The 377 Stratocruiser & KC-97 Stratofreighter: Boeing's Great Post War Transports Hardcover – August 15, 2014

after much anticipation I finally received this book. I just briefly thumbed through it and have to wonder, with all this information and hard work it is putting a book together why wouldn't he include a section on the one C-97 that it almost ready to fly? There's a section in there about static displays and where they are located but what would be better than a section about a C-97 that is being restored to flight? I have personally put in hundreds of hours working on this plane and it is very close to having the engines turned over for the first time in 12 years. If all goes well then she'll take to the skies again. The book itself seems OK, again I only thumbed through it so I can't comment on the content. It is perplexing to have a new book come out and not have it include and living example of this magnificent bird. Upon a closer inspection I did find mention of the plane, 2 paragraphs with no pics of this aircraft. It's a living example of this bird and is in the final stages of preparations to get her back in the air. update: upon further review of the book it is a very good history about the 377 and the C-97. I learned a lot about the history of the aircraft and everyone who saw the book, fellow restoration volunteers, were very impressed with the book. A few purchased their own when they saw my copy.I'm increasing the rating from 3 stars to 4 on the merit of the research and the collection of the rare photos.

A good overview of the classic Boeing airliner/tanker of the 50s.A good selection of photos, specifications and portions of the Air Force pilot's handbook really make this book stand out.A few nits to pick...-Some captions are wrong...a plane with a caption "In the late 60s" clearly shows early 1950s markings (the small letters "UNITED STATES AIR FORCE" are clearly shown instead of the later "U.S. AIR FORCE" in larger letters).-Throughout the entire book the word "Transatlantic" comes out "Transpacific". Very noticeable when the author is talking about NY to London flights. My guess is the typesetter's computer had Transpacific in its dictionary...and changed transatlantic to that.-I would have liked better photos of the interior of the military tanker. The reader still doesn't get a good idea of the fuel tank layout on the main deck of the KC-97s.-The list of survivors is pitifully inadequate. It doesn't even list the Guppy survivors that is mentioned in the text. A cut and paste of Wiki would have been better than what is included.

As a former Crew Chief and Texas ANG Technician on the KC-97L, I enjoyed this book. I only wish more history of "Operation Creek Party" would have been included. Guard units from all over the US supported NATO refueling in Europe from 1966-1974 with these aircraft while the KC-135's were serving in Vietnam. They did a fantastic job with these old dogs and I'm proud to have been one of the maintainers.

Fabulous book about a fabulous airplane!The 377/KC-97 is my fantasy airplane with abundant internal space for living quarters.Got a ride on one of these; the cockpit is enormous. To get to the back end, you have to go for a long walk.I have read the whole book quickly and am now going back to memorize it. The book has a tremendous amount of detail.I remember when they took jet engines off of the B-47's and put them on the KC-97 wings. They made a "test hop" ... around the world!What a great plane!!

good information, very good photos, (their are many), printed advertisements and many illustrations - It gives me what I want to know about this airplane and its history as a military aircraft and commercial passenger airliner.

Good book, though a bit light on the KC version. I can remember spending my time at the base Kids Day wandering around inside one of the KCs, looking at all the guts and cockpit. I didn't understand much, but enjoyed the smells and the experience. Would have loved to fly on one.

In many areas the writing is rather stilted and there is very little information about the C-97's flown as freighters/pax carriers/aeromedical evac missions. To be fair, the book title is 377s and KC-97 Stratofreighters (More accurately, it is the KC-97 Stratotanker.) but not much about the C-97s! Still an interesting overview of the 377 lineage.

Since I flew these in the USAF/CALANG for 2100+ hrs and 6 years I really enjoyed it. Very knowledgable and entertaining.

A VERY interesting book, describing the growth of American commercial aircraft development, as much as the development of this aircraft.The book describes the 'genesis' of this aircraft with excellent images, and then goes on to desribe how its competitors, in the commercial field, totally outshone it.Militarily it was a very successful aircraft, as the author describes and, though I am not a great fan of American aircraft, I only bought this book as I am building a model tanker KC-97, I thoroughly enjoyed 'the read.I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Every thing I always wanted to know about the Stratocruiser.

Excellent, well packaged , highly recommended

Dérivé du B-29 Superfortress, caractéristique avec son fuselage pressurisé (d'où l'appellation "strato") en forme de "huit" vu de face, le Boeing 377 Stratocruiser connut une belle carrière civile de la fin des années 40 au début des années 60 au sein de plusieurs grandes compagnies américaines et britanniques.Mais il servit aussi comme appareil militaire pour le transport stratégique (C-97 Stratofreighter) et surtout pour le ravitaillement en vol (KC-97 Sratotanker) au profit des bombardiers stratégiques américains avant l'arrivée du Boeing KC-135. Cet appareil servit ensuite dans les unités de l'Air National Guard avant son retrait définitif en juin 1978. Enfin, l'appareil donna naissance à la série des "Guppies" et "Super Guppies" utilisés pour le transport d'éléments de fusées mais aussi d'Airbus entre les différents sites de production européens.Peu d'ouvrages ont été réalisés sur cet avion qui a pourtant joué un rôle significatif aussi bien dans l'aviation commerciale que militaire. Personnellement intéressé par l'appareil, j'avais trouvé un ouvrage en allemand au début des années 2000 mais qui est aujourd'hui difficilement trouvable. L'ouvrage de Bill Yenne vient donc combler un vide et il s'agit vraiment d'un excellent travail, bien fouillé et bien documenté.Abordant toute la genèse de l'appareil et les différents prototypes, son livre présente d'abord l'exploitation commerciale de l'appareil aux Etats-Unis et en Grande-Bretagne. La partie militaire est ensuite bien dissociée, entre les appareils dédiés au transport et les ravitailleurs en vol. Bill Yenne n'oublie pas non plus d'évoquer l'utilisation très discrète de certains de ces avions pour des missions de recueil de renseignement dans le couloir de Berlin ni les deux autres utilisateurs militaires que furent l'Espagne et surtout, Israël. Enfin, le livre présente la série des "Guppies" (Pregnant, Mini et Super Guppies).Beaucoup d'informations, donc, complétées par une iconographie de qualité. Les photos sont très belles pour certaines, prises en vol et à l'intérieur de la machine et la mise en page est très agréable (pas de photos trop foncées où les détails sont estompées ou placées sur la pliure du livre). Beaucoup de ces photos sont, à mon avis, inédites.A noter également, un descriptif complet des performances de l'avion, de différentes séries produites, des compagnies utilisatrices, des unités militaires qui l'ont mis en oeuvre, des procédures de roulage, de ravitaillement en vol, d'atterrissage et de secours. L'intérieur de l'habitacle est également soigné grâce à la présentation des planches d'instruments (pilote, copilote, mécanicien-navigant). Plusieurs croquis présentent l'avion sous toutes ses coutures (équipements de sauvetage, de radionavigation, de ravitaillement en vol). Son prix légèrement supérieur à 31 euros reste des plus raisonnables, surtout si l'on tient compte de la somme de travail et du soin apportés à la rédaction de cette monographie.Au final, il s'agit d'un ouvrage complet qui devrait satisfaire aussi bien l'amateur d'aéronautique que le maquettiste, ce qui est d'ailleurs mon cas. Je lui accorde ces cinq étoiles sans hésiter.