Boeing 707-320B
Narrow-body, long-range, four-engine commercial jet (early jet age)
The Boeing 707 launched the American jet age. As the first commercially successful jet airliner from a U.S. manufacturer, it transformed transatlantic travel from multi-day propeller crossings to overnight jet flights and established Boeing as the dominant force in commercial aviation for the rest of the 20th century.
Specifications
| First flight | 1957-12-20 |
|---|---|
| Entered service | 1958-10-26 |
| Status | Largely retired from commercial passenger service by 2013; some military/VIP use continues |
| Production | 1958–1979 (1,010 built including all 707/720 variants) |
| Crew | 3–4 (captain, first officer, flight engineer, sometimes navigator) |
| Capacity | 147–202 passengers (typical) |
| Length | 0 m |
| Wingspan | 0 m |
| Height | 0 m |
| MTOW | 0 kg |
| Max speed | 0 km/h |
| Cruise speed | 0 km/h |
| Range | 0 km |
| Service ceiling | 0 m |
| Engines | 4 × Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3 turbofans (later models) |
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History
Boeing developed the 707 from the Model 367-80 ("Dash 80") prototype, which first flew on 15 July 1954 and famously executed a barrel roll at the 1955 Seattle Seafair Trophy Race. The production 707-120 first flew on 20 December 1957, and Pan American World Airways began the world's first transatlantic jet service on 26 October 1958, New York to Paris. The improved 707-320B/C series, with JT3D turbofans, became the long-range workhorse of the 1960s and 1970s. Production ended in 1979 with 1,010 aircraft built. Final commercial passenger service ended in 2013 with Saha Airlines of Iran. A small number of 707-derived KC-135 tankers and E-3 Sentry AWACS remain in U.S. military service.
Design
The 707 introduced the swept-wing, podded-engine layout that defines virtually every commercial jet built since: four engines on pylons under a 35° swept wing, with a conventional tail and tricycle landing gear. Compared with the rival de Havilland Comet, the 707 was significantly larger and more powerful, and crucially, was developed after the Comet's metal-fatigue accidents had given the industry hard-won experience with pressurized fuselages. The 707-320B replaced the original turbojet with the JT3D turbofan, transforming both range and noise.
Variants
- 707-120 (initial domestic version)
- 707-220 (heavyweight, JT4 engines)
- 707-320 (Intercontinental, longer fuselage and wings)
- 707-320B (turbofan engines, dominant variant)
- 707-320C (combi, passenger/cargo)
- 720 (shorter-range derivative)
- KC-135 Stratotanker (military tanker, derived from same Dash 80 prototype)
- E-3 Sentry AWACS (radar surveillance)
Notable operators
- Pan American World Airways (launch operator)
- TWA
- American Airlines
- Lufthansa
- British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC)
- Air France
- El Al
- Qantas
- Saudia (final regular operator)
Notable
The 707 effectively created the global jet airline industry. Its direct descendants — the 727, 737, 747, 757, and 767 — share the basic fuselage cross-section design philosophy. The KC-135 tanker (built on the same production line) remains in U.S. Air Force service into the 2030s, more than 70 years after the type's first flight. The Dash 80 prototype is preserved at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.
See also
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_707
- https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/boeing-367-80
Last updated: 2026-05-06