署行动证明了从美国本土基地跨洋派驻大量战斗机的可行性。
描述：图：KB-29给F-84G加油
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描述：图：KB-29全身照
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The slower, prop-driven KB-29s, however, soon became outpaced by the jet fighters. So the aging B-50 was pressed into service as a tanker in 1955. A small jet engine was added on each wing of the bomber to increase the KB-50s speed to better match the jet's. Three refueling hoses were fitted to the bomber, one from the fuselage and one each from a pod mounted under each wing. This crowded arrangement (the wings of the B-50 tanker sported four large radial engines, two refueling pods, and two jet engines) allowed three receivers to refuel at the same time.
然而，飞行速度缓慢、依靠螺旋桨推进的KB-29型加油机与喷气战斗机相比之下很快就落伍了。因此趋于成熟的B-50作为加油机于1955年出现在现役队伍中。KB-50两个机翼下分别增加了一个小型喷气发动机来提升飞行速度使之能匹配战斗机的飞行速度。三套加油软管被安装在了轰炸机上，一个在机身上，两翼下分别安装的吊舱各一套。这样拥挤的布局（B-50改装的加油机机翼上有四个巨大的螺旋桨发动机，两个加油吊舱，以及两个喷气发动机）允许三架受油机同时加油。
然而，飞行速度缓慢、依靠螺旋桨推进的KB-29型加油机与喷气战斗机相比之下很快就落伍了。因此趋于成熟的B-50作为加油机于1955年出现在现役队伍中。KB-50两个机翼下分别增加了一个小型喷气发动机来提升飞行速度使之能匹配战斗机的飞行速度。三套加油软管被安装在了轰炸机上，一个在机身上，两翼下分别安装的吊舱各一套。这样拥挤的布局（B-50改装的加油机机翼上有四个巨大的螺旋桨发动机，两个加油吊舱，以及两个喷气发动机）允许三架受油机同时加油。
描述：图：KC-97给KB-50加油
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描述：图：KB-50拥挤的机翼布局
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The KB-29s were also being replaced with new Boeing KC-97s. While these versions of the Stratofreighter retained their cargo capability, their rear doors were replaced with a boom operator's station derived from that of the KB-29. With no turret to use, the boom was moved forward on the fuselage. The boom operator laid prone, face down, to view the receiver through a viewing window. (KC-97 boom operators enjoyed one of the few positions in the military in which lying down was part of the job description.) The upper-deck fuel tanks and boom equipment on the KC-97 could be removed if necessary and the tanker quickly converted to a freighter. Two improved models of the KC-97 offered greater payload capacity and flexibility. In January 1957, three B-52s, supported by ninety-eight KC-97s stationed along the route, flew around the world in forty-five hours and nineteen minutes. The lead aircraft, christened Lucky Lady III, was commanded by Lt. Col. James Morris, the copilot of Lucky Lady II's around-the-world mission in 1949. The bombers more than halved the record set by Lucky Lady II only eight years previous, and they did it with three aircraft to boot.
取代KB-29的还有新的波音KC-97。在保留这种同温层运输机货运能力的同时，它们的后舱门被一套源自KB-29上的飞杆操作员工作站所取代。由于没有炮塔可以利用，飞杆被前移到了机身上。飞杆操作员向下俯卧，通过一个观察窗来观察受油机。（KC-97的飞杆操作员很少会喜欢上军队里的其它岗位，因为躺着那里是他们的工作内容之一。）KC-97上层甲板的油箱以及飞杆设备在需要的时候可以快速拆除，从加油机变回运输机。KC-97的两型合一提供了极大的运载能力和灵活性。1957年的1月，3架B-52在沿途98架KC-97的支援下，在45小时19分钟的时间里完成了环球飞行。编队的长机代号为“幸运女郎III”，由詹姆斯·莫里斯中校指挥，他是1949年环球飞行行动中“幸运女郎II”的副驾驶。轰炸机编队将8年之前“幸运女郎II”创造的记录缩短了一半还多，而且还是三架同时创造了这个纪录。
取代KB-29的还有新的波音KC-97。在保留这种同温层运输机货运能力的同时，它们的后舱门被一套源自KB-29上的飞杆操作员工作站所取代。由于没有炮塔可以利用，飞杆被前移到了机身上。飞杆操作员向下俯卧，通过一个观察窗来观察受油机。（KC-97的飞杆操作员很少会喜欢上军队里的其它岗位，因为躺着那里是他们的工作内容之一。）KC-97上层甲板的油箱以及飞杆设备在需要的时候可以快速拆除，从加油机变回运输机。KC-97的两型合一提供了极大的运载能力和灵活性。1957年的1月，3架B-52在沿途98架KC-97的支援下，在45小时19分钟的时间里完成了环球飞行。编队的长机代号为“幸运女郎III”，由詹姆斯·莫里斯中校指挥，他是1949年环球飞行行动中“幸运女郎II”的副驾驶。轰炸机编队将8年之前“幸运女郎II”创造的记录缩短了一半还多，而且还是三架同时创造了这个纪录。
描述：图：KC-97
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描述：图：侧面观察窗
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As the Air Force converted to an all-jet fleet of warplanes, the gasoline-fueled, prop-driven tankers became anachronisms. A new tanker was needed to better match the capabilities of the B-52 and the newer, faster fighters. In the early 1950s, Boeing began developing a new airframe, the KC-135, that could serve as both an Air Force tanker and as the company's first civilian jet transport. The prototype first flew in July 1954. (Contrary to popular misconception, the 707 airliner and the KC-135 are not two versions of the same aircraft.) The first KC-135A entered service in 1957 and it remains in service today.
