The Key to America's Air Dominance: The KC-135 Stratotanker 

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Wars are won on logistics - boring but true and a flying gas station to extend your already superior air power is simply brilliant.

As a former KC-135R crew chief allow me to say, You can't kick ass without tanker gas.

One thing that you do not mention is the fact that fighter-bombers and multirole aircraft can take off with minimal fuel weight (and maximum load of weapons) and fill up while in the air. This was crucial in the Gulf Wars as well as other operations, both Naval as well as Air Force.

My uncle was a boom operator on a KC-135 during Desert Storm/Desert Shield, and got a bunch of neat videos from the control station window. And yes, he had clearance and it's all approved footage. Air Force even used some of it for promotional and training footage.

KC-135 Avionics here, during heavy operations the air crew are absolute legends. During the start of a war the tankers are the backbone of projecting millitary power in unheard-of numbers by anyone else. Fun Fact, When I was on a flight we refulled a couple B-52, you are so close you can read a magazine on the dash of the other plane from the boom pod.

From a veteran SAC KC-135 crew chief, thanks for this video; our crucial mission is often overlooked in favor of more glamorous aircraft.

I had the privilege to fly on a kc-135r back in 2004. Being in the AFJROTC program in high school our commander at the time was leaving to move to England for his wifes health. So as a final memorable last event with him. We managed to get permission to go on a training mission at night with the NH Air National Guard 157th Refueling wing. We flew around New england at 21,000ft. We refueled a lockheed c-5 Galaxy. Being to actually able to laydown next to the probe operator while performing this task was absolutely amazing.

As a retired fighter pilot I have the highest regard for that jet and its crews.

the entirety of the Stratotanker's achievements can be summed up in the age old quote "It ain't much, but it's honest work."

My dad spent three quarters of his career as a maintainer on the KC 135. From ground crew, to crew chief to maintenance chief. Beautiful plane.

I think air to air refueling is of two main components that US does far better than anyone that lead to their air dominance. The other one is their AEW (Airborne Early Warning), specifically E-3 Sentry AWACS and E-2 Hawkeye. Would love a video on those.

I was a mechanic on the KC-10A, and I wrote software for the KC-46 display system on the civilian side.

The KC-135 deserves more love than she has ever gotten. Thanks for the video

Here in Wichita, KS we have watched the KC-135 (now being replaced with the KC-46) fly overhead for decades. They're amazing planes as are the crews that fly/maintain them.

My grandfather was the pilot of a KC-135 in the Vietnam War. He flew missions out of Thailand. I just sent him this video.

The last KC-10 was retired from active service earlier this month. There are so many KC-135s that their quantity brings a quality of its own. Anything that replaces it might be a little more efficient with fuel, but it won't need to be faster, fly higher, have longer range or even be more stealthy - and it certainly won't be cheaper than these birds that were paid for before the engineers designing the new ones were born.

My dad piloted the Kc 97 and the 135. He finished his military career as an instructor at Castle AFB in Ca for 135's. He was part of operation thirsty dart, which I believe was the F106 in the late 60's. A very satisfying day was when I drove my dad and his longtime buddy to the Castle Air Museum in Merced Ca and we saw all the planes he flew: B29, KC97 and the KC135. I had a friend that was a volunteer at the museum that got us on board all of those planes! My dad had so many memories and stories that day! A few years later I drove my mom and dad back to Castle to revisit it all over again. Fortunately I have pictures! The 135 was his favorite plane to fly for multiple reasons, but it being his first and only jet was the main one!

One of the many facts about the KC135 is that it really was a multi role acft and had many variants. I was an enlisted aircrew weenie on the RC and NC 135 models. At Offutt AFB in Nebraska was the EC models that flew around the clock as the "Looking Glass" acft which was a 24 hour command post in case ground hdqtrs was knocked out. There even was a research.acft for NASA . One compliment I give other than the aircrews was the ground crews. Many times I sat on a warm crew bus and the crew chiefs were out in a cherry picker in below freezing weather, de icing to get us ready. Heat, cold and everything in between, they were our heroes!

