{"id":5910146,"date":"2026-07-17T11:49:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T09:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/?p=5910146"},"modified":"2026-11-05T08:35:54","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T07:35:54","slug":"douglas-dc-8-first-airliner-broke-sound-barrier-1961","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/douglas-dc-8-first-airliner-broke-sound-barrier-1961\/","title":{"rendered":"The First Airliner to Break the Sound Barrier"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\n\n<style>\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid #0F1720;background:#fff;color:#0F1720;font-family:inherit;font-size:14px;font-weight:700;line-height:1;letter-spacing:0;text-transform:none;cursor:pointer;box-shadow:none;transition:background .15s,color 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They will be wrong by seven years \u2014 and by one very ordinary-looking Douglas jetliner that most people have completely forgotten.<\/p>\r\n<p>On 21 August 1961, a standard Douglas DC-8 \u2014 the same four-engine airliner that carried holidaymakers across the Atlantic \u2014 was deliberately pushed past Mach 1 in a screaming dive over the California desert. It remains the only conventional airliner ever to go supersonic on purpose, other than Concorde and the Soviet Tu-144.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background: #f5f5f5; padding: 20px;  margin: 24px 0;\">\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0 0 10px; font-weight: bold; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: .03em; color: #111;\">QUICK FACTS<\/p>\r\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5;\">\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 6px 12px 6px 0; font-weight: 600; color: #333; vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap;\">Date<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 6px 0; color: #444;\">21 August 1961<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 6px 12px 6px 0; font-weight: 600; color: #333; vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap;\">Aircraft<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 6px 0; color: #444;\">Douglas DC-8-43, registration N9604Z (\"Empress of Montreal\")<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 6px 12px 6px 0; font-weight: 600; color: #333; vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap;\">Top speed<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 6px 0; color: #444;\">Mach 1.012 (~668 mph) at 41,088 ft, in a dive<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 6px 12px 6px 0; font-weight: 600; color: #333; vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap;\">Time supersonic<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 6px 0; color: #444;\">~16 seconds<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 6px 12px 6px 0; font-weight: 600; color: #333; vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap;\">Pilot<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 6px 0; color: #444;\">William M. Magruder (Douglas chief test pilot); crew Paul Patten, Joseph Tomich and Richard H. Edwards<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 6px 12px 6px 0; font-weight: 600; color: #333; vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap;\">Operator<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"padding: 6px 0; color: #444;\">Delivered to Canadian Pacific Air Lines, November 1961<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top: 22px;\">A test, not a stunt<\/h2>\r\n<p>The flight had a serious purpose. Douglas wanted flight-test data on a new wing leading-edge design, and pushing the DC-8 to its limits was the way to get it. But there was showmanship in it too: Magruder wanted to prove his airliner could survive Mach 1 \u2014 and grab some publicity from arch-rival Boeing\u2019s 707.<\/p>\r\n<p>The plan was audacious. Take a brand-new airliner up to above 50,000 feet \u2014 itself a record altitude for a commercial transport \u2014 then roll it over into a dive and let gravity do the rest. Chase planes came along to film it: an F-100 Super Sabre and an F-104 Starfighter, the F-104 reportedly flown by Chuck Yeager.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 24px 0;\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border: 0; \" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/22JxpglgRuY\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-no-lazy=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin: 0 0 24px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto; \" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/f-104-starfighter-chase-plane.jpg\" alt=\"F-104 Starfighter chase plane\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" \/>\r\n<figcaption style=\"font-size: 13px; color: #777; text-align: center; margin-top: 6px; font-style: italic;\">An F-104 Starfighter of the type that flew chase on the supersonic DC-8, reportedly with Chuck Yeager at the controls. Photo: NASA \/ Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top: 22px;\">Sixteen seconds \u2014 and a scare<\/h2>\r\n<p>As the DC-8 plunged, the Mach needle crept past 1.0 and held there for about 16 seconds. Flight-test engineer Richard Edwards, aboard the aircraft, remembered the moment vividly decades later.<\/p>\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; display: flex; gap: 20px; align-items: flex-start;\">\r\n<div><em>\u201cIn the dive, at about 45,000 feet, it went to Mach 1.01 for maybe 16 seconds, then he recovered. But the recovery was a little scary.\u201d<\/em>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 10px; font-size: 14px; color: #555;\"><strong>Richard H. Edwards<\/strong> \u2014 DC-8 flight-test engineer, Smithsonian Air &amp; Space (2011)<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n<p>Scary is the right word. In the dive the elevators lost their bite and the stabilizer motor stalled against the enormous aerodynamic load \u2014 for a few seconds the airliner did not want to pull out. Magruder\u2019s solution was pure test-pilot nerve: he pushed <em>further<\/em> into the dive to unload the tailplane, which restored control and let him haul the DC-8 level. Throughout, his manner was famously unflappable.<\/p>\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; display: flex; gap: 20px; align-items: flex-start;\">\r\n<div><em>\u201cWell, we can take off with no flaps and the airplane will be all right \u2014 if we don\u2019t lose an engine.\u201d<\/em>\r\n<div style=\"margin-top: 10px; font-size: 14px; color: #555;\"><strong>William Magruder<\/strong> \u2014 Douglas chief test pilot, via Smithsonian Air &amp; Space<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin: 0 0 24px;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" style=\"max-width: 100%; height: auto; \" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/douglas-dc-8-43-variant.jpg\" alt=\"A Douglas DC-8-43\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" \/>\r\n<figcaption style=\"font-size: 13px; color: #777; text-align: center; margin-top: 6px; font-style: italic;\">A Douglas DC-8-43 \u2014 the same variant as N9604Z, the aircraft that went supersonic. Nothing about it looks like a record-breaker. Photo: Wikimedia Commons<\/figcaption>\r\n<\/figure>\r\n\r\n<p>The flight data put the peak, Mach 1.012, at 41,088 feet; Edwards&rsquo; &ldquo;about 45,000 feet&rdquo; is his later recollection. Three months later, N9604Z was delivered to Canadian Pacific Air Lines on 15 November 1961, re-registered CF-CPG and named <em>Empress of Montreal<\/em>. It spent the next two decades doing exactly what every other DC-8 did, carrying passengers, later as CP Air&rsquo;s <em>Empress of Buenos Aires<\/em>, before being scrapped at Opa-locka, Florida, in May 1981. Its supersonic record stood until the Tu-144 flew in 1969.