当空军的作战飞机完全转变成喷气机时，以汽油为燃料、螺旋桨推进的加油机就变得落后于时代了。空军需要有一种新的加油机来从性能上更好地配合B-52和新的、更快的战斗机。上世纪50年代初期，波音开始研制一种新的机身，即KC-135，可以用来作为空军的加油机和商业公司第一种民用喷气运输机。原型机于1954年进行了首飞。（与流行的误解恰恰相反，波音707客机和KC-135并不是同一种飞机的两种版本。）首架KC-135A于1957年入役并一直服役到了今天。
当空军的作战飞机完全转变成喷气机时，以汽油为燃料、螺旋桨推进的加油机就变得落后于时代了。空军需要有一种新的加油机来从性能上更好地配合B-52和新的、更快的战斗机。上世纪50年代初期，波音开始研制一种新的机身，即KC-135，可以用来作为空军的加油机和商业公司第一种民用喷气运输机。原型机于1954年进行了首飞。（与流行的误解恰恰相反，波音707客机和KC-135并不是同一种飞机的两种版本。）首架KC-135A于1957年入役并一直服役到了今天。
描述：图：KC-135A
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Propulsion on the early models of the KC-135 was supplied by four Pratt & Whitney turbojet engines. Its cruise speed was over 500 mph at 30,000 feet. Range, of course, depended upon how much fuel was offloaded. The aircraft had an unrefueled range of over 9,000 miles. With 24,000 pounds of fuel to transfer, the aircraft had a mission radius of about 3,500 miles. With 120,000 pounds of fuel, the radius was reduced to just over 1,000 miles.
早期型号的KC-135使用的动力是由普拉特·惠特尼公司提供的四个涡轮喷气发动机。它在30,000英尺高度的巡航速度超过每小时500公里。至于航程，当然，具体还要取决于送出多少燃油。这种飞机不执行加油任务的航程超过9,000英里。按输送24,000磅燃油计算，这种飞机的任务半径大约是3,500英里。按输送120,000磅燃油计算，任务半径减少到1,000英里多一点。
The KC-135 uses the time-tested refueling boom and operator's panel from the KC-97. The boom operator still lays face-down in the center of the aircraft. The aircraft also has stations for two observers or instructors, one on either side of the boom operator. Large mirrors around the periphery of the windows extend the operator's view. The KC-135 carries its fuel in twelve wing and nine fuselage tanks, which together hold over 200,000 pounds of fuel. While no refueling hose is fitted to refuel probe-equipped aircraft, a special nine-foot adapter hose and drogue can be attached to the boom on the ground.
KC-135使用的是经过时间考验的飞杆系统以及KC-97的操作员面板。飞杆操作员依然是脸朝下俯卧在机身中间。这种飞机还为观察员或者是指导人员安排了两个位置，分别位于飞杆操作员的两侧。观察窗外围的大反射镜拓展了操作员的视野。KC-135携带有十二个机翼油箱和9个机身油箱，所有的燃油加起来超过200,000磅。尽管没有适合于给准备了受油探头的飞机加油的软管，但是一种特殊的长9英尺的转接软管和锥管可以在地面上安装到飞管上。
Over the years, KC-135s have given a good account of themselves. But the old turbojets used a lot of fuel and were noisy and expensive to maintain. In recent years, engine upgrades have extended the life of the tankers and increased performance, lowered the noise level, and reduced maintenance costs. The Air Force fitted their tankers with higher thrust high-bypass turbofan engines to create the KC-135R variant of which 295 are now in service. Air National Guard and USAF Reserve aircraft received 18,000-pound-thrust Pratt & Whitney turbofans taken from scrapped late model 707s. These aircraft are now designated KC-135Es.
数十年来，KC-135为自己赢得了良好的声誉。但是老式的涡轮喷气发动机耗油量高、噪音大、维护费用昂贵。在最近几年里（译注：本文发表于1993年），通过发动机升级已经沿长了加油机的使用寿命并且提高了性能，降低了噪音级别，还减少了维护费用。空军为他们的加油机换装了更大推力的高涵道比涡轮风扇发动机并定型为KC-135R，至今已经有295架加入现役。空中国民警卫队和空军预备役的飞机则接收了来自最新型号波音707客机上使用的18,000磅推力的普拉特·惠特尼涡轮风扇发动机。这些飞机被定型为KC-135E。
早期型号的KC-135使用的动力是由普拉特·惠特尼公司提供的四个涡轮喷气发动机。它在30,000英尺高度的巡航速度超过每小时500公里。至于航程，当然，具体还要取决于送出多少燃油。这种飞机不执行加油任务的航程超过9,000英里。按输送24,000磅燃油计算，这种飞机的任务半径大约是3,500英里。按输送120,000磅燃油计算，任务半径减少到1,000英里多一点。
The KC-135 uses the time-tested refueling boom and operator's panel from the KC-97. The boom operator still lays face-down in the center of the aircraft. The aircraft also has stations for two observers or instructors, one on either side of the boom operator. Large mirrors around the periphery of the windows extend the operator's view. The KC-135 carries its fuel in twelve wing and nine fuselage tanks, which together hold over 200,000 pounds of fuel. While no refueling hose is fitted to refuel probe-equipped aircraft, a special nine-foot adapter hose and drogue can be attached to the boom on the ground.
