Technically a request from Tristar :P The request was for a KC-97 and this was a bi-product of that XD
KC-97 and C-97 coming soon ;)
INFOOO:
The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser was a large long-range airliner developed from the C-97 Stratofreighter military transport, itself being a derivative of the B-29 Superfortress bomber. The Stratocruiser's first flight was on July 8, 1947. Its design was advanced for its day; its innovative features included two passenger decks and a pressurized cabin, a relatively new feature on transport aircraft. It could carry up to 100 passengers on the main deck plus 14 in the lower deck lounge; typical seating was for 63 or 84 passengers or 28 berthed and five seated passengers.
The Stratocruiser was larger than the Douglas DC-6 and Lockheed Constellation and cost more to buy and operate. Its reliability was poor, chiefly due to problems with the four 28-cylinder Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major radial engines and their four-blade propellers. Only 55 Model 377s were built for airlines, along with the single prototype.
Despite a service record plagued by one or two early disasters arising from the Curtiss Electric propellers fitted to early production aircraft, the 377 was one of the most advanced, and capable of the propeller-driven transports, and among the most luxurious. A total of 56 were built, one prototype (later reconditioned) and 55 production aircraft. Within six years of first delivery, the Stratocruiser fleet had flown 169,859,579 miles (273,362,494 km). It was also one of but a few double deck airliners, another being its French contemporary, the Breguet Deux-Ponts, as well as Boeing's own 747 and the Airbus A380. The last 377 was delivered to BOAC in May 1950. On this delivery flight, Boeing engineer Wellwood Beall accompanied the final 377 to England, and returned with news of the De Havilland Comet, the first jet airliner, and its appeal.
Thanks to:
707 & Michael W :)
#B377 #Boeing_377 #Boeing_377_Stratocruiser #Boeing_Model_377 #Boeing_Stratocruiser #Stratocruiser
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