What is Boeing's history and which aircraft has it produced?

Boeing began in Seattle in 1916, when William E. Boeing and George Conrad Westervelt built the B&W seaplane and William Boeing incorporated Pacific Aero Products Company. It grew into a major aerospace manufacturer whose aircraft include the B-17, B-52, 707, 737, 747, 777, 787, helicopters and programmes inherited from McDonnell Douglas.

For our Aviation & Real-World Flying readers, the vital distinction is between aircraft Boeing originated, derivatives based on its airliners, joint projects and designs inherited through acquisition. The lists below cover the principal production families rather than every prototype, subvariant or aircraft for which Boeing supplied only components.

When was Boeing created, and where was it started?

Boeing was created in Seattle, Washington, on 15 July 1916, when William Boeing incorporated Pacific Aero Products Company. The business became Boeing Airplane Company in 1917 and adopted the broader name The Boeing Company in 1961.

The company's roots were in Seattle's maritime and timber industries. William Boeing was a timber businessman, while George Conrad Westervelt was a US Navy officer and trained engineer. Their early aviation work took place around Seattle, including Lake Union and Boeing's shipyard property on the Duwamish River.

Boeing later moved its corporate headquarters to Chicago in 2001 and Arlington, Virginia, in 2022. Those moves did not change its origin: Boeing comes from Seattle and retained major engineering and aircraft-production operations in Washington state.

What was the first Boeing plane?

The first Boeing plane was the B&W Model 1, a two-seat, twin-float seaplane designed and built by Boeing and Westervelt. It first flew in June 1916, shortly before the company was formally incorporated, and only two examples were completed.

Boeing therefore started making aircraft in 1916. The Model C that followed was its first substantial production success, securing an important US Navy trainer order. Our account of why the B&W rather than the Model C counts as Boeing's first aircraft explains this commonly confused distinction.

During the 1920s, the Model 40 mailplane helped Boeing win airmail work, while the larger Model 80 carried passengers as well as mail. Boeing Air Transport became part of United Aircraft and Transport Corporation, an integrated group combining aircraft manufacturing, engines and airline operations. US airmail legislation broke up that group in 1934, leaving Boeing as a separate manufacturer; William Boeing then withdrew from the company.

How did Boeing grow from seaplanes into a global manufacturer?

Boeing grew through military contracts, long-distance transports, commercial jetliners and several major acquisitions. Its history can be divided into piston-aircraft expansion, wartime mass production, the jet age and the consolidation of inherited aerospace programmes.

In the 1930s, the Boeing 247 combined an all-metal structure, low wing and retractable landing gear in one of the earliest modern airliner layouts. The four-engined 314 Clipper served long over-water routes, while the 307 Stratoliner became the first pressurised airliner to enter commercial service. The 314 Clipper's role in early scheduled long-distance travel is especially useful context for Boeing's pre-jet passenger aircraft.

The B-17 Flying Fortress established Boeing as a major heavy-bomber manufacturer. During the Second World War, Boeing and partner factories produced B-17s and B-29 Superfortresses on a vast scale. Post-war designs included the piston-powered 377 Stratocruiser, swept-wing B-47 Stratojet and long-lived B-52 Stratofortress.

The jet-airliner and jumbo eras

Boeing entered the commercial jet age with the privately funded Model 367-80 demonstrator, better known as the Dash 80. It led to the 707 airliner and KC-135 tanker, but those aircraft were related designs rather than civilian and military versions of an identical airframe.

The 707 established Boeing in long-range jet transport. The three-engined 727 addressed shorter routes, and the smaller twin-engined 737 developed into Boeing's longest-running airliner family. The wide-body 747 entered airline service in 1970 and transformed high-capacity long-haul travel; the final production aircraft, a 747-8F freighter, was delivered in January 2023.

The 757 and 767 arrived as complementary narrow-body and wide-body twins. They introduced two-crew digital flight decks to Boeing's main airliner range and were designed with enough cockpit commonality to support a shared pilot type rating, subject to the required differences training. The larger 777 followed, while the 787 Dreamliner combined extensive composite primary structure with increased use of electrically powered systems in place of some traditional pneumatic functions.

Acquisitions and modern safety crises

Boeing bought Vertol in 1960, adding rotorcraft such as the CH-46 and CH-47. It acquired major aerospace and defence operations from Rockwell in 1996 and merged with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. The latter deal brought the C-17, F-15, F/A-18 and AH-64 programmes into Boeing, along with the MD-95 airliner that became the Boeing 717.