<\/p>\r\n<p>No airline ever built a business on supersonic DC-8s, of course. But the next time someone tells you Concorde was the first airliner through the sound barrier, you can gently correct them \u2014 and tell them about the day an ordinary jetliner went looking for Mach 1, and found it.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; margin: 24px 0;\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" style=\"position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; border: 0; \" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/pmlXT2edbqM\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-no-lazy=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n\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>\n\n\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>Which airliner first broke the sound barrier?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Not Concorde. A standard Douglas DC-8 went supersonic on 21 August 1961, seven years before Concorde first flew. It remains the only conventional airliner ever to exceed Mach 1 deliberately, aside from Concorde and the Soviet Tu-144.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How fast did the DC-8 go?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Mach 1.012, about 668 mph, held for about sixteen seconds in a dive. The aircraft was a DC-8-43, registration N9604Z, later named Empress of Montreal.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Why would anyone dive an airliner past Mach 1?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">There was a genuine test purpose: Douglas wanted flight-test data on a new wing leading-edge design. There was also showmanship. Chief test pilot William Magruder wanted to prove his airliner could survive Mach 1 and take some publicity from Boeing&rsquo;s rival 707.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How did they do it?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">They took the aircraft to above 50,000 feet, itself a record altitude for a commercial transport, then rolled it into a dive and let gravity do the work. Chase aircraft filmed it, including an <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/f-104-starfighter\/\">F-104 Starfighter<\/a> reportedly flown by Magruder&rsquo;s friend Chuck Yeager.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Did anything go wrong?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">Yes. In the dive the elevators lost their effectiveness and the stabiliser motor stalled against the aerodynamic load, and for a few seconds the aircraft did not want to pull out. Magruder pushed further into the dive to unload the tailplane, which restored control and let him recover.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What happened to the aircraft afterwards?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The DC-8-43 was delivered to Canadian Pacific Air Lines on 15 November 1961 as CF-CPG, Empress of Montreal, and entered ordinary airline service, later flying for CP Air as Empress of Buenos Aires. It was scrapped at Opa-locka, Florida, in May 1981.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Which airliner first broke the sound barrier?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Not Concorde. A standard Douglas DC-8 went supersonic on 21 August 1961, seven years before Concorde first flew. It remains the only conventional airliner ever to exceed Mach 1 deliberately, aside from Concorde and the Soviet Tu-144.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How fast did the DC-8 go?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Mach 1.012, about 668 mph, held for about sixteen seconds in a dive. The aircraft was a DC-8-43, registration N9604Z, later named Empress of Montreal.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Why would anyone dive an airliner past Mach 1?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"There was a genuine test purpose: Douglas wanted flight-test data on a new wing leading-edge design. There was also showmanship. Chief test pilot William Magruder wanted to prove his airliner could survive Mach 1 and take some publicity from Boeing\u2019s rival 707.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How did they do it?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"They took the aircraft to above 50,000 feet, itself a record altitude for a commercial transport, then rolled it into a dive and let gravity do the work. Chase aircraft filmed it, including an F-104 Starfighter reportedly flown by Magruder\u2019s friend Chuck Yeager.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Did anything go wrong?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Yes. In the dive the elevators lost their effectiveness and the stabiliser motor stalled against the aerodynamic load, and for a few seconds the aircraft did not want to pull out. 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It was scrapped at Opa-locka, Florida, in May 1981.\"}}]}<\/script><p><em>Sources: Smithsonian Air &amp; Space Magazine; HistoryNet; This Day in Aviation.<\/em><\/p>\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\n\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>\n\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background: #f0f4ff; border-left: 4px solid #5C91FF; padding: 16px 20px; margin: 32px 0 8px; \">\r\n<p style=\"margin: 0 0 8px; font-weight: 600; color: #333;\">Related Posts<\/p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 4px 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/mach-2-60000-feet-and-a-view-of-the-curved-earth-the-legend-of-concorde\/\">Mach 2, 60,000 Feet: The Legend of Concorde<\/a><\/p>\r\n<p style=\"margin: 4px 0;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de-havilland-comet-metal-fatigue-square-windows-investigation-1954\/\">The de Havilland Comet: The Beautiful Jet That Taught Us How Aircraft Break<\/a><\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Seven years before Concorde, a standard Douglas DC-8 was deliberately dived past Mach 1 \u2014 the only conventional airliner ever to break the sound barrier.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":5909981,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[665,666],"tags":[676],"class_list":["post-5910146","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aviation-world","category-history-and-legends","tag-priority-2"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Douglas DC-8: The Airliner That Broke the Sound Barrier<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In 1961 a standard Douglas DC-8 broke the sound barrier in a dive \u2014 seven years before Concorde. 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