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It's difficult to believe that its even possible.

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Not too unlike aerial refueling....though obviously this was a far more incredible feat given the circumstances

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Did the C-130 stick to the carrier's deck ?

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Couldn't find C130 story, any links?

Awesome reading, love the older generations and the pride and morals they showed

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Vastly different forces involved compared to aerial refueling.

We're talking about an in flight aircraft pushing another airplane in flight by a metal rod attached to the back?

Each aircraft has to stay perfectly stable to somehow impart the forces required to keep the front aircraft at an adequate airspeed.

Pushing a military jet in flight? I just have a hard time believing that this happened as it's presented.

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You are an aviator, yes?

Do you think my skepticism regarding a jet pushing another in flight in this way is unreasonable?

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Yes it did.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar-poc38C84

http://www.theaviationzone.com/factsheets/c130_forrestal.asp

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JAG did an episode with that happening & listed WHY they did it during the credits. They also did a remake of the C-130 landing on a carrier deck, again copying a real life incident.

   There was some good fortune as well in the May 31, 1967, Young Tiger mission over the Gulf of Tonkin, when a KC-135 tanker commanded by Maj. John H. Casteel saved six Navy aircraft with a complex and totally unscheduled refueling. The KC-135's original mission was to refuel two F-104 Starfighters, using the drogue adapter that the probe-equipped F-104s required. Casteel's tanker refueled the two F-104s and was then told of an emergency involving two Navy KA-3 "Whale" tanker aircraft, which also used probes.    

   The first Whale hooked up, indicating that it had only three minutes' usable fuel. Its systems had malfunctioned, and it could not use fuel it had in its refueling tanks. After transferring 2,300 pounds, the KC-135 then refueled the second KA-3 just as it was notified that two Navy F-8 Crusaders were on scene and short of fuel.

   One of the F-8 fighters had only 300 pounds remaining and immediately hooked up with the second Whale even as it was taking on fuel from the KC-135, initiating history's first trilevel refueling. As this was going on, the first KA-3 shared its slender fuel supply with the second Crusader. It then moved into position to refuel again from the KC-135.

   So far Casteel and his crew had had a pretty productive day, refueling the F-104s, and saving two KA-3s and two F-8s.

   However, the action was not yet complete. Two Navy F-4 Phantoms now arrived on scene, and neither had sufficient fuel to return to their carrier. Already low on fuel itself, the KC-135 turned south toward Da Nang, refueling the two F-4s en route.

   When it landed, the KC-135 had less than 10,000 pounds of fuel remaining for its own use. The boom operator, MSgt. Nathan C. Campbell, had earned his pay, saving no fewer than six Navy aircraft. Casteel's crew, including the copilot, Capt. Richard L. Trail, and the navigator, Capt. Dean L. Hoar, received Distinguished Flying Crosses for the action. The crew subsequently was awarded the Mackay Trophy.

   In May 1967, a KC-135 flown by Maj. Alvin L. Lewis battled through violent thunderstorms to locate two F-105s that were critically short on fuel. Lewis found the F-105s in a clear area, and put his tanker into a 20-degree dive so that he could position himself in front of the first fighter, which had already flamed out. The Thud was gliding earthward, its pilot preparing to eject, when the diving tanker passed in front to a refueling position. All check lists and preliminaries were forgotten as the F-105 hooked up and took on enough fuel to air-start the engine. The tanker transferred a little fuel, then increased its dive angle to 30 degrees to get enough air through the intake of the fighter to spool it up to starting RPM. Lewis then refueled the second F-105, itself now about ready to flame out. Both 105s made it home.