Originally Posted by
Capn Bloggs
Boeing has been delivering carrier aircraft to the Navy for more than 90 years – we know the flight deck. Really????
Yes, really. Boeing's first carrier aircraft was the Boeing Model 15, known in USN service as the FB. The F1B was Marine Corps only (land based only) and the F2B was designed for the carrier Langley. The F2B went into service in 1925. That's 94 years ago. The F2B was followed by the F3B (Boeing Model 74 USN bomber) which flew in 1928, 91 years ago, and served aboard Langley, Saratoga, and Lexington and served well into the mid 30s. The F4B (Boeing Model 89) was developed essentially at the same time as the F3B and shared its engine, but was a much smaller and lighter pure pursuit aircraft. So 90 years ago Boeing already had 3 different aircraft operating from USN carriers. And 89 years ago Boeing produced USN's first monoplane, the F5B.
And that completely ignores the countless Douglas carrier aircraft that were built starting in the 1930s. So between heritage Boeing, Douglas, and McDonnell (all of which are now Boeing), Boeing aircraft have been predominant aboard USN carriers from the very beginning of carrier aviation till the present.