35mm duplicate slide in card mount

RC-135E 62-4137 Rivet Amber take-off

Originally designated C-135B-II, project name Lisa Ann, the RC-135E Rivet Amber was a one-of-a-kind aircraft, equipped with a large 7 MW Hughes Aircraft phased-array radar system. Originally delivered as a C-135B, 62-4137 operated from Shemya Air Force Station, Alaska from 1966 to 1969. Its operations were performed in concert with the RC-135S Rivet Ball aircraft (see below). The radar system alone weighed over 35,000 pounds and cost over US$35 million (1960 dollars), making Rivet Amber both the heaviest C-135 derivative aircraft flying and the most expensive Air Force aircraft for its time. This prevented the forward and aft crew areas from having direct contact after boarding the aircraft.

The system could track an object the size of a soccer ball from a distance of 300 miles (480 km). Its mission was to monitor Soviet ballistic missile testing in the reentry phase. The power requirement for the phased array radar was enormous, necessitating an additional power supply. This took the form of a podded Lycoming T55-L5 turboshaft engine in a pod under the left inboard wing section, driving a 350 kVA generator, dedicated to powering mission equipment.

On the opposite wing, in the same location, was a podded heat exchanger to permit cooling of the massive electronic components on board the aircraft. This configuration has led to the mistaken impression that the aircraft had six engines. On 5 June 1969, Rivet Amber was lost at sea on a ferry flight from Shemya to Eielson AFB for maintenance. No trace of the aircraft or its crew was ever found.

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