KC-135 Paint Scheme Quextion

[Von_L]

Am researching SAC KC-135 paint schemes to match them up with various historic stable-mates.

A few questions:

1 - When did Boeing/USAF start painting the NMF tankers with silver (Corrogard?)paint? Am guessing mid 1960's, based on available pix.

2 - Some pix of the silver KC-135A's show the nacelles painted in the gloss gray, while some look white, compared to the fuselage. Is that a photography issue, or did some of them have white nacelles?

3 - When did the silver KC-135A's get painted in the overall gloss gray scheme? Am guessing early 1980's, based on available pix.

Certainly there is a transition period as the individual jets flow through the depot, or as the changes are implemented in the field, so I'm looking for approximate dates for the changes, date of the orders to do it, or whatever.

Thanx for any insight here.

[Jennings]

As far as I'm aware, all of the KC-135As were delivered in natural metal. The KC-135Bs were as well, but the RC-135As and Bs (the last airframes delivered) left Renton in Corroguard.

I'm still trying to figure out the grey vs. apparently white J57 nacelles. There doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to it. I don't think Boeing used actual white. I think it was a very light grey.

The gloss grey (FS 16473) came along in the very late 1970s or very early 1980s. There were still Corroguard airplanes in the fleet as late as 1986.

[majortomski]

Tankers were NEVER painted 'in the field'. They were only painted in the depots; Tinker AFB and at contractor facilities in various locations. The directive to switch between corroguard and ADC gray happened between 77 and 81. The nacelles were always ADC gray possibly B-707 gray to begin with. There were a very few special purpose EC's & RC's that had white nacelles, but never buck tankers.

[CF104]

Tankers were NEVER painted 'in the field'. They were only painted in the depots; Tinker AFB and at contractor facilities in various locations. The directive to switch between corroguard and ADC gray happened between 77 and 81. The nacelles were always ADC gray possibly B-707 gray to begin with. There were a very few special purpose EC's & RC's that had white nacelles, but never buck tankers.

Something I've learned to say a long time ago...... never say never! Quite a few buck tankers with white cowls.

KC-135A, White Cowls

KC-135A White Cowls 1

KC-135A White Cowls 2

KC-135A White Cowls 3

KC-135A White Cowls 4

More

Cheers,

John

[majortomski]

Good catch John, let me just say that, being the guy who managed the official paint scheme drawing files at OC-ALC from 1977 to 1988, buck tankers weren't officially supposed to have white cowls.

Edited March 27, 2015 by majortomski

[Jennings]

I've been looking at literally dozens of very early (1957-59), early (1960-65), and later tanker shots, and I'm finding all KINDS of variation in the color of the center section of the J57 cowlings. The very earliest deliveries came from Boeing with totally unpainted natural metal cowlings (I've got a photo of an FY56 bird like that). Later in the late 1950s they appear to have used some kind of extremely light grey on them at the factory. I don't think it was pure white, but I don't now what it was. In the mid-1960s some started appearing with ADC Gray (FS 16473), but that remained fairly unusual until well into the 1970s when it became the norm. The varying shades of light grey were very common through the 60s and early 70s.

I'm sure somewhere in the Boeing archives there's a document buried with this information on it. But finding it is another matter entirely.