At an air show one year, I was taking a walk though tour of the 135’s upper area. Asked the pilot how far can it fly on a full load of fuel without topping any other craft off. He said he could take off from Kansas City and land in California…….flying east.

When I was in the USAF, my buddy was in the air national guard. He took me up in his kc135. Got to sit in the jump seat of the cockpit during takeoff. Got to sit in the fuel boom seat at the belly of the plane. It was a great day.

I was a former KC-135 crew chief in KS.. we had one jet that was from 1958 still going which is pretty damn impressive.

I've worked on -135s! My first plane when I joined the Air Force! In fact, I worked on 057, one of them shown in this episode. Stationed at Hickham AFB, Hawaii. Them were days days!!😊

I had the pleasure of working for KC-135 engineering for 30 years and then I had the pleasure of selling these great tankers to our global partners. It is the BEST tanker ever built. It will be still flying when they start parking KC-46's at Davis-Monthan. I still look up every time I see one flying.....

Yep in my hometown in Columbus Ohio at the Rickenbacker Air National Guard base we have the 121st Refueling Wing. And they get a lot of action.

As an Air Force veteran who worked with a tanker squadron it’s an invaluable resource and the workhorse of the U.S. military

Simon if you have any questions about the 135, I’m an active Air Force member who works with em every day!

You should absolutely do an entire video about Operation El Dorado Canyon. Those tankers basically dragged f-111 from England to Libya in 86.

1:45 - Chapter 1 - Design & development 3:15 - Mid roll ads 4:40 - Back to the video 7:15 - Chapter 2 - Specs & capabilities 11:10 - Chapter 3 - Service life & farewell

Was a crew chief on 3137-57 Steamin-Screamin 92-94… It was sad to see her sent to the bone yard instead of the retrofit to the new engines… The unsung heroes of the USAF… Thanks for the video…

The 707 that is the basis for the KC-135 was actually called a 717 by Boeing, due to the specialized equipment and purpose. 20 years ago you used to see dozens of DC-8's at cargo terminals all around the world, but very very few 707 freighters; The USAF bought them all up for spare parts when the airlines were done with them. I'm not sure if any airliners were actually converted to tankers. I think Gemini out of Miami was the only company to actually have 707 freighters in the US? Later, they installed CFM-56 engines on the tankers and the difference was night and day! Much less fuel burn and FAR more power! Great video!

See them in the UK flying with the 100th Air Refuelling Wing out of RAF Mildenhall. Often tasked with meeting fighters transiting over the Atlantic.

It's a wonderful video about KC-135 stratotanker airplane ✈️... the USA 🇺🇸 Air Forces supermarcy is unquestionable around the world 🌎. Video clearly explained all characteristics of that flying gas station ⛽️ .. Thank you for sharing .

I'll never forget when being almost 13 years old, my family visited someone in charge of operations at a SAC base, and I got to crawl all the way back to the boom operator's window (shown in this video) of a KC-135; I still have a copy of the orders allowing my family on the "tarmac" (no mention of actually going inside any planes though!). But, of course, the highlight of that trip was going up into all the seats of a B-52 bomber! (This was way back in the 1960's; these were operational planes, not relics.)

Well, of all the innocuous, behind the scenes, silent pieces of equipment to make such a big difference, this is it. Thanks for sharing.

From 1979-1986, i was a KC-135A/R Boom Operator, i will give the props to the "steam jet" & the R-model. One of the best aircraft i ever was a crewmember in, with the other being the KC-10's where i did 14 years in until my retirement in 1999. Nothing like being number 14 in a 12-second spacing M.I.T.O. (Minimum Interval Take Off) following water-injected B-52's and other -135's.

My father was a crew chief for the 135 first at Ellsworth AFB. Watching the 135's and Bone's take off at night thing of absolute beauty. He even parked the 135 that's at the museum there at Ellsworth. He later finished his career at Mcconnell AFB where oddly enough held a billet where he was in charge of E-7&8's as an E-6. Spent many summer days crawling around many 135's and Bones. Sad day when boeing broke the mold for the 707 ensuring the eventual retirement of the KC-135. Such a beautiful airframe.

