Boeing history

When the United States entered the first World War in 1917, the Navy purchased 51 out of 56 seaplanes built, making the model company’s first financial success and establishing a long-standing partnership with the United States military.

1918: Company changes its name to Boeing Airplane Company.

In 1919 the Boeing B-1 made its first flight.

On May 24, 1920, the Boeing Model 8 made its first flight.

Douglas Aircraft originated in 1921, when the American aircraft designer Donald Douglas established Douglas Company as a successor to a company he had cofounded the previous year.

The next break for Boeing came in 1923 when he entered a contest against Curtiss to develop a United States Army Air Service pursuit fighter.

Douglas Company built its early reputation with the World Cruiser, a single-engine biplane that, in 1924, became the first aircraft to fly around the world.

In 1925, Boeing built its Model 40 mail plane for the United States government to use on airmail routes.

The first airmail flight for the airline was on July 1, 1927.

The company was restructured in 1928 as Douglas Aircraft Company, and a few years later it began building its “DC” (Douglas Commercial) series of passenger planes.

United Aircraft then purchased National Air Transport in 1930.

In 1933 automobile giant General Motors (GM) acquired a 30 percent stake in North American Aviation through its subsidiary General Aviation Corporation, which also owned Fokker Aircraft.

By early 1934 North American owned the Sperry Gyroscope Company, more than a quarter of its former parent TAT (which later would become Trans World Airlines), and a majority share of Western Air Express.

The twin-engine DC-3, first flown in 1935, became the model for future commercial aircraft through its unprecedented level of comfort, reliability, high speed, and, above all, low maintenance cost.

Only in 1939, Boeing’s rival, McDonnell Douglas Corporation created first profitable commercial airplane Douglas DC-3, used to carry over 90% of United States air travelers by the beginning of WW2.

The B-17, known as the "Flying Fortress," first saw action with the British Air Force in 1941; it became famous for its ability to take enemy gunfire and keep flying.

By spring 1944, production of Boeing military aircraft ramped up so much that over 350 planes were built each month, mainly by women, whose husbands had gone to war.

Because of the company’s research on the use of jet propulsion for aircraft, the United States Navy awarded it a contract to build the FH-1 Phantom, which, in 1946, became the first jet aircraft used on an aircraft carrier.

GM sold its controlling share of North American to the public in 1948, after which the aircraft maker began to diversify, becoming involved in the development of rockets, guidance systems, and atomic energy.

After World War II, North American’s aircraft division developed the F-86 Sabre (first flown in 1949), the first American swept-wing jet fighter, and the F-100 Super Sabre, the first American production fighter to fly at supersonic speeds for sustained periods.

Boeing's B-307 Stratoliner, a B-17 converted for transporting passengers, was succeeded by the B-377 Stratocruiser in 1952.

In the spring of 1953 Bill Allen convinced the secretary of the United States Air Force, Harold Talbot, to allow Boeing the use of the government-owned B-52 construction facilities for the development of a new civilian/military jet.

1954: The Boeing 707 jet makes its first flight.

The company’s Rocketdyne division (established as part of North American Aviation in 1955) developed the rocket engines used in many United States space programs, including those for the three stages of the Saturn V rocket and the main engines of the shuttle orbiter.

The model was followed by the 727 trijet and 737 twinjet, the latter becoming world’s best-selling commercial plane by the end of 20th century. Therefore, in 1958, Boeing created the 707 - a four-engine airliner, capable of carrying 156 passengers on a transatlantic route.

As far back as 1959 Boeing had developed a prototype manned, reusable space vehicle similar to the Space Shuttle of two decades later.

In 1960 Boeing purchased Vertol Corporation, then the world’s largest independent manufacturer of helicopters.

Formerly Boeing Airplane Company, the firm assumed its current name in 1961 to reflect its expansion into fields beyond aircraft manufacture.

Called Dyna-Soar, the project was canceled in 1963.

A further blow came when development was halted on the 2707, a supersonic transport better known as the 'SST.' Boeing and Lockheed had been selected to design the SST back in 1964, but progress on this aircraft was slow and costly.

