Boeing 707-120

Updated: October 2026 – Four slim engines hang individually from pylons under a wing swept far back, the nose is pointed, the row of windows long and tight: that is what the aircraft looked like that launched the world into the jet age in the late 1950s. The Boeing 707-120 was the first production version of the 707 and entered scheduled service with Pan Am in October 1958. Today it is long history and can only be seen in museums. Here you will learn how it came about, what sets it apart from the Dash 80 and the larger 707-320, and where you can still get the original 707 in front of your lens.

What is the Boeing 707-120?

The 707-120 is the first production version of the Boeing 707, a four-engine narrowbody jet with a single aisle in the cabin. It was meant for American domestic routes and the North Atlantic with a stopover. Four Pratt & Whitney JT3C turbojets powered it, the maximum takeoff weight was about 112 tonnes and the range about 5,600 kilometers. In a dense layout there was room for well over 150 passengers; the airlines initially mostly flew it with generous two-class cabins and considerably fewer seats.

The classification matters: the 707 was not the world’s first jet airliner. That honor goes to the British de Havilland Comet, which was already carrying passengers in 1952 but was grounded for a long time after several tragic accidents. How that came about is covered in the article De Havilland Comet – the first jet airliner. The 707 was, however, the first commercially successful jet airliner from the US. It turned jet travel into a mass product and gave Boeing the position it still holds in civil aviation today. You will find more about the manufacturer on the page about Boeing.

The backstory: Boeing’s bet on the Dash 80

In the early 1950s Boeing had plenty of experience with large, swept-wing jet bombers like the B-47 Stratojet, but hardly any success in the civil business. The airlines relied on propeller aircraft from Douglas and Lockheed. So Boeing decided to build a jet prototype at its own expense. Internally the project ran as Model 367-80, and it quickly became the “Dash 80.” The cost was around 16 million US dollars – an enormous risk for the company at the time.

The prototype with the registration N70700 rolled out of the hangar on May 15, 1954 and flew for the first time on July 15, 1954. It had four JT3 engines on pylons under a swept wing – exactly the concept that later made the 707 famous. One detail set it clearly apart, though: at 132 inches (about 3.35 m), the Dash 80’s fuselage was narrower than that of the later production aircraft.

The appearance on August 6, 1955 is legendary: during a demonstration over Lake Washington in Seattle, at the Seafair hydroplane races, test pilot Tex Johnston flew a barrel roll in the Dash 80 in front of an audience and airline executives. The stunt had not been cleared, but it drew enormous attention.

The Dash 80’s first customer, however, was not an airline but the US Air Force. From the prototype Boeing developed two lines in parallel: the KC-135 Stratotanker and the 707 airliner. The two look alike but are separate designs with different fuselages. For the airlines Boeing widened the fuselage to 148 inches (about 3.76 m) to fit six seats per row comfortably – also as a response to the competing Douglas DC-8.

The Dash 80 served as a test aircraft for years and was handed over to the Smithsonian in 1972. Today it stands in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington, D.C.

From Pan Am to Qantas: the 707-120 in scheduled service

In October 1955 Pan Am ordered 20 Boeing 707s as the launch customer, while also betting on the DC-8. Other US airlines followed quickly: American Airlines ordered 30 aircraft, TWA eight in February 1956. The Pan Am aircraft carried the customer designation 707-121, American’s the 707-123 – these customer numbers still tell you today who an early 707 was built for.

The first production 707-120 flew on December 20, 1957. The US aviation authority granted certification on September 18, 1958, and on October 26, 1958 Pan Am launched the first scheduled flight: from New York-Idlewild, today’s JFK, to Paris-Le Bourget, with a fuel stop in Gander, Canada. Britain’s BOAC had crossed the Atlantic a few weeks earlier with the reworked Comet 4 – but it was the 707 that conquered the market. You can read more about the airline in Pan Am – the rise and fall of a legend, and if you want to spot at JFK today, you will find tips in Plane spotting in New York.

American Airlines began domestic service with the 707 in January 1959, linking the East and West Coasts. Continental Airlines and Western Airlines also flew the -120; the last 707-120 built went to Western in May 1960.

Qantas took a special path. The Australians needed range on long Pacific sectors and therefore ordered a shortened version, the 707-138. For this Boeing removed fuselage frames ahead of and behind the wing, which saved weight. Seven aircraft were delivered between June and September 1959. For the Texas airline Braniff, the 707-220 was also built, with more powerful JT4A engines for hot, high-elevation airports; only four of those were delivered.

Turbojet or turbofan: 707-120 and 707-120B

The first 707s were loud and thirsty. The JT3C turbojets needed water injection at takeoff for extra thrust, leaving the typical dark exhaust trails you know from old photos. Pratt & Whitney developed the JT3D from it, one of the first turbofan engines in airliner use. You will find more about the engine manufacturer on the page about Pratt & Whitney.

With the JT3D came the 707-120B, which first flew on June 22, 1960. More thrust and lower fuel burn brought a higher takeoff weight of about 117 tonnes and a range of about 6,700 kilometers. Boeing built 72 examples of the -120B for American and TWA, plus six shortened 707-138Bs for Qantas. In addition, -120s that had already been delivered were later retrofitted with turbofans. How to tell turbojet and turbofan nacelles apart is shown in the guide How to recognize engines.

