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Aviation History
1955
1955 - 1090.PDF
202 FLIGHT THE VETERAN STRATOLINERS A Remarkable Record of Commercial and Military Service By DENNIS M. POWELL, F.R.G.S. WHEN the sale of Trans World Airlines' five Boeing 307BStratoliners to the French independent operator, AigleAzur, was announced—in April 1951—a new chapter began in the already colourful career of these remarkablyinteresting transport aircraft. The five were all delivered to Aigle Azur between May andAugust 1951, being ferried by French and American crews from T.W.A.'s base at Kansas City to Marignane (Paris) via Boston,Gander, Keflavik and Prestwick. For the record, they were originally registered NC.1940 to NC.1944, whilst their war-timeU.S.A.A.F. serials were 288627, 288628, 288629, 288300 and 288301 respectively: they were then given the designation C-75.Each aircraft was named by the U.S.A.A.F. after a famous Red Indian tribe—Navajo, Apache, Zurti, Cherokee, and Comanche.The five aircraft bear constructors' serial numbers 1998, 1996, 1999, 2000 and 2001 respectively. The five Stratoliners together with additional engines andconsiderable quantities of spares were sold to Aigle Azur for some $550,000, a most reasonable figure considering that T.W.A. hadspent almost $2,000,000 in having them practically re-built in late 1944. Furthermore, there were still ample B-17 Fortressspares available from the U.S. War Surplus Disposals Board. The basic design of the Boeing 307 goes as far back as mid1936, when the president of T.W.A., Jack Frye (himself an airline pilot of wide experience) and his technical advisers gottogether with Clair Egtvedt, Boeing's chief designer and his team to agree on a specification for a four-engined, 33-passenger air-liner. It was to be capable of operating at 20,000ft-plus with pressurized crew and passenger cabins; to cruise at over 220m.p.h.; and to have an a.u.w. of approximately 45,000 lb. At the same time, the technical projects branch of Pan American Air-ways also worked in close co-operation with Boeing and T.W.A., because P.A.A.'s president, Juan Trippe, was seeking a four-engined landplane replacement for the old Consolidated Commodore flying-boats which were then still operating on hisNew York/Rio de Janeiro/Buenos Aires schedules. The original prototype Stratoliner, NX. 19901, first flew onDecember 31st, 1938, with the late "Eddie" Allen (Boeing's chief test pilot) at the controls. Since it incorporated a considerablenumber of technical advances in the field of large-airliner con- struction (particularly the then unproven and intricate mechanismfor the pressurization of the complete fuselage) there were inevitably major technical problems to be overcome. In thefollowing March there was a tragic setback, when the aircraft crashed with a K.L.M. technical mission aboard. It is believedthat the cause was failure of both wing-tips when the design-load was greatly exceeded during pull-out after a test stall.Boeings nevertheless continued with intensive development, and a second prototype, NX.19905, flew in August 1939. Itincorporated a considerable number of modifications, which included a complete re-design of the tail unit. Happily, the in-tensive test period of six months that followed this work was completely successful and the Stratoliner was subsequentlyawarded its Certificate of Airworthiness by the C.A.A. The first three production Stratoliners were delivered to PanAmerican Airways early in 1940 (registered NC.19903, 19904 and 19905) and were put into service on York/Rio/Buenos Airesschedules in April of that year. When America came into the SINCE this article was written—the author lives abroad—Aigle Arur'sStratoliners have, in effect, changed hands yet again, for Union Aero- maritime de Transport, the French overseas operators, have acquiredan interest in the company. We believe that two or three of the quintet have new registrations, and at least one has been repainted in U.A.T.colours. war after Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour, the trio wereimpressed into service with U.S.A.A.F. Air Transport Com- mand, which was formed in early 1942. Flown by P.A.A.crews the three Stratoliners operated military schedules between the U.S.A. and South America until late 1944, when they weredemobilized and handed back to P.A.A. T.W.A.'s five Stratoliners (Model SA-307-3) were delivered tothat airline shortly after Pan American's three, and from July 1940 to December 24th, 1941, were employed on the famous"coast-to-coast" trans-U.S.A. schedules. Then America's only four-engined landplane transports in regular service, and cruisingat 220 m.p.h., they reduced the transcontinental schedules from 18£ to 14i hours. They flew a grand total of about 4,500,000passenger-miles without accident, and carried 109,000 passengers. They were then "called to the colours" with Air TransportCommand. Stripped of all luxury passenger fittings, and fitted with fuselage tanks carrying an additional 750 U.S. gallons offuel, these long-range landplane transports (of which so very few types were flying back in 1942) were painted in drab greenolive and brown paint, and named after famous Red Indian tribes as already stated above. During the following 2\ years of military service T.W.A.'sBoeings flew almost 3? million miles without accident: these included a total of 762 flights over the North and South Atlantic,during which they visited every Continent except Australasia. On these and other flights overseas they carried considerablequantities of vital war cargoes, amongst which were top-priority supplies of armour-piercing ammunition, flown from Americanfactories to Egypt for General Montgomery's coming 8th Army offensive against Rommel's Afrika Corps. Amongst the largenumber of war-time V.I.P.s who travelled in these aircraft were President Roosevelt, Queen Wilhelmina, President Vargas ofBrazil, General George Marshall, Madame Chiang-Kai-Shek and General Giraud. The Boeings' war-time duties also included the training ofU.S.A.A.F. crews in the art of celestial and dead-reckoning navi- gation until other types of long-range aircraft became available.Then—in August 1944—these aircraft were "demobbed" and returned to their owners. T.W.A. decided to have each aircraft rebuilt and completely"modernized" at the Boeing factory. To improve payload characteristics (and because of the enormous immediate post-war traffic demands, coupled with the shortage of large four- engined transports—a small number of DC-4 Skymasters wereonly just beginning to reach a few U.S. airlines) the pressuriza- tion equipment was removed, whilst passenger seating wasincreased from 33 to 38. Improved structural alterations included the fitting of B-17G Fortress-type wings, landing gearand tail assembly, and the more powerful Wright Cyclone Series GR-1820-G205A engines were fitted, giving better performance.The virtual rebuilding of each of these aircraft cost T.W.A. $285,000 per unit, but good dividends to the airline subsequentlyresulted, because these Stratoliners were still virtually the only four-engined landplanes in commercial service in the U.S.A.until considerable numbers of DC-4s became available after V.E. Day, to be followed much later by Constellations and DC-6s. The ninth and last Boeing 307 built was sold to millionaireHoward Hughes, who used it in conjunction with his Company, Hughes Aircraft, Inc. This particular Stratoliner (NC.19902)was known as the Model SB-307B, and was luxuriously fitted out with sleeping bunks, "conference room" and other special interiorfeatures associated with executive transports. Hughes sold this aircraft in 1948 to another millionaire, Glenn McCarthy, ofTexas. In 1950 it was sold to a third millionaire, a Mexican. One of P.A.A.'s Boeings went to the Corps d'Aviation de I'Armeein Haiti where, to the best of my knowledge, it is still giving sterling service. The others have changed hands twice sincethey were sold by that airline. I understand they are currently being operated by Aerovias Ecuatorianas C.A. of Ecuador, whofly them between Guayaquil and Miami. As non-I.A.T.A. carriers, The first prototype, NX 19901, which flew on December 31st, 1938. Stratoliners were the first pressurized airliners.
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