{"id":29468914,"date":"2026-10-25T10:07:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T09:07:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pan-am-707-clipper-america-first-jet-service-new-york-paris-1958\/"},"modified":"2026-10-25T10:07:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T09:07:44","slug":"pan-am-707-clipper-america-first-jet-service-new-york-paris-1958","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/pan-am-707-clipper-america-first-jet-service-new-york-paris-1958\/","title":{"rendered":"Pan Am 707 Clipper America: The First US Jet Service to Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\r\n\r\n<style>\r\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid 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On her nose, in neat script, was her name: <em>Clipper America<\/em>. Her destination was Le Bourget, Paris.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>It was the first scheduled jet service by an American airline, and the start of something much bigger. The 707-121 could carry almost twice as many passengers as the Douglas DC-7C, the most productive piston airliner of the day, and fly 60 percent faster, and within two years Pan Am had switched its routes around the world from propellers to jets.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Yet <em>Clipper America<\/em> was not first across the Atlantic. Three weeks earlier, Britain had beaten Pan Am to the punch. The story of how the American jet still won the race, 68 years ago this week, begins with one stubborn airline boss.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f4f6f9;border:1px solid #e2e7ee;padding:18px 22px;margin:22px 0 26px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#0d1117\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px\"><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Date:<\/strong> 26 October 1958<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Route:<\/strong> New York Idlewild to Paris Le Bourget, with a fuel stop at Gander, Newfoundland<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Aircraft:<\/strong> Boeing 707-121 N711PA <em>Clipper America<\/em><\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Engines:<\/strong> Four Pratt &amp; Whitney JT3C turbojets<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Passengers:<\/strong> 111<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Journey time:<\/strong> A little under nine hours, including the Gander stop<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Pan Am order:<\/strong> 13 October 1955: 20 Boeing 707s and 25 Douglas DC-8s<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Beaten by:<\/strong> BOAC Comet 4, London to New York, 4 October 1958<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Beaten to the Atlantic by the Comet<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>On 4 October 1958, BOAC used the new de Havilland Comet 4 to open the first regular jet-powered transatlantic services, between London and New York. It was a sweet moment for British aviation. The original Comet had carried the world&rsquo;s first fare-paying jet passengers in 1952, then was grounded after a series of fatal accidents and redesigned almost from scratch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/boac-comet-4-g-apdg-1963.jpg\" alt=\"BOAC de Havilland Comet 4 jetliner G-APDG parked on a snowy apron at Manchester Airport in 1963\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A BOAC de Havilland Comet 4, G-APDG, at Manchester in 1963. BOAC&rsquo;s Comet 4s opened the first regular transatlantic jet service, London to New York, on 4 October 1958, three weeks before Pan Am. Photo: RuthAS \/ CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>BOAC took the headlines. But the Comet 4 was smaller and slower than the Boeing, and by the end of that same month Pan Am was flying the 707 on the New York to Paris route. Pan Am had been planning for that moment for three years.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Juan Trippe&rsquo;s gamble<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>In the early 1950s, most of the airline industry wanted nothing to do with jets. They burned enormous amounts of fuel, needed long runways and cost a fortune. The Comet&rsquo;s grounding seemed to prove the doubters right, and the smart money expected turboprops to replace the piston airliners.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;Apart from Juan Trippe, the aviation world was terrified of jets.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Robert Daley<\/strong> &mdash; Author of <em>An American Saga<\/em>, as quoted by the Pan Am Historical Foundation<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Pan Am&rsquo;s founder, Juan Trippe, disagreed. On 13 October 1955 Pan Am committed to 20 Boeing 707s and 25 Douglas DC-8s. According to the Pan Am Historical Foundation, Trippe announced the 45-jet order at a gathering of world airline leaders, at a then-staggering cost of $269 million. Every rival suddenly knew it would have to buy jets too.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Trippe drove a hard bargain. Boeing, which had refused to widen the 707&rsquo;s fuselage, agreed to make room for six-abreast seating once it learned Douglas was designing a wider jet. In return, Pan Am agreed to take its first few 707s with the smaller, less powerful engines, so that it could start flying as soon as possible.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kM7rvzvtAcE\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px\">&ldquo;6 1\/2 Magical Hours&rdquo;, a 1958 film made for Pan American World Airways to promote its new Boeing 707 service, shared by the Pan Am Museum Foundation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">From Dash 80 to Clipper<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>Boeing had a head start: a flying prototype. The Model 367-80, the &ldquo;Dash 80&rdquo;, was rolled out on 14 May 1954 and first flew on 15 July 1954. Boeing had studied layouts based on its <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/b-47-stratojet\/\">B-47 Stratojet<\/a> bomber and C-97 transport before settling on a four-engine design with swept wings and podded engines.