McDonnell Douglas Corporation Lineage

The Douglas Aircraft Company was founded in 1921.

McDonnell Aircraft Corporation was founded in1939.

In 1967 McDonnell Aircraft Corporation merged with Douglas. The combined company was called the McDonnell Douglas Corporation (MDC), with headquarters at St Louis.

The main divisions were, McDonnell Aircraft Company (MCAIR), and Douglas Aircraft Company (DAC), while Douglas Missiles & Space Systems Division became the McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company (MDAC).

In 1984 MDC purchased Hughes Helicopters and formed the McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Company (MDHC).

The parent MDC was later subdivided into DAC, McDonnell Douglas Aerospace (MDA), comprising MCAIR, MDHC and MD Space and Electronic Systems, and Military Transport Aircraft (MTA), a separate company for the production of the C-17.*

In 1997 most of MDC was purchased by Boeing. All aircraft remaining in production becoming Boeing products. The only part not purchased was McDonnell Douglas Helicopters, which was sold to a specially formed Dutch group called MD Helicopter Co. They continue the MDHC products in Mesa, Arizona.

* Along the way, we had McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Company (MDA), McDonnell Douglas Transportation Company (MDTC), McDonnell Douglas Finance Corporation (MDFC), McDonnell Douglas Technical Services Company (MDTSCO) and the McDonnell Douglas Automation Company (McAUTO), to name a few.

For a good Douglas Aircraft history, go here

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Some of the Douglas Aircraft Corporation logos:

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Some of the McDonnell Aircraft/McDonnell Douglas Corporation logos:

F-4 Phantom II 50th Anniversary Stickers - Part I

Several F-4 50th anniversary stickers from 2008.

 

Under the Sign – Part III

More products from “Under the Sign”.

See below for Part I and Part II.

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EF-18 Rollout Press Packet

News packets were prepared for the press and other media whenever a new aircraft or model was introduced. They contained photos, fact sheets, descriptions and sometimes booklets. This was the press release packet for the Spanish F-18.

Download the EF-18 Press packet in a PDF here.

F-4 Tactical Recon Booklet

Late 1980’s proposal to extend the service life of the RF-4C aircraft. (The enhanced Phantom II) Interesting reading.

Download the Tac Recon booklet in a PDF here.

Proposed F-15 Thunderbirds Markings

     McDonnell Douglas made a pitch for the Thunderbirds to use the F-15 and these photos show what the color scheme might have looked like. (The second photo is a USAF F-15 2048x2048 Skin by Zimster.)

For the USA Bi-Centennial in 1976,  F-15B71-291 was painted in (Most of) the proposed Thunderbirds  scheme with the T-Bird Logo replaced by the Bi-Centennial one.

F-18 Gun Installation Photo

A nice photo of the F-18 M61A1 20mm Gun.

See this article for more details : http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/equip/m61.htm

Boeing Lithographs (of MDC Products)

After Boeing took over, they also issued lithographs of present and past MDC products.

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McDonnell Douglas Lithographs–Part I

As I have mentioned before, McDonnell issued a lot of lithographs for publicity and for handouts. I have assembled a few here for your pleasure.

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F-15 Conformal Fuel Tanks Prototype Photos

These are development photos of the F-15 Conformal Fuel Tanks while being built in Bldg. 002.

McDonnell Aircraft 40th Year Booklet

In 1979 McAir Product Support released a booklet to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the company. It included past and present products.

Download the 40 Years of Fighters booklet in a PDF here.

Factory Floor Photos - Part II

More photos from the McDonnell Aircraft or McDonnell Douglas aircraft assembly floor areas. See below for part I.

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Under the Sign – Part II

More products “Under the Sign”.

See below for Part I.

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New Bern, N.C. Grumman F-11 Tiger

While on vacation in 2003 at New Bern, North Carolina; I spotted this Grumman F-11 at the side of the road. I had my host (Bruce Albert) take and send me these photos. This is somewhat of a rare aircraft as Grumman only made about 200 of them.

It has since been restored and painted as a Blue Angel aircraft. See the following for an article on the restoration: here.

Spacecraft Dimensions Handout

Another handout was the basic dimensions of the Mercury and Gemini spacecraft.

Download the spacecraft specs from here.

Paper Mercury

Also issued was this paper model of the Mercury spacecraft.

Download the Mercury paper model from here.

Paper Airplanes

During the 1960’s McDonnell Aircraft gave out many handouts. One such group was a series of paper aircraft that you could cutout and fly around the room. As I remember, they flew quit well! Anyone have any others?

Download the files from this gallery.

The Factory Floor–Part I

Since I worked on or near the aircraft or missile assembly floor all of my career, it is easy to forget that most people have never really seen how aircraft are assembled.

I have gathered a few photos of McDonnell’s factory floor through the years.

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Under the Sign–Part I

As I looked through a small part of my collection, I was struck with how many photos I have of aircraft under the McDonnell Aircraft and McDonnell Douglas signs that were on Building 002. It is no surprise that every new product was on display for a photo op with the signs.

I have gathered  a few of them for your pleasure. I will add more in the future, as I come across them!

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