Former tanker pilot - thanks for the review. The strength though is the national effort to build 600+ tankers...we are still riding on that investment. Additionally, the problem today is that the strength of the KC-135 was that it was state of the art in aviation; the KC-46 is a design that is the "latest in 70s technology".... We should have invested in the 787 or the 757 (for training missions) and 777 for trash hauling/large offloads. To be brutally honest; to take the KC-135 design, improve some tech and rebuild it - we'd be GTG for another 75 years.

When working as a Fuel System Technician I was told that the KC-135T model was for the SR-71. That is why the Main tanks and Forward, AFT, and Upper deck Fuel systems are separated. One system for JP4 and one for JP11.

As a wichitan, its fun watching these fly around all day every day. You can look anywhere in our skies at anytime and see them flying around

My F-16 pilot brother received his call sign nickname when his wife (whom was allowed to enter the boom of a KC-135 during a special event) said over the radio "Hey Joe,can you see my big t@#$ through the glass!" This was of course heard through the entire squadron and he is now known as "Hooter." Note: He recently retired as the oldest F-16 pilot ever at 59 and has left a remarkable mark in aviation history not only through his tenure but as an inspiration to me and the many who followed in his footsteps.

My father flew KC-97's through the cold war. He described starting to refuel a B-47 starting over Maine. They would be in a shallow dive, and the B-47 would be hovering on the edge of a stall. After a few thousand pounds of transfer, the B-47 would stall off the boom, and they would reconnect and start again. By the time they got to the Arctic Circle they would have completed the refueling. When the B-52's came online, the B-52 could fly slower than the KC-97, and refueling was easy. However, the B-52 could drain 2 KC-97's in air and ask for more. I remember touring my father's KC97 when I was a kid. The avionics were closer to Lindbergh than Yeager, and navigating across the atlantic was still and adventure. Years later, my kid brother became a KC-10 tanker pilot. I got to tour his "Gucci" plane, as it was known. Hard to believe that both planes were from the same century.

I’m currently active duty Air Force. And because of its age and constant battles of being replaced, this has been my favorite plane.

Thank you, Simon, for a wonderful presentation. I was a Q-model crew chief/maintenance controller for 15 years, and it's always nice to see our contributions recognized. You even had footage of one I actually worked on back in the day (60-0343). Cheers, mate, keep up the good work!

I tanked off of both the KC-135 & KC-10 many times during Desert Shield & Desert Storm.

My first Air Force assignment in the 1970s was a KC-135 base in the Midwest - old “A” models with water burning engines. The crackling sound from those engines could penetrate anything. The “R” models are a lot more neighborly. That airplane is legendary.

Back in the 70's, I worked on 55-121 which i belive was the 4th production KC-135. It had been conveted to a RC-135 then used as a RC-135 trainer. Sadly it was lost on a trining flight near Valdez, AK

Simon, u we’re made to be a online host & narrator, and the fact that ur British puts u over the top here in America!! U r great at what u do n love the beard. Keep them coming brother, cause u definitely found ur niche!! All the luck to ya… Philadelphia, PA USA

Wow! These AI-generated thumbnail representations of iconic aircraft are getting to be the most notable things about these videos! A twin-engined KC-135! That refuels through hoses! That arc UP, in defiance of gravity and aerodynamics!

I live in Spokane WA, our local military base is Fairchild AFB which is the US stratigic air refueling command center. KC-135s are a constant reminder of US air power flying overhead all day everyday. It used to be a SAC base full of B-52s and still has stockpiles of nuclear weapons in hardened bunkers... For this reason it would be a primary target of our enemies if a nuclear war broke out...

When I was in the USAF in 1989 I got to ride on a KC-135 to observe a mid air refueling of a C5 Galaxy. Basically the largest aircraft in the world. It was awesome! Got to go to the boom pod and see the refueling boom connect to the C5!

First thing. Fix the thumbnail. The thumbnail shows a two engine aircraft refueling a two engine aircraft. Being that the KC-135 is built upon a Boeing 707 airframe, it is a four engine aircraft. Please remedy this.

