Warbird Information Exchange

I think you're confusing the Swoose with the Boeing 307 that is at Udvar-Hazy. The 307 was fitted with B-17G wings later in its career.

You're correct. Old age is firmly entrenched here.Its got me bad.

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Hang The Expense

Not to drag this too far off-topic, but I'm curious about the 307 at U-H. Were the wings modified to their original configuration during restoration? She now appears to have the original-style nacelles and cowls, and has fixed leading-edge slots in the outer wings. She also has the older external oil coolers.

SN



#1 Engine..



#3 Engine..



Outer wing..

This probably ought to be split off as a separate thread...

But, since the Boeing 307 Stratoliner was originally based on the B-17C; it had the same wings, tail, rudder, landing gear, and engines... Also, it had a new 138 inch diameter fuselage that was one of the pressurized passenger cabins.

The 307 had the same stability issues of the B-17 "shark fin" models and eventually ended up with the B-17E's tail.

Boeing built ten 307s: one prototype, three to Pan Am, five to TWA, and one to Howard Hughes.

Five of TWA's 307s were converted to C-75 by removing the cabin pressurization mechanical in January 1942.

At the end of the war, the Army Transport Command returned the C-75s to TWA and Boeing remanufactured and recertified them for civilian use. The wings were probably tired (like the Swoose's). Since there were a lot of surplus B-17G parts available to Boeing after the war, the plane was upgraded and improved to the most current standard. Most notably the G's wings and higher higher horsepower motors.

I consider the art deco Boeing 307 to be one of the most attractive and significant prewar designs. It didn't have the longevity of the niche oriented DC-3 or Curtis C-46. Then again, they didn't build very many of them.

I cringe every time I think of the March 2002 Puget Sound water landing of the Smithsonian's 307



I wonder if any bits and pieces of the five crashed Royal Air Laos/Aigle-Azur Boeing 307s in Indochina have survived?

We will not talk about the "Cosmic Muffin".

http://inhabitat.com/the-cosmic-muffin-a-boat-recycled-from-howard-hughes-plane/
http://thepirata.com/the-plane-boat/
http://www.jordanyachts.com/archives/5707

The water landing on Puget Sound
http://www.bobqat.com/AeroBob/307/Recovery.html
http://www.king5.com/news/cities/seattle/10-years-ago-today-Boeing-307-crashed-into-Elliott-Bay-144269985.html
http://www.komonews.com/news/archive/4037241.html?tab=video&c=y
http://msgboard.snopes.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=81;t=000072;p=0
http://www.airdisaster.com/photos/n19903/photo.shtml

Restoration after water landing in Puget Sound
http://www.airspacemag.com/flight-today/restoration-soggy-stratoliner-32605581/?page=1

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Keep your PDI centered!

Swapping out the original wings for new B-17G units would certainly make sense. But I'm curious about the surviving 307, which obviously still has the earlier wings and nacelles. Pictures of her at Pima "back in the day" show the same. You mention that the TWA Stratoliners were rebuilt with B-17G wings..I'm assuming that since the NASM 307 was a Pan Am aircraft, she didn't get the structural mods (other than the bigger tail, which was added while she was still with Pan Am.) I agree with you that the 307 really captures the style of the era..she would look right at home in a Buck Rogers comic book. We're planning another visit to Udvar-Hazy this summer, and I'm looking forward to seeing Clipper Flying Cloud again. To me, she's one of the top jewels of the collection.

We now return to the previous B-17 thread, already in progress..

SN

I didn't find anything about the three Pan Am Boeing 307 Stratoliners going in for a retrofit to Boeing after the war or even serving with Army Transport Command as C-75s. It doesn't mean they didn't, but that may explain the retention of the early B-17C wing and nacelle configuration.

Boeing's Chief Aerodynamcist Ralph Cram was killed in the March 18, 1939 crash of the prototype Boeing 307 Stratoliner.

They hired George S. Schairer to replace Cram and to develop and test the Stratoliner.

Schairer redesigned and enlarged the vertical tail section. (Schairer went on to work on the aerodynamics of the B-29, adaptation of German swept wing design, B-47, B-52, 707, XB-70, 727, 737, and 747)

The modifications, the larger vertical fin surface, and the incorporation of aerodynamically balanced control surfaces (replacing spring tabs) made its way into the new B-17E.

I think you could say that the Boeing 307's development/modification lead to the defining point between the early (Model 229 through B-17D) and late (B-17E through B-17G) B-17s.

The Smithsonian's plane was delivered to Pan Am March 22, 1940. The B-17E production started 27 September 1941.


Boeing 307 NC19903 with the original small vertical stabilizer before its delivery to Pan Am

Pan Am Boeing S-307 Clipper Flying Cloud NX19903 with the enlarged vertical stabilizer.

At least one of the Pan Am 307s pictured here has the "big tail".

Citations:

Abzug, Malcolm J. and Larrabee, E. Eugene, Airplane Stability and Control; A History of the Technologies That Made Aviation Possible; Second Edition, Cambridge Aerospace Series, 2002.

Schairer, George S. "Directional Stability and Vertical Surface Stalling", Journal of the Aeronautical Sciences, Vol.8 No.7.

http://www.air-and-space.com/Boeing%20307%20N19903.htm

http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/weapons_B-17E.html

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Keep your PDI centered!

Does any one have any pictures of the NMUSAF's "Memphis Bell" and or "Swoose" ... taken within the last couple of months that they would like to post?

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Keep your PDI centered!

I haven't been over to the restoration hangars since the fall of 2012. I think they just recently started giving tours again..they stopped for a year or so due to the "sequester." I'd definitely like to see the Belle's current status. I doubt much if anything has happened with The Swoose since I saw her last. She's most likely still just lurking in the corner waiting her turn.

SN

The latest restoration update from the NMUSAF indicates work has stopped temporarily on the Swoose in favor of other projects. I assume the Belle is taking up most of the resources these days. www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/exhibits/rest ... /index.asp

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Ain't no sunshine when she's gone!

Nice to see (read) that the WB-50 is getting some interior work done on her. Wish they would post some pictures...

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