Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter

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C-97 Stratofreighter
General information
Type	Military transport aircraft
Manufacturer	Boeing
Primary users	United States Air Force Israeli Air Force
Number built	77 (total of 888 in all variants)
History
Manufactured	1944–1952
Introduction date	1947
First flight	9 November 1944
Retired	1978
Developed from	Boeing B-29 Superfortress Boeing B-50 Superfortress
Variants	Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter Boeing 377 Stratocruiser Aero Spacelines Pregnant Guppy Aero Spacelines Super Guppy Aero Spacelines Mini Guppy

The Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter is a long-range heavy military cargo aircraft developed from the B-29 and B-50 bombers. Design work began in 1942, the first of three prototype XC-97s flew on 9 November 1944 and the first of six service-test YC-97s flew on 11 March 1947. All nine were based on the 24ST alloy structure and Wright R-3350 engines of the B-29, but with a larger-diameter fuselage upper lobe (making a figure of eight or "double-bubble" section) and they had the B-29 vertical tail with the gunner's position blanked off. The first of three heavily revised YC-97A incorporating the re-engineered wing (higher-strength 75ST alloy), taller vertical tail and larger Pratt & Whitney R-4360 engines of the B-50 bomber, flew on 28 January 1948 and was the basis of the subsequent sole YC-97B, all production C-97s, KC-97s and civilian Stratocruiser aircraft. Between 1944 and 1958, 888 C-97s in several versions were built, 811 being KC-97 tankers.^[1][2] C-97s served in the Berlin Airlift, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Some aircraft served as flying command posts for the Strategic Air Command, while others were modified for use in Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadrons (ARRS).