Boeing "Stratoliner"
Model Airplane News Cover Art for July, 1938
by Jo Kotula
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The Boeing Model 307 "Stratoliner"

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The Model 307 introduced a fuselage of circular cross-section, so that it could be pressurized to assure a smooth flight for the crew of five and 33 passengers at altitude above atmospheric turbulence. Here is a Popular Mechanics article entitled "Above the Weather" featuring the Stratoliner.

Above the Weather
in Popular Mechanics January, 1939
Click here to download a free ".pdf" copy of "Above the Weather"
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The prototype Model 307 (named Stratoliner because of its high cruising ceiling) flew for the first time on 31 December 1938. A total of ten were built: the prototype; five SA-307B for Transcontinental & Western Air; three S-3O7 for Pan American; and a single SB-307B for the late Howard Hughes. The TWA planes were used by the Army's Air Transport Command during World War II for VIP transport over the North and South Atlantic. The Army designated them C-75.

Here is a video about the Stratoliner:

The Model 307 had the distinction of being the first civil airliner with a pressurised cabin to enter service. It also introduced an extra crew member - known as the flight engineer - to relieve the captain of certain duties such as power plant, fuel and pressurisation management and monitoring.

  

Patent Diagrams for the Boeing Model 307
Design Patent D-104,335
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