Page Six-1950 to 1970

Vickers Viscount

In 1953-54 Capital Airlines, the country's fourth largest airline, agreed to purchase 60 Viscounts from Vickers-Armstrong, Ltd. of Surrey, England. The first Viscount of this $70.3 million purchase began flying the Chicago-Washington, D.C. route in July 1955, and immediately found favor with the traveling public. Flying 350 m.p.h., the 48-passenger Viscount was faster than any airliner except the Douglas DC-7. No other plane, at that time, could match the Viscount's smooth, vibration-free ride. In April 1961 the CAB approved a merger between Capital and United Airlines, making it the largest airline in the free world. The Viscounts, powered by Rolls Royce Dart engines, flew in United's fleet until 1968.

As in the case where the military-funded B-9 bomber led to the innovative Boeing 247-D, the Stratocruiser came into being from Boeing's research and development on the B-29 Stratofortress.

Power was supplied by 4-3500 h.p. P&W "Wasp Majors."Cruise speed was 300 m.p.h. and range was 4,600 miles.

The early postwar years brought changes rapidly to America's airlines. New technology, learned quickly during the war years, brought about new and faster aircraft almost quicker than the airlines could adjust to them.

The Convair 340 carried 44 passengers in 2 abreast, 4 wide seating. Cruise speed was 275 m.p.h.

Douglas DC-7
The Douglas DC-7 first flew on My 18, 1953 and entered airline service six months later. A top speed of 410 mph made it the world's fastest piston-powered commercial airliner, and its extended range allowed the DC-7 to span the United States non-stop. United ordered 25 DC-7s for delivery beginning in April, 1954. The new planes quickly replaced the DC-6Bs in long haul domestic and Hawaiian routes. Eventually
57 DC-7s saw service in the United Fleet. The DC-7 closely resembled the DC-6B, but it had a lengthened fuselage and differed primarily in its power plants. The Wright 3,400 hp, R-3350 engines were of a turbo-compound design and had not yet been proven for the kind of use the DC-7 was to give them.Most DC-7s had been removed from passenger service by 1964, with the few remaining in the fleet relegated to pilot training, devoid of United's red, white and blue. (Thanks to Gus Schaefer for this scan of a missing print)

The DC-8 inaugurated jet service with United in September of 1959, sixteen months after its maiden flight. Power was supplied by 4 P&W JT 3/4 jet engines. Cruise speed was 545 m.p.h. and carried 129 passengers. Payload was 35-45,000 lbs and range was 4-7,000 miles.

After introducing 5-hour continental jet flight with the 707, Boeing engineers "stretched" the 707 airframe to produce the 707-320 "Intercontinental."

SUD Caravelle

The fuselage-mounted twin-jet Caravelle was designed and built at the SUD aviation plant in Toulouse, France. With original orders committed to Air France, the Caravelle first flew in May of 1955.
In February of 1960, United Airlines announced the $60 million purchase of 20 Caravelles to pioneer jet service on its short-range travel segments.
Scheduled service debuted on the French national holiday, Bastille Day, July 14, 1961, in two-way, men only "Executive" service between Chicago and New York.
Seating 64 in First Class-only service, the new jet Mainliner was a pleasantk time-saving experience for passengers between the two business hubs. Caravelle service spanned west as far as Omaha and north and south between Minnesota and Florida before final sale of the remaining jets in 12971.

The Boeing 727 tri-jet flew first in February of 1963. Powered by three fuselage-mounted Pratt and Whitney JT8D-1 turbofans with thrust reverses, the 727 featured a unique wing with 2-part full-span leading edge retractable slats on each wing; triple-slotted trailing edge flaps; hydraulically powered ailerons, inboard (high speed) and outboard (low speed) in conjunction with spoilers on the upper wing surface--the outboard serving as airbrakes.

The Boeing 747 first flew in February of 1969. Majestic, spacious and comfortable, the 747 was designed to seat up to 450 passengers and cruise at more that 600 m.p.h., at 35,000 feet, with a range up to 6,000 miles. the 747 weighs in at 350 tons and can hold 48,000 gallons of fuel.

View United Airlines advertisement from June, 1938

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