Air Refueling the A-12 and SR-71 Blackbird
Here are a bunch of pictures of aerial refueling with the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird and A-12 Oxcart. Feel free to leave comments below about your experiences and as always, please email me your pictures at the email address listed to the right. 
SR-71A #61-7952 during the first ever in-flight refuelling of an SR-71, on 29April1965. Lockheed photo via Tony Landis
KC-135 Refueling SR-71 Blackbird at sunset.
ca. 1991, NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards Air Force Base, California, USA — NASA’s triple-sonic SR-71B experimental reconnaisance jet flies up to the refueling probe from an aerial tanker near Edwards Air Force Base, California. 1991. — Image by © CORBIS
KC-135 refueling M-21 with GTD-21 Drone.
Close up view from the Boom Pod while refueling a SR-71 Blackbird.
Post AR with an SR-71.
A left side view of an SR-71 aircraft moving toward a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft for inflight refueling. The SR-71 is from the 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing.
Lockheed SR-71 in flight refueling. SR-71A (S/N 61-7952) refuels from KC-135A (S/N 58-0094). (U.S. Air Force photo)
Image Source:
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Access my entire collection from the OneDrive link below:
I have amassed a very large collection (over 1,000) of air to air refueling pictures and want to share them on this website. My collection includes many rare pictures (ever see an A-10 refuel from a KC-97?) of over 120 different receiver types. Whenever possible I will try to provide a link to the source(s), but I have been collecting the pictures for years on my hard drive and it may be very difficult to track down the original source.
If you find any errors on this site or have additional information about the topic please let me know and I will update the page.
Every great picture has a great story to go along. I have many great pictures, unfortunately I don’t have all of the stories. If anyone has additional information on any of the pictures featured on this site I would love for you to share your story. I am especially interested in documenting the old piston powered tankers, their stories are slowly fading away. This site is all about documenting the nitty-gritty details, so if the more specifics you have the better (quirks, ect…). Likewise, if anybody has unique air refueling pictures I would love to see them. You can send info to the address below:
Please use the comments section below the images as a place to discuss the picture and leave further information for others to read. Your discussion adds greatly to the historic value of this site and to the legacy of air refueling crew members.
Below is a brief list of things I am looking for, but any info is welcomed.
- Photographs and information about
Boeing 747 tankers.I would especially like pictures of the boom operator’s compartment, instruments, and panel. Please get in contact with me via the email address above if you have any information about the 747 tanker. - High resolution pictures of the KB-29P/KB-50/KC-97 Boom Operator’s Station and Panel
- KB-29/KB-50/KC-97 Flight Manuals
- F-86
F-104F-16XL in contact (boom pod or external view)- S-3 Viking on
BDA/MPRS/WARP/KC-10 CLD V-22 on KC-135 BDA (I know this picture exists)YC-15- X-32
- Any unique or rare air refueling picture
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My father Wayne Edwards was a boom operator in the 60’s until 1971. We were based at Beale Air force base from 1967-71, When dad retired. But he was assigned to the SR 71. He was very proud of his involvement, and so are we. Sadly dad died in 2009. We choose to use a picture he had of him in a KC 135 refueling the Blackbird, on his headstone, it is beautiful. Thank you for allowing me to tell you a piece of who he was, he was my hero.
I’m sorry to hear about your dad’s passing, but having that on his headstone must look great!
First let me extend my condolences to the Edwards family. I knew him well at Beale AFB.
I spent eight years at Beale flying in KC-135-Q’s. I saw my first A-12 behind our Tanker in mid-1964. It was like something out of Buck Rogers Science fiction. Early on the “Q” tanker guys were looked down on. We were excused from Alert Duty, wouldn’t tell anyone what we were doing and “got” to go TDY a lot! Until mid-1968 or so, we were the exclusive aerial refueling support for the A-12/SR-71/YF-12 aircraft. The 903rd ARS had the only ” full-Q” tankers. Later Little Rock and McCoy were modified and became “partial-Q’s”, lacking some navigational aids.
During the Test/Eval period we refueled the Blackbirds out of Groom Lake and Edwards AFB at many different altitudes and speeds. After going “down hill” in KC-97’s to go fast enough for B-52’s we had to “down hill” for the Blackbird as it got heavier and needed more speed.
I later returned to Beale for another four years in the 9th ARW in the Aircraft Maintenance field.
It was my experience that the tanker fleet didn’t always get the credit they earned, however speak to some of the “Recievers” about the value of the “Gas Station” at 26000 feet, usually they were happy to see us, especially 3000 miles from the nearest runway.
V//R
Col. (Ret.) William L. Spacy, USAF
The aircraft in the picture showing the 36U Boom is not an SR-71 it is the TA-12 “Titanium Goose” 2 seat trainer