Maintaining these cells takes a special group of airmen willing and capable to contort and fit themselves into the body of this aircraft. The system is made up of massive, black bladders that hold jet fuel within the wings and run down the bottom of the KC-135 fuselage. 'Tank Divers,' as the technicians of this shop are called, work day-and-night to ensure MacDill's aircraft are always ready to fuel the fight.įuels technicians handle all operations involving the pumps, valves, manifolds and all aspects that encompass the fuel cell, which the Tank Divers view as the heart of the aircraft. This hangar is the home of the 6th Maintenance Squadron's fuels systems section. On a given day, peeking out of that hangar will sit a KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft seemingly out of place in the considerably smaller maintenance shop, but surely, it's in the right hands. It would be designated Medium Recovery Vehicle M88. After 7 years of development, the finalized vehicle was approved.

Tucked away behind US Central Command and MacDill Air Force Base, Florida's traditional hangars lies a hangar originally built to house fighter jets. came forward with a design for a ‘Medium Recovery Vehicle’ in 1954, based on the automotive components of the M48 Patton III medium tank. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.

Does the air force have tank recovery