Thank you for making this video! This was the plane that I grew up on as a heavy aircraft mechanic. 😊

KC-135 had a few variants all based on the original KC-135A model which used water injection to increase it's engine thrust. RC-135 was reconnaissance variant. EC-135 used as Looking Glass ( SAC Airborne Command Post) and as the Airborne launch variant which was able to provide 2nd launch authorization Minuteman Missiles en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_Air_Force_airborne_command_and_control_squadrons

There's a KC-135 Squadron based near my house, so I get to see the seasoned warbirds fly over me almost daily ^_^

The KC-97 was not the first tanker, that was the KB-29 My Uncle was a boom operator on the KB-50, KC-97, and the KC-135. All in Air Force Systems Command and TAC. TAC had their own tankers at one time

Hi Simon, Another brilliant video only one question. You said the 737 was the basis of the tanker. I thought it was the 707 very happy to be corrected 😊

My father's career was spent as the pilot of KC-135 and RC-135 aircraft. 8000 logged flying hours in his logbooks, and the vast majority of them in 135s. He got a fair number of hours in KC-97s before that. 500 or so I think.... The USAF originally purchased 770 KC-135As and today about half of them are still in service. That's still a huge number, far more than all of the tankers in service with all the rest of the world's air forces combined. Today, the much newer KC-46A actually doesn't expand much on the capabilities of the KC-135. Its ferry range is about the same and its fuel offload capacity is only about 10 percent more.

And all the TOADs of the world shouted in unison “amen”!!! Bout time they get some love and recognition!

I used to guard these when I was in the Pennsylvania Air Guard (PA ANG) in near Pittsburgh. Was "lucky" enough to be on flight when then they refueled a NATO AWAC near DC in 2003.

You should have touched on the KC-135T. It is a KC-135 with the ability to take on fuel itself (receiver). Aside from engine oil and hydraulic fluid, it is immortal. IIRC there are only six of them, but if there is one in your airspace, it's going to be there a long time.

Ex -135A (built when man thought he could burn water). & R nav here. NKAWTG! Nobody. I’m sure someone else has posted that, but it bears repeating. Still a beautiful jet! It was an honor and a pleasure passing gas for y’all.

You forgot about the times the tanker used its boom to basically tow damaged aircraft home.

I had the privilege/honor of being on a training flight of one of these aircraft. It was many moons ago but I remember the C5 coming up (I was in the tail of aircraft) and could feel the bow wave hitting the underside of the 135. The airmen/women were amazing and completely unfazed by the "ride" this gave the 135 and refueled it without incident. They had a bunch of smaller fighter type aircraft that topped off as well but that was just "business as usual" for these folks. Very impressive is all I can say.

In 2007, Air Force Chief of Staff (CSAF) Gen. T. Hugh Moseley arbitrarily banned the KC-135 from combat support missions. The impetus for that imperium was a desire for funding the KC-10. Moseley's legacy includes being the only CSAF to get himself and his Service Secretary fired.

We have an ANG unit here in Milwaukee. A few years (decades) back, they were given an upgrade of used commercial engines equipped with reverse thrusters not used on Air Force Jets. This allowed them to take off and land on shorter runways. We did lose one to an explosion when on the tarmac. The KC-135 was the secret weapon of Britain's Falkland war. The US provided refueling to the 2 Vulcan boomers that few from England to the Falklands! In a readiness test during the Cold War, A-10 was massed to the est coast to fly to Germany in response to a Russian assault. The KC-135s were scheduled to fly with them about a third of the way, and others KC-135s were going to fly out from Europe to meet them for the final third of the way. A last-minute change had one KC-135 stay with the flight the whole way. This turned out to be a smart move as one A-10 lost the ability to switch tanks. The KC-135 had to keep refueling even 1/2 hour(?) As the flight progressed, the A-10 was unable to lock the refueling tube, and the KC-135 and A-10 had to hold the tube in place by forcible holding the planes together!

