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For many years the airplanes with the largest volume in the world were the Pregnant and Super Guppies. Designed by Jack Conroy in the sixties. They were outsized modifications of Boeing Stratocruisers for carrying rocket stages in support of the effort to put a man on the moon. They also proved useful for the transportation of various oversized cargos, particularly wide-body airliner subcomponents. They were operated by Aero Spacelines and based at the Santa Barbara Airport. Later, Airbus Industrie bought one and built three Super Guppy 201s to transport airframe components to their final assembly facility at Tolouse, France.
The Pregnant
Guppy N1024V, Mini-Guppy N1037V, and Super Guppy N1038V at
the Santa Barbara Airport in March of 1972. This photograph was
taken by my sister, Debbie Lockett, when she was a student at
U.C.S.B.
The Pregnant Guppy N1024V and Mini-Guppy N1037V at the Santa Barbara Airport on April 12, 1972.
The Pregnant Guppy and Mini-Guppy at the Santa Barbara Airport on April 12, 1972.
The Pregnant Guppy
next to the Aero Spacelines hangar at the Santa Barbara Airport
in June of 1972. Photographer: Debbie Lockett.
The Mini-Guppy
next to the Aero Spacelines hangar at the Santa Barbara Airport
in January of 1973.
The Mini-Guppy
and the second Super Guppy 201, registered N212AS and wearing
the colors of Aero Spacelines at the Santa Barbara Airport in
March of 1973. This and the next photo are more of Debbie's
pictures. Photographer: Debbie Lockett.
Super Guppy
N212AS at the Santa Barbara Airport in March of 1973.
Photographer: Debbie Lockett.
The original Super Guppy and the Pregnant Guppy
at the Santa Barbara Airport in February of 1974. The tail of the
Mini-Guppy is just visible between the Pregnant Guppy and the
hangar.
The Pregnant Guppy N1024V at the Santa Barbara Airport on June 16, 1974.
The first Super
Guppy. at the Santa Barbara Airport on August 14, 1977. This
was the day after the first launch of the Space Shuttle
Enterprise from the 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. Photographer:
Brian Lockett.
The Super Guppy dwarfs a pair of Convair airliners on the Aero Spacelines flightline on August 14, 1977.
The Super Guppy N1038V at the Edwards Air Force Base open house on November 12, 1978.
The Super Guppy N1038V at the Edwards Air Force Base open house on November 12, 1978.
Profile of the Super
Guppy at the Edwards Air Force Base open house on November
12, 1978.
Wing root section and fuselage
frames for a Super Guppy 201
in the Aero Spacelines hangar at the Santa Barbara Airport on
October 12, 1980. The cockpit of a Boeing C-97 is just visible in
the background.
The second Super Guppy 201, now registered F-BPPA and wearing the colors of Aeromaritime sits on the Aero Spacelines ramp in August 1981. It will take Super Guppy components back to Toulouse, France.
Super Guppy 201 F-BPPA
The Super Guppy
was acquired by NASA and given the NASA blue stripe. It
put on an appearance at the Pt. Mugu Naval Weapons Center airshow
on October 16, 1982.
The large external hinges of the swinging nose
of the Super Guppy are evident
in this view, taken at the Pt. Mugu Naval Weapons Center airshow
on October 16, 1982.
Super Guppy
at the Pt. Mugu Naval Weapons Center airshow on October 16, 1982.
Super Guppy N940NA at Edwards Air Force Base on October 23, 1982
After a few years on celebrity row
in AMARC, the Super Guppy is
now in the possession of the Pima Air and Space Museum near
Tucson, Arizona. This photo was taken on November 26, 1997.
NASA's Super Guppy, N941NA at Travis AFB.
NASA's Super Guppy, N941NA flew from its home base at Ellington Field, Texas to Edwards Air Force Base on April 14, 2005.
