In 1961 the company diversified into other technologies, and it designed the first steps of the enormous Saturn rocket that brought the Apollo capsule to the moon. Eventually the 737 would become the best-selling commercial jet-powered passenger plane and the 747 the largest commercial jet. It was followed in 1952 by the B-52 bomber.īoeing’s business exploded in 1958 due to the release of the Boeing 707,which was a huge commercial success, and would be succeeded by the 727, 737, and 747. Another aircraft was the B-29 bomber, the most famous of which was the Enola Gay that carried the first atomic bomb to Hiroshima on 6 August 1945. By 1944 the Seattle factory produced sixteen B-17 aircraft per day. Post Office to distribute mail among cities between San Francisco and Chicago, all of which was transported by Boeing’s first commercial airplane, the Model 40.ĭuring World War II Boeing produced hundreds of the B-17 Flying. Westervelt was recalled for World War I and the company was renamed “ Boeing Airplane Company.” In 1925, Boeing made a contract with the U.S. In 1916 William Boeing and Navy engineer Conrad Westervelt founded the Pacific Aero Products Company in Seattle, and they built the B&W seaplane. Additionally, it produces electronic warfare systems, advanced defense and weapons programs, missile systems, and space and satellite technology. Boeing is one of the world's largest military and commercial aircraft manufacturers.
