Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter

what is it?

The Boeing KC-97 Stratofreighter is a four-engined, piston-powered United States strategic tanker aircraft based on the Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter. It replaced the KB-29 and was succeeded by the Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker.

🔎How to recognise it: 6 jet engines · low wing · retractable tricycle gear · 43 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 644 km/htop speed
• size 79.4 tmax take-off weight
• built 811made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🏎️Top speed is 5.0× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 43 m: about 10 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 13 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🏔️Can fly 1.0× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

—

introduced

1951

retired

1978

status

retired

number built

811

role

strategic tanker

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Boeing

engines

6× Pratt & Whitney R-4360-59 Wasp Major / General Electric J47-GE-23

crew

6

length

35.8 m

wingspan

43 m

height

11.7 m

max take-off weight

79.4 t

top speed

644 km/h

cruise speed

370 km/h

range

—

ceiling

9,144 m

wings

low wing

landing gear

retractable tricycle gear

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.