Two 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people and resulted in a worldwide grounding. Regulators required flight-control software, certification, maintenance and pilot-training changes before permitting the type to return to service, with approval dates differing between jurisdictions.

In 2024, an unused door opening's plug separated from an Alaska Airlines 737-9 during flight. The incident caused another temporary grounding of affected aircraft and intensified scrutiny of Boeing's assembly processes, supplier control and manufacturing quality. These events form a central part of modern Boeing history rather than a footnote to the 737 programme.

Which commercial aircraft has Boeing produced?

Boeing's principal commercial aircraft run from early mailplanes and flying boats to the 7-series jet families. This table groups production types by role and period without treating every freighter, business-jet derivative or experimental aircraft as a separate family.

The 720 was a shorter and lighter 707 derivative, not an unrelated aircraft generation. Likewise, 777X models form the newest branch of the broader 777 programme. Development aircraft, announced variants, certificated models and delivered airline aircraft should not be treated as interchangeable categories.

The 737 name also covers markedly different generations. A 737-200, 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 are not merely cabin-length variations of one specification; they differ in engines, wings, avionics, systems and operating procedures. Certification and delivery milestones can also differ between variants within the MAX generation.

For model-by-model distinctions, including the 707, 717, 727, 737, 747, 757, 767, 777 and 787 families, see our guide to Boeing's commercial aircraft and principal variants.

Several famous Boeing numbers never represented normal production airliners. The 2707 supersonic transport was cancelled before a flying prototype was completed, and the proposed 7J7 remained a development project. The Dash 80 did fly, but it was a demonstrator rather than an airline production model.

Which military aircraft and helicopters has Boeing produced?

Boeing has produced fighters, bombers, transports, tankers, surveillance platforms, trainers, helicopters and uncrewed aircraft. Some were original Boeing designs; others came from Vertol or McDonnell Douglas, were developed from commercial airframes or were built with partner companies.

• Early fighters and trainers: Model 15/PW-9, P-12, naval F4B, P-26 Peashooter and the Stearman Model 75 Kaydet.
• Bombers: B-17 Flying Fortress, B-29 Superfortress, B-50, B-47 Stratojet and B-52 Stratofortress. Other manufacturers also built B-17s and B-29s under wartime production arrangements.
• Transports and tankers: C-97 Stratofreighter, KC-97, KC-135 Stratotanker, C-17 Globemaster III and KC-46 Pegasus.
• Surveillance and special-mission aircraft: E-3 Sentry, E-4, E-6 Mercury, E-7 Wedgetail, P-8 Poseidon and VC-25 presidential transports. Most adapt Boeing commercial-airliner structures for specialised equipment and missions.
• Inherited combat-aircraft programmes: F-15 Eagle variants, F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet families, and EA-18G Growler.
• Rotorcraft and tiltrotors: CH-46 Sea Knight and CH-47 Chinook through Vertol, AH-64 Apache through McDonnell Douglas, and the V-22 Osprey produced jointly with Bell.
• Newer training and uncrewed programmes: T-7A Red Hawk, developed with Saab, and the carrier-based MQ-25 Stingray.

Continued operation does not mean continued production. B-52 manufacturing ended in 1962 and the last KC-135 was built in 1965, although both types remained operational for decades afterwards. Our expanded breakdown of Boeing military aircraft separates bombers, fighters, tankers, patrol aircraft, helicopters and joint programmes.

Did Boeing make Douglas and McDonnell Douglas aircraft?

Aircraft built before Boeing's 1997 merger with McDonnell Douglas remain Douglas or McDonnell Douglas products, not original Boeing designs. Calling a DC-3, DC-8, DC-9 or DC-10 a Boeing aircraft rewrites its design and manufacturing history.

After the merger, Boeing completed remaining MD-11 and MD-90 production, renamed the MD-95 as the Boeing 717, and continued inherited military programmes such as the C-17, F-15, F/A-18 and AH-64. Those aircraft can accurately be described as Boeing-produced during the post-merger period, but their original design lineage remains McDonnell Douglas, McDonnell, Douglas or Hughes.

A mistake we see regularly is assuming that ownership, maintenance support or a Boeing name automatically means Boeing created the aircraft. The same caution applies to Vertol rotorcraft, Rockwell programmes and joint projects such as the Bell Boeing V-22. Boeing may own, manufacture or upgrade a programme without having originated its design.

Boeing has also produced missiles, spacecraft, launch vehicles, satellites and experimental aerospace systems. Those products are substantial parts of the company's history, but they are not aircraft and are therefore outside this production-aircraft overview.