USAF Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker

The Boeing KC-135 is an air-to-air refuelling aircraft developed in 1956 by the Boeing Aircraft Company from the quadjet prototype Boeing 367-80/707 airliner. The aircraft proved to be one of the most successful of its type and more than 600 were built. Its military service lasted more than 60 years, during which time several engine and avionics upgrades took place. The KC-135R variant with the CFM F108 engine appeared in the late 1990s and turned out to be one of the last in the huge KC-135 family.

Aircraft of this type took an active part in all military conflicts from the Vietnam War onwards. KC-135s delivered fuel air-to-air to almost every type of US Air Force aircraft, and their contribution to the overall military cause cannot be fully estimated. In 2019, the KC-135 was replaced by the next generation KC-46, and the KC-135 began to be decommissioned, some of them being transferred to aviation museums. In addition to the US Air Force, they were operated in small numbers by the French and Singapore air forces.

Markings for Boeing KC-135R, s/n 60-0314, c/n 18089, USAF 42nd Wing, Loring AFB, late 1990s.

1:144 scale plastic model kit from Roden, requires paint and glue.