A New Era

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This picture epitomizes the beginning of the Jet Age. T. W.A.’s Boeing 707-131 N731TW is pictured on the ramp at San Francisco early in 1959, and parked next to a United Air Lines Douglas DC-7, symbol of a former era. The handsome airport building does not yet have the air bridge

connection, and the crew stands ready with the mobile staircase.

‘ Nomed London Town and inaugurated Idlewild—Heathrow – Frankfurt service, 23 Nov 1959.

BOEING 707-33IB

(All aircraft sold to Boeing Military Airplane Co.)

* Cockpit was destroyed by a bomb in Damascus 29 Aug 69. New nose section built by Boeing and trans­ported to Damascus ond installed. Reregistered as N28714 24 Dec 69 after threats to destroy tbe same aircraft were made.

BOEING 707-33IB (A)

(Except where noted, all sold to Boeing Military Airplane Co.) * Hijacked from Frankfurt, Germany 6 Sep 70.

* Flew JFK – O’Hare-Kansas City as T. W.A.’s last commercial 707 flight, 31 Oct 83.

BOEING 707-373C (H)

BOEING 707-338C (H)

BOEING 720-05IB

This Boeing 707-33IB (Advanced) had the new ‘outlined’
TRANS WORLD marking, and a revised logo style on the tail.

Boeing 185 seats • 600 mph

707-33 IB

The 707 “Intercontinental” had a longer fuselage, larger improved wing, taller vertical fin, and a ventral fin below the tail. Note the ‘blow-in doors’ on the “Dyna-Fan” engine nacelles’ forward section.

Progressive Improvement

With the 707 series, Boeing became the world’s leader in airliner manufacturing. The classic Boeing 707 came in several forms. Initially, the -100 was a comfortable transcontinental air­liner, but was limited across the Atlantic, having to stop at Gander or Shannon in the westbound direction. Its Pratt & Whitney JT4A-9 straight jet engines were known, rather unkindly, as the “Ole Smokies.” The -300, with JT3Cs and a slightly longer fuselage, was much better, and the -300B with JT3D turbofans and improved wing better still. The -331B(A-H) (Advanced – Heavy) had a heavy-duty landing gear, allowing a gross take-off weight up to 335,000 lb. They had more range, more capacity, and were more profitable than previous versions. The greater power enabled the -300 to be able to cut about half a mile from the take-off distance required by the other Boeings.

T. W.A.’s Decision

Having demonstrated considerable ingenuity and initiative, not to mention technical confi­dence, in launching its transcontinental jet service with a single Boeing 707-131 on 20 March 1959 (page 67). T. W.A. did not rush immediately to match Pan American on the trans-Atlantic route. It elected to await the availability of the longer-ranged -331, and meanwhile concen­trated on expanding its domestic network so that T. W.A. Boeings were competing with Amer­ican’s at all the major cities. Ultimately, the -331s were deployed on the New York-London-Frankfurt route on 23 November 1959. T. W.A. had lost a whole year to its arch­rival Pan American, and with other problems of a non-technical or operational nature, the air­line had a long fight on its hands.

Engines Pratt & Whitney JT3D-3 (18,000 lb. thrust) x 4 Length 153 feet

MGT0W 335,0001b Span 146 feet

Range 4,000 miles Height 42 feet

The Smaller Boeings

To meet a requirement for routes of lower traffic density, Boeing produced a shorter-bodied version, the 720, 8 feet shorter than the -100, but with the same wing. T. W.A. also had one Series -138, which was 10 feet shorter than the basic type, and designed for the Australian airline QANTAS, with extra tankage for maximum trans-Pacific range. T. W.A. operated a total of 133 Boeing 707s, and made good use of them all over the world.