Initial design[edit]

Boeing had been studying short-haul jet aircraf t designs, and saw a need f or a new aircraf t to
supplement the 727 on short and thin routes.[5] Preliminary design work began on May 11,
1964,[6] based on research that indicated a market f or a f if ty to sixty passenger airliner f lying
routes of 50 to 1,000 mi (100 to 1,600 km). [5][7]
The initial concept f eatured podded engines on the af t f uselage, a T-tail as with the 727, and f ive-
abreast seating. Engineer Joe Sutter relocated the engines to the wings, lightening the wing
structure and simplif ying the accommodation of six-abreast seating in the f uselage. [8] The
engine nacelles were mounted directly to the underside of the wings, without pylons, allowing
the landing gear to be shortened, thus lowering the f uselage to improve baggage and passenger
access.[9] Relocating the engines f rom the af t f uselage also allowed the horizontal stabilizer to be
attached to the af t f uselage instead of as a T-tail.[10] Many designs f or the engine attachment strut
were tested in the wind tunnel and the optimal shape f or high speed was f ound to be one which
was relatively thick, f illing the narrow channels f ormed between the wing and the top of the
nacelle, particularly on the outboard side.
At the time, Boeing was f ar behind its competitors; rival aircraf t in service SE 210 Caravelle and
in development, the BAC One-Eleven (BAC-111), Douglas DC-9, and Fokker F28 were already
into f light certif ication. [11] To expedite development, Boeing used 60% of the structure and
systems of the existing 727, the most notable being the f uselage, which dif fers in length only.
This 148-inch (3.76 m) wide f uselage cross-section permitted six-abreast seating compared to
the rivals' f ive-abreast. The 727's f uselage was derived f rom the 707.[12]
The proposed wing airf oil sections were based on those of the 707 and 727, but somewhat
thicker; altering these sections near the nacelles achieved a substantial drag reduction at high
Mach numbers.[13] The engine chosen was the Pratt & Whitney JT8D-1 low-bypass ratio turbofan
engine, delivering 14,500 lbf (64 kN) thrust. [14]
The concept design was presented in October 1964 at the Air Transport
Association maintenance and engineering conf erence by chief project engineer Jack Steiner,
where its elaborate high-lif t devices raised concerns about maintenance costs and dispatch
reliability.[8]

Major design developments[edit]

A comparison of the first three generations

The original 737 continued to be developed into thirteen passenger, cargo, corporate and military
variants. These were later divided into what has become known as the f our generations of the
Boeing 737 f amily:

• The f irst "Original" generation: the 737-100 and -200, also the military T-43 and C-43,
launched February 1965.
 • The second "Classic" generation: 737-300, -400 and 500 series, launched in 1979.
• The third generation "NG" series: 737-600, -700, -800 and 900 series, also the
military C-40 and P-8, launched late 1993.
• The f ourth generation 737 MAX series, launched August 2011.
Launch[edit]
The launch decision f or the $150 million development was made by the board on February 1,
1965. Luf thansa became the launch customer on February 19, 1965,[12] with an order f or 21
aircraf t, worth $67 million[11] af ter the airline had been assured by Boeing that the 737 project
would not be canceled. [15] Consultation with Luf thansa over the previous winter had resulted in
the seating capacity being increasd to 100. [12]
On April 5, 1965, Boeing announced an order by United Airlines f or 40 737s. United wanted a
slightly larger capacity than the 737-100, so the f uselage was stretched 36 in (91 cm) ahead of ,
and 40 in (102 cm) behind the wing.[10] The longer version was designated the 737-200, with the
original short-body aircraf t becoming the 737-100.[16] Detailed design work continued on both
variants simultaneously.

Introduction[edit]

737-100 introduced by Lufthansa on February 10, 1968.

The f irst -100 was rolled out on January 17, 1967 and took its maiden f light on April 9, 1967,
piloted by Brien Wygle and Lew Wallick,[17] and several test f lights, the FAA issued Type
Certif icate A16WE certif ying the 737-100 f or commercial f light on December 15, 1967.[18][19] It was
the f irst aircraf t to have, as part of its initial certif ication, approval f or Category II
approaches,[20] which ref ers to a precision instrument approach and landing with a decision height
between 98 to 197 f eet (30 to 60 m). [21] Luf thansa received its f irst aircraf t on December 28, 1967
and on February 10, 1968, became the f irst non-American airline to launch a new Boeing
aircraf t.[18] Luf thansa was the only signif icant customer to purchase the 737-100 and only 30
aircraf t were produced.[22]
The -200 was rolled out on June 29, 1967 and had its maiden f light on August 8, 1967. It was
then certif ied by the FAA on December 21, 1967.[19][23] The inaugural f light f or United Airlines took
place on April 28, 1968, f rom Chicago to Grand Rapids, Michigan.[18] The lengthened -200 was
widely pref erred over the -100 by airlines.[24] The improved version, the 737-200 Advanced, was
introduced into service by All Nippon Airways on May 20, 1971. [25]
The 737 original model with its variants, known later as the Boeing 737 Original, initially
competed with SE 210 Caravelle and BAC-111 due to their earlier entry into service and later
primarily with the McDonnell Douglas DC-9, then its MD-80 derivatives as the three European
short-haul single aisles slowly withdraw f rom the competition. Sales were low in the early
1970s [26] and, af ter a peak of 114 deliveries in 1969, only 22 737s were shipped in 1972 with 19
in backlog. The US Air Force saved the program by ordering T-43s, which were modif ied Boeing
737-200s. Af rican airline orders kept the production running until the 1978 US Airline
Deregulation Act, which improved demand f or six-abreast narrow-body aircraf t. Demand f urther
increased af ter being re-engined with the CFM56.[8] The 737 went on to become the highest-
selling commercial aircraf t until surpassed by the competing Airbus A320 f amily in October 2019,
but maintains the record in total deliveries.
Generations and variants[edit]
737 Original (first generation)[edit]
The Boeing 737 Original is the name given to the -100/200 and -200 Advanced series of the
Boeing 737 f amily.
737-100[edit]

