Lockheed jet tanker

[Stargazer]

Speaking of Lockheed tanker concepts, what about this nuclear powered one from 1979

That was the so-called "A-Plane."

 

[ksimmelink]

Speaking of Lockheed tanker concepts, what about this nuclear powered one

I would have thought that by 1979 everyone would have been done with nuclear powered aircraft as a concept that just was too complex and costly to be practical.

 

[Triton]

I believe that the 1973 oil crisis renewed interest in nuclear-powered aircraft.

 

[Jemiba]

Too late ! Still during the '60s, nuclear powered aircraft could have been brought into service (if technologically
and economically feasible), but during the '70s, with its rising ecology movement, only States lke the SU, which
still kept their people firmly in hand, could have fielded such aircraft. In the western world even the costs for the
then necessary police operations, to remove protestors from the runways, would have been prohibitive !

 

[RyanC]

More information on a KB-36A....

NARA II, College Park, MD
RG 342
Entry P-26
Box 3685

Folder: 452.1
Consolidated B-36
Confid 1945-46-47-48

Declassified via NND 917647

-------

18 June 1948

AFMRD-3

SUBJECT: B-36A Tanker Aircraft - Performance and Configuration.

TO: Commanding General
Air Materiel Command
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base
Dayton, Ohio

Attention: MCREOA--9

1. This Headquarters is desirous of obtaining information for planning purposes which will indicate the operational capability of the B-36A, modified as a tanker.

2. It is requested that typical flight plans be furnished that will show the B-36A tanker refueling the B-29, the B-50A, B, C, D, and the B-52. The flight plan should show the B-52 going to a target 4244 nautical miles from the Base and returning to the Base with one refueling. The B-29 and B-50 series should be shown going maximum distance with one refueling before returning to Base.

3. In all probability it will be necessary to strip the B-36A to enable accomplishment of B-52 refueling, and it is requested that a proposal for the stripping be forwarded to this office.

BY COMMAND OF THE CHIEF OF STAFF:

L. C. CRAIGIE
Major General, US Air Force
Director of Research & Development
Office, Deputy Chief of Staff, Materiel

 

[Archibald]

Had Lockheed victory not been upturned, the history of aviation might have been different... imagine a Lockheed competitor to the 707, DC-8 and CV-880 / 990...

 

[Grey Havoc]

All this (and indeed the earlier KC-45 vs KC-46 competition) just reminds me of the 1950s USAF tanker competition - launched in 5 May 1954, with Boeing, Lockheed, Douglas, Convair, Martin, and Republic invited to offer. Boeing had already been working on a tanker since April 1952 - planned for first flight in 2 years, so they had a "leg up" on the competition.* The 367-80 developmental version's first flight was in July 1954.

However, in Aug. 1954 the USAF had ordered 29 "interim tankers" (KC-135A, first flight of production example Aug. 1956) from Boeing as a "stopgap". Less than two weeks later another 88 were ordered.

The competition was won in Feb. 1955 by Lockheed, with a design that was larger than Boeing's KC-135 (initially the CL-291 design, eventually the CL-321). However, in the same announcement as the "award to Lockheed" the USAF announced an order for 169 more KC-135As (now totalling 286).

Not much later, the USAF officially cancelled the Lockheed development in favor of more KC-135As. Note that the Lockheed tanker was derived from the planned L-193 airliner that has been discussed recently). Note the resemblance of the CL-291 to the C-141 (designed 1960, first flight 1963) in the main wing location and mounting.


KC-135 engines: JT3s (civilian J57, 10,000 lb.s.t. [later 12,000-14,000 with water injection, then 17,000 lb.s.t. TF33 {turbofan J57} after 1960])

CL-321's engines: J75 (15,000-17,000 lb.s.t.) (perhaps later the 21,000 lb.s.t. TF33 developments?).


KC-135:
Wingspan: 130 feet, 10 inches (39.88 meters)
Length: 136 feet, 3 inches (41.53 meters)
Height: 41 feet, 8 inches (12.7 meters)
Gross weight 297,000 lb

CL-321-11:
Wingspan: 142 feet, 0 inches (43.28 meters)
Length: 147 feet, 4 inches (44.91 meters)
Height: 47 feet, 0 inches (14.33 meters)
Gross weight (CL-291-1) 361,000 lb

View attachment 710826


View attachment 710827

* The 367-80 developmental version first flight was in July 1954 (Like its sibling, the commercial Boeing 707, the KC-135 was derived from the 367-80 jet transport "proof of concept" demonstrator, which was commonly called the "Dash-80". The KC-135 is similar in appearance to the 707, but has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. The KC-135 predates the 707, and is structurally quite different from the civilian airliner.).