Distance Flight Record Set By U.S. Jet Tanker

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28434, 14 November 1957, Page 18

Distance Flight Record Set By U.S. Jet Tanker

(N.Z. Press Association —Copyright)

WASHINGTON, November 12. A United States Air Force KC-135 jet tanker with General Curtis E. Lemay at the controls set a new world distance record of 6300 miles for a non-stop, no refuelling, jet-propelled flight early today, the Air Force announced. A spokesman said the Air Force Vice-Chief of Staff (General Lemay) and crew of 18 touched down in Buenos Aires 13hr 2min after taking off from Westover Air Force Base, Massachusetts. The old record of 1448 miles for a non-stop, no refuelling jet flight was set in 1955 by a French Mistral jet. The flight marked “a new milestone in the history of jet aviation,” the Air Force said. The eight-jet KC-135 is the airborne “filling station” for the hydrogen-bomb carrying 852. During the flight, the Air Force said, the big tanker hit speeds of more than 500 miles an hour and flew at an altitude of more than 35.000 ft. The flight was originated as a highlight of Argentina’s National Aviation Week. But it also dramatically turned the world spotlight back on the United States’ chief retaliatory

weapon, its long-range strategic air command, after weeks of space missile talk generated by the Soviet Union’s launching of two earth satellites. The KC-135 is designed to help the nuclear-armed Bs2’s get to their targets faster, anywhere in the world. The jet tanker can refuel the big bombers on the run without loss of speed or altitude. The KC-135 is the prototype of several commercial airliners, including the Boeing 707.