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/boeing-367-80-dash-80-in-flight.jpg\" alt=\"The yellow and brown Boeing 367-80 Dash 80 jet transport prototype N70700 flying over mountains in Washington State\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The Boeing 367-80 &ldquo;Dash 80&rdquo; prototype, N70700, over the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. The Dash 80 first flew in July 1954 and led directly to the 707. Photo: Boeing (Joe Parke) \/ public domain, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The Dash 80 became famous on 7 August 1955, when test pilot Tex Johnston barrel-rolled it over Lake Washington outside Seattle. The same prototype also led to the military C-135 family, including the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/kc-135-stratotanker\/\">KC-135 Stratotanker<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The engine that made it all possible was the Pratt &amp; Whitney JT3C, the civilian version of the J57 turbojet that was already proving itself on the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/b-52-stratofortress\/\">B-52 Stratofortress<\/a>. The first production 707-120 flew on 20 December 1957, FAA certification followed on 18 September 1958, and Pan Am had accepted its first 707 on 15 August 1958.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"max-width:550px;margin:0 auto 28px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1407840771772850176&theme=light\" style=\"width:100%;height:560px;border:none;overflow:hidden\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Idlewild to Le Bourget, via Gander<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>Pan Am christened the 707 at Washington National Airport on 17 October 1958 in a ceremony attended by President Eisenhower. Pan Am then flew a group of VIPs, personal guests of Juan Trippe, from Baltimore&rsquo;s Friendship Airport to Paris. Paying passengers had to wait nine more days.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The aircraft that flew the first revenue service was 707-121 N711PA, one of the first three 707s built for Pan Am. Before the departure from Idlewild there was a speech by Trippe and a US Army band. Then <em>Clipper America<\/em> took off for Paris with 111 passengers on board.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/pan-am-707-n711pa-clipper-america-27-october-1958.jpg\" alt=\"Pan American Boeing 707-121 N711PA Clipper America on the ground on 27 October 1958\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">Pan Am Boeing 707-121 N711PA <em>Clipper America<\/em>, photographed on 27 October 1958, within a day of flying Pan Am&rsquo;s first scheduled jet service from New York to Paris. Photo: Jon Proctor \/ GFDL 1.2, via Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>She did not fly there non-stop. According to Pan Am&rsquo;s company newspaper at the time, weight restrictions at Idlewild meant the jet could not take off with full tanks, so it stopped for fuel at Gander, Newfoundland. Even so, the trip took a little under nine hours, including the Gander stop.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_mhlM5YirT8\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px\">Archive footage from Boeing Classics: passengers board a Pan American Boeing 707 by airstair in 1958.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The early 707-121 had its limits. According to the Pan Am Historical Foundation, it needed two miles of runway to take off and injected water into its engines for extra thrust, and it could not match the range of the piston DC-7C. But it flew at about 555 mph, cruised as high as 32,000 feet above much of the weather, and could seat 165 passengers in an all-economy layout.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"max-width:550px;margin:0 auto 28px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?id=1453150499230810117&theme=light\" style=\"width:100%;height:560px;border:none;overflow:hidden\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">The world shrinks<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>The handicaps did not last. From mid-1959, Pan Am&rsquo;s more powerful 707-321s could fly from New York to Frankfurt, Rome or Rio de Janeiro without stopping. In December 1958 National Airlines flew the first US domestic jet services, New York to Miami, with 707s leased from Pan Am. TWA followed with New York to San Francisco in March 1959.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Speed was only half the story. In 1958 Pan Am also introduced economy fares. Back in 1943, Trippe had set the goal of flying 150 passengers from New York to London in ten hours for a one-way fare of $100. With the 707, he had reached the capacity and speed targets, and he kept pushing fares down.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #d32f2f;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;The jet finally is an instrument of communication, an engine of freedom, a destroyer of perilous parochialism in the world.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>William D. Patterson<\/strong> &mdash; Publisher of <em>Saturday Review<\/em>, writing on the jet&rsquo;s tenth anniversary in Pan Am&rsquo;s company newspaper, October 1968<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Boeing went on to build 1,010 civil 707s between 1958 and 1978, and Pan Am alone bought 130 of various models. TWA flew the last scheduled 707 passenger flight by a US airline on 30 October 1983, a quarter of a century after <em>Clipper America<\/em> lined up at Idlewild.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/le3xYvOC3Xw\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px\">British Path&eacute; newsreel from 1958: the rival de Havilland Comet 4 lands at Hatfield after a record Atlantic flight, with test pilot John Cunningham.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The Comet got there first. But the 707 was the jet that made flying across the ocean an ordinary thing to do, and Pan Am&rsquo;s gamble set a pattern Trippe would repeat with the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/boeing-747-how-the-queen-of-the-skies-changed-air-travel\/\">Boeing 747<\/a>. The jet age had started in Britain, but it went mass-market with <em>Clipper America<\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><em>Sources: Wikipedia (Boeing 707; de Havilland Comet; Juan Trippe), Pan Am Historical Foundation, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, IEEE Spectrum, This Day in Aviation, Airways Magazine, SFO Museum<\/em><\/p>\r\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\r\n\r\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n\r\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>When did Pan Am start Boeing 707 jet service?