KC-135使用的是经过时间考验的飞杆系统以及KC-97的操作员面板。飞杆操作员依然是脸朝下俯卧在机身中间。这种飞机还为观察员或者是指导人员安排了两个位置，分别位于飞杆操作员的两侧。观察窗外围的大反射镜拓展了操作员的视野。KC-135携带有十二个机翼油箱和9个机身油箱，所有的燃油加起来超过200,000磅。尽管没有适合于给准备了受油探头的飞机加油的软管，但是一种特殊的长9英尺的转接软管和锥管可以在地面上安装到飞管上。
Over the years, KC-135s have given a good account of themselves. But the old turbojets used a lot of fuel and were noisy and expensive to maintain. In recent years, engine upgrades have extended the life of the tankers and increased performance, lowered the noise level, and reduced maintenance costs. The Air Force fitted their tankers with higher thrust high-bypass turbofan engines to create the KC-135R variant of which 295 are now in service. Air National Guard and USAF Reserve aircraft received 18,000-pound-thrust Pratt & Whitney turbofans taken from scrapped late model 707s. These aircraft are now designated KC-135Es.
数十年来，KC-135为自己赢得了良好的声誉。但是老式的涡轮喷气发动机耗油量高、噪音大、维护费用昂贵。在最近几年里（译注：本文发表于1993年），通过发动机升级已经沿长了加油机的使用寿命并且提高了性能，降低了噪音级别，还减少了维护费用。空军为他们的加油机换装了更大推力的高涵道比涡轮风扇发动机并定型为KC-135R，至今已经有295架加入现役。空中国民警卫队和空军预备役的飞机则接收了来自最新型号波音707客机上使用的18,000磅推力的普拉特·惠特尼涡轮风扇发动机。这些飞机被定型为KC-135E。
描述：图：KC-135E
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描述：图：从加油操作员的位置看KC-135给B-52和C-130加油
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To date, 163 have been converted. The differences in performance are dramatic. For example, the R model is twenty-five percent more fuel efficient, can offload fifty per cent more fuel, and costs twenty-five percent less to operate than the original version. Today the fleet retains 633 KC-135 tankers. Service life extensions will keep the KC-135s in the air well into the next century.
按照计划，163架加油机将被改装。其性能上的差异是很明显的。举个例子，与原始型号相比R型的载油量提高了百分之二十五，可以输送的燃油提高了百分之五十，使用费用降低了百分之二十五。时至今日空军已经拥有633架KC-135加油机。服役期延长计划将使得KC-135继续飞向下一个世纪。
By the early 1970s the Air Force needed a larger, more capable tanker transport with increased cargo payload, range, and refueling capability. It examined the larger civilian aircraft available and selected a derivative of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 tri-jet in 1977. The first KC-10 Extender was put into service in 1981. The aircraft retains almost ninety percent commonality with its civilian counterpart, easing maintenance and logistics costs. The wing tanks and tanks installed under the main cargo deck can hold 365,000 pounds of fuel, nearly twice the capacity of the KC-135. Unrefueled range is 11,500 miles. A center-mounted hose and drogue improves mission flexibility. An inflight refueling receptacle behind the cockpit allows refueling by a KC-135 or another KC-10. Sixty KC-l0As were delivered before the production line closed in 1987.
到了上世纪70年代初期，空军需要一种更大的、具备加油机功能的运输机，能够有更大的载荷，航程，以及空中加油能力。空军审查了当时的更大型的民用飞机并于1977年选定了麦克唐纳·道格拉斯公司的DC-10-30三发喷气机的衍生型。首架KC-10“补给员”空中加油机于1981年加入现役。这种飞机与其民用型号相比保留了超过百分之九十的相似之处，减少了维护与后勤上的开支。机翼油箱和安装在货运主甲板下的机身油箱可以容纳365,000磅的燃油，接近KC-135两倍的容量。不执行加油任务的航程为11,500英里。安装在中部的软管和锥管提高和执行任务的灵活性。驾驶舱后方的一个飞行中受油接口允许接受其它KC-10或者是KC-135的加油。到1987年生产线关闭之前一共生产了60架KC-10A空中加油机。
按照计划，163架加油机将被改装。其性能上的差异是很明显的。举个例子，与原始型号相比R型的载油量提高了百分之二十五，可以输送的燃油提高了百分之五十，使用费用降低了百分之二十五。时至今日空军已经拥有633架KC-135加油机。服役期延长计划将使得KC-135继续飞向下一个世纪。
By the early 1970s the Air Force needed a larger, more capable tanker transport with increased cargo payload, range, and refueling capability. It examined the larger civilian aircraft available and selected a derivative of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30 tri-jet in 1977. The first KC-10 Extender was put into service in 1981. The aircraft retains almost ninety percent commonality with its civilian counterpart, easing maintenance and logistics costs. The wing tanks and tanks installed under the main cargo deck can hold 365,000 pounds of fuel, nearly twice the capacity of the KC-135. Unrefueled range is 11,500 miles. A center-mounted hose and drogue improves mission flexibility. An inflight refueling receptacle behind the cockpit allows refueling by a KC-135 or another KC-10. Sixty KC-l0As were delivered before the production line closed in 1987.
到了上世纪70年代初期，空军需要一种更大的、具备加油机功能的运输机，能够有更大的载荷，航程，以及空中加油能力。空军审查了当时的更大型的民用飞机并于1977年选定了麦克唐纳·道格拉斯公司的DC-10-30三发喷气机的衍生型。首架KC-10“补给员”空中加油机于1981年加入现役。这种飞机与其民用型号相比保留了超过百分之九十的相似之处，减少了维护与后勤上的开支。机翼油箱和安装在货运主甲板下的机身油箱可以容纳365,000磅的燃油，接近KC-135两倍的容量。不执行加油任务的航程为11,500英里。安装在中部的软管和锥管提高和执行任务的灵活性。驾驶舱后方的一个飞行中受油接口允许接受其它KC-10或者是KC-135的加油。到1987年生产线关闭之前一共生产了60架KC-10A空中加油机。
描述：图：KC-10
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While the most common location for the refueling receptacle has been on the centerline of the main fuselage somewhere behind the cockpit, not all Air Force fighters use this location. The F-111's receptacle is offset a bit to the left of the centerline. The F-15's connection is outboard of the left engine inlet in the upper body of the wing root strake. The A-10's receptacle is located in its nose, just forward of the leading edge of the canopy.