The first Boeing 737-130 used as prototype and later operated by NASA

The initial model was the 737-100, the smallest variant of the 737 aircraf t f amily, which was
launched in February 1965 and entered service with Luf thansa in February 1968. A total of 30
737-100s were ordered by Luf thansa 22, Malaysia–Singapore Airlines (MSA) f ive
and Avianca two aircraf t with the f inal commercial delivery took place on October 31, 1969 to
MSA. The f irst aircraf t used by Boeing as prototype under registration N73700 was later ordered
by and delivered to NASA on July 26, 1973, which then operated it under registration N515NA
and retired af ter 30 years on September 27, 2003. This was the last operated 737-100 and is the
only remaining worldwide, which is on the static display in the Museum of Flight in Seattle.[27][28]
The original engine nacelles incorporated thrust reversers taken f rom the 727 outboard nacelles.
They proved to be relatively inef f ective and tended to lift the aircraf t up off the runway when
deployed. This reduced the downf orce on the main wheels thereby reducing the ef f ectiveness of
the wheel brakes. In 1968, an improvement to the thrust reversal system was introduced.[29] A 48-
inch tailpipe extension was added and new, target-style, thrust reversers were incorporated. The
thrust reverser doors were set 35 degrees away f rom the vertical to allow the exhaust to be
def lected inboard and over the wings and outboard and under the wings. The improvement
became standard on all aircraf t af ter March 1969, and a retrof it was provided for active aircraf t.
Boeing f ixed the drag issue by introducing new longer nacelle/wing f airings, and improved the
airf low over the f laps and slats. The production line also introduced an improvement to the f lap
system, allowing increased use during takeof f and landing. All these changes gave the aircraf t a
boost to payload and range, and improved short-f ield performance. [18]
737-200[edit]

737-200 introduced by United Airlines on April 28, 1968.

The 737-200 was a 737-100 with an extended f uselage, launched by an order f rom United
Airlines in 1965 and entered service with the launch customer in April 1968. The 737-200
Advanced is an improved version of the -200, introduced into service by All Nippon Airways on
May 20, 1971.[25] Af ter aircraf t #135, the 737-200 Advanced has improved aerodynamics,
automatic wheel brakes, more powerf ul engines, more f uel capacity , and hence a 15% increase
in payload and range over the original -200s and respectively -100s.[20] [30] The 737-200 Advanced
became the production standard in June 1971. [31] Boeing also provided the 737-200C (Combi),
which allowed f or conversion between passenger and cargo use and the 737-200QC (Quick
Change), which f acilitated a rapid conversion between roles. The 1,095th and last delivery of a -
200 series aircraf t was in August 1988 to Xiamen Airlines.[1][32]
Nineteen 737-200s, designated T-43, were used to train aircraf t navigators f or the U.S. Air Force.
Some were modif ied into CT-43s, which are used to transport passengers, and one was modif ied
as the NT-43A Radar Test Bed. The f irst was delivered on July 31, 1973 and the last on July 19,
1974. The Indonesian Air Force ordered three modif ied 737-200s, designated Boeing 737-2x9
Surveiller. They were used as Maritime reconnaissance (MPA)/transport aircraf t, f itted with
SLAMMAR (Side-looking Multi-mission Airborne Radar). The aircraf t were delivered between
May 1982 and October 1983.[33]
Af ter 40 years, in March 2008, the f inal 737-200 aircraf t in the U.S. f lying scheduled passenger
service were phased out, with the last f lights of Aloha Airlines.[34] The variant still sees regular
service through North American charter operators such as Sierra Pacif ic.[35] With the improved
short-f ield capabilities of the 737-200, Boeing of fered the option of the gravel kit modification
f eatures preventing f oreign object damage, which enables this aircraf t to operate on remote,
unimproved or unpaved runways, such as gravel runways, that other similarly sized jetliner
cannot.[36] Until retiring its -200 f leet in 2007, Alaska Airlines used this option f or some of its combi
aircraf t rural operations to serve many unimproved runways in Alaska. [37][38] Gravel-kitted 737-200
Combis are still used by Canadian North, Air Inuit, Nolinor, Chrono and Air North in Northern
Canada where gravel runways are common.
In July 2019, there were 46 Boeing 737-200s in service, mostly with "second and third tier"
airlines, and those of developing nations.[39]

737 Classic (second generation)