The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker
More Than Just a Tanker
The Boeing KC-135 has been an integral part of American defense policy for the past 40 years. Built for a mission that it has never flown---refueling American nuclear-armed bombers en route to targets in the Soviet Union and its allies---the KC-135 has nonetheless supported combat operations from Vietnam to Libya to Kuwait to Bosnia. Cargo versions pioneered world-wide high-speed transport operations. Testbed variants were responsible for the development of new technologies and putting a dozen men on the moon. Airborne command post models provided continuous back-up coverage of American command and control centers for over 30 years. Reconnaissance variants flew discreetly all around the world, listening and watching.
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The Boeing KC-135---More Than Just a Tanker is an exhaustive history of these classic airplanes and their role in the evolution of American national security policy. A complete history of each mission type---usually by individual tail number---this book will stand for years to come as the definitive reference work valued by aviation historians, enthusiasts, photographers, crewmembers, and wrench turners alike.
Individual chapters cover the history of aerial refueling, the development of the KC-135, its technical details, and the specific histories of the tankers, the transports, the testbeds, the airborne command posts, and the reconnaissance variants. Appendices provide all relevant dates, such as first flight, re-engining, and attrition, for each of the 820 airplanes delivered. A complete attrition section describes every loss, and an organizational breakdown lists all units that have operated KC-135s of any variant. A final section summarizes the many world records established by KC-135s. There is also a complete glossary and index.
The book includes hundreds of clear, large photographs ranging from exterior views of "buck" tankers to details of reconnaissance sensors to interior shots of the COMBAT LIGHTNING airplanes. Nearly all of the photographs are from private collections and have not been previously published.
Dr. Robert S. Hopkins, III, offers for the first time a genuine and rigorously researched history of this pioneering airplane. The author is a former U.S. Air Force pilot who flew 17 different types of EC-135s, KC-135s, RC-135s, and TC- 135s on PACCS radio relay, tanker, and PARPRO and combat reconnaissance missions. Now a historian specializing in cold war diplomatic history and national security policy, Dr. Hopkins has written extensively and spoken widely on the KC-135 as well as cold war strategic aerial reconnaissance. After more than a decade of research, he tells the story of the Boeing Stratotanker and its variants in a broad historical context seen through the eyes of a "crewdog." ***Read the Reviews*** *** Write your own review***
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| In North America Available from Specialty Press 1-800-895-4585 | | Order On-line Right Now | | How to order the limited edition hardcover version co-signed by the author and former CINCSAC General John T. Chain |
| | In England, Europe, and outside of North America Midland Counties Publications, Unit 3 Maizefield, Hinckley Fields, Hinckley, Leics, LE10 1YF, ENGLAND telephone 01455 233 747 fax 01455 233 747 midlandbooks@compuserve.com | |
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© 1997, 1998, 1999 by Robert S. Hopkins, III