尽管大多数受油插口的位置都是位于驾驶舱后方主机身中线上的某个位置，但并不是所有的空军战斗机都是这样的。F-111的受油插口位于机身中线偏左一点。F-15的受油接口位于左侧翼根蒙皮的上方、发动机进气口的外侧。A-10的受油口位于其机鼻位置，即座舱盖的最前缘。
From the pilot's perspective, some aircraft are easier to refuel than others. By all accounts, the F-16 is the easiest fighter in the Air Force inventory to refuel. One pilot with experience in many different types of aircraft says the F-16's sophisticated fly-by-wire controls and flight control computers make aerial refueling "a piece of cake." Pilot training seems to support the statement. Students transitioning into the F-16 are introduced to midair refueling very early in their training. In other fighters, much more flight experience is required.
从飞行员的角度来看，一些飞机的空中加油要比别的一些飞机容易。在所有的飞机中，F-16是空军资产列表里面最容易进行空中加油的飞机。一名有着多种不同型号飞机飞行经验的飞行员说F-16成熟的电传飞控系统和飞行控制计算机使得空中加油变成“小菜一碟”。飞行员的训练结果看起来与这样的评论是相一致的。改装F-16的学员在他们的训练中很快就能够进入到空中加油的训练内容。在其它飞机上，则需要积累更多的飞行经验。
The A-10 is at the opposite end of the ease-of-refueling spectrum. The Warthog's top speed is just about as fast as the tanker's slowest refueling speed. Tanker pilots relate that the most common request from A-10 pilots is to slow down. The A-10 can sometimes barely break through the wake off the rear of a KC-135, and the slight changes in airflow from movement of the boom are enough to destabilize the approach if the pilot isn't careful. An A-10 pilot describes making contact as "one of the most rewarding moments in my flying. The worst was over; I could relax a bit." Any relaxation vanishes at disconnect, when the pilot is momentarily blinded by fuel spray on the canopy from the forward-mounted receptacle.
在这个空中加油轻松榜上排名最靠后的是A-10。“疣猪”的最高时速仅比加油机的最低加油时速快一点点。加油机飞行员接到的A-10飞行员最多的请求是再飞慢一点。A-10在有些时候会因为KC-135产生的尾流导致减速，如果飞行员没有全神贯注的话飞杆移动过程中微小的气流变化就足够影响飞机进入受油位置。A-10的飞行员在描述对接成功时这样说“那是我飞行生涯里最值得夸耀的时刻。最糟糕的时刻已经成为过去；我可以放松一下了。”脱离连接时也是一点也不轻松，那一刹那从前置受油口飞溅出来的燃油喷射在座舱盖上，飞行员跟失明差不多。
The F-4 and F-15 are not quite as difficult to refuel in the air as the A-10, though they still require considerable more effort than the F-16. But refueling is always a tense and relatively difficult flight regime. Every aircraft has its individual refueling idiosyncrasies. Each flies differently behind the tanker and interacts differently with the boom. Thus, aerial refueling trials are an important part of any aircraft's development flight testing and validation.
F-4和F-15的空中加油不至于像A-10那么困难，但仍然需要比F-16付出更多的努力。而空中加油总归是一个与紧张与困难脱不了干系的飞行方式。每一种飞机都有其自身的空中加油特性。每一次加油机身后的飞行都是困难的，与飞杆的对接过程同样是很困难的。因此，空中加油试验是任何一种飞机在研发试飞与验证过程中的一项重要组成部分。
尽管大多数受油插口的位置都是位于驾驶舱后方主机身中线上的某个位置，但并不是所有的空军战斗机都是这样的。F-111的受油插口位于机身中线偏左一点。F-15的受油接口位于左侧翼根蒙皮的上方、发动机进气口的外侧。A-10的受油口位于其机鼻位置，即座舱盖的最前缘。
From the pilot's perspective, some aircraft are easier to refuel than others. By all accounts, the F-16 is the easiest fighter in the Air Force inventory to refuel. One pilot with experience in many different types of aircraft says the F-16's sophisticated fly-by-wire controls and flight control computers make aerial refueling "a piece of cake." Pilot training seems to support the statement. Students transitioning into the F-16 are introduced to midair refueling very early in their training. In other fighters, much more flight experience is required.
从飞行员的角度来看，一些飞机的空中加油要比别的一些飞机容易。在所有的飞机中，F-16是空军资产列表里面最容易进行空中加油的飞机。一名有着多种不同型号飞机飞行经验的飞行员说F-16成熟的电传飞控系统和飞行控制计算机使得空中加油变成“小菜一碟”。飞行员的训练结果看起来与这样的评论是相一致的。改装F-16的学员在他们的训练中很快就能够进入到空中加油的训练内容。在其它飞机上，则需要积累更多的飞行经验。
The A-10 is at the opposite end of the ease-of-refueling spectrum. The Warthog's top speed is just about as fast as the tanker's slowest refueling speed. Tanker pilots relate that the most common request from A-10 pilots is to slow down. The A-10 can sometimes barely break through the wake off the rear of a KC-135, and the slight changes in airflow from movement of the boom are enough to destabilize the approach if the pilot isn't careful. An A-10 pilot describes making contact as "one of the most rewarding moments in my flying. The worst was over; I could relax a bit." Any relaxation vanishes at disconnect, when the pilot is momentarily blinded by fuel spray on the canopy from the forward-mounted receptacle.
