In the era of regulated, multi-stop operations on key traffic corridors, increasing capacity on a route or network was not as simple as merely adding another frequency from “spoke to hub” or “hub to hub”. Aircraft flight speeds were slower, and the range of effective departure times from a major city like Seattle, Chicago, or New York was limited not by slots, but rather time zones and the need to land at several intermediate points. Overnight flying was necessary to position aircraft, but neither comfortable nor effective at generating traffic en route. The more practical way to approach the issue was to use a larger-gauge aircraft – and in the postwar era in the late 1940s, the biggest civilian airplane available in the USA was Boeing’s model 377 Stratocruiser.
Seating 69 on the main deck and 14 in a novel downstairs lounge, this long-range “jumbo” could cruise at 325 mph and cost $2 million each. Northwest ordered 10 frames, with the first delivered in August 1949 (after a two-year production delay.)
Flight crews and passengers loved the aircraft – the cabin was spacious and offered sleeping berths as well as men’s and ladies’ dressing rooms, and was Northwest’s first pressurized, air-conditioned type. NWA first deployed the type on its Asian service, but their traffic-generating ability was better used on domestic runs. The Stratocruiser opened Northwest’s first service to Miami, and ranged from there to Alaska; Hawaii to New York City.
The type’s Wasp Major supercharged piston engines were the most powerful radial engines to be manufactured, but they required substantial maintenance and caused a number of crashes. Only 56 frames were built. Northwest was the last major U.S. carrier to retire the type, with its last flight on September 15, 1960 – 11 years in the fleet. Lockheed took NWA’s remaining 377s in trade for brand-new Electra turboprops.
If you use these photos, please credit the Northwest Airlines History Center – please also contact us to let us know how you’re using them and if we can be of further help!
1946 postcards issued by Northwest advertising their Stratocruisers on order (expected to arrive in 1947 but would be delayed two years.) The top image illustration imagines a “Strat” using the mid-1940s zigzag cheatline and a pair of ‘wings’ logos on each side. The lower illustration is a colorized photo of Boeing’s lower-deck lounge concept. Both postcards from the D. Scott Norris collection.
Gummed sticker given to passengers as part of inflight stationery packets, 1947. The brilliant silver finish is complemented with red and blue printing – while the zigzag stripe would have been blue (with fine red piping around it) if the Stratocruiser had been delivered on schedule, for the purpose of this giveaway the dash of red makes it more interesting. From the D. Scott Norris collection.Postcard from the briefly-considered, never fully implemented 1947 logo and livery update. Read the March 2021 REFLECTIONS for background on this abandoned design. If the Stratocruiser had been delivered on time, it may well have arrived in this scheme…Military C-97 production took precedence over the civilian 377s, but did establish a supply chain and consistent production processes. Boeing photo via the James Borden Photography Collection.NWA representatives Malachwiej and Opsahl inspect a C-97 military transport fuselage section. Boeing photo via the James Borden Photography Collection.
Factory floor inspection of a Northwest Stratocruiser. Boeing photo via the James Borden Photography Collection.
Massive Fowler-type flaps for the Stratocruiser positioned on the assembly floor. Boeing photo via the James Borden Photography Collection.
Boeing-supplied photo shows landing gear testing, using lead weights instead of tires. The testing goes through 41,500 cycles! From the James Borden Photography Collection.
Dean Hanscom and R.O. Bullwinkel admire the 377’s sheer scale and the amazing visibility NWA’s Pilots would have commanding this craft. At this point, radar systems were not available for commercial aircraft, so an extended nose was unnecessary. Art Forde / Fred Carter shot for NWA. Photo by John Deveny, from the James Borden Photography Collection.
N74601 conducting a test flight out of Seattle, May 10, 1949. Boeing photo, via David Lane, through the James Borden Photo Collection.
NWA/Boeing pre-delivery photoshoot of N74601 over the Cascades in July 1949. From the James Borden Photography Collection.NWA/Boeing pre-delivery photoshoot of N74601 over the Cascades in July 1949. (Photographer’s tailplane in the frame!) From the James Borden Photography Collection.NWA/Boeing pre-delivery photoshoot of N74601 over the Cascades in July 1949. From the James Borden Photography Collection.NWA/Boeing pre-delivery photoshoot of N74601 over the Cascades in July 1949. From the James Borden Photography Collection.Boeing / NWA 1949 color publicity shot of first ship in the fleet, N74601 – used often in advertising, and the iconic postcard for this type. NWAHC collection.NWA/Boeing pre-delivery photoshoot of N74601 over the Cascades in July 1949. From the James Borden Photography Collection.NWA/Boeing pre-delivery photoshoot of N74601 over the Cascades in July 1949. From the James Borden Photography Collection.NWA/Boeing pre-delivery photoshoot of N74601 over the Cascades in July 1949. From the James Borden Photography Collection.N74601 dramatically banks in this NWA/Boeing pre-delivery photoshoot over the Cascades in July 1949. From the James Borden Photography Collection.The Stratocruiser’s massive flight deck with unparalleled visibility – legacy of the type’s derivation from the B-29 bomber. NWAHC collection.Bob Blanch shot this detailed cockpit instrument view from the Flight Engineer’s perspective. From the James Borden Photography Collection.
