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Photos

Snapshots of what’s happening in the Defense Department.

First Air to Air Refueling

First Air to Air Refueling

To eliminate the fuel limitation problem, the fliers at Rockwell Field, San Diego, developed a system for mid-air refueling between DH-4B airplanes. Seifert and Hine (top) transfer fuel to Richter and Smith on June 27, 1923. The receiver aircraft stayed aloft for six hours and thirty-eight minutes in the first successful aircraft-to-aircraft in-flight refueling.

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