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| Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter
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|
| Description
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| Role | Military Transport
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| Crew | 4
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| Capacity | 3,000 ft³ | 85 m³
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| First Flight | November 15, 1944
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| Entered Service |
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| Manufacturer | Boeing
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| Dimensions
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| Length | 110ft 4in | 33.7 m
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| Wingspan | 141ft 3in | 43.1 m
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| Height | 38ft 3in | 11.7 m
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| Wing Area | 1,734 ft² | 161.1 m²
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| Weights
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| Empty | 82,500 lb | 37,410 kg
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| Loaded | 120,000 lb | 54,420 kg
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| Maximum takeoff | 175,000 lb | 79,370 kg
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| Powerplant
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| Engine | 4 × Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major
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| Power (each) | 3,500 hp | 2,610 kW
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| Performance
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| Maximum speed | 375 mph | 603 km/h
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| Combat range | 4,300 miles | 6,920 km
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| Ferry range | km | miles
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| Service ceiling | 35,000 ft | 10,670 m
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| Rate of climb | ft/min | m/min
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| Wing loading | 69.2 lb/ft² | 337.8 kg/m²
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| Power/Mass | 0.117 hp/lb | 0.192 kW/kg
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| Armament
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| Guns |
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The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter was developed towards the end of World War II by fitting an enlarged upper fuselage onto a lower fuselage and wings which were essentially the same as the B-29 Superfortress. The prototype XC-97 was powered by the 2,200 hp (1,640 kW) Wright R-3350 engine, and even with this the performance was impressive - on January 11. 1945 the first prototype flew from Seattle to Washington, DC in 6 hours 4 minutes, an average speed of 383 mph (616 km/h). For the remaining models the powerplants were upgraded to the 3500 hp (2,610 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major.
The military transport had a useful payload of 35,000 lb (16 t) and could carry two normal trucks or light tanks. Loading was by a retractable ramp into doors in the bottom of the fuselage, which was pressurised in flight.
About 60 C-97 transports were built, but the design really flourished in the guise of the KC-97 Stratotanker flight-refuelling tanker. The civilian derivative Boeing 377 Stratocruiser was highly influential in the post-war development of long-distance civil aviation.
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