The Boeing C-97 was developed after a request by the U.S. Army Air Forces for a transport aircraft based on the B-29. The landing gear, wings, and tail from the B-29 were adapted for use with a distinctive “double bubble” pressurized fuselage to create the C-97. First flown in 1945, the C-97 proved to be a very successful and versatile aircraft. Boeing modified the design slightly to create their first post-war airliner, the Boeing 377. The KC-97G version of the Stratofreighter was equipped to serve as an aerial refueling tanker and served in that capacity through the mid-1960s. As the Stratofreighter was replaced in the tanker role by the jet powered KC-135, just over 100 of them were modified into pure cargo aircraft with the removal of their refueling boom and equipment and re-designated C-97G. Stratofreighters and 377s also served as the basis for the giant “Super Guppy” transports.
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