The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is a widely used aerial refueling plane that’s been in continuous service with the United States Air Force for over 60 years. The Stratotanker looks a lot like a Boeing passenger plane, and its set of CFM 56 engines are identical to what powers a 737. But the development of the Stratotanker is more of a case of divergent evolution than militarizing a passenger plane.
In 1954, Boeing was developing the 367-80 prototype that, if you see it in person at the Air and Space Museum’s Udvar-Hazy Center (like I have), looks a lot like a modern airliner. Boeing had a dual-purpose with what would be called the “Dash 80.” Not even a decade after World War II ended and in the thick of the Cold War, Boeing first showed the Dash 80 to military personnel, and then to the air travel business.
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