Originally Posted by
megan
Essentially the C was a KC that had the flight refueling gear removed but still had the boomers station, the other engineering change that prompted the different designation was the beefed up floor and cargo retention points.
Perhaps you have the authoritative data. I am surprised that the C- started as a KC- and had
refueling gear actually removed. Maybe so. My understanding was that the immediate need for jet transport aircraft, before the C-141 was entered into service, led to the decision to build the C- variant of the KC-, and I would have expected that it to have been built without the refueling gear at all. It may be a false assumption. Having about 1,000 hours in the C-135, out-fitted as a VIP Special Missions transport, I don't recall any mention, ever, of a residual "boomer's station" and certainly no visual sign of it externally. One advantage that the VC-135 had over the VC-137 (modified B707) was extremely long range, and another, for the flight crew, was the spacious flight deck.