B737 and derivatives

In April 1899, German Gustav Weisskopf was the first to fly a monoplane with a steam engine in the USA. On his first flight in Pennsylvania, the aeroplane was only 7.5 metres off the ground and crashed into a three-storey building in its path.

Weisskopf was not deterred, and on 14 August 1901, he made four flights in Connecticut, this time with his monoplane and steam-engine heavier-than-air Number-21 model aircraft. In the most successful of these flights, one in the morning and the other three in the afternoon, he travelled 2500 m at an altitude of 61 m above the ground.

This was not enough, on 17 January 1902, he attempted two flights with his Number-22 aircraft (Americans still call this German Whitehead with the English translation of his name), this time using kerosene fuel. The first flight travelled 3200 m and the second flight 11,300 m. German Gustav Weisskopf, who never naturalised as an American citizen, died of a heart attack in 1927.

German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin founded the world's first commercial airline on 16 October 1909. These controlled balloons, which he named in 1914, travelled 172,535 km and carried 34,028 passengers. In 1936, the first transatlantic crossing took Frankfurt-New Jersey in 60 hours and New Jersey-Frankfurt in 50 hours. In those years, 1,300 passengers and several thousand tonnes of cargo were carried by balloon across the Atlantic.

Antony Herman Gerard Fokker, a Dutch-born German Antony Herman Gerard Fokker, founded Fokker Aviation in Berlin on 22 February 1912 with a capital of 20,000 Marks, immigrated to Germany to develop his aviation ideas and built his first aircraft, the Spider-1.

The first cargo flights of the Germans started on 06 February 1916 with regular cargo transport between Berlin and Weimar by German Airlines -Deutsche Luft Reederei- and later continued with passenger transport.

Boeing and Westervelt produce their first aircraft in 1916. The name of the company became "Pacific Aero Products Co" with the first aircraft.

Their story is very remarkable.

Wilhem Edward B ing is a German. He is a mining engineer. For many years, he was engaged in the timber trade with his father. Wilhem Edward B ing studied in Vevey, Switzerland, and then entered Yale University.

His name was changed from Wilhem Edward B ing to William Edward Boeing when he became a US citizen. However, he left Yale University without graduating. Because he went to the Alaska Fair in the Pacific in 1909, and a machine he saw at this fair impressed him very much. What he saw was a manned flying machine.

Thereupon, Glenn Luther bought an aeroplane from Martin and started to take flying lessons from Martin. Glenn Luther Martin, who was also of German origin, was one of the pilots who produced his own aircraft and produced his first aircraft in 1912. The company he founded would continue as Lockheed Martin after a series of mergers.

However, one day, when William's plane malfunctions, he asks the company he bought the plane from to come and inspect the plane. The officials who come to inspect the aircraft say that a part of the aircraft needs to be replaced. William asks when the part can be delivered at the earliest. The part can be installed before 1 month.

When the parts replacement date did not change, William and his friend Westervelt decided to build their own aircraft. George Conrad Westervelt, of Dutch origin, was an engineer in the Navy at the time. Boeing said to Westervelt:

"Let's build our own aeroplane and build it fast".

Boeing and Westervelt agreed and founded the "B&W Flying Boat" Company. They set out to look for land for the factory they would build and found a land in Seattle. Boeing and Westervelt produce their first aircraft in 1916.

The name of the company is changed to "Pacific Aero Products Co." with the first aircraft.

In 1917, when the United States entered World War I, the name of the company was changed again to "Boeing Airplane Company" and the company received an order for 50 aircraft. This order was placed by the US Navy. Delivering the order on time and successfully, the company signed contracts with commercial airlines after the war. Boeing later also built aeroplanes for the US Postal Service.

In 1919, when he carried the mail from Vancouver (Canada) to Seattle for the first time, he discovered a new use for his aeroplanes. His leadership in this field paved the way for his company. In 1927, when the US Postal Service received bids for regular air transport on the Chicago-San Francisco route, Boeing was met with ridicule from competitors and sceptical reactions from the Postal Service for his low prices. Nevertheless, the Boeing, fresh from the factory, could carry both passengers and 500 kilos of mail.

Boeing transforms his company into a joint stock company to increase his financial power. He merges his factories with other companies under the name United Aircraft and Transport Corporation and assumes the chairmanship of the board of directors of the new aviation empire.

William Boeing retires at the end of World War II and dies on 28 September 1956.

There are not many people who have left their mark on the history of US aviation. Second in this ranking is Donald Wills Douglas, born to a Scottish father and a German-Scandinavian mother.

Thirdly, James Smith "Mac" McDonnell, an engineer from a Scottish family, who worked for Great Lakes Aircraft Company and then Glenn L. Martin Company from 1931 until he founded his own company, McDonnell Aircraft Corporation in 1939.

James Howard Kindelberger, of German origin and nicknamed "The Dutchman", who worked as chief designer at Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Company and then Douglas Aircraft and was the creator of the DC-1 and DC-2 series.

The 1950s ushered in the Jet Age with the De Havilland Comet (British), Boeing 707 (US), Douglas DC-8 (US) and Sud Aviation Caravelle (French). For the Germans, American and British pilots in the west and Russian pilots in the east flew in the cockpit with German pilots (Germany was divided into East and West). German Airlines was founded in 1953 and renamed Lufthansa in 1954.

