FICON project The FICON ( Fighter Conveyor ) program was conducted by the United States Air Force in the 1950s to test the feasibility of a Convair B - 36 Peacemaker bomber carrying a Republic RF - 84K Thunderflash parasite fighter in its bomb bay . Earlier wingtip coupling experiments including Tip Tow which were attempts at carrying fighters connected to the wingtips of bombers . Tom - Tom followed the FICON project afterwards . Background . Wingtip coupling experiments . Wingtip coupling experiments were evolved from the concept of adding extra floating panels to extend the effective wingspan of an aircraft , in the hope this would extend the range of the aircraft . This would theoretically act in the same manner as the long narrow wings of a glider . It is reported that the Germans experimented with the idea in 1944 and 1945 by coupling two equal - sized light planes together , then the idea was further developed by Dr . Richard Vogt who came to the US from Germany after World War II . The idea was tested at Wright Field in the late 1940s using a Douglas C - 47A Skytrain and Culver Q - 14B Cadet . These tests showed the idea had promise , and Republic Aviation was awarded a contract to investigate further . Thus began the Tip Tow project . Project MX - 1016 ( Tip Tow ) . The MX - 1018 program ( code named " Tip Tow " ) sought to extend the range of the early jets in order to give fighter protection to piston - engined bombers with the provision for in - flight attachment / detachment of the fighter to the bomber via wingtip connections . The Tip Tow aircraft consisted of a specially modified ETB - 29A ( serial number " 44 - 62093 " ) and two EF - 84B ( serial numbers " 46 - 641 " and " 46 - 661 " ) . A number of flights were undertaken , with several successful cycles of attachment and detachment , using at first a single aircraft , and then two . The pilots of the F - 84s maintained manual control when attached , with roll axis maintained by elevator movement rather than aileron movement . Engines on the F - 84s were shut down in order to save fuel during the " tow " by the mother ship , and in - flight engine restarts were successfully accomplished . Wing flexibility of the B - 29 as well as wing - tip vortices caused concern , and the mechanisms for attachment required modifications . The first hookup of both F - 84s with the B - 29 occurred on the 10th flight on 15 September 1950 . The longest flight with all connected was on 20 October 1950 , and lasted for 2hr 40min . All of these flights were accomplished with manual control of the F - 84 aircraft . Republic received an additional contract to continue the experiments by incorporating an automatic flight control system . Meanwhile , as the modifications proceeded , additional test flights were made , including night flights . The automatic flight control modifications were ready for testing in March 1953 , and a number of hookups were made with only one or the other of the F - 84s while attempting to sort continuing electrical issues . On 24 April 1953 , the left - hand F - 84 hooked up and the automatic system was activated . The F - 84 immediately flipped over onto the wing of the B - 29 and both crashed with loss of all on board . The pilot of the right - hand F - 84D , Major Clarence E . " Bud " Anderson wrote of the Tip - Tow experiments in an article entitled " Aircraft Wingtip Coupling Experiments " published by the " Society of Experimental Test Pilots . " Project Tom - Tom . In parallel , a similar configuration , called Tom - Tom , was being developed using JRB - 36F 49 - 2707 , which was previously used in the early FICON trials and two RF - 84F ( serial numbers " 51 - 1848 " and " 51 - 1849 " ) . The aircraft were attached wingtip - to - wingtip using articulated arms and clamps . Although several successful hookups were performed by Convair pilots Doc Witchell , Beryl Erickson , and Raymond Fitzgerald in 1956 , turbulence and vortices continued to present a major problem . On 23 September 1956 , RF - 84F " 51 - 1849 " , piloted by Beryl Erickson , was actually torn away from the right wing tip of the JRB - 36F . All aircraft landed safely but the concept was deemed too dangerous . Developments in the area of inflight refueling at the time promised a much safer way of extending the range of the fighters and Project Tom - Tom was canceled . FICON concept . Although the experimental McDonnell XF - 85 Goblin escort fighter proved to be a failure , USAF believed that