Central control pedestal detail captured by Bob Blanch on contract to NWA. From the James Borden Photography Collection.
Rare color shot! This Stratocruiser instrument panel shot from the early 1960s still has the tags attached from when it was shipped to Lockheed in 1960 in trade for new Electra prop-jets. Photographer unknown. From the James Borden Photography Collection.
Elegant galley featured the latest in lightweight, lustrous aluminum surfaces, oven, and telephone communication to the flight deck.
NWA publicity photo of the Stratocruiser upper deck, facing aft. What we would look at as massive overhead bins in the 21st Century were actually sleeping bunks! From the James Borden Photography Collection.NWA publicity photo of the Stratocruiser upper deck, facing forward, showing off the generous 2×2 seating arrangement. Mid-cabin stairwell entrance to the lower level is in the middle of the frame, left side. Also note on the upper seat backs – the zippered compartment is where life vests were stowed. From the James Borden Photography Collection.Guests and staff are posed in this interior shot from the Robert Blanch agency, taken April 7, 1952. From the James Borden Photography Collection.N74601 at the St. Paul maintenance facility, summer 1949. Photographer unattributed, via the James Borden Photography Collection.N74602 at Seattle-Tacoma, summer 1949. Photographer unattributed, via the James Borden Photography Collection.Spring 1949 color shot of the Minneapolis ramp with recently-delivered N74602 flanked by a Martinliner. Photographer unknown, via the James Borden Photography Collection.N74602 at MSP, summer 1949. Photographer unattributed, via the James Borden Photography Collection.Boeing photo of N74604 at BFI, August 11, 1949, awaiting handover to NWA. ‘604 would be christened Stratocruiser New York on September 1, 1949. Northwest was the first carrier to fly the type on coast-to-coast services. Photo from Cap’t. David Lane via the James Borden Photography Collection.
Bob Blanch photo of N74606 being given the “Stratocruiser Honolulu” name in 1949 (the bare-metal crown and fleet number under the cockpit window tells us this is before 1951. When the “white-top” update was applied, the aircraft names were relocated into the navy blue field about ten inches higher than seen in this photo.) From the James Borden Photography Collection.
Bob Blanch photo of N74606 being given the “Stratocruiser Honolulu” name in 1949. To modern eyes, the hand-lettered artistry is impeccable, and the lack of safety equipment is shocking. From the James Borden Photography Collection.
N74602, “Stratocruiser Minneapolis-St. Paul,” boarding at Chicago-Midway in summer 1950. Everyone is posing so nicely and looking at the camera! Photographer unknown; from the James Borden Photography Collection.Stratocruiser N74601 reigns on the Minneapolis ramp in this late spring 1951 view from Mike Myers, via the James Borden Photography Collection. On the right we also see Martin 202 NC93039, and on the left a Wisconsin Central Electra, registration unknown.N74607, initially designated “Stratocruiser Honolulu,” at Chicago Midway in the early 1950s; photographer unknown. White-top paint scheme came in 1950-51 as a refinement from the original bare-metal design, and was found to assist in keeping the cabin cooler. Wisconsin Central DC-3 is nestled just to the right. Lack of leaves on the trees dates this no earlier than Spring 1951, as the WIS ‘Threes’ arrived in the late fall of 1950.Logan Coombs photo of N74603, initially designated “City of Tokyo”, at Minneapolis-St. Paul, likely summer 1951. From the James Borden Photography Collection.N74603 under taxi at MSP in the early 1950s. Photo by Logan Coombs; probably summer 1951. From the James Borden Photography Collection.Snowy MSP ramp with N74604 holding court, Bob Blanch photo from Dec. 18, 1951. From the James Borden Photography Collection.N74610 “Stratocruiser Shanghai” lands at Minneapolis, likely 1952. Bob Blanch photo via the James Borden Photography Collection.N74608 at Minneapolis, surrounded by the crews and ground service equipment used with the Stratocruiser, early 1950s. Photo from Harry McKee, via the James Borden Photography Collection.N74609 at MSP, early 1950s, photographer unknown. From the James Borden Photography Collection.Busy floor at the St. Paul maintenance base, sometime in the early 1950s, with N74610’s fin and tailplane removed for examination. Photographer not noted. From the James Borden Photography Collection.
