KC-97 Stratotanker, the first military aerial refueling aircraft that Spain had

The Spanish Air Force received three of these aircraft from the US Air Force

KC-97 Stratotanker, the first military aerial refueling aircraft that Spain had

@DefAviation Esp 1·27·2024 · 21:56 0

The Spanish Air Force has been operating different models of tanker aircraft for many years to refuel its planes in flight.

The history of the F-104 Starfighter that the Spanish Air Force keeps at Torrejón Air Base
The Spanish phantoms of Torrejón: the two Phantom II aircraft preserved by the 12th Wing

Currently, that role is fulfilled by five TK.23s, as the Air Force designates the refueling versions of the Airbus A400M Atlas operated by the 312 Squadron of the 31st Wing, based in Zaragoza. Its predecessors were five KC-130H Hercules operated by the same unit. Also, Spain is awaiting receipt of three A-330 MRTT that will allow longer-range resupply operations.

The Boeing KC-97L Stratotanker TK.1-3 of the Spanish Air Force, in which it was in service between 1972 and 1976. It is currently preserved in the Cuatro Vientos Air Museum. The photo was taken on April 20, 2011 (Photo: Elentir).

The first military tanker aircraft operated by Spain were three Boeing KC-97L Stratotanker Stratotanker, designated as TK.1 and transferred by the US Air Force to service the McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II fighters. which Spain had just acquired. The KC-97L were equipped with the boom refueling system, which is the one currently used by the US Air Force and which allows a faster transfer of fuel, being the most suitable for large aircraft. size. The KC-97L were the only Spanish military aircraft with this system, since their successors carry the hose and probe system.

A KC-97L refueling two Spanish F-4C fighters in flight in 1975 (Source: Retroclips).

The three Spanish KC-97Ls were registered as TK.1-1 (cn 16954, 123-01), TK.1-2 (cn 17007, 123-02) and TK.1-3 (cn 16971, 123 -03). In addition, the USAF delivered to Spain two C-97G (53-0241 and 53-0275), the transport aircraft on which the KC-97L was based, to be "cannibalized" (as they say in aeronautical terms) in order to obtain spare parts. The three tanker aircraft were part of the 123 Squadron of the 12th Wing of the Torrejón Air Base and were in service for a very short time: they arrived at the end of 1972 and were withdrawn from service in March 1976.

Fly By Wire Aviation has today published a video showing the KC-97L 123-03, which is preserved in the Cuatro Vientos Air Museum, in Madrid:

The KC-97 was designed in the 1950s, so it was a very slow aircraft to refuel fighters like the F-4. Boeing solved this problem by installing two General Electric J47-GE-23 turbojets under the wings to provide them with more speed during these maneuvers. You can see them in the video.

Two of the Spanish KC-97L, the TK.1-3 (left) and the TK.1-1 (right, without engines), in a photo taken in 1985 at the Albacete Air Maestranza (Photo: Alejandro Navarro López).

As for the rest of the fleet, according to Ruudleeuw.com, TK.1-1 and TK.1-2 ended up becoming nightclubs in Barcelona. The two C-97Gs that served as sources of spare parts have been lost: 53-0275 was scrapped at the Albacete Air Base, while 53-0241 functioned as a discotheque until 1985, when a fire destroyed it strong>, then scrapping what was left of it.

You can see here the Retroclips video that I published here in 2021 that shows an in-flight refueling operation of one of the Spanish KC-97L to two F-4Cs from the 12th Wing: