Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker

what is it?

The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling tanker aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It has a narrower fuselage and is shorter than the 707. Boeing gave the aircraft the internal designation of Model 717, with the number later assigned to a different Boeing aircraft.

🔎How to recognise it: 4 jet engines · 39.9 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 933 km/htop speed
• seats 80passengers
• size 146.3 tmax take-off weight
• built 803made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 70 years ago, in 1956.
• 🏎️Top speed is 7.2× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 39.9 m: about 9 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 24 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🏔️Can fly 1.7× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

1956-08-31

introduced

1957

status

still flying

number built

803

role

aerial refueling tanker and transport aircraft

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Boeing

engines

4× CFM International F108-CF-100

crew

3

passengers

80

length

41.5 m

wingspan

39.9 m

height

12.7 m

max take-off weight

146.3 t

top speed

933 km/h

cruise speed

853 km/h

range

—

ceiling

15,240 m

ICAO code

K35R

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family