Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser was a luxurious long-range postwar airliner with four piston-driven engines. It was a civilian version of the C-97 Stratofreighter. 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 the B-50 Superfortress, the high-performance evolution of the B-29 Superfortress bomber. The 377 was larger and ... more

The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser was a luxurious long-range postwar airliner with four piston-driven engines. It was a civilian version of the C-97 Stratofreighter. 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 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" doubledeck 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... less