I remember hearing that there was a proposal for a refueling system intended for use by both the RAF and civilian airliners which was considered by the US, and almost ended up as part of the RAF's "Tiger Force".
From what I remember, the system involved trailing a hose in excess of 200 feet in length, which is captured with a grappling hook, and then reeled in and attached to the tail, with the tanker climbing above and essentially using the siphon effect to refuel the plane.
Alexander de Seversky supposedly came up with some system that went nowhere, and Germans also had some kind of refueling concept as well: I don't know the details of it.
From what I remember, the system involved trailing a hose in excess of 200 feet in length, which is captured with a grappling hook, and then reeled in and attached to the tail, with the tanker climbing above and essentially using the siphon effect to refuel the plane.
Alexander de Seversky supposedly came up with some system that went nowhere, and Germans also had some kind of refueling concept as well: I don't know the details of it.
