The Boeing 707 is a four-engine passenger airliner designed in the early 1950s. One of the first jet passenger liners in the world, along with the British DH-106 Comet, the Soviet Tu-104 and the French Sud Aviacion Caravelle.
The prototype 367-80 made its first flight on July 15, 1954. The first flight of the experimental serial 707-120 took place on December 20, 1954. A total of 1,010 Boeing-707s have been produced since 1958.
Commercial operation of the 707-120 began at Pan American World Airways on October 26, 1958. The largest customers of the B-707 were the American PanAm and TWA, thanks to these airliners, they rapidly increased the size of their fleets and made international air transportation massive and popular.
Airlines from Western Europe soon joined them. Mass production of the B-707 was carried out in the 1960s, when customers received dozens of new machines every year. The airplane competed with the DC-8, which was initially more successful due to the better reputation of the manufacturer. After the revisions, the Boeing-707 began to sell much better.
With the increase in passenger traffic, it became obvious that the Boeing-707 is obsolete. The aircraft was too small for its range, its engines were noisy and uneconomical. Modernization of the liner with an increase in capacity required replacing the airframe. As a result, Boeing launched the Boeing-747 to the market, thereby meeting the demand for large-capacity aircraft for long-haul flights.
By the early 1970s, the number of orders for the Boeing 707 had dropped sharply. The airlines of developed countries took them out of the fleet, the activity of aircraft of this type moved to the countries of Asia and Latin America, and then Africa. In 1978, serial production was discontinued, in 1983 the last regular flight of the Boeing-707 to the United States took place. The last major operator of passenger Boeing-707s was Lebanon (until 1998). By the early 2000s, the aircraft remained in civil service (almost exclusively cargo), mainly in the poorest countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America. As of the beginning of 2011, less than 140 B-707 aircraft were in use, almost all in the air forces of a number of countries (AWACS and cargo aircraft). Several vehicles are used by civilian cargo airlines, 8 - in government squadrons. The only airline to use the B-707 on regular flights is Iranian Saha Air, which has 5 aircraft in service as of August 10, 2010.
This is the last passenger operator of the B-707. Thus, the Boeing-707 is the only first-generation jet airliner that is still in operation; other "pioneers" of jet passenger aviation went down in history in the 80s. Despite the almost complete rejection of its use in civilian airlines, military aircraft created on its basis continue to be actively used.
The first KC-135 military transport / tanker aircraft based on the 707 took off in August 1956, and deliveries to the USAF Strategic Air Command (SAC) at Castle Air Force Base in California began in June 1957.
For many years to come, it became the main tanker aircraft for the Strategic Air Command and the United States Air Force. In addition to the USA, it was supplied to France, Singapore, Turkey.
Satellite image of Google Earth. KS-135 (middle), in the company of B-52N and B-1B, Tinker airbase
But perhaps the most interesting and recognizable aircraft based on the 707 was the E-3 AWACS AWACS.
In the late 1960s, the United States adopted the concept of the country's defense, according to which the detection of enemy bombers was to be carried out at distant approaches by over-the-horizon oblique-return space scanning radars. When bombers approached, early warning aircraft were to be used to more accurately determine their position and efficiently target the fighters.
The first prototype of the AWACS aircraft, created by Boeing on the basis of the airframe of the Boeing-707-320 cargo aircraft, was designated EC-137D. He made its first flight on February 5, 1972. In total, two prototypes were built. The E-3A aircraft went into production, 34 of which were ordered. Subsequently, the aircraft were repeatedly modernized, including those in service.
Satellite image of Google Earth: E-3 AWACS aircraft, Tinker airbase
Until the end of serial production in 1992, 68 aircraft were built. It is in service with the US Air Force, Great Britain, France, Saudi Arabia.
VC-137C - modification of the Boeing-707-320B for the US Air Force for the transportation of US presidents. Two aircraft were built - # SAM26000 in 1962 and # SAM27000 in 1972. They wore a special color.
In the air traffic control service, they were given the Air Force One code for the aircraft on board which the President was on. Currently, both aircraft have been replaced with 2 VC-25 and 4 C-32 (for vice presidents and other civil servants of the administration) and are in museums.
The Boeing E-6 Mercury is a command and communications aircraft developed by the American Boeing company based on the Boeing 707-320 passenger aircraft.
It is designed to provide a backup communications system for nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) of the US Navy, and is also used as an air command post for the Joint Strategic Command of the US Armed Forces. 16 aircraft were produced. Member of the United States Air Force.
Satellite image of Google Earth: Aircraft E-6B Mercury, Tinker airbase
The Boeing E-8, developed by the main contractor Grumman (now Northrop-Grumman), was successfully tested in Operation Desert Storm in 1991. The aircraft complex represents a major step forward in tracking and commanding ground combat operations with the same capabilities as the E-3 provides for air combat. The radar antenna is located in a long ventral fairing of the "canoe" type.
Operators' workplaces were equipped in the cab. Data links provide near real-time information to ground forces. The radar detects and tracks the position and movement of all ground vehicles, and also performs other functions.
Image of a section of terrain obtained from the E-8
It recognizes and classifies wheeled and tracked vehicles in all weather conditions. The basis of the E-8 complex is a Boeing Model 707-300 airframe, 17 aircraft have been delivered.
The C-18 is a military transport aircraft developed by the American company Boeing on the basis of the civilian Boeing 707-323C airliner. The aircraft entered service with the Air Force in 1982. The designation C-18A was given to eight Model 707 airliners, formerly owned by American Airlines, which were purchased in 1981 for the 4950th test aircraft. Two aircraft remained in their original form (one was later dismantled for parts) and were used for testing and training. Of the remaining six machines, four were converted into aircraft measuring points (SIP) EC-135B ARIA (ARIA (Apollo Range Instrumentation Aircraft, later Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft), having installed a large antenna in the nose for receiving telemetry information, covered with a giant fairing. in the SIP EC-18D CMMCA (Cruise Missile Mission Control Aircraft) for testing cruise missiles, installing an APG-63 radar and telemetry information reception equipment on them.
C-135B: four converted into aircraft measuring points (SIP) with an antenna in the bow, closed by a volumetric fairing. EC-135E: Four of the eight EC-135Ns equipped with TF33-P-102 dual-circuit TPDs and used for testing. EC-135N: four C-135A converted to ARIA SIP for spacecraft tracking. The RC-135 scouts, which kept the USSR air defense forces in constant tension, created on the basis of the KC-135A Stratotanker and C-135 Stratolifter, had a significant modernization resource for creating new modifications, including aircraft for various types of reconnaissance (electronic, radio interception, radar for tracking tests ballistic missiles, etc.).
They proved to be effective during Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield, RC-135V / W Rivet Joint aircraft were the backbone of the Gulf Intelligence Force, they controlled the work of Iraqi communications systems and radar. The first RC-135 arrived in Saudi Arabia via Mildenhaal Air Force Base in August 1990, following the attack on Kuwait. The planes remained in the Middle East for another ten weeks after the ceasefire. Throughout most of Operation Desert Shield, three RC-135 aircraft were based at Riyadh Airport, Saudi Arabia. In the late 1990s, all of these aircraft were merged into the 55th Strategic Air Wing, stationed at Offut, Nebraska.
Satellite image of Google Earth: RC-135 Offut airbase. Some aircraft have a black painted right plane.
Currently, the cargo Boeing-707 and various military modifications of the Boeing-707 and KC-135, despite their considerable age, show an example of enviable longevity, continue to fly and will fly presumably until 2040.
