Originally Posted by
Alan Baker
The idea that mighty Boeing, with nearly ten years experience of churning out hundreds of big jets, needed to learn anything from puny de Havilland, who's experience of (not very) big jets was producing a hundred or so Comets, is laughable. DH was a cottage industry compared to Boeing.
Ah yes, what could DH have shown Boeing ?
First jet airliner orders in the world (unlike Boeing)
First jet airliner into service in the world (unlike Boeing)
First jet airliner engines in the world (Boeing didn't do engines, let alone jets).
After the Comer 1 failures, still managed to get their next jet airliner into service first again (unlike Boeing).
A WW2 bomber that could carry the same payload as a B17 to Berlin, yet flew higher away from the flak, faster so it outran the fighters, and could drop down to deliver this at precision rooftop low level so it actually hit something meaningful.
What indeed ?