This KA-6D is the high tanker and is holding above the USS Midway (CV-41) awaiting some "customers" who need fuel. I took this slide from a VA-93 A-7A "Corsair II" that was in tanker configuration. There were two tankers airborne overhead the ship for every launch and recovery, normally one KA-6D and one A-7. The KA-6D refueling hose was installed permanently under the rear fuselage as seen in the photo. The A-7 was easily configured into a tanker by temporarily mounting a D-704 air refueling store with hose under the left wing, and two fuel tanks under the right wing.

The USS Midway was homeported at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan. Normal operations in the mid 1970s were conducted all over the western Pacific including the Sea of Japan, the South China Sea, as well as cruises into the Indian Ocean. Here a KA-6D is tensioned on the starboard bow catapult. CV-41 had the highest operations tempo of any Pacific Fleet carrier, and the air wing a/c had a well used look to them.