Question Mark (aircraft) Question Mark (aircraft) Question Mark (""?"") was a modified Atlantic-Fokker C-2A transport airplane of the United States Army Air Corps. In 1929, commanded by Major Carl A. Spaatz, it was flown for a flight endurance record as part of an experiment with aerial refueling. "Question Mark" established new world records in aviation for sustained flight (heavier-than-air), refueled flight, sustained flight (lighter-than-air), and distance between January 1 and January 7, 1929, in a non-stop flight of more than 150 hours near Los Angeles, California. Following the record-setting demonstration, the C-2A was returned to transport duties. In 1931 more powerful engines replaced
US signals intelligence in the Cold War lost, but carrier-based fighters were soon ordered to escort them. There was a period during which the Navy aircraft fell into a pattern of leaving the RC-135 for their own refueling, and the North Vietnamese tried more attacks when the US fighters flew away. Eventually, better tactics were evolved, including using multiple fighter flights and the RC-135 as bait in what turned out to be an ambush for the MiGs, from a pair of fighters that flew in close formation with the RC-135 and did not show separately on radar. Obviously, this constant workload stressed the RC-135M's, which periodically had