not do the job for which they are intended". Since by the time the experts made that pronouncement 8th Air Force fighters had already used more than 15,000 paper tanks without a failure, the criticism was not taken seriously. It may explain why the most often-used fuel tanks for single-engined American fighters operating in Northern Europe were the 75-gallon (284 liter) capacity all-metal tank (made from two halves of formed aluminium with a prominent horizontal seam running along the tank's midline). Another common metal drop tank was the model used by P-51s, P-47s and P-38s. Post-war use The Matra JL-100 is a special hybrid drop tank and rocket pack; it combines a rocket launcher in front with 19 SNEB rockets and of fuel behind into one single aerodynamically-shaped pod for mounting on combat aircraft such as the Dassault Mirage IIIs and English Electric Lightnings. The Convair B-58 Hustler, the first operational bomber capable of Mach 2 flight, had no bomb bay: it carried a single nuclear weapon plus fuel in a combination bomb/fuel pod underneath the fuselage. Automotive use After World War II, hot rodders raced the dry lakes of California to set new land speed records. War surplus drop tanks (aka belly pods) were plentiful, aerodynamically neutral and it did not take long to convert one into a car, dubbed a lakester. According to GM historians, Bill Burke of the So-Cal Speed Shop first attempted to convert a P-51 Mustang belly tank, before switching to the larger P-38 Lightning tank. Even now, lakesters compete at the Bonneville Salt Flats. References External links Aircraft fuel system components Fuel containers