Charles Talleyrand wrote:

I do know that an A-1 Skyraider could buddy refuel, but I don't
know when this was developed.

There is something I don't understand though. *I cannot imagine
an A-1 offloading more than 8,000 pounds of fuel (wild guess
based on gross and empty weight). *How much fuel did a jet of
that era use. *It doesn't seem productive to me, so I figure I
must be missing something.

In the 80s and 90s, 2,000# was a standard give to a single airplane
(F-4, A-6, A-7...) in many cases, and a full-cycle A-6 tanker had
about 10K total to give. *Give 4K to a pair of F-4s off the cat and
save 6 for the recovery. *Might get a bit more by consolidating
from the offgoing tanker.

Can you tell me more? How much would 2000# really help? An f-4 holds
12000# of internal fuel and 20000# total with three drop tanks.

An F-4 or A-6 burned 4-5,000 pph at loiter; an A-7 less. The 2K off
the cat was essentially a top-off after the afterburner takeoff and
climb so the F-4 left the carrier at altitude (~5,000') with full tanks.