the bomber - borne fighter concept was still viable . Instead of escort , the focus had shifted to a strike role with a Convair B - 36 Peacemaker carrying a Republic F - 84 Thunderjet fighter . The plan was for the heavy bomber with superior range to arrive in the vicinity of the target and deploy a faster , more maneuverable F - 84 to deliver the tactical nuclear bomb . The F - 84 would then return to the " mothership " and be carried home . FICON testing . A production RB - 36F - 1 - CF Peacemaker ( serial number " 49 - 2707 " ) was modified with a special trapeze mechanism in its bomb bay and designated GRB - 36F , and a production F - 84E Thunderjet ( serial number " 49 - 2115 " ) was fitted with a retractable hook in the nose in front of the cockpit . The hook would link the fighter to the trapeze which would hold the aircraft in the bomb bay during flight , lower it for deployment , and raise it back in after the mission . Due to the size of the fighter , only the cockpit , the fuselage spine , and the tailfin actually fit inside the GRB - 36 , which considerably increased the drag and reduced the big bomber ' s range by 5 - 10 % . On a positive note , the fighter pilot was able to leave his aircraft while attached to the carrier , making the 10 - hour flights to - and - from the target much more bearable . The initial FICON trials were performed in 1952 . First hookup took place on 9 January 1952 , with first retrieval into the bomb bay on 23 April , and first flight of the complete system from takeoff to landing on 14 May . In 1953 , the GRB - 36 / F - 84E was sent to Eglin Air Force Base where 170 airborne launches and retrievals were subsequently performed . In May 1953 , the F - 84E was replaced by the faster Republic F - 84F Thunderstreak , with the original YRF - 84F ( briefly called YF - 96A ) prototype ( serial number " 49 - 2430 " ) modified for the role and briefly designated GRF - 84F . When the RF - 84F Thunderflash tactical reconnaissance fighter began entering service , the FICON role was changed from attack to reconnaissance . As with the F - 84 , the RF - 84 was supposed to utilize its smaller size and superior agility to overfly heavily defended targets and gather intelligence while the bomber loitered outside the range of enemy defenses . The scheme was found to be " tactically sound " and USAF ordered 10 production RB - 36D to be converted to GRB - 36D carriers with a complement of 25 RF - 84K tactical reconnaissance fighters . The RF - 84K differed from RF - 84F in having retractable hookup equipment and anhedral tailplanes to better fit inside the GRB - 36 . Since it retained an armament of 4x 0 . 50 in . machine guns , it could also act as an escort fighter . The RF - 84K could be deployed at altitudes of up to 25 , 000 ft ( 7 , 550 m ) and added 1 , 180 mi ( 1 , 900 km ) to GRB - 36D ' s already impressive 2 , 800 mi ( 4 , 500 km ) combat range . FICON in service . The FICON system saw limited service with Strategic Air Command in 1955 - 1956 . The GRB - 36D carriers from 99th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing ( Fairchild AFB ) operated in conjunction with RF - 84K from 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron ( Larson AFB ) . Subsequent test flights demonstrated the FICON concept was indeed " tactically sound , " but its operational implementation was difficult . A total of 10 GRB - 36Ds and 25 RF - 84Ks were built and saw limited service in 1955 – 1956 . Hookups with the carrier aircraft were challenging for the experienced test pilots under ideal conditions . In combat or in adverse weather , and by less - experienced pilots , they proved difficult , and several RF - 84Ks were damaged attempting it . In addition , the RF - 84 dramatically reduced the bomber ' s ground clearance : with 450 gallon ( 1 , 700 liter ) external tanks on the fighter , the FICON combination cleared by a mere six inches ( 15 cm ) . These adversities , combined with the advent of Lockheed U - 2 and passing of the B - 36 into obsolescence , resulted in cancellation of the project in 1956 , with the last FICON flight taking place on 27 April . Upon cancellation , some RF - 84Ks were scrapped , but others operated as reconnaissance aircraft with retractable hook apparatus still in place . Only three survive ; one at the National Museum of the United States Air Force , one at Planes of Fame " Static Lot " in Chino , California and one at the Wings Over the Rockies Airspace Museum in Denver Colorado .