Word: kc
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...flew into Seattle from Washington last week with a big smile on his face and a bigger contract in his pocket. Boeing had won the Air Force competition for jet tankers over both Douglas and Lockheed. Prize: a $460 million contract for a "substantial" number (more than 200) of KC-135s, the modified version of Boeing's 707 prototype jet transport (TIME, March 8, 1954). For Lockheed, there was a consolation prize consisting of a development contract for an "advanced" type of tanker...
...contract, along with the KC-135s already on order, brings Boeing's total jet-tanker commitments to $700 million. Except for Lockheed's 6-47 production at its Marietta plant, the contract makes Boeing virtually the sole supplier of medium (B-47, KC-97 tankers) and heavy (B-52) planes for the Air Force. It was also good news for United Aircraft Corp., which will supply some $180 million worth of J57 Pratt & Whitney engines for the tankers, and for some 8,000 Boeing suppliers. For Boeing, it assures high-level production into 1958-and another big step...
...seems certain to be in the buying program as a flying tanker to refuel swept-wing jet bombers, thus give the Strategic Air Command more mobility and range. SAC's B-47 bombers now get refueled in the air on their 10,000-mile missions from prop-driven KC-97 tankers. To do so, the B-47s have to drop from 40,000 ft. to 20,000 ft. With the new 707s, SAC bombers can take on fuel at combat altitudes and at combat speeds...
...Relations Board asked Allen to bargain. He refused, contending that the strike was illegal under the union contract. Boeing stood to lose millions on Stratocruiser orders, but eventually, Allen won his fight. Boeing more than recouped its losses on commercial orders with orders from the Air Force for the KC-97, the cargo and tanker version of the Stratocruiser. To date, more than 500 KC-97s have come off the lines, a final vindication of Bill Allen's first big decision...
...Payoff. With the B-47 and B-5 and its KC-97 program, Boeing is in the best shape ever. This year, sales will reach the $1 billion mark, and profits will probably hit $31 million, 48% more than the peak war years. This spring Boeing's 14,419 stockholders got the added dividend of a two-for-one stock split...