Scale: 1/100
Wingspan: 16.5"
Length: 13"
Code: KB377T
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 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) of altitude. At 25,000 ft (7,600 m), passengers enjoyed a “cabin altitude” of only 5,500 ft (1,700 m).
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The Stratocruiser flew premier services to Hawaii, across both oceans, and elsewhere in the world until superseded in the 1960s by jets such as the Boeing 707 and de Havilland Comet.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.