Boeing 377 Stratocruiser

Boeing 377 Stratocruiser
A Pan Am Stratocruiser over San Francisco Bay
General information
Type	Airliner
National origin	United States
Manufacturer	Boeing Commercial Airplanes
Primary user	Pan American World Airways
Number built	56[1][2]
History
Introduction date	April 1, 1949, with Pan American World Airways
First flight	July 8, 1947
Retired	1963
Developed from	Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter
Variants	Aero Spacelines Pregnant Guppy Aero Spacelines Super Guppy Aero Spacelines Mini Guppy

The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser was a large long-range airliner developed from the C-97 Stratofreighter military transport, itself a derivative of the B-29 Superfortress. The Stratocruiser's first flight was on July 8, 1947.^[3] Its design was advanced for its day; its relatively innovative features (though neither completely new) included two passenger decks and a pressurized cabin. 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 R-4360 Wasp Major radial engines and structural and control problems with their propellers. Only 55 Model 377s were built for airlines, along with the single prototype. A 377 was also converted into the Aero Spacelines Pregnant Guppy by John M. Conroy for NASA’s Gemini space program.