在这个空中加油轻松榜上排名最靠后的是A-10。“疣猪”的最高时速仅比加油机的最低加油时速快一点点。加油机飞行员接到的A-10飞行员最多的请求是再飞慢一点。A-10在有些时候会因为KC-135产生的尾流导致减速，如果飞行员没有全神贯注的话飞杆移动过程中微小的气流变化就足够影响飞机进入受油位置。A-10的飞行员在描述对接成功时这样说“那是我飞行生涯里最值得夸耀的时刻。最糟糕的时刻已经成为过去；我可以放松一下了。”脱离连接时也是一点也不轻松，那一刹那从前置受油口飞溅出来的燃油喷射在座舱盖上，飞行员跟失明差不多。
The F-4 and F-15 are not quite as difficult to refuel in the air as the A-10, though they still require considerable more effort than the F-16. But refueling is always a tense and relatively difficult flight regime. Every aircraft has its individual refueling idiosyncrasies. Each flies differently behind the tanker and interacts differently with the boom. Thus, aerial refueling trials are an important part of any aircraft's development flight testing and validation.
F-4和F-15的空中加油不至于像A-10那么困难，但仍然需要比F-16付出更多的努力。而空中加油总归是一个与紧张与困难脱不了干系的飞行方式。每一种飞机都有其自身的空中加油特性。每一次加油机身后的飞行都是困难的，与飞杆的对接过程同样是很困难的。因此，空中加油试验是任何一种飞机在研发试飞与验证过程中的一项重要组成部分。
描述：图：从F-15E的后座看飞杆空中加油
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Refueling operations are generally quite safe today, though accidents can happen. A pilot's nightmare is bringing home part of the boom. A pilot can do this if he exceeds the limits of the boom's travel or if he encounters unexpected turbulence. The most dangerous situation occurs if the pilot gets too high and too close to the tanker before the boom can disconnect. This position prevents the boom operator from retracting the boom or from raising it out of the way on disconnect. In rare instances when the boom fails to disconnect, the only choice left is to perform a "brute force disconnect." The receiver puts out the brakes and breaks off the boom just above the dry break valve, as designed. Sometimes the pilot or boom operator makes a mistake during approach or break-off and the boom and the receiver make contact in the wrong place. Such contact can result in scraped paint, a scratched canopy, a broken antenna, or a slight dent in the fuselage. Occasionally more serious damage occurs.
空中加油活动在今天总的来说是相当安全的，尽管也可能会有事故发生。飞行员的恶梦之一就是带着半截加油管回家。如果他超出了飞杆移动范围的极限或者是遇到了不期而遇的扰动气流这样的事情就可能发生。如果在飞杆完全脱离之前飞行员飞的太高太接近加油机最为危险的情况就会发生。这种情况下飞杆操作员将无法收回飞杆或者是将其按向上脱离的方向举起。在极其少见的飞杆无法脱离连接的情况下，剩下的唯一选择就是进行“暴力脱离”。按照设计，受油机将打开减速板扯断加油管上方的真空阀。有些时候飞行员或者是飞杆操作员也会在对接、脱离过程中出现错误或者是在错误位置使受油机与加油管出现了碰撞。这种碰撞将擦伤涂装，刮伤座舱盖，折断天线，或者使机身产生轻微的凹痕。有时候也会产生更为严重的损伤。
In some instances, a pilot may prefer being locked onto the boom to be towed. During the Desert Shield deployment, for example, a KC-135 towed an F-4 part way across the Atlantic when the fighter experienced partial power loss. During the Gulf War, a fighter with serious fuel leaks caused by battle damage was towed by a tanker pumping fuel in as fast as it was leaking out. While tankers can't tow a powerless aircraft, they can dramatically slow the rate of descent of a disabled aircraft.
在某些情况下，飞行员会宁愿被飞杆锁住进行拖曳飞行。举个例子，在沙漠盾牌行动的部署期间，一架KC-135拖曳一架丧失了部分动力的F-4飞越了半个大西洋。在海湾战争期间，一架战斗机因为战斗损伤出现了严重的漏油，一架加油机在拖曳其飞行的同时按漏油的速度为其输送燃油。尽管加油机无法拖曳一架失去动力的飞机，但它们可以使一架受伤的飞机明显降低坠落的速度。
Most people may think that tankers just fly around in safe areas during wartime, never getting too close to danger. The Gulf War disproved this notion. On numerous occasions, tanker crews flew into the combat zone to rescue aircraft low on fuel. In some cases, tanker crews braved antiaircraft fire. A flight of two KC-135s led by Maj. Herb Otten of the 452nd Air Refueling Wing was orbiting in Saudi Arabia near the Israeli border awaiting a return strike force of F-16s when an AWACS advised that the F-16s were low on fuel and that one had sustained serious battle damage. Despite lack of fighter cover, Otten flew north into Iraqi air space to meet the fighters before they ran out of fuel. The tankers eventually had to fly almost 100 miles north into Iraq before they made contact with and successfully refueled the fighters.