By 1964, Lufthansa had made a profit of DM 36.9 million, had 42 aircraft carrying 2.5 million passengers, and was one of the largest airlines in the world.

In the 1960s, the newest and best-selling aircraft were the DC-9, the BAC 1-11 and the B-727, which had just started production. Lufthansa had the B-707 and the B-727 in its fleet, and although Lufthansa played a major role in the construction of the B-747, it was a short-range aeroplane that it needed to fly in Europe. The 50-seat F-28, built by Dutch, German and Northern Irish partners, was not enough for Lufthansa.

The fact that a new type was likely to rival the DC-9, BAC 1-11, Caravelle and B-727 frightened manufacturers, and Boeing, which had already invested heavily in the B-707 and B-727, considered a new type unnecessary. Germany was a prisoner of war of the USA, and less than 20 years after the war, Germany wanted to design and produce aircraft. Moreover, this aeroplane would be simple, cheap to operate, close to the ground so that maintenance could be carried out directly, the ground stay would be less and there would be no problems with tariff changes. It was not a realistic design. Boeing rejects the offer.

An aeroplane with a wide fuselage, steep tail struts and engines under the wings is just a dream. The wide fuselage and steep tail strut is still of interest in this design. Boeing assigns several engineers to work on this concept. The first prototypes are interesting.

The prototypes they built did not give Boeing what it wanted. Stability, weight and cargo capacity look like mixed with each other and passenger capacity seems to be limited.

The Germans insisted Boeing to realise their design.

What they want is a wide-body aircraft with 85-100 passenger capacity, 100-1000 nm range, 35% load factor. All they want is such a simple aircraft type.

After long negotiations, they asked that at least the relevant engineers be sent to Germany to see their work on site. Boeing agrees. As a result, they assign two engineers with the idea that technological development could be useful to them.

The two engineers, Joe Sutter and Jack Steiner, were hosted at Hamburger Flugzeugbau facilities. In fact, Hamburger Flugzeugbau is a Blohm & Voss shipyard founded in 1933 and survived after the war with various productions. Today it is an important part of the European Aviation programme and Airbus.

Their host, Prof. Gerhard Holtje, member of the Board of Directors of Lufthansa, is also the head of the company's Engineering Department and the creator of the instrumental design of the new aircraft.

Sutter and Steiner, who had also worked on the B.727 and B.747, returned home very impressed and thoughtful. They immediately set to work. Steiner formed a Red Team and Sutter formed a Blue Team and started a two-month study. Before two weeks have passed, the studies are finalised. The answer is very clear. Prof. Gerhard Holtje's design turned out exactly as he said. By placing the engines under the wing, a centre of balance-weight is created that can carry six more passengers, moreover, better aerodynamics are created, passenger and cargo cabins could be more spacious. Prof. Holtje sent German engineers to Seattle for details. Finally, the aircraft is finalised.

After these studies, this model was given the name Lufthansa City Jet and the code name B-737.

Prof. Gerhard Holtje cannot be thanked enough for designing such a magnificent aircraft type.

After all, this design will be the world's best-selling aircraft (not to mention the 757-767-777 etc.).

The engineering is good, but the Boeing Board of Directors, which has made significant investments in the B.727 and B.747, considers this model unwarranted and risky.

When it comes to money, the Germans have more than necessary. They are ready to pay the highest price of the time ($190 million in 1965). Boeing again turned up its nose. As a result, to gently refuse the project they say that an amount that will cover the investment cost be the purchase price. The Germans immediately guarantee that they will buy 21 aircraft in the first hand. When the final stage is reached, the number of seats will be raised to 100.

The day of the submission of the project to Boeing (11 May 1964) till the acceptance of the project (09 November 1964) took 6 months. The acceptance of the Boards of Directors was only 3 months (19 February 1965). It took United Airlines only 45 days to hear about the project and immediately place an order for 40 aircraft. Boeing immediately announces this order as B.737-200.

After all, selling a Lufthansa City Jet to a US company was not in anyone's interest.

On 09 April 1967, the first B.737 Lufthansa City Jet and on 08 August 1967, the B.737-200 made their first flights. On 15 December 1967, the FAA announced that both types were approved.

- We went to Boeing's United Air Lines simulator in Seattle for basic training. Everything Lufthansa had ordered, every button in the cockpit, everything was working in reverse. Everything that was "on" in the simulator was "off" in the aircraft.

Cpt. Dieter ("Didi") Krauss.

On 28 December 1968, Lufthansa takes delivery of its first aircraft.

The first commercial flight of the B.737 takes place on 10 February 1968.

29 May 1969, Le Bourget Airshow, is the date on which Jean Chamant, French Minister of Transport, and Karl Schiller, German Minister of Economics, agree to lead the aviation industry in an aircraft model. The first model would be called A-300, a wide-body, multi-passenger, twin-engine aircraft. On 3 September 1970, France placed an order for 3 A-300s. In the meantime, the United Kingdom and Spain also joined in. This is now a European Project.

In 1974, the first A-300 was approved by the French and German authorities and started its flights with the Paris-London flight on 23 May 1974.

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