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The Boeing Model 377 Stratocruiser was a commercial transport development of the Model 367 (military C-97), and based on the improved-structure YC-97A with Pratt & Whitney R-4360 engines. The first flight of the prototype Model 377-10-19 was made on 8 July 1947, and it was delivered subsequently to Pan American World Airways, which was the biggest user of the Stratocruiser. There were a variety of interior configurations in the Models 377-10-26, -28, -29, -30, -32 accommodating from 55 to 112 passengers or, if equipped as a 'sleeper', with 28 upper- and lower-berth units, plus five seats. The main cabin was in the upper lobe of the 'double-bubble' fuselage, with a luxury lounge or cocktail bar seating 14 on the lower deck, reached via a spiral staircase.
Of the total of 55 that were built, Pan Am was operating 27 at one period. Of these, 10 were given additional fuel capacity to make them suitable for transatlantic operations, and were known as Super Stratocruisers. At a later date the entire fleet was equipped with General Electric CH-10 turbochargers, enabling each engine to develop an additional 37.3kW. British Overseas Airways Corporation also acquired a fleet of 17: only six of these were original purchases from Boeing, the remainder acquired from other airlines. After just over nine years' service with BOAC, 10 were sold to Transocean Airlines in the USA during 1958. Of these, four were converted to 117-passenger high-density seating, the remainder each having an additional 12 seats added to their standard 63- and 84-seat layouts. Before Stratocruisers disappeared from service during 1963, a few had been modified to a cargo configuration, but by far the strangest conversion resulted from those airframes acquired by Aero Spacelines Inc. Under the designation 377-PG, this company built an oversize cargo aircraft which it named 'Pregnant Guppy' and subsequently built other examples, using both Model 367 and 377 airframes, under variations of the Guppy name.
| MODEL | Boeing 377 |
| CREW | 5 |
| PASSENGERS | 55-100 |
| ENGINE | 4 x Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major radial piston engines, 2610kW |
| WEIGHTS |
| Take-off weight | 66134 kg | 145801 lb |
| Empty weight | 37875 kg | 83501 lb |
| DIMENSIONS |
| Wingspan | 43.05 m | 141 ft 3 in |
| Length | 33.63 m | 110 ft 4 in |
| Height | 11.66 m | 38 ft 3 in |
| Wing area | 164.34 m2 | 1768.94 sq ft |
| PERFORMANCE |
| Max. speed | 604 km/h | 375 mph |
| Cruise speed | 547 km/h | 340 mph |
| Ceiling | 9755 m | 32000 ft |
| Range | 6759 km | 4200 miles |
| JOHN J PANOSKI, NPANOSKI(@)AOL.COM, 07.07.2008 I was a Flight Engineer on a C/KC-97 A, E, F &G's At the time it was a terrific aircraft, but was a heavy oil consumer. (R-4360 engines) We had to cruise control the oil system as we had 32 GL oil tanks for each engine and a central oil tank of 56 GL which we could transfer oil to each eangine as it was consumed. You never put more than 2-3 GL when transfering because if you had to shutdown and engine for a failure you would not have enough to complete the mission. You normally would let the quantity burn down to 7 GL's before you would replenish. Often we had to shut-down an engine during the flight to conserve oil and restart it for the descent and approach and landing, | | matt, mexiseafood27(@)yahoo.com, 19.11.2007 this was one beautiful bird | | Don, dhhein(@)gmail.com, 25.10.2007 When I was a kid, I had a metal model of the Stratocruiser. It had a friction motor and props that turned with the friction motor. It was probably 16" or so wingspan. Wish I had it now. | | Leo, purdystoked(@)hotmail.com, 23.07.2007 A friend of mine is 90 years old and was a pilot for american airlines. He flew the Boeing 377 between Los Angeles and Hawaii. | | mike, michael-e(@)bezeqint.net, 08.07.2007 how much fuel that plane can carry and were the fuel tanks are located? thanks a lot mike | | Casey Burns, casey_burns(@)msn.com, 17.02.2007 My first airplane ride was on one of these. I was four and a half years old. My father was the last Navy personel to leave Kwajaleen atol when it was turned over to the Army as a missle range back in 1959. We arrived by ship and left on a MATS flight. My father took my sisters and myself up to the cockpit and the Capt. let me sit in his seat when he left to get a cup of coffee. I remeber my sisters standing between the Capt.'s seat and the windows to the left of the seat. I put my hands on the control wheel and could feel the autopilot making corrections but thought to myself "I'm flying this thing and it's easy!" It was then and there that I decided to be a pilot. I still remember the First Officer laughing as I "flew" that airplane while my sisters kept telling me it was their turn. I got my pilot license at seventeen and am a Capt. for Alaska Airlines on the
B-737 going on 21 years now. All because of the Boeing 377. |
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