Stratoliner Memorabila Collection

[Zemke Fan]

Ladies and Gentlemen... As promised, here are the scans from my Stratoliner memorabilia collection.

First up... "Broader Wings Now Span the Nation." (24-page TWA brochure.)
Scans are at 75%.

Front and back cover. Pages 1-8.

 

[Zemke Fan]

Broader Wings, cont.

"Broader Wings Now Span the Nation." Scans are at 75%.

Pages 9-18.

 

[Zemke Fan]

Broader Wings, cont.

"Broader Wings Now Span the Nation." Scans are at 75%.

Pages 19-22.

 

[Zemke Fan]

Luggage Stickers...

 

[Zemke Fan]

First Day Cover...

Interesting... Sent from Jack Frye to the number two guy at Braniff (Beard) who eventually became the CEO.

I can imagine that ole Jack Frye probably got quite a kick out of sending these to the competition. I wonder how Juan Tripp reacted when he got his?!

 

[Zemke Fan]

Stratoliner Club...

... Anyone recognize the name on the certificate? (I have three of these certificates. This one is the most pristine and the only one with someone prominent.)

 

[Mr. 'H']

OUTSTANDING Fred!

I am thrilled to read these lovely ads. I just love this stuff and get a real buzz out of it.

I really love the whole aesthetic of it. Simple yet modern.

 

[Zemke Fan]

Thank you, sir...

Agree completely, Brian. For some reason the Stratoliner is my favorite airliner. Yeah, the Connie was cool, but the Strat was first! And, I love the connection to the hat!

Interesting note: A 24-page TWA "Broader Wings" brochure just sold on eBay for $178.51! I didn't pay any where near that much, fortunately.

I've got several more items to share, so keep your eyes peeled!

And, BTW, the image in my current avatar is from a 1944 Stetson Stratoliner ad: "Let's bring him home quicker! Keep it under your Stetson."

 

[vitanola]

... Anyone recognize the name on the certificate? (I have three of these certificates. This one is the most pristine and the only one with someone prominent.)

Wow. President TRegan's first Atty. General.

 

[scotrace]

Holy Smoke! What a fantastic collection of images!
Let me ask foolish questions...

Are there any remaining examples of this aircraft? Was this a first-class-only plane? Was it an outrageously expensive route on which to book a flight? Are there special serve ware pieces from the Stratoliner? (plates, cups, highballs, etc)

Amazing - leg room, sleeping berths, and actual food. They were still thinking "Pullman" then eh?

Thanks so much for giving us these Fred!

 

[Zemke Fan]

Scott...

Let me tell you what I know:

Boeing built just 10 Stratoliners. One crashed during testing. Five went to TWA and three to PanAm. Howard Hughes owned the ninth. He named it (appropriately enough) "The Flying Penthouse."

The only one still in existence is located at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (annex to the Smithsonian's Air & Space Museum) at Washington Dulles Airport.

Summary from Wikipedia:

The Boeing Model 307 Stratoliner was the first commercial transport aircraft with a pressurized cabin. This feature allowed the plane to cruise at an altitude of 20,000 feet (6,000 m), well above weather disturbances. The Model 307 had capacity for a crew of five and 33 passengers. The cabin was nearly 12 feet across. It was the first plane to include a flight engineer as a crew member.

Here's a REALLY good summary page from aviation-history.com: Boeing 307 - Stratoliner

As that page states:

Boeing's Model 299, prototype for the military bomber aircraft, which duly became the B-17 Flying Fortress, was developed in parallel with a civil version of the same aircraft, which had the company designation Boeing Model 300. The Model 307, or Stratoliner, was a straight-forward conversion from the supremely successful B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. It employed the wings and tail surfaces of the B-17C Flying Fortress.

Whole plane following restoration:

Cockpit:

 

[Zemke Fan]

Memorabila beyond paper...

Finally, Scott, let me address your question about other items. I am keeping a watchful eye out for other items, but not much has surfaced.

