Ferry tank
Aferry tankis an auxiliary fuel container that is usually temporarily attached to a motorized device which it then supplies fuel. A ferry tank allows the range or endurance of the vehicle or aircraft to be extended. Ferry tanks are typically used in bothcivilandmilitaryaviation;civil aviationandtransport aircrafttend to use internal tanks while combat aircraft will use external tanks.
In aviation, ferry tanks allow aircraft additional range to reach destinations beyond the aircraft's specifiedrangewhen there are no available re-fueling stopover locations. For example, for an aircraft with only 1,000 miles range to be delivered fromNorth AmericatoHawaii,which is over 2,000 miles away, the aircraft will require a ferry tank to supply it with enough fuel to travel the excess miles.
History
[edit]The first ferry tanks weredrop tanksthat fit externally on the aircraft and were used primarily by the military, allowing combat aircraft to both travel longer distances and remain in combat longer, giving advantages to air forces that utilized them on their planes. But they also made the planes vulnerable to small arms fire.[1]
Design
[edit]
Military forces often utilize external ferry tanks, allowing aircraft to travel greater distance or remain in combat longer. For example, external ferry tanks made possible the Israeli Air Force raid on the Osirak nuclear reactor known asOperation Opera.[2]
The external tanks refill the main tank as it is depleted. Empty external tanks may be dumped in flight, known asdrop tanks,or may be retained.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Dunham, George (9 August 2016).U.S. Marines In Vietnam: The Bitter End, 1973-1975.ISBN9781787200807.
- ^"Operation Opera: how 8 Israeli F-16s destroyed an Iraqi nuclear plant 33 years ago today".The Aviationist.2014-06-07.Retrieved2017-01-13.
 | Thisaviation-related article is astub.You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |