Stratocruiser
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| Boeing 377 Stratocruiser | |
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| Pan Am Boeing Stratocruiser "Clipper Seven Seas" arriving at London (Heathrow) in September 1954 | |
| Role | Airliner |
| Manufacturer | Boeing |
| First flight | 8 July 1947 |
| Retired | 1963 |
| Status | Retired |
| Primary users | Pan Am BOAC Northwest |
| Number built | 56 |
| Developed from | C-97 Stratofreighter |
| Variants | Pregnant Guppy Super Guppy Mini Guppy |
The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser was a long-range postwar airliner with four piston-driven engines. It was a civilian equivalent to the C-97 Stratofreighter, and was developed largely in parallel with its military sibling.
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Design and development
Like the C-97, the 377 was developed towards the end of World War II by adapting an enlarged upper fuselage onto the lower fuselage and wings, which were essentially the same as those of the B-50 Superfortress, the high-performance evolution of the B-29 Superfortress bomber. The 377 was larger and longer-ranged than the Lockheed Constellation and Douglas DC-6, with nonstop transatlantic range eastbound, but the P&W R-4360 Wasp Major engines proved uneconomical, with production ending in 1950.
The "inverted-figure-8" double-deck fuselage design provided 6,600 ft³ (187 m³) of interior space where the lower deck had a smaller diameter than the upper deck. It offered seating for over 100 passengers, or sleeping berths for up to 28 berthed and five seated passengers. It first flew on July 8, 1947. It had the speed and range to span ocean routes, enabling flying from New York to Hawaii in less than 24 hours. Pressurization (previously introduced on the Boeing Stratoliner and also designed into the B-29) allowed sea-level cabin pressure at 15,500 ft (4,700 m) altitude. At 25,000 ft (7,600 m), passengers enjoyed a "cabin altitude" of only 5,500 ft (1,700 m).
Operational history
Despite a service record remembered for one or two early disasters arising from a propeller design fitted to the Stratocruiser in its earlier years, Boeing's remarkable airliner was one of the most capable of post-war propeller-driven transports, and certainly among the most luxurious. Only 55 were built as airliners, joined eventually by the reconditioned prototype to make a total of 56. Another 60 of this general design, with significant engineering differences, were built as C-97 military transports, but the majority were built as KC-97 tankers, with many more military successors to follow. The jet-powered Boeing 707 would regain Boeing's dominance in the civil airliner market, while the KC-135 would continue to serve as a jet tanker into the twenty-first century. The lengendary Lockheed C-130 of the mid-1950s was somewhat similar in size and speed, but as it adopted turboprop power and was packaged from ground-up as a combat airlifter with tail ramp for operation from rough fields, it would become one of the most successful military aircraft of all time.
The Stratocruiser flew premier services to Hawaii, across both oceans, and elsewhere in the world until superseded in the 1960s by jets such as the Boeing 707 and de Havilland Comet. Its spiral staircase, which led to a lower-deck lounge, inspired the one on the 747. It was one of the few airliners with a double-decker seating arrangement (another was the French Breguet Deux-Ponts) until the 747, though some airlines did have lower-level lounges on their L-1011 Tristar aircraft. The only survivors are converted Super Guppies.
In the early 1960's, the Israeli Air Force wished to upgrade to the C-130 Hercules which could lift larger payloads, but it was expensive and sales were embargoed by the United States. Instead, Israeli Aircraft Industries at Ben Gurion International Airport offered to modify Boeing 377 Stratocruisers it had with a stronger cabin floor which could handle cargo, plus a C-97 military Statocruiser tail section, which included a clam shell cargo door. These were called dubbed Anak (or Giant in Hebrew) and served starting in 1964. Three of these were modified by the use of a swing tail section, similar to the Canadair CL44D-4 airliner. Two others served as aerial tankers with underwing hosereel refuelling pods. Two others were ELINT-platforms for electronic reconnaissance, surveillance and ECM-missions (ECM-Electronic Counter Measures). These were later joined by four KC-97G's with the flying boom system.
