The best passenger planes


McDonnell Douglas planes

McDonnell Douglas was a major American
aerospace manufacturer, producing a number ofMcDonnell/Douglas  merger
famous commercial and military aircraft. It
merged with Boeing in 1997 to form The BoeingDouglas was strained by the cost of the DC-8
Company.and DC-9, and the companies began to sound
each other out about a merger. Inquiries
Backgroundbegan in 1963; Douglas offered bid
invitations from December 1966 and accepted
The company was founded from the firms ofthat of McDonnell. The two firms were
James Smith McDonnell and Donald Willsofficially merged on April 28, 1967 as the
Douglas. Both were graduates of MIT and hadMcDonnell Douglas Corporation. In 1967, with
worked for the aircraft manufacturer Glenn L.the merger of McDonnell and Douglas Aircraft,
Martin Company. Douglas had been chiefDave Lewis, then president of McDonnell, was
engineer at Glenn L. Martin before leaving tonamed chairman of what was called the Long
establish Davis-Douglas Company in early 1920Beach, Douglas Aircraft Division. At the time
in Los Angeles. He bought out his backer andof the merger, Douglas Aircraft was estimated
renamed the firm the Douglas Aircraft Companyto be less than a year from bankruptcy. Flush
in  1921.with orders, the DC-8 and DC-9 aircraft were
9 to 18 months behind schedule, incurring
McDonnell founded J.S. McDonnell & Associatesstiff penalties from the airlines. Mr. Lewis
in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1928. His idea waswas active in DC-10 sales in an intense
to produce a personal aircraft for familycompetition with Lockheed and the L-1011. In
use. The economic depression from 1929 ruinedtwo years, Mr. Lewis had the operation back
his ideas and the company collapsed. He wenton track and in positive cash flow. He
to work for Glenn L. Martin. He left in 1938returned to the company's St. Louis
to try again with his own firm, McDonnellheadquarters where he continued sales efforts
Aircraft Corporation, this time based nearon the DC-10 and managed the company as a
St.  Louis,  Missouri.whole as President and Chief Operating
Officer  through  1981.
The war was a major earner for Douglas. The
company produced almost 30,000 aircraft fromThe DC-10 began production in 1968 with the
1942 to 1945 and the workforce swelled tofirst deliveries in 1971. In 1977 the DC-9
160,000. The company produced a number of"Super 80" (later named the MD-80) Series was
aircraft including the C-47 (based on thelaunched. This proved to be a very successful
DC-3), the DB-7 (known as the A-20, Havoc orprogram. The next aircraft to be launched was
Boston), the Dauntless and the A-26 Invader.the MD-11, an upgraded DC-10. To date, the
Both companies suffered at the end ofMD-11 remains the only modern trijet. After
hostilities, facing an end of governmentits launch in 1986, the MD-11 sold 200 units,
orders and a surplus of aircraft. Bothbut was discontinued after the merger with
heavily cut their workforces, Douglas sackingBoeing (see below) as it competed with the
almost 100,000 people. As part of theirBoeing 777. McDonnell Douglas' final aircraft
wartime work Douglas had established a Unitedwas launched in 1988. The MD-90 series was a
States Army Air Forces think-tank, a groupstretched version of the MD-80, equipped with
that would later become the RAND Corporation.International Aero Engines V2500 turbofans,
the largest rear-mounted engines ever on a
Douglas continued to develop new aircraft,commercial jet. The MD-95, a modern regional
including the successful four-engined DC-6aircraft closely resembling the DC-9-30, was
(1946) and their last prop-driven commercialthe only McDonnell Douglas jet to remain in
aircraft, the DC-7 (1953). The company hadproduction (as the Boeing 717) after the
moved into jet propulsion, producing theirmerger  with  Boeing.
first for the military - the conventional F3D
Skyknight in 1948 and then the more 'jet age'In 1992, McDonnell Douglas bravely unveiled a
F4D Skyray in 1951. Douglas also madestudy of a double deck jumbo-sized aircraft
commercial jets, producing the DC-8 in 1958similar to the Airbus A380, designated MD-12.
to compete with the new Boeing 707. McDonnellDespite briefly exciting the market, the
was also developing jets, but being smallerstudy was perceived as merely as a public
they were prepared to be more radical,relations exercise to disguise the fact that
building on their successful FH-1 Phantom toDouglas was struggling under intense pressure
become a major supplier to the Navy with thefrom Boeing and Airbus. It was clear to most
Banshee, Demon, and the Voodoo. The advent ofin the industry that Douglas had neither the
the Korean War helped push McDonnell into aresources or the money to develop such a
major military fighter supply role,monstrous aircraft, and the study quickly
especially with the noted F-4 Phantom IIsank without trace. Interestingly, the
(1958).concept was used in Boeing's later
Ultra-Large Aircraft study intended to
Both companies were eager to enter the newreplace the 747, but ultimately the double
missile business, Douglas moving fromdeck concept would eventually see the light
producing air-to-air rockets and missiles toof  day  in  the  Airbus  A380.
entire missile systems under the 1956 Nike
program and becoming the main contractor ofThrough the years, McDonnell Douglas also
the Skybolt ALBM program and the Thorproduced many successful military aircraft,
ballistic missile program. McDonnell made aincluding the F-15 Eagle (1974) and the F
number of missiles, including the unusualA-18 Hornet (1975) as well as the Harpoon and
ADM-20 Quail, as well as experimenting withTomahawk missiles. The oil crisis of the
hypersonic flight, research that enabled them1970s was a serious shock to the commercial
to gain a substantial share of the NASAaviation industry and McDonnell Douglas was
projects Mercury and Gemini. Douglas alsoforced to contract heavily and also began to
gained contracts from NASA, notably for partdiversify to reduce the impact of potential
of the enormous Saturn V rocket. Bothfuture downturns. In 1984 the corporation
companies were now major employers, but bothacquired Hughes Helicopters, soon McDonnell
were  having  problems.Douglas Helicopters.



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