Friday, March 1, 2013

to Hong Kong by Boeing 377 Stratocruiser


The sail of the boat looks to be in need of repair and the woman looks almost as peculiar as the boatman in the Air India poster. This Northwest Airlines poster circa 1950 features a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser which was first flown in 1947. This was the commercial version of the C-97 Stratofreighter. The two-level 377 was pressurized and could accommodate 50 to 100 passengers. On long flights the aircraft could accommodate 28 upper and lower bunk units which led to the aircraft being referred to as the “Flying Hotel”. The 377 was larger and could fly further than the Lockheed Constellation or the DC-6 but they had mediocre reliability, said to be chiefly due to chronic problems with the four 28-cylinder Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major radial engines and their associated four-blade propellers. As a result, only 55 Stratocruisers were built for airlines and production ended in 1950. See earlier post.

a scale model by Silent Thunder Models

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