Quote post #442: "The first time Boeing has really fumbled the ball in the post-war airline market".
Really? Perhaps I missed the sarcasm..
The Stratocruiser was larger than the Douglas DC-6 and Lockheed Constellation and cost more to buy and operate. Its reliability was poor, chiefly due to problems with the four 28-cylinder Pratt & Whitney Wasp Major radial engines and their four-blade propellers. Only 55 Model 377s were built for airlines, along with the single prototype.
Boeing skipped the development and marketing of an interim turboprop airliner, but it still took Boeing 10 years to recover and ultimately excel in the commercial airliner market. I recall a Boeing product development department slogan in the mid 1950's, "Life is too short for propellers"..
Last edited by evansb; 28th May 2016 at 06:22.