In 1965 Douglas first flew its twin-engine DC-9 short-haul commercial jetliner, which became the company’s most successful transport since the DC-3.

In order to keep up with growing number of aircraft sales, in 1966 Boeing commenced the monumental engineering challenge - the construction of the Everett Factory.

McDonnell Douglas was formed in 1967 through the merger of Douglas Aircraft Company with McDonnell Aircraft Corporation.

1968: Apollo 8, which takes the first astronauts around the moon, is launched in December boosted by a Saturn V rocket, for which Boeing had built the first stage.

On July 20, 1969, the first human being walked on the moon, with Boeing having played its key role in the Apollo 11 mission.

In 1970, the first 747 took its first commercial flight with Pan American World Airways, changing the airline industry by offering a larger seating capacity than any other airliner.

Despite the support of Senator Henry Jackson, the United States Congress in 1971 voted not to fund further development of the SST. Shortly thereafter Boeing abandoned the project altogether.

In 1972 it began development of the space shuttle for NASA, eventually building five operational orbiters.

Boeing built the first Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) in 1976 and continues to make them today.

In 1978 Boeing started development of two new passenger jet models--the 757 and the wide-body 767--intended to take the company into the 21st century.

These new jetliner models, the 757 and the wide-body 767, became available in the early 1980’s.

In 1981 the company first flew its twin-engine, wide-body Boeing 767, followed by its twin-engine, single-aisle 757 the next year.

1982: The 757 makes its first flight.

Rockwell International’s last airplane was the supersonic, variable-wing B-1B Lancer bomber (first flown in 1984), but it remained a major subcontractor to the commercial aerospace sector.

Nevertheless, in 1990 Boeing chalked up record sales and net profits of $27.6 billion and $1.4 billion, respectively, and ended the year with a $97 billion backlog.

Nonetheless, Boeing engineers are developing a new model, the 150-passenger 7J7, scheduled to fly in 1991.

Meanwhile, in 1993 NASA selected Boeing as the prime contractor for the International Space Station, which was called the largest international science and technology endeavor ever undertaken, and which was scheduled for completion in the early 21st century.

In 1994 Boeing introduced the most modern commercial jet airliner of its time, the 777.

Boeing has had its share of labor problems, including a bitter strike that lasted 69 days in 1995, resulting in $2 billion in financial losses to the company as well as substantial trickle-down losses to the numerous sub-contractors and communities in which Boeing operates.

In 1996 Boeing and Lockheed Martin received United States defense contracts to build competitive technology demonstrators for the Joint Strike Fighter, intended as an affordable, next-generation, multirole fighter for the armed services of the United States and Britain.

wilhelm, steve. "boeing: commercial side still the growth engine." puget sound business journal, 3 january 1997.

wald, matthew l. "checks of 737's show more damaged wiring." the new york times, 12 may 1998.

Boeing also took a $1.4 billion charge related to its decision to phase out production of the MD-80 and MD-90 jets by early 2000.

In 2001 it announced plans to spin off its avionics business and rename itself Rockwell Automation.

In 2002, CEO Condit remained confident in Boeing's future.

Sixteen countries were participating. It is scheduled to be completed in 2003 and will take more than 40 launches to complete.

The Renton plant builds the narrow-body Boeing 737 and formerly built the 757 aircraft (discontinued in 2004), while the wide-body Boeing 767 and 777 aircraft and a limited number of the largely discontinued 747s are assembled at the Everett plant.

Originally scheduled to be delivered for commercial service starting in 2008, the 787 was beset with several production problems, not the least of which was failure of the crucial fuselage section in stress tests.

In January 2013, following an airworthiness directive issued by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that was subsequently taken up by regulators worldwide, all 787s in operation globally were temporarily grounded until a potential risk for battery fire was corrected.

In 2018, Boeing opened its first factory in Europe at Sheffield, UK, reinforced by a research partnership with The University of Sheffield.

The Boeing 777X, the largest capacity twinjet, made its maiden flight on January 25, 2020.