The first serious attempt at refuelling in flight was made in the USA in 1923 under the direction of Major (later General) H. H. Arnold, in which two aircraft were equipped as tankers, each with a 50 ft length of hose, and a flight of 37 hr 15 min was achieved. Towards the end of that year the first serious attempt in Europe was made in France.

There was then a lull until January 1929 when the US War Department sponsored some duration flights, the best known being that by the Fokker “Question Mark” under the command of Major (later General) Carl Spaatz which remained airborne for 150 hours. This flight was followed by a spate of US commercial pilots’ attempts until in 1930 the endurance record stood at 647½ hr. Most of these flights in themselves were of little practical value but they aroused the interest of Sqn. Ldr. (later Air Marshal Sir Richard) R. L. R. Atcherley, RAF while taking part in the National Air Races in the USA in 1930. On his return to Transjordan, where he was stationed, he set to work devising an improved method of contact, the results of which were patented. He also planned to demonstrate his new method with an attempt on the duration record but was refused permission by the Air Ministry.