Super Snoopers: The Evolution and Service Career of the Specialist Boeing C135 series with the 55th wing and associated units

Brings together sixty years of observing US intelligence gathering aircraft, mostly in the US, along with fifty years of research and fifteen years writing

The majority of illustrations are drawn from private sources and include rare photographs from the mid-Cold War era to captivate aviation historians and modellers alike

Contains stories from aircrew and technicians explaining peacetime operations and combat support

Lifts the veil of operations of these fascinating aircraft types to bring a peek inside their secretive world

The US Air Force has performed peripheral reconnaissance adjacent to the traditional foe of Russia, China, North Korea and others for several decades. Evolving from rudimentary aircraft to an unprecedented level of sophistication, the current and elderly airframes boast unmatched performance.

Super Snoopers details the aircraft, equipment, sensors, air bases involved and limited operational details – as much remains highly classified. Additionally, stories by the personnel involved who have flown these missions and often faced their quarry at very close range.

The majority of aircraft involved are the Boeing C-135 series, including more than 100 different airframes of forty-eight different versions. Missions include strategic intelligence, airborne command and control, treaty compliance, Open Skies, weather reconnaissance, aerial refuelling and transportation.

This comprehensive volume is lavishly illustrated with many previously unpublished photographs, details the different aircraft missions, bewildering programme names, operating locations and flying units involved.