Boeing EC-135K Stratotanker
Because of the C-135/KC-135's large size, it easily lended itself to modification. It was a proven, reliable airframe, and since KC-135 fuselages were mostly empty cargo space, it was not terribly difficult to turn these aircraft into a wide variety of roles.
As a result, there are a dizzying amount of KC/C-135 variants--RC-135 strategic reconnaissance and Elint platforms, VC-135 executive transports, OC-135 Open Skies treaty compliance aircraft, NC-135 test aircraft, WC-135 weather reconnaissance aircraft, TC-135 crew trainers, and EC-135s--the latter could be anything from standoff ECM jamming aircraft to airborne command posts.
The majority of EC-135 variants were used as airborne command posts. Because it was thought likely that a Soviet nuclear first strike would annihilate ground stations, an airborne component would need to be in the air all the time, so that the ability to launch retaliatory strikes would still exist. This was the concept behind the Airborne Launch Control Centers, codenamed Looking Glass: even if ground-based LCCs were destroyed in a first strike, the ALCCs could still remotely launch the United States' Minuteman ICBMs. Other EC-135s served as airborne command posts for theater commanders, under the codenames Silk Purse, Scope Light, and Blue Eagle. Finally, an airborne command post for the President was created, codenamed Nightwatch; Nightwatch-configured "doomsday planes" would follow the President wherever they went, so that the President could run national affairs from the air in case of nuclear attack. The Nightwatch EC-135Js were replaced in the late 1970s by the current E-4 NEACP ("Kneecap") fleet.
When my friend Mr. John Osterholm took this picture of a somewhat anonymous Stratotanker taxiing into Tan Son Nhut International Airport, South Vietnam, he was unaware he was photographing the very first KC-135. 55-3118 first flew in August 1956 as the first production KC-135A, named "City of Renton," but ironically never flew a single operational (rather than experimental) refueling mission. Instead, it was used as a testbed by Boeing until it was modified into an EC-135K Head Dancer airborne command post in 1961. The role of the EC-135K was to provide radio support for Tactical Air Command fighters on long deployments. 55-3118 remained in this role until it was retired in 1996. Because it was the first Stratotanker, 55-3118 was saved for preservation and today is on display at McConnell AFB, Kansas.
55-3118 carried this color scheme of white over bare metal throughout most of its career. The TAC badge on the nose reflects which command it was attached to, unlike most EC-135s, which were assigned to SAC. At this time, it may have been assigned to the 552nd Air Warning and Control Wing at either Tinker AFB, Oklahoma or McClellan AFB, California.
This would have been an exceptional snapshot of history in any case (note the Royal Australian Air Force Caribou in the background), but the fact that this is the first of hundreds of KC-135s makes it all the better.
Boeing EC-135K Stratotanker
Because of the C-135/KC-135's large size, it easily lended itself to modification. It was a proven, reliable airframe, and since KC-135 fuselages were mostly empty cargo space, it was not terribly difficult to turn these aircraft into a wide variety of roles.
As a result, there are a dizzying amount of KC/C-135 variants--RC-135 strategic reconnaissance and Elint platforms, VC-135 executive transports, OC-135 Open Skies treaty compliance aircraft, NC-135 test aircraft, WC-135 weather reconnaissance aircraft, TC-135 crew trainers, and EC-135s--the latter could be anything from standoff ECM jamming aircraft to airborne command posts.
The majority of EC-135 variants were used as airborne command posts. Because it was thought likely that a Soviet nuclear first strike would annihilate ground stations, an airborne component would need to be in the air all the time, so that the ability to launch retaliatory strikes would still exist. This was the concept behind the Airborne Launch Control Centers, codenamed Looking Glass: even if ground-based LCCs were destroyed in a first strike, the ALCCs could still remotely launch the United States' Minuteman ICBMs. Other EC-135s served as airborne command posts for theater commanders, under the codenames Silk Purse, Scope Light, and Blue Eagle. Finally, an airborne command post for the President was created, codenamed Nightwatch; Nightwatch-configured "doomsday planes" would follow the President wherever they went, so that the President could run national affairs from the air in case of nuclear attack. The Nightwatch EC-135Js were replaced in the late 1970s by the current E-4 NEACP ("Kneecap") fleet.
When my friend Mr. John Osterholm took this picture of a somewhat anonymous Stratotanker taxiing into Tan Son Nhut International Airport, South Vietnam, he was unaware he was photographing the very first KC-135. 55-3118 first flew in August 1956 as the first production KC-135A, named "City of Renton," but ironically never flew a single operational (rather than experimental) refueling mission. Instead, it was used as a testbed by Boeing until it was modified into an EC-135K Head Dancer airborne command post in 1961. The role of the EC-135K was to provide radio support for Tactical Air Command fighters on long deployments. 55-3118 remained in this role until it was retired in 1996. Because it was the first Stratotanker, 55-3118 was saved for preservation and today is on display at McConnell AFB, Kansas.
55-3118 carried this color scheme of white over bare metal throughout most of its career. The TAC badge on the nose reflects which command it was attached to, unlike most EC-135s, which were assigned to SAC. At this time, it may have been assigned to the 552nd Air Warning and Control Wing at either Tinker AFB, Oklahoma or McClellan AFB, California.
This would have been an exceptional snapshot of history in any case (note the Royal Australian Air Force Caribou in the background), but the fact that this is the first of hundreds of KC-135s makes it all the better.