大多数人会认为在战时加油机只会在安全的空域飞行，绝不会靠近危险地带。海湾战争纠正了这种错误观念。在许多场合里，加油机的机组要飞入战斗空域去拯救快要耗尽燃油的飞机。在某些情况下，加油机机组还要勇敢地面对防空火力。在一次由第452空中加油机联队赫勃·奥特恩少校率领两架KC-135在沙以边境上空转圈等待出击的F-16返航的飞行中，空中预警机通报说该波次的F-16油量已经不多并且有一架受到了严重的战斗损伤。在没有战斗机掩护的情况下，奥特恩向北飞入伊拉克的领空在这些战斗机耗尽燃油之前与其会合。在加油机队与他们建立联系并成功为这些战斗机加油时已经飞入伊拉克领空将近100英里。
"One of the vital lessons of our experience over there was the vulnerability of tankers," explains Col. Bill Sherer, the commander of the 161st Air Refueling Group of the Arizona ANG. Sherer was coincidentally in Europe on an air refueling mission when Desert Shield began. He flew one of the first missions of the tanker "air bridge." Sherer notes that flying close to enemy lines, or sometimes into enemy territory, opened a lot of eyes. "In years past at exercises like Red Flag, our tankers would orbit outside the exercise area and refuel either side's aircraft as necessary," Sherer continues. "It was like the game King's X: everyone was safe from attack when refueling. Now we are treated as the high-value assets we really are. If we get shot down, our side loses its fuel supply, and probably loses the war. So now when we go on exercises, we practice evasive maneuvers. We work much closer with our fighter cover when we have it. Fighter crews have a vital interest in our protection."
“在那里我们总结出的最为关系生死的经验教训就是加油机容易遭受攻击，”来自亚利桑那州空中国民警卫队第161空中加油机大队的指挥官比尔·希尔上校解释说。沙漠盾牌行动开始时希尔正巧在欧洲执行空中加油任务。他参加了加油机的首个任务“空中桥梁”的飞行。希尔指出靠近敌人的飞行，或者某些进入敌人领空的飞行，一定要提高警惕。“在过去的诸如红旗这样的演习行动中，我们的加油机将飞越演习的空域并且在需要时为另一方的飞机加油，”希尔继续说。“这就象游戏中的暂停一样：没有人会在加油过程中遭到攻击。现在我们是名副其实的高价值作战资源。如果我们被击落，我们一方将失去油料的补给，进而可能输掉这场战争。所在现在我们在进行训练时，开始引入规避机动。在有战斗机进行护航时我们将尽量靠近它们。战斗机飞行员都很愿意为我们提供保护。”
Briefings during the war took on a new meaning as initial expectations of tanker losses as high as twenty percent were revealed to crews. Strict rules of communication went into effect; nearly all refueling was completed in silence. Much of the refueling was done at night, lights out. Tactics and situations were constantly evolving and changing and crews had to adapt and react quickly. "In most regards, our training stood us in good stead," says boom operator SSgt. Ty Warren. "The basics of refueling are the same no matter what you may encounter. We just did what we had practiced to do."
战争进行当中一份透露给机组人员的关于初步预计加油机的损失率将高达百分之二十的报告起到了另外一种新的作用。严格的通讯规则取得了效果：几乎所有的加油行动都是在静默情况下完成的。许多的加油过程都是在夜间通过灯光进行的。相关战术和势态不断演化与变化，机组人员不得不进行快速适应并采取行动。“谢天谢地，我们的训练使得我们做好了准备，”飞杆操作员、技术军士泰·沃伦说。“无论你面对什么样的情况那些基础的加油操作都是一样的。我们只是做好了我们曾经被训练过的那些事情。”
空中加油活动在今天总的来说是相当安全的，尽管也可能会有事故发生。飞行员的恶梦之一就是带着半截加油管回家。如果他超出了飞杆移动范围的极限或者是遇到了不期而遇的扰动气流这样的事情就可能发生。如果在飞杆完全脱离之前飞行员飞的太高太接近加油机最为危险的情况就会发生。这种情况下飞杆操作员将无法收回飞杆或者是将其按向上脱离的方向举起。在极其少见的飞杆无法脱离连接的情况下，剩下的唯一选择就是进行“暴力脱离”。按照设计，受油机将打开减速板扯断加油管上方的真空阀。有些时候飞行员或者是飞杆操作员也会在对接、脱离过程中出现错误或者是在错误位置使受油机与加油管出现了碰撞。这种碰撞将擦伤涂装，刮伤座舱盖，折断天线，或者使机身产生轻微的凹痕。有时候也会产生更为严重的损伤。
In some instances, a pilot may prefer being locked onto the boom to be towed. During the Desert Shield deployment, for example, a KC-135 towed an F-4 part way across the Atlantic when the fighter experienced partial power loss. During the Gulf War, a fighter with serious fuel leaks caused by battle damage was towed by a tanker pumping fuel in as fast as it was leaking out. While tankers can't tow a powerless aircraft, they can dramatically slow the rate of descent of a disabled aircraft.
在某些情况下，飞行员会宁愿被飞杆锁住进行拖曳飞行。举个例子，在沙漠盾牌行动的部署期间，一架KC-135拖曳一架丧失了部分动力的F-4飞越了半个大西洋。在海湾战争期间，一架战斗机因为战斗损伤出现了严重的漏油，一架加油机在拖曳其飞行的同时按漏油的速度为其输送燃油。尽管加油机无法拖曳一架失去动力的飞机，但它们可以使一架受伤的飞机明显降低坠落的速度。
Most people may think that tankers just fly around in safe areas during wartime, never getting too close to danger. The Gulf War disproved this notion. On numerous occasions, tanker crews flew into the combat zone to rescue aircraft low on fuel. In some cases, tanker crews braved antiaircraft fire. A flight of two KC-135s led by Maj. Herb Otten of the 452nd Air Refueling Wing was orbiting in Saudi Arabia near the Israeli border awaiting a return strike force of F-16s when an AWACS advised that the F-16s were low on fuel and that one had sustained serious battle damage. Despite lack of fighter cover, Otten flew north into Iraqi air space to meet the fighters before they ran out of fuel. The tankers eventually had to fly almost 100 miles north into Iraq before they made contact with and successfully refueled the fighters.
