The Boeing Aircraft Company

During the 1920s, Boeing won govern­ment contracts for airplanes such as the Boeing 15, a biplane fighter that entered service with the U. S. Navy in 1925. The 15 was followed by the 21, a primary trainer. The 40, a mail plane ordered by the U. S. Postal Service, was flown from 1927 on the San Francisco-Chicago route. The newly formed Boeing Air

Transport Corporation managed and flew the mail route.

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Boeing gained valuable experience in air transportation, flying its first purpose – built passenger plane, the 80, in 1928. The three-engine 80 airplane could carry eighteen passengers at up to 138 miles per hour (220 kilometers per hour). Boeing was also successful in selling fighter planes, such as the P-12 and P-26 pursuit planes.