The Tail fin and third Engine of a USAF KC10 tanker aircraft SCLO 9054.
The first KC-10s was delivered to the Air Force's Strategic Air Command (SAC) in March 1981 at Barksdale AFB; the 60th and final KC-10 arrived on 29 November 1988. The KC-10s served with SAC until 1992, when they were re-assigned to the newly established Air Mobility Command. In the aerial refueling role, the KC-10s have been operated largely in the strategic refueling of large number of tactical aircraft on ferry flights and the refueling of other strategic transport aircraft. Conversely, the KC-135 fleet has operated largely in the in-theater tactical role. There are 59 KC-10 Extenders in service with the USAF as of 2010. The USAF's KC-10s are stationed primarily at Travis AFB, California, and McGuire AFB, New Jersey. A USN F-14D and two F/A-18Cs prepare to refuel from a KC-10 in 2005 over the Persian faced with refusals of basing and overflight rights from continental European countries during Operation El Dorado Canyon, the was forced to use the UK-based F-111s in the 1986 air-strikes against Libya. The KC-10s and KC-135s allowed 29 F-111s, along with other Air Force and Navy aircraft, to reach their targets. The KC-10 again played a key role during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1991; KC-10s facilitated the deployment of tactical, strategic, and transport aircraft to Saudi Arabia. In the early stages of Operation Desert Shield, aerial refueling was key to the rapid airlift of materiel and forces. In addition to refueling airlift aircraft, the KC-10, along with the smaller KC-135, moved thousands of tons of cargo and thousands of troops in support of the massive buildup. The KC-10 and the KC-135 conducted about 51,700 separate refueling operations and delivered 125 million gallons (475 million liters) of fuel without missing a single scheduled rendezvous.
Size: 6063px × 4035px
Location: Passing through RAF Lossiemouth, Moray, Grampian Region. Scotland. UK.
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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