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Pan Am began scheduled Boeing 707 service on 26 October 1958, when the 707-121 Clipper America flew from New York&rsquo;s Idlewild Airport to Paris Le Bourget with a fuel stop at Gander, Newfoundland. It was the first scheduled jet service by an American airline. Pan Am had christened the 707 in Washington nine days earlier.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Was Pan Am&rsquo;s 707 the first transatlantic jet service?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">No. BOAC opened the first regular transatlantic jet service on 4 October 1958, flying the de Havilland Comet 4 between London and New York. Pan Am followed with the Boeing 707 on 26 October 1958. The 707 was larger and faster than the Comet 4 and went on to dominate long-haul routes in the 1960s.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Which aircraft was Pan Am&rsquo;s Clipper America?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Clipper America that flew Pan Am&rsquo;s first scheduled jet service on 26 October 1958 was Boeing 707-121 N711PA, one of the first three 707s built for the airline. A Smithsonian photo caption identifies N711PA as the jet that inaugurated regular US jet transport service between New York and Paris.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How many passengers flew on the first Pan Am 707 flight to Paris?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The first scheduled Pan Am Boeing 707 flight from New York to Paris on 26 October 1958 carried 111 passengers. The jet stopped for fuel at Gander, Newfoundland, because weight restrictions at Idlewild prevented a full fuel load, and the journey took a little under nine hours including the stop.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why did the Pan Am 707 stop at Gander in 1958?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Pan Am Boeing 707-121 Clipper America stopped at Gander, Newfoundland, to refuel on its first New York to Paris service in October 1958. Weight restrictions at Idlewild meant the jet could not take off with full tanks, and the early 707-121 had less range than later, more powerful versions such as the 707-321.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Who was Juan Trippe?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Juan Trippe was the founder of Pan American World Airways. In October 1955 he committed Pan Am to 20 Boeing 707s and 25 Douglas DC-8s, an order that forced rival airlines to buy jets too. He also pushed Boeing to widen the 707 for six-abreast seating and introduced economy fares in 1958.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How many Boeing 707s were built?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Boeing built 1,010 Boeing 707s for civilian use between 1958 and 1978, and many later went into military service. Pan Am alone bought 130 707s of various models. The design grew out of the Boeing 367-80 Dash 80 prototype, which first flew on 15 July 1954.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"When did Pan Am start Boeing 707 jet service?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Pan Am began scheduled Boeing 707 service on 26 October 1958, when the 707-121 Clipper America flew from New York\u2019s Idlewild Airport to Paris Le Bourget with a fuel stop at Gander, Newfoundland. It was the first scheduled jet service by an American airline. Pan Am had christened the 707 in Washington nine days earlier.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Was Pan Am\u2019s 707 the first transatlantic jet service?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"No. BOAC opened the first regular transatlantic jet service on 4 October 1958, flying the de Havilland Comet 4 between London and New York. Pan Am followed with the Boeing 707 on 26 October 1958. The 707 was larger and faster than the Comet 4 and went on to dominate long-haul routes in the 1960s.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Which aircraft was Pan Am\u2019s Clipper America?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Clipper America that flew Pan Am\u2019s first scheduled jet service on 26 October 1958 was Boeing 707-121 N711PA, one of the first three 707s built for the airline. A Smithsonian photo caption identifies N711PA as the jet that inaugurated regular US jet transport service between New York and Paris.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How many passengers flew on the first Pan Am 707 flight to Paris?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The first scheduled Pan Am Boeing 707 flight from New York to Paris on 26 October 1958 carried 111 passengers. The jet stopped for fuel at Gander, Newfoundland, because weight restrictions at Idlewild prevented a full fuel load, and the journey took a little under nine hours including the stop.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why did the Pan Am 707 stop at Gander in 1958?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Pan Am Boeing 707-121 Clipper America stopped at Gander, Newfoundland, to refuel on its first New York to Paris service in October 1958. 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The design grew out of the Boeing 367-80 Dash 80 prototype, which first flew on 15 July 1954.\"}}]}<\/script><div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:16px 20px;margin:32px 0 8px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:600;color:#333\">Related Posts<\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/tex-johnston-he-secretly-barrel-rolled-the-boeing-707-prototype-over-200000-people\/\">Tex Johnston: He Secretly Barrel-Rolled the Boeing 707 Prototype Over 200,000 People<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/boeing-314-clipper-first-transatlantic-passenger-flight-1939\/\">The Flying Boat That Shrank the Atlantic<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/boeing-b-47-stratojet-jet-age-template\/\">The Six-Jet Bomber That Shaped Every Airliner<\/a><\/p><p style=\"margin:4px 0\"><a 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