Spent a lot of time on the stone around KC-135r's. Great a/c manned by the best crews in the world.

Got to ride on one years back during an air show. Each person got to lay down next to the boom operator during the re fueling. Was even allowed to ride up front in the cockpit during takeoff. Such a cool experience.

Fact: The KC-97 propellor driven tanker was actually the Boeing 367 airliner. To develop the 707, they took the double bubble fuselage design and filled in the crease in the middle, and that became the fuselage of the original 707. The production version however was widened by about 12 inches to 149 inches. The Boeing 367 was basically a B-29 bomber with a second larger fuselage lobe on top of the bomber fuselage. Since the 707 fuselage barrel begat the 727, 737, and 757 fuselage, the lower metal panels of a B-29 are very similar to the lower metal panels of a B737 that rolls off the line in Renton today....

I grew up in Wichita, Kansas. Boeing still had a large presence in Wichita at that time. This is where most of the KC-135 were re-engine with more modern engines in the 1980's and 1990's. They were basically using the same engines that Boeing was using on its new models of 737's at the time. This program helped keep these aircraft viable for another 30 years. McConnell AFB, which is located in Wichita, KS. Used to be the largest tanker base in the Air Force. I am not sure of that it still the case. Tankers could be modified at the Boeing facility in Wichita and then taxi to the McConnell AFB facility on the other side of the main runway without ever leaving the ground.

The USAF is doing aerial refueling every night over Missouri and Kansas. Whenever I am flying from Memphis to California at night, I will hear some Air Force call sign asking for a block of airspace for refueling.

Be careful not to conflate a “propeller plane” with a *piston-engined* plane, as they’re not the same thing: turboprop engines have propellers, but they’re jet engines-and some turboprop-engined planes are quite fast. The KC-97 was a piston-engined plane.

Only Simon would make a video about kc135 and then have two entirely different aircraft for a thumbnail.

Nice to see a favorable article on this aircraft. Probably it was the last ac with manual (heavy) handling characteristics, I found it to be reliable and effective in my 1500 hours of flying. I too was credited with a "save", but no medal! The real problem with the A model was its woefully underpowered engines for the takeoff weights that routinely were required for operations.

Amateurs talk of technology, strategy and tactics; but the professionals talk of logistics. Keeping the forces fueled, fed and armed is more important than having more forces that are starving, out of ammo and unable to move.

The story of the fighter pilots needed fuel while guarding the crash site of another plane is a legendary one. It’s portrayed well in the movie “Devotion”. The crashed pilot is Jesse Brown, and they still have not retrieved his body yet, since it is in modern day North Korea. Good watch.

I've been working on 135's for over 39 years at Tinker the depot site for PDM. Great video.

9:14 - we never had seats on our deployments. We just had those red canvas types on both sides with the wooden cargo boxes mostly down the middle. Once in the air, the tops of the cargo boxes were prime sleeping spaces. I did see one PA ANG wing. I think that would be the 171st out of PIA. Great set of guys to work with. Oh, also, I think the "R" model also had a lot to do with upgrading the engines. I can't remember all of it any more, but the "A" model had water assist for the engines. Then, I worked on the "E" model mostly. Watching them do the charge start was really something to behold. The "R" model had the bigger engines. We got those right at the turn of the millennia. If I remember correctly, the flight crew could only rung the "R" model to 70% of so of full throttle because it placed too much stress on the wings if they went higher. Got to sit in thee jump seat during a landing. Couldn't see the runway at all during the landing. I could never land something like that with the grace those pilots did. Oh, we did a deployment in Italy once. In Pisa. When we were leaving, the plane took the whole runway, kinda seemed like the plane just didn't want to take off. Later, after getting home, I heard the plane was almost to its max because of all the marble items people were bringing back. Great times, I truly miss that part of my life. Oh, nothing like having to replace a radome and RADAR due to a lightning strike!