Northwest was happy to upgrade its Hawaii service from the Pacific Northwest from DC-4s to the new Stratocruisers – but United and Pan American were also flying the type there.
N74607 at Minneapolis, likely 1953. NWA Public Relations photo via David Lane, from the James Borden Photography Collection.
Northwest used Stratocruisers to Japan just between 1952-1954 before replacing them with Lockheed Constellations, so these shots from Shemya of N74604 (and a coach-configured Douglas DC-4 heading the other way) represent a specific pinpoint in time. Unfortunately we do not have a specific date or photographer for them, so we do not know how they came into the James Borden Photography Collection.More shots of N74604 at Shemya. The underground ductwork for power cables helped keep them ready during snowfall and extreme cold. James Borden Photography Collection.More shots of N74604 at Shemya. James Borden Photography Collection.N74608 by the main MSP hangar in this Bob Blanch shot, early 1950s. From the James Borden Photography Collection.Inflight shot from the Bob Blanch agency of N74608 over rural Minnesota, probably 1953. From the James Borden Photography Collection.Michael Myers shot of N74606 at Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage (which doubled as the commercial terminal at that point). This is likely 1953 or 1954. From the James Borden Photography Collection.N74608 “Stratocruiser Tokyo” air-to-air series over farmlands south of the Twin Cities, shot by Don Berg, probably 1954 or 1955. From the James Borden Photography Collection.N74608 “Stratocruiser Tokyo” air-to-air series over farmlands south of the Twin Cities, shot by Don Berg, probably 1954 or 1955. From the James Borden Photography Collection.N74608 “Stratocruiser Tokyo” air-to-air series over farmlands south of the Twin Cities, shot by Don Berg, probably 1954 or 1955. From the James Borden Photography Collection.N74608 “Stratocruiser Tokyo” air-to-air series over farmlands south of the Twin Cities, shot by Don Berg, probably 1954 or 1955. From the James Borden Photography Collection.N74608 “Stratocruiser Tokyo” air-to-air series over farmlands south of the Twin Cities, shot by Don Berg, probably 1954 or 1955. From the James Borden Photography Collection.N74606 peeking out with another Stratocruiser behind, at Seattle. Bob Blanch photo, mid-1950s. From the James Borden Photography Collection.Early 1950s night view of the Chicago Midway ramp finds N74606 brilliantly lit from within as it readies for its next flight. TWA Constellation rests at right. Shot from the Bob Blanch bureau, via the James Borden Photography Collection.Enlarged, early 1950s night view of the Chicago Midway ramp with N74606. Shot from the Bob Blanch bureau, via the James Borden Photography Collection.Dramatic underwing composition on the Minneapolis ramp displaying the massive propeller blades. Bob Blanch photo from 1955, from the James Borden Photography Collection.
On August 5, 1955, Northwest flight 410 from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Chicago Midway, operating with N74601, failed to stop on landing and overran the perimeter fence. All 68 crew and passengers evacuated safely, and the aircraft was repaired and returned to service.On the morning of April 2, 1956, N74608 operating Flight 2 departed Seattle for Portland, Chicago, and New York. Just minutes after takeoff, the aircraft became difficult to control and would not gain altitude. The crew ditched into Puget Sound and the aircraft sank only 15 minutes later. 1 crew member and 4 passengers died. This photo of the reclamation effort was shot by Forde Photographers on behalf of NWA, and is from the James Borden Photography Collection.
Reclamation of N74608 from Puget Sound, 4/02/1956. CAB photo, public domain.
Reclamation of N74608 from Puget Sound, 4/02/1956. CAB photo, public domain.
N74607 was the first NWA Stratocruiser to receive weather radar, and was renamed “Rudolph with the Radar Nose”. NW publicity photo, from the James Borden Photography Collection.Postcard of N74604, Stratocruiser Detroit, from the late 1950s at Spokane. Note the radar “chin” which helps narrow the time range. Photographer is noted as Clifford Ellis.March 9, 1957 shot of N74607 unloading at Chicago-Midway, courtesy Jon Proctor and used with permission.After several years of interchange service with Eastern on the Minneapolis-Chicago-Miami route, Northwest was able to start its own service on December 6, 1958. Stratocruiser N74604 arrives on the first inbound service, Flight 704. Douglas DC-7C aircraft were also used on the initial Florida schedules. From Capt. David Lane, via the James Borden Photography Collection.Mel Lawrence shot of radar-equipped N74607, Stratocruiser Honolulu, at its namesake airport, July 1959. Photo used with permission.Radar-equipped N74604 being waved in at MSP in this late-50s Bob Blanch photo. From the James Borden Photography Collection.