Feature	707-120	707-120B
Engines	4 × JT3C-6 (turbojet)	4 × JT3D (turbofan)
First flight	December 20, 1957	June 22, 1960
Max. takeoff weight	about 112 t	about 117 t
Range	about 5,600 km	about 6,700 km
Engine nacelles	long and slim	shorter and fatter, larger inlet
Built	56 plus 7 × -138	72 plus 6 × -138B

A second detail concerns the tail. In flight tests the 707 showed a tendency toward so-called Dutch roll, a rocking motion about the vertical and longitudinal axes. Tex Johnston recommended a taller vertical stabilizer, a power-assisted rudder and a small ventral fin under the tail. Boeing introduced the taller fin and retrofitted it to many earlier aircraft. In photos from the first years of operation you may therefore sometimes see 707s with a strikingly low vertical stabilizer.

707-120 or 707-320?

The most common mix-up within the family involves the larger 707-320 Intercontinental. It entered scheduled service in 1959 and was the true long-haul version: longer fuselage, bigger wing with more fuel and thus nonstop range across the Atlantic. With the turbofan versions -320B and -320C at the latest, it became the most-produced 707.

Feature	707-120	707-320B/C
ICAO type designator	B701	B703
Length	44.22 m	about 46.6 m
Wingspan	39.88 m	about 44.4 m
Mission profile	Domestic, transatlantic with a stopover	Intercontinental nonstop
Typical launch customer	Pan Am, American, TWA	Pan Am, later many international airlines

In a photo the -120 looks more compact: fuselage and wing are shorter, and the wingtips end less far out. Without a direct comparison, though, that is hard to judge. The most reliable help is the registration or, in a museum, the type placard.

The Boeing 720 is also closely related. It is a shortened, lighter derivative of the 707-120 for medium-haul routes and was originally designated 707-020. From the outside it closely resembles the -120 but is a bit shorter still.

How to check such features systematically is explained in the primer Aircraft type recognition for beginners. The whole family history, from the Dash 80 to the last military versions, is told in the article The history of the Boeing 707.

Air Force One and military derivatives

The early 707 also has a political career. In the late 1950s the US Air Force procured several aircraft based on the 707-120 (Boeing model 707-153) as the VC-137 for government and presidential flights. They were the first jets to serve as Air Force One. The better-known presidential aircraft SAM 26000, by contrast, was already based on the larger 707-320B.

Many later military aircraft also descend from the 707 family, though mostly from the -320B. These include the early warning aircraft E-3 Sentry AWACS with its distinctive radar dome. How to place such special types is covered in How to recognize AWACS, maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft.

Where you can still see the 707-120 today

Practically nowhere in flying condition. The -120 and -120B disappeared from the fleets of the big airlines decades ago, when quieter and more economical jets arrived. The other 707 versions have also vanished from civil passenger service; in Iran, operation with scheduled airlines ended in 2013, and the last civil use came in early 2019. If you want to see an original 707, you therefore plan a museum visit.

Place	What you see	Note
Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington, D.C.	Prototype 367-80 “Dash 80” (N70700)	Smithsonian, part of the National Air and Space Museum
Museum of Flight, Seattle	VC-137B “SAM 970,” early presidential aircraft based on the 707-120	At Boeing Field, right next to active flight operations
Deutsches Museum, Munich	Cockpit and front section of an American Airlines 707 (1959)	Modern Aviation exhibition on the Museumsinsel
Qantas Founders Museum, Longreach (Australia)	Short 707-138, delivered in 1959 as VH-EBA “City of Canberra,” later converted to turbofans (now VH-XBA)	Qantas’ first jet, returned to Australia in 2006

For spotters from German-speaking countries, the Deutsches Museum Munich is the obvious starting point. The Modern Aviation exhibition has the front section of an American Airlines 707 from 1959 – from the time when American put its first 707-120s into service. It is not a complete aircraft, but the cockpit impressively shows how much manual work went into flying in the early jet age.

At Boeing Field in Seattle you can combine a museum visit with spotting: the Museum of Flight sits right at the airport, and you will find tips on the location in the spot Museum of Flight at Boeing Field. Opening hours and access to individual exhibits are best checked directly with the museum before a trip.

Spotting tips: hunting classics on purpose

You will not catch a 707-120 at the fence by chance. General tips for classics are in How to recognize vintage aircraft in the sky. Planning matters all the more when you want to add the original 707 to your collection.

You will find more ideas for hunting rarities in Spotting rare aircraft. If you are interested in the color schemes of the early jet era – Pan Am’s globe logo, American’s polished metal fuselages – you will find them in the legendary airline liveries.

Photo tips for museum 707s

For outdoor shots, for example at Boeing Field, take a look at Planning sun position for your photo spot. Which focal length suits what is explained in Lens and focal length for plane spotting.

Common mix-ups and how to rule them out

Conclusion

The 707-120 is the aircraft that turned the jet from a prestige project into an everyday means of transport. Boeing’s risky bet on the Dash 80 produced the first production 707 in 1957, and from October 1958 Pan Am flew it across the Atlantic. Just a few years later, turbofans and the larger 707-320 overtook the original version, and today it exists only as a museum piece. For spotters that makes it a type for trip planning: Munich for the cockpit, Seattle and Washington for the big pieces of history.