I would argue our most powerful aircrafts are our AWACS like the stratotanker it has no on board weapons but the list of things these planes can do is insane you can orchestrate the entire battlefield from 1 plane coordinating every soldier every tank every aircraft EVERYTHING all at once

12 of my 24 years were spent as a crew chief on the 135Q, R, and T models. If it was ever hard to work on, it was due to age or more likely ops tempo, which was extremely high after the Gulf War. A LOT of talented people have flown and worked on them, which adds to its longevity.

You glossed over the selling point of the dash 80 when Tex Johnston did a barrel roll to "Sell aircraft" as he stated.

Don't forget the KC-10....they're bigger w/a greater range. Altho we have just 60 or so KC-10s vs aprx 400 KC-135s. Very easy to tell the dif: KC-10s have three engines w/ one at the bottom of the vertical rear stabilizer.

If you ever wondered about the Boeing passenger planes being 707, 727, 737, 747, 757 this airplane would have been the missing 717

I walked through the Air Force One Display at the Reagan library in California. That alone is worth the price of admission. That air force one is a 707 or civilian version of a KC-135. I was surprised at how small it was for a Presidential Plane.

I was a crew chief for 14 years on the KC-135. As I gained rank, I spent more time as a supervisor. I pulled alert duty at Grissom AFB for three years. The tanker was relatively simple aircraft to work on.

The US's aircraft carrier fleet gets a lot of attention for having more than anyone else, but our tanker aircraft numbers *absolutely dwarf the nearest competitors.* The US deploys over 500 tanker aircraft. Second place (Saudi Arabia) has *22* . Russia and France then tie for 3rd & 4th with 19.

When I was a kid one of my youth group leaders was a KC-135 pilot. He showed me a video one time of him flying his plane into, and I am not joking-an active volcano. The maneuver was apparently not an uncommon thing.

Got to lay on the refuellers "seat" in a KC-135 at the Melb air show a lot of years ago. Top bunch of blokes!

I like how you do both imperial units and metric at the same time

Hell yeah the KC-135. The backbone of our entire military. It is the reason why our military can maintain other assets to be the tip of the spear. NKAWTG! NOBODY!!! Where are the KC-135 Crewchiefs out there. 🙋‍♂👨‍🔧. You failed to mention the barrel roll that sealed the deal on the Stratotanker. Good ole Tex amazed everyone with that one.

Back when I was a Grunt we used to call it the three B's. Bullets, Beans and Bandages. If you could get that right you can win any war. The KC-135 does this for the Air Force. I would imagine that the pilots and crew of the tankers wouldn't have to pay for many beers back on base.

I was born in Wichita on the day the KC-135 crashed. The fired kept my dad from getting to the hospital on time. I have heard from retired Air force members that the KC-135 had ran over a landing parachute that was discarded from an F-4 thus making the kc-135 crash with nearly full of fuel.

Listen up people. The KC-135 is NOT based on the 707. Stop saying that. Both are based on the prototype Boeing 367-80, affectionately known as the “Dash Eighty.”

I have had the pleasure of being able to crawl around the Kc-135 on numerous occasions because I have been to EAA numerous times and the Wisconsin air national guard is nearly there I have been in the cockpit and is like going back in time

several B707-320B & B707-400 has been converted into multi mission mid air refueling tanker aircraft, by foreign air forces since 1976 . . . Both the B707-320B & B767-300 ER (stretched variant of the B767-200) is the apt replacement for the KC-135 but surprisingly USAF opted for the B767-200 instead . . .

You really blew it with the graphic on every level

A+ valedictorian coverage, many thanks, Mate. To see refueling from the ground AND AF-1 in same video, insane! Awesome!!

I only had one chance to ride on a KC-135 and took the opportunity to scare the shit out of myself and was in the boom operators seat when landing. I’ll absolutely never forget that

I always love hearing about Castle AFB father and grandfather both veterans stationed there they have an awesome outdoor air museum there now!

You haven't lived until you've experienced the terror-filled excitement of a fully loaded KC-135A "water wagon" water-injected takeoff trying to muster enough speed to leave the dear Earth. 2 minutes of screaming noise and smoke, and prayers that nothing producing thrust or lift quits. It was an environmentalist's worst nightmare when seen and heard from the ground.