Assembled model 1:144 USAF KC-97L Stratofreighter Academy 12640

The Boeing KC-97L Stratofreighter of the United States Air Force is a strategic tanker aircraft that played a key role in expanding the range and operational capabilities of the United States Air Force's bombers and fighters during the Cold War. It was a transitional link between the piston giants of World War II and the jet era that followed. The KC-97 Stratofreighter was developed on the basis of the C-97 Stratofreighter transport aircraft, which, in turn, was derived from the famous B-29 Superfortress bomber. The C-97 first flew in 1944, and the KC-97 tanker version with the "flying boom" system was introduced in 1950.