The one thing I did find -- and which is the centerpiece of my collection -- is a sterling silver TWA Hostess wing from the period (complete with a Stratoliner!) made by Blackenton, one of the most famous of the WWII USAAF wing makers. I need to polish that up and I will post a photo in this thread.

I had my eye on a TWA pilot's cap badge, but had to pass when the bidding reached the stratosphere on eBay.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

What a nifty collection! Thanks for sharing, Fred.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Here is my contribution (again!) for the last Stratoliner crash in history. The story of the crash is posted in that other Stratoliner thread. It's worth searching for!

-dixon 'clipper' cannon

 

[Zemke Fan]

All I want for Christmas...

Is a 1/48 scale model of a Stratoliner. Check out THIS one:

It's an original 1930s/1940s large scale model rebuilt in 2005 by Doug Emmons. It has a 43" wingspan!

Check out his fascinating story about how he restored/rebuilt it.

 

[Zemke Fan]

Well... okay... I lied...

... ALSO on my Christmas list is this baby:

An original pilot's cap badge... A steal at $499!
(Probably gold plate over sterling.)

And an affordable reproduction pair of wings:

from my buddy Joe Weingarten: Weingarten Gallery

Transcontinal & Western Air Sterling w Gold - $65.00
* Museum quality reproduction of a great wing, all 3 5/16 inches,(85mm).
* Made in Sterling with a gold plate. Hallmarked Sterling and Blackenton.

 

[Zemke Fan]

Two interesting photos...

Chicago's Midway field, October 1941:

 

[Zemke Fan]

From March 21, 1938 issue of Time Magazine:

STRATOLINER

In 1936 the "Big Five" U. S. airlines— Pan American, United, American, Eastern, Transcontinental & Western Air— hatched a plan for a Douglas four-engined super-airplane. They agreed to pool their knowledge and to share the expense of development. Meanwhile, they also agreed to a limitation of airliners: pending the result of the joint effort none of the lines would put in service ships of the projected size (43,000 Ib. to 75,000 lb.).

While they had their heads together, T. W. A.'s Captain Daniel W. Tomlinson was working on plans for substratosphere flying for T. W. A.'s President Jack Frye. At the same time Seattle's Boeing Aircraft Co. was building the great high-altitude Air Corps' B-17 bombers which last month jauntily flew 10,000 miles around South America.

Dissatisfied with Douglas' progress and convinced by Tomlinson's tests that upper-air flight was feasible, T. W. A. became sold on Boeing's idea of a big passenger fuselage for the well-tested wings and tail of the Air Corps' B-17 bomber, ordered six. Its weight, too, would be just within the "Big Five" agreement—42,672 lb. When this order became known T. W. A.'s competitors howled that the "spirit" of the agreement had been broken.

Under the registered trademark name Stratoliner, Boeing last week announced it was ready for additional orders from all comers, and among the first to be interested was American Airlines.

The new ship will cost $340,500, have four 900 h.p. Wright Cyclone engines, wing span of 107 ft., length of 74 ft. The fuselage, 11 ft. wide, seats 33 daytime passengers, has berths for 16, reclining chairs for nine night travelers, accommodation for three flying officers, hostess and Filipino house boy. Its normal speed is around 200 m.p.h., range, with full 9,750-lb. load, about 1,000 miles. For $50,000 more* cabins can be sealed against varying outside air pressures but the Stratoliner, despite its impressive name, goes nowhere near the stratosphere, 32,000 ft. up. Service ceiling is 23,300 ft.

* Pan American Airways purchased two of these.

 

[scotrace]

Amazing!! What a great theme for a collection.

(What if one wanted, say a Brazillian Houseboy instead?)

 

[Zemke Fan]

Stratoliner medallions...

In the National Air and Space Museum Collection:

Stratoliner Inaugural Flight:

Stratoliner Club:

Both of these scans are about 200%.

I have an original Stratoliner Club in my collection. (See later post.)