F-111B Inflight Refueling Probe

I have yet to find pictures of the F-111B refueling probe extended but I'm now pretty sure what the installation looked like, both originally and as planned for the production aircraft.

The probe for the original short-nose design was located just aft of the bulkhead that the radar was mounted on and swung up from the left side of the fuselage.

It rotated upward into a position like the A-6 Intruder's.

In this picture, you can see what look like two doors associated with the probe. My guess is that the lower door was hinged on its forward edge and the upper door was attached to the probe.

Although the probe was not installed on the first two or three flight test aircraft, it was on the fourth for certain because an inflight refueling evaluation was planned on what would be its last flight.

The extension of the nose for production allowing a more straightforward installation. The probe was now stowed on top of the nose under two doors and rotated up into position.

However, it doesn't appear that either of the two flight test aircraft with the production nose had this installation (the airplane had more than enough internal fuel for the typical flight test mission).