The history of Air to Air refuelling and how the systems that we are now familiar with, the boom and the probe & drogue, came into being.

Capt. Lowell H. Smith and Lt. John P. Richter receiving the first mid-air refueling on June 27, 1923.

The Question Mark receives fuel during its record breaking endurance flight.

A KB-50J refuels a F-101A Voodoo, B-66 Destroyer and F-100D Super Sabre at RAF Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire on Battle of Britain Day, 14 September 1963.

A TriStar K1 of the Royal Air Force refuelling two McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18C Hornets of the US Navy over Afghanistan, 2008.

An F15 Eagle takes gas.

A Boeing KC-135Q refueling the SR-71.

The Old Pilot flying an F4 and plugged into a Victor K2 tanker of No 57 Squadron RAF.

Images under Creative Commons licence with thanks to the US Air Force, TSRL, Tech Sgt Shane A. Cuomo, US DoD, Cmdr. Erik Etz, U.S. Navy, SrA Allen McArthur and Ken Hackman,