B-204

The B-204 is a human-made aircraft from the Marvel portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

We anticipate it will meet U.S. refueling needs well into the 1960s!

The B-204 is the largest refueling plane on Earth, and its range and fuel capacity make it an invaluable resource to the United States Air Force.

Fiction

Marvel The Transformers comics

While on display at the MacDill Air Force Base, the B-204 was captured by the Decepticon Air Strike Patrol, who demanded that the humans provide the plane with a full load of fuel as well as a pilot. Back from the Dead In the end, it turned out they didn't really want the plane, it was just a ruse to attract the Autobots and keep them busy. The Resurrection Gambit!

Notes

• "B-" planes in the U.S. Air Force are usually bombers. Fuel planes typically have a K at the start of their name.
• For a state-of-the art (circa 1988) design, the B-204 is a pretty bizarre plane. It features the sort of rounded bubble canopy not seen on US planes since the Korean War. Its engines are likewise styled like those of post-World War II jets.
• Perhaps unsurprisingly, the jet behind the B-204 also looks like something from the early Cold War.
• It looks like a cross between a British Handley Page Victor K.2 and a Russian/Soviet Il-78 Midas. Both are actually significantly smaller than the converted 747s used by Iran's air force. The last Victors were retired in 1993 (outlasting the Cold War by two years) although the Midas is still widely used.