大多数人会认为在战时加油机只会在安全的空域飞行，绝不会靠近危险地带。海湾战争纠正了这种错误观念。在许多场合里，加油机的机组要飞入战斗空域去拯救快要耗尽燃油的飞机。在某些情况下，加油机机组还要勇敢地面对防空火力。在一次由第452空中加油机联队赫勃·奥特恩少校率领两架KC-135在沙以边境上空转圈等待出击的F-16返航的飞行中，空中预警机通报说该波次的F-16油量已经不多并且有一架受到了严重的战斗损伤。在没有战斗机掩护的情况下，奥特恩向北飞入伊拉克的领空在这些战斗机耗尽燃油之前与其会合。在加油机队与他们建立联系并成功为这些战斗机加油时已经飞入伊拉克领空将近100英里。
"One of the vital lessons of our experience over there was the vulnerability of tankers," explains Col. Bill Sherer, the commander of the 161st Air Refueling Group of the Arizona ANG. Sherer was coincidentally in Europe on an air refueling mission when Desert Shield began. He flew one of the first missions of the tanker "air bridge." Sherer notes that flying close to enemy lines, or sometimes into enemy territory, opened a lot of eyes. "In years past at exercises like Red Flag, our tankers would orbit outside the exercise area and refuel either side's aircraft as necessary," Sherer continues. "It was like the game King's X: everyone was safe from attack when refueling. Now we are treated as the high-value assets we really are. If we get shot down, our side loses its fuel supply, and probably loses the war. So now when we go on exercises, we practice evasive maneuvers. We work much closer with our fighter cover when we have it. Fighter crews have a vital interest in our protection."
“在那里我们总结出的最为关系生死的经验教训就是加油机容易遭受攻击，”来自亚利桑那州空中国民警卫队第161空中加油机大队的指挥官比尔·希尔上校解释说。沙漠盾牌行动开始时希尔正巧在欧洲执行空中加油任务。他参加了加油机的首个任务“空中桥梁”的飞行。希尔指出靠近敌人的飞行，或者某些进入敌人领空的飞行，一定要提高警惕。“在过去的诸如红旗这样的演习行动中，我们的加油机将飞越演习的空域并且在需要时为另一方的飞机加油，”希尔继续说。“这就象游戏中的暂停一样：没有人会在加油过程中遭到攻击。现在我们是名副其实的高价值作战资源。如果我们被击落，我们一方将失去油料的补给，进而可能输掉这场战争。所在现在我们在进行训练时，开始引入规避机动。在有战斗机进行护航时我们将尽量靠近它们。战斗机飞行员都很愿意为我们提供保护。”
Briefings during the war took on a new meaning as initial expectations of tanker losses as high as twenty percent were revealed to crews. Strict rules of communication went into effect; nearly all refueling was completed in silence. Much of the refueling was done at night, lights out. Tactics and situations were constantly evolving and changing and crews had to adapt and react quickly. "In most regards, our training stood us in good stead," says boom operator SSgt. Ty Warren. "The basics of refueling are the same no matter what you may encounter. We just did what we had practiced to do."
战争进行当中一份透露给机组人员的关于初步预计加油机的损失率将高达百分之二十的报告起到了另外一种新的作用。严格的通讯规则取得了效果：几乎所有的加油行动都是在静默情况下完成的。许多的加油过程都是在夜间通过灯光进行的。相关战术和势态不断演化与变化，机组人员不得不进行快速适应并采取行动。“谢天谢地，我们的训练使得我们做好了准备，”飞杆操作员、技术军士泰·沃伦说。“无论你面对什么样的情况那些基础的加油操作都是一样的。我们只是做好了我们曾经被训练过的那些事情。”
描述：图：夜间空中加油
图片：
图片：
图片：
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However, piloting tankers outside the immediate war zone was rarely as easy as it is during peacetime. The lack of navigation facilities and ground radar-assisted air traffic control over wide areas required pilots and navigators to earn their keep. "The crowded skies meant that you had better be where you were supposed to be when you were supposed to be there," explains Capt. T. J. Bain, a KC-135 navigator of the 161st Aerial Refueling Wing. "If you were not, you would quite probably be in another aircraft's airspace. And no one on the ground was there to keep you separated."
然而，在战区边缘驾驶着加油机很少能够像和平时期那样轻松。在开放空域缺少导航工具和地面辅助雷达的空中交通管理需要飞行员和领航员提起十二分的精神。“天空拥挤背后的含意是某个时候你应该出现在某个位置时你最好是出现在你应该出现的地方，”上尉T·J·拜恩说，他是第161空中加油联队的一名KC-135领航员。“如果你没有出现在那里，那么你就很可能处于其它飞机的飞行空域。地面上没有人会来把你们分开。”
The large numbers of aircraft flying in formation was also a new experience for many tanker pilots. Tanker cells commonly had three, six, or even more tankers plus receivers flying in formation. MSgt. Maggie Evans, a KC-135 boom operator of the 336th, remembers one mission in particular during Desert Storm. "We were the tenth and last tanker in a cell with nine KC-10s and we had a total of seventy receivers with us." Formation flying is demanding and requires considerably more concentration for longer periods than many pilots are used to. This type of flying is now practiced more often.
