Boeing 377

The Boeing 377, sometimes called the Stratocruiser, was an airliner made by Boeing after World War II. It was derived from the C-97 Stratofreighter, which was a type of Boeing B-29 Superfortress used to move military troops around. The first Stratocruiser first took off on July 8, 1947.

The Stratocruiser had four piston engines. It had a pressurized cabin and two decks. Airlines could fly for much longer with the Stratocruiser, to places like Hawaii.

However, the Stratocruiser was a lot more expensive than the Douglas DC-6 and Lockheed Constellation. Only 55 Stratocruisers were made for airlines.

Design and development
The Boeing 377 used the bottom and the wings of the B-50 Superfortress. The 377 was bigger than the Lockheed Constellation and Douglas DC-6 and it could fly for longer. Boeing ceased 377 production in 1950.Pushing the Envelope: The American Aircraft Industry By Donald M. Pattillo

A key point of the Stratocruiser was pressurization. (first used on the Boeing 307) That meant that if the plane was flying at , to the passengers it would be like they were on the ground. It was very luxurious as passengers would travel in beds 18 in beds and 5 seated 

History
56 Stratocruisers were made. 55 of these were made for airlines.

The Stratocruiser flew to Hawaii as well as many other places. It was one of the only planes with two decks (another one was the Breguet Deux-Ponts) until the Boeing 747 was made.

In the early 1960s the Stratocruiser was overtaken by jet planes like the de Havilland Comet, Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8.

Different types of Boeing 377
Flight Simulation is Stimulation - Boeing 377 Stratocruiser  Retrieved 3/31/11Israeli-Weapons.com - Anak(Boeing 377)  Retrieved 3/31/11Flickriver - Israel07 Israel Air Force Museum by brewbooks Retrieved 3/31/11All About Guppys.com Retrieved 4/1/11Aviastar.org - Boeing 377 Stratocruiser Retrieved 4/13/11
377-10-19
Prototype. It was given to Pan American World Airways in 1950.
377-10-26
20 given to Pan American World Airways.
377-10-26S
10 aircraft with better engines and more fuel. It was called the "Super Stratocruiser".

Many other types were made, but most of them only had changes made to the shape of the windows.

Aero Spacelines Guppy
A company called Aero Spacelines started changing 377s to planes called Guppies in 1960s. There were three types: the Pregnant Guppy, Super Guppy, and Mini Guppy.

The first of them was the Pregnant Guppy. After this they made the Super Guppy and then the Mini Guppy. The Super Guppy and the Mini Guppy had turboprop engines.

Users

Ecuador
Línea Internacional Aérea
Israel
Israeli Air Force
United Kingdom
British Overseas Airways Corporation
United States
American Overseas Airlines
Northwest Orient Airlines
Pan American World Airways
Transocean Air Lines
United Airlines
Venezuela
Rutas Aéreas Nacionales SA

Accidents
The Stratocruiser had 13 hull-loss accidents between 1951 and 1970. A hull-loss accident is when a plane is damaged so badly it cannot be fixed. 140 people died in the Stratocruiser. The worst accident happened on April 29, 1952.

Details (377)

Related pages

References
Notes

Bibliography

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 

Other websites

 Stratocruiser articles
 Anak (Israeli Boeing 377) 

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