Enclosed is an excerpt from a History Snapshot at and from Boeing. We try and remember how names of things come to be.....
"After World War II, Boeing reentered the commercial
market with a new long-range airliner, the Stratocruiser (Model 377). It
was the first Boeing commercial transport since the Stratoliner, and
like its military counterpart, the C-97, was based on the B-29 Bomber. It possessed all the speed and technical improvements available to bombers at the end of the war.
The Stratocruiser set a new standard for luxurious air travel with
its tastefully decorated extra-wide passenger cabin and gold-appointed
dressing rooms. A circular staircase led to a lower deck beverage
lounge, and flight attendants prepared hot meals for 50 to 100 people in
a state-of-the-art galley. As a sleeper, the Stratocruiser was equipped
with 28 upper-and-lower bunk units.
Pan American placed the first order for 20 Stratocruisers, worth $24
million, and they began service between San Francisco, Calif., and
Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1949. Boeing built 56 Stratocruisers between 1947
and 1950. The airplane marked the company's first significant success
selling passenger planes to airlines in other countries.
During the early 1960s, Aero Space Lines ballooned the
Stratocruiser's fuselage into a whale-like shape to carry spacecraft
sections. Nine of the variants were assembled. The first was called the
"Pregnant Guppy," followed by five larger "Superguppies" and three
smaller "Miniguppies."
| First flight | July 8, 1947 |
| Model number | 377 |
| Classification | Commercial transport |
| Span | 141 feet 3 inches |
| Length | 110 feet 4 inches |
| Gross weight | 145,000 pounds |
| Top speed | 375 mph |
| Cruising speed | 300 mph |
| Range | 4,600 miles |
| Ceiling | More than 33,000 feet |
| Power | Four 3,500-horsepower P&W R-4360 Wasp Major engines |
| Accommodation | 55 to 100 passengers and attendants |
