Boeing Kc-135 Stratotanker: More Than Just a Tanker (Aerofax Series) [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by Robert S. Hopkins III (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This highly readable text follows the development and service use of this globe-trotting aircraft. It takes the reader through the wide range of tasks it has performed, including transport, tanker, weather recce, reconnaissance and intelligence gathering, special operations, airborne command post and test-bed.

Every variant and sub-variant is charted and the histories of each aircraft are found within. Includes details of the hundreds of units, past and present, that have flown Stratotanker. For military and aviation enthusiasts.

Robert S. Hopkins III is a former U.S. Air Force pilot. He commanded an RC-135 Rivet Joint Crew during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Voyageur Press (MN); illustrated edition edition (July 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857800699
• ISBN-13: 978-1857800692
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,513,611 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Boeing KC-135 - More Than Just A Tanker, March 11, 2000

By	Michael D. Derry (Omaha, NE United States) - See all my reviews

I recently completed reading Dr. Hopkin's excellent book on an unbelievable aircraft. The only thing that the C-135 series of aircraft didn't do was air-to-air combat! The book is an exhaustive, highly-detailed history of every model of aircraft developed from the basic KC-135 Stratotanker, covering the development history of each mission type (tanker, transport, reconnaissance, etc.) and also each specific aircraft modified for its particular purpose. I flew on 3 different models of the RC-135 series for 3 years while in the Air Force and was amazed at how many previous reconnaissance variants preceeded the common types used today. I recommend this book for any military aviation buff, but also for anyone who was privileged to have been a crewmember on such a versatile aircraft over the last 40+ years. The many previously-unpublished photographs nicely compliment the very informative text.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book!, March 11, 2000

By	Robert Sanchez (Edwards AFB, California) - See all my reviews

As a current aircrew member on the Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft, I am always looking for anything out there with the history of our airframes. This book is EXCELLENT. The data is accurate and even though you might think you have seen or heard of every variant of the 135 out there, after reading this book you'll soon discover there are a lot more. I highly recommend this book as the benchmark 135 book on the market

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE book on the C-135 family!, October 13, 1999

By	Jennings R. Heilig ([e-mail]) (Blacksburg, Virginia) - See all my reviews

If you have even the remotest interest in Boeing's fabulous C-135 family, you have to get this book. Bob Hopkins' extensive research into the history of this huge family of aircraft really shows. It covers the history, development, employment, and the multitudinous variants, sub-variants, and sub-sub-variants in great, readable, detail. The selection of photographs is outstanding, although the great majority are in black & white. Separate sections cover the major functional families such as transports, recon aircraft, tankers, testbeds, and command posts. Within each section is a description of each variant, a little about its history, and then a complete history of each individual airframe which carried the MDS. Appendices cover each and every airframe and its history (through the time of publication), leaving few questions unanswered. The book could easily have been five times as long as it is and still have only scratched the surface of detailing the exploits of the C-135 family. However, this volume should serve all but the most ardent fanatic perfectly.