大量飞机的编队飞行对于加油机飞行员来说也是一种全新体验。加油单元通常有3架、6架，或者是更多的加油机加上受油机一起编队飞行。第336中队的KC-135加油操作员、军士长美琪·埃文斯记得沙漠风暴行动中有一次与众不同的任务。“我们和9架KC-10组成了一个加油单元，我们是第10架也是最后面的一架。在我们的身后有总数超过70架的受油机跟在后面。”编队飞行的要求很苛刻，要求比以住飞行员曾经飞过的编队更为密集、时间也更长。这样类型的飞行现在更加熟练了。
The lessons gleaned by the tanker community from the Gulf War will serve in the future. The emphasis is on new and expanded roles, new tactics in diverse operating environments. As military aviation moves toward the next century, aerial refueling will continue to provide the means to project military power to the far reaches of the globe.
加油机相关人员在海湾战争中获取到的经验将用于未来的实践。其重点将落在新的、拓展后角色，以及在不同行动环境下的新战术。在军事航空迈向新世纪的同时，空中加油将继续为向地球远方投送军事力量提供一种方式方法。
Under the current restructuring, ANG and USAF Reserve units contribute almost half of the Air Force's peacetime aerial refueling mission. Control of the significant majority of the tanker force passed to the Air Mobility Command, headquartered at Scott AFB, Illinois, when it was formed last June. From a single command center at Scott, tanker assets worldwide are scheduled for airlift, strategic, and tactical needs. No matter when or where a need for rapid deployment of personnel, supplies, combat equipment, or aircraft arises, these tankers and their crews will be the ones that make it possible. Or as one airman says, "We provide the legs, to carry the muscle, to deliver the punch."
在当前的重组过程中，空中国民警卫队和空军预备役部队承担了和平时期的空军将近半数的空中加油任务。在总部位于伊利诺斯州斯克特空军基地的空中机动司令部于去年（译注：1992年）6月成立之后，大多数加油机部队的主要控制权被移交。在斯克特基地唯一的指挥中心指挥下，全球范围内的加油机资源按运输、战略、以及战术的需要进行了排列。无论何时何地需要进行人员、补给、战斗装备的快速部署，或者是飞机的留空，这些加油机及其机组人员都是将其变成现实的力量。或许正如一名飞行员说过的那样，“我们提供双脚，携带力量，挥出挙头。”
然而，在战区边缘驾驶着加油机很少能够像和平时期那样轻松。在开放空域缺少导航工具和地面辅助雷达的空中交通管理需要飞行员和领航员提起十二分的精神。“天空拥挤背后的含意是某个时候你应该出现在某个位置时你最好是出现在你应该出现的地方，”上尉T·J·拜恩说，他是第161空中加油联队的一名KC-135领航员。“如果你没有出现在那里，那么你就很可能处于其它飞机的飞行空域。地面上没有人会来把你们分开。”
The large numbers of aircraft flying in formation was also a new experience for many tanker pilots. Tanker cells commonly had three, six, or even more tankers plus receivers flying in formation. MSgt. Maggie Evans, a KC-135 boom operator of the 336th, remembers one mission in particular during Desert Storm. "We were the tenth and last tanker in a cell with nine KC-10s and we had a total of seventy receivers with us." Formation flying is demanding and requires considerably more concentration for longer periods than many pilots are used to. This type of flying is now practiced more often.
大量飞机的编队飞行对于加油机飞行员来说也是一种全新体验。加油单元通常有3架、6架，或者是更多的加油机加上受油机一起编队飞行。第336中队的KC-135加油操作员、军士长美琪·埃文斯记得沙漠风暴行动中有一次与众不同的任务。“我们和9架KC-10组成了一个加油单元，我们是第10架也是最后面的一架。在我们的身后有总数超过70架的受油机跟在后面。”编队飞行的要求很苛刻，要求比以住飞行员曾经飞过的编队更为密集、时间也更长。这样类型的飞行现在更加熟练了。
The lessons gleaned by the tanker community from the Gulf War will serve in the future. The emphasis is on new and expanded roles, new tactics in diverse operating environments. As military aviation moves toward the next century, aerial refueling will continue to provide the means to project military power to the far reaches of the globe.
加油机相关人员在海湾战争中获取到的经验将用于未来的实践。其重点将落在新的、拓展后角色，以及在不同行动环境下的新战术。在军事航空迈向新世纪的同时，空中加油将继续为向地球远方投送军事力量提供一种方式方法。
Under the current restructuring, ANG and USAF Reserve units contribute almost half of the Air Force's peacetime aerial refueling mission. Control of the significant majority of the tanker force passed to the Air Mobility Command, headquartered at Scott AFB, Illinois, when it was formed last June. From a single command center at Scott, tanker assets worldwide are scheduled for airlift, strategic, and tactical needs. No matter when or where a need for rapid deployment of personnel, supplies, combat equipment, or aircraft arises, these tankers and their crews will be the ones that make it possible. Or as one airman says, "We provide the legs, to carry the muscle, to deliver the punch."
在当前的重组过程中，空中国民警卫队和空军预备役部队承担了和平时期的空军将近半数的空中加油任务。在总部位于伊利诺斯州斯克特空军基地的空中机动司令部于去年（译注：1992年）6月成立之后，大多数加油机部队的主要控制权被移交。在斯克特基地唯一的指挥中心指挥下，全球范围内的加油机资源按运输、战略、以及战术的需要进行了排列。无论何时何地需要进行人员、补给、战斗装备的快速部署，或者是飞机的留空，这些加油机及其机组人员都是将其变成现实的力量。或许正如一名飞行员说过的那样，“我们提供双脚，携带力量，挥出挙头。”
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