Operators
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- Línea Internacional Aérea
- American Overseas Airlines
- Northwest Orient Airlines
- Pan American World Airways
- Transocean Air Lines
- United Airlines
- Rutas Aéreas Nacionales SA
- Scandinavian Airlines System (aircraft not delivered - passed to BOAC)
Safety record
- This aircraft type suffered 13 hull-loss accidents between 1951 and 1970 with a total of 140 fatalities. The worst single accident occurred on April 29, 1952; separation of the number two engine and propeller from Pan Am Flight 202 caused it to crash in the jungle near Carolina, Brazil, killing all forty-one passengers and nine crew.
- In April 1956, Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 2 ditched into Puget Sound after the flight engineer mistakenly failed to close the cowl gills on the plane's engines, an error attributed to confusing instrument layout. Although all aboard escaped the aircraft after a textbook landing, four passengers and one flight attendant succumbed either to drowning or to hypothermia before being rescued.
- In October 1956, Pan Am Flight 6 ditched northeast of Hawaii, after losing two of its four engines. The aircraft was able to circle around USCGC Pontchartrain until daybreak, when it ditched; all 31 on board survived.
- The Romance of the Skies, Pan Am Flight 7, left San Francisco on November 8, 1957, headed for Hawaii with 38 passengers and 6 crew. The 377 suffered a mechanical failure that may have been sabotage, and crashed around 5:25 p.m. in the Pacific Ocean. There were no survivors. There is speculation that two passengers had a motive to bring the plane down. Eugene Crosthwaite, a 46 year old purser, had shown blasting powder to a relative days prior to the flight, and had cut a stepdaughter from his will only one hour before the flight. William Payne, an ex-Navy demolitions expert, had taken out large insurance policies on himself just before the flight, and had a $10,000 debt he was desperate to pay off. The insurance investigator later suspected him of never being on the plane. His wife received at least $125,000 in payouts.
Aero Spacelines/Guppys
In the 1960s, Aero Spacelines modified several Stratocruisers to make oversized transports, dubbed "Guppys". The first of these was the Pregnant Guppy, followed by the Super Guppy, and finally the Mini Guppy.
Specifications (377)
Data from Airliners of the World
General characteristics
- Capacity: Up to 100 passengers on main deck plus 14 in lower deck lounge; typical seating for 63 or 84 passengers or 28 berthed and five seated passengers.
- Length: 110 ft 4 in (33.63 m)
- Wingspan: 141 ft 3 in (43.05 m)
- Height: 38 ft 3 in (11.66 m)
- Wing area: 1769 ft² (164.3 m²)
- Empty weight: 83,500 lb (37,876 kg)
- Max takeoff weight: 148,000 lb (67,133 kg)
- Powerplant: 4× Pratt & Whitney R-4360-B6 Wasp Major 28-cylinder radial engines four-bladed propellers, 3,500 hp (2,610 kW) each
Performance
- Maximum speed: 375 mph (603 km/h)
- Cruise speed: 301 mph (483 km/h)
- Range: 4,200 mi (3,650 nmi, 6,760 km)
- Service ceiling: 32,000 ft (9,800 m)
- Max cruise: 340 mph (547 km/h)
See also
Related development
Comparable aircraft
References
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Wilson, Stewart (1999). Airliners of the World. Fyshwick, Australia: Aerospace Publications. ISBN 1-875671-44-7.
- Boeing 377 - Stratocruiser A very comprehensive enthusiast page on the type
- The Aviation History On-Line Museum - Boeing 377 Stratocruiser
- California Classic - The Boeing Model 377 Stratocruiser
- Air Disaster, Vol. 4: The Propeller Era, by Macarthur Job, Aerospace Publications Pty. Ltd. (Australia), 2001 ISBN 1-875671-48-X
External links
- Stratocruiser article excerpts
- Anak (Israeli Boeing 377)
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