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KB-29 Superfortress Tanker Flight Line
KB-29 Superfortress Tanker Flight Line 
Maintenance on KB-29 Superfortress Tanker
Maintenance on KB-29 Superfortress Tanker 
Three KB-29 Tankers Flying in Formation
Three KB-29 Tankers Flying in Formation 
KB-29D Tanker Flying over Mountain
KB-29D Tanker Flying over Mountain 
KB-29 Tanker Ground Maintenance at Castle AFB
KB-29 Tanker Ground Maintenance at Castle AFB 
B-29 Superfortress Manufacturing
B-29 Superfortress Manufacturing 
KB-29 Tanker Aerial Refueling F-84 Thunderjets
KB-29 Tanker Aerial Refueling F-84 Thunderjets 
B-29 Superfortress Assembly
B-29 Superfortress Assembly 
KB-29 in Flight
KB-29 in Flight 
KB-29P Refueling B-50D in Flight
KB-29P Refueling B-50D in Flight 
KB-29 Tanker Preparation for Flight to Midway
KB-29 Tanker Preparation for Flight to Midway 
B-29 Superfortress Bomber
B-29 Superfortress Bomber 
B-29 Superfortress Assembly
B-29 Superfortress Assembly 
B-29s at Tinker AFB Modification Center
B-29s at Tinker AFB Modification Center 
B-29 Superfortress Assembly
B-29 Superfortress Assembly 
KB-29P and B-29 Superfortress In-Flight Refueling
KB-29P and B-29 Superfortress In-Flight Refueling 
Boeing Wichita B-29 Factory, May 1943
Boeing Wichita B-29 Factory, May 1943 
B-29 Superfortress Body Join
B-29 Superfortress Body Join 
B-29 Superfortress Assembly Area, Renton
B-29 Superfortress Assembly Area, Renton 
B-29 Superfortress in Factory at Night
B-29 Superfortress in Factory at Night 
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KB-29 Tanker Final Assembly

An entirely new career began for the B-29 Superfortress when the Strategic Air Command decided to use aerial refueling to extend the range of bombers and fighters rather than ordering new, longer range bombers. In 1948, Boeing reactivated its Wichita plant, nearly idle since the end of World War II, to convert B-29s into KB-29M tankers. They carried about 240 feet of hose and, installed in their bomb bays, jettisonable tanks which could hold about 2,300 gallons of fuel. Boeing then developed the flying boom, an aerodynamically controlled swiveling and telescoping arm that could be guided into a receptacle on top of the receiving aircraft’s fuselage. In 1950, the KB-29P tankers, equipped with the flying boom, began operation. Between 1948 and 1951, 208 B-29s were converted for aerial refueling. 
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Unique identifier BI24416 
Boeing ID p10911 
Type Image 
Size 5998px Ă— 4667px   26MB 
License type RM 
Keywords
1940s
abundance
airplanes
bombers
busy
factories
full body views
ground shots
hangars
historic production status
interiors
manufacturing
military
military livery
monoplanes
nobody
perspective lines
photos
propeller planes
rear views
repetition
structural systems
tails
tankers
text
unpainted
viewed from above
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