WC-135 Constant Phoenix
Missing image WC-135_Constant_Phoenix.jpg WC-135 Constant Phoenix WC-135 Constant Phoenix
Description
Role	Atmospheric testing
Crew
First flight
Entered service	December 1965
Manufacturer	Boeing Aerospace
Dimensions
Length	139 ft 11 in	42.6 m
Wingspan	130 ft 10 in	39.9 m
Height	42 ft	12.8 m
Wing area	ft²	m²
Weights
Empty	lb	kg
Loaded	lb	kg
Maximum takeoff	300,500 lb	136,300 kg
Capacity
Powerplant
Engines	Four Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-5
Power	hp	kW
Thrust	lb	kN
Performance
Maximum speed	mph	km/h
Combat range	miles	km
Ferry range	miles	km
Service ceiling	40,000 ft	12,200 m
Rate of climb	ft/min	m/min
Avionics
Avionics
Armament
None

WC-135 Constant Phoenix is a special purpose aircraft of the USAF, a version of the C-135.

Contents

1 Mission 2 Features 3 Background 4 General characteristics 5 External links

Mission

The WC-135W Constant Phoenix atmospheric collection aircraft supports national level consumers by collecting particulate and gaseous effluents and debris from accessible regions of the atmosphere in support of the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963.

Features

The aircraft is a modified C-135B. The Constant Phoenix’s modifications are primarily related to its on-board atmospheric collection suite, which allows the mission crew to detect radioactive “clouds” in real time. The aircraft is equipped with external flow-through devices to collect particulates on filter paper and a compressor system for whole air samples collected in holding spheres.

The interior seats 33 people, including the cockpit crew and special equipment operators from the Air Force Technical Applications Center.

Background

General Dwight D. Eisenhower commissioned the Constant Phoenix program on Sept. 16, 1947 when he charged the Army Air Forces with the overall responsibility for detecting atomic explosions anywhere in the world. In September 1949, a WB-29 flying between Alaska and Japan detected nuclear debris from Russia’s first atomic test--an event thought not possible until mid-1950.

Beginning in August 1950, WB-50 aircraft were converted for the air-sampling mission over a two-year period. WC-135 aircraft began replacing the WB-50s in December 1965 and became the workhorse of the atmospheric collection program.

Air sampling missions were routinely conducted over the Far East, Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, Mediterranean Sea, the Polar regions, and off the coasts of South America and Africa. The WC-135W played a major role in tracking radioactive debris from the Soviet Union’s Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster. Currently the air-sampling mission is tasked to support the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963, which prohibits any nation from testing nuclear weapons above ground. The 45th Reconnaissance Squadron at Offutt AFB, Nebraska, works closely with AFTAC and the Technical Operations Division to verify if any illegal testing of nuclear weapons has occurred. The WC-135W is currently the only aircraft in the inventory conducting air-sampling operations.

General characteristics

Primary function: Air sampling and collection operations

Contractor: Boeing Aerospace

Power Plant: Four Pratt & Whitney TF33-P-5 turbofans with trust reversers

Thrust: 16,050 lbf (71 kN) each engine

Speed: 350 knots (648 km/h) indicated air speed

Range: 4,000 nautical air miles (7,408)

Crew: varies with mission

Date Deployed: December 1965

Inventory: Active force, 1; ANG, 0; Reserve, 0

External links

• USAF: WC-135 Constant Phoenix - Factsheet (http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=192)

	Modern USAF Series	Miscellaneous
	Attack--OA/A-10,AC-130H/U	RC-135V/W
	Bomber--B-52,-2,-1B,F-117A	OC-135B
	Fighter--F-15/E ,F-16	KC-10,-135
	Electronic--E-3,-4B,-8C EC-130E/J,H	HC-130P/N
	Transport--C-5,-17,-141B, -20,-21	MC-130E/H/P
	C-22B, -32, -130, -37A, -40B/C	MH-53J/M
	Trainers--T-1, -37, -38, -43, -6	HH-60G
WC-130 Hercules	Weather--WC-130, -135	UH-1N
WC-135	UAV--RQ-1/MQ-1 UAV, Global Hawk	U-2S/TU-2S
		VC-25

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