Drop tanks on a F-16 Fighting Falcon.

A drop tank is an expendable external fuel tank carried by aircraft for long-range flights. It is designed to be discarded when empty or in the event of combat or emergency. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x559, 165 KB) Beschreibung: F-16 Fighting Falcon in Laage Quellenangabe und Beleg an darkone@despammed. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1024x559, 165 KB) Beschreibung: F-16 Fighting Falcon in Laage Quellenangabe und Beleg an darkone@despammed. ... The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a modern multi-role jet fighter aircraft built in the United States and used by dozens of countries all over the world. ... A fuel tank is part of an engine system in which the fuel is stored and released into the engine. ... A Japan Airlines Boeing 747-400. ... Flight is the process of flying: either movement through the air by aerodynamically generating lift or aerostatically using buoyancy, or movement beyond earths atmosphere by spacecraft. ... Combat, or fighting, is purposeful conflict between one or more persons, often involving violence and intended to establish dominance over the opposition. ... An emergency is a situation that poses an immediate threat to human life or serious damage to property. ...

The drop tank was first used during World War II to allow fighter aircraft to carry additional fuel for long-range escort flights without requiring a dramatically larger, heavier, less maneuverable fuselage. Such tanks are now commonplace on military aircraft and occasionally for civilian use, although civilians are less likely to discard tanks except in the event of extreme emergency. Combatants Allied Powers Axis Powers Commanders {{{commander1}}} {{{commander2}}} Strength {{{strength1}}} {{{strength2}}} Casualties 17 million military deaths 7 million military deaths {{{notes}}} World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a military conflict that took place between 1939 and 1945. ... A fighter aircraft is a military aircraft designed primarily for attacking other aircraft, as opposed to a bomber, which is designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. ... In an aircraft, the fuselage is the main body section that holds crew and passengers or cargo. ... Military aircraft are airplanes used in warfare. ... A civilian is a person who is not a member of a military. ...

The primary disadvantage with drop tanks is that they impose a drag penalty on the aircraft carrying them. A rule of thumb is that only about half the capacity of a streamlined drop tank actually goes towards increasing the aircraft's overall range, the rest going to overcome the added drag of the tank itself. The use of drop tanks also reduces the number of external hardpoints available for weapons, and increase the aircraft's radar signature, both problematic for modern tactical aircraft. For a solid object moving through a fluid or gas, drag is the sum of all the aerodynamic or hydrodynamic forces in the direction of the external fluid flow. ... The bayonet, still used in war as both knife and spearpoint. ... M*A*S*H , see Corporal Walter (Radar) OReilly. ...