TIL the 747 design was originally proposed for the USAF CX-Heavy Logistics System and lost to Lockheed’s C-5. Here is the design. More in the comments

Posted by shaun3000@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 5 comments

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shaun3000@reddit (OP)

Someone mentioned it in this comment thread and it sent me down a rabbit hole.

The airframe proposals shared several features. As the CX-HLS needed to be able to be loaded from the front, a door had to be included where the cockpit usually was. All of the companies solved this problem by moving the cockpit above the cargo area; Douglas had a small "pod" just forward and above the wing, Lockheed used a long "spine" running the length of the aircraft with the wing spar passing through it, while Boeing blended the two, with a longer pod that ran from just behind the nose to just behind the wing. In 1965, Lockheed's aircraft design and General Electric's engine design were selected for the new C-5 Galaxy transport, which was the largest military aircraft in the world at the time. Boeing carried the nose door and raised cockpit concepts over to the design of the 747.

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Whiteyak5@reddit

Lockheed essentially went under due to the C-5 (among other things). I think they probably would have been better off never winning that contract.

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shaun3000@reddit (OP)

How did the C-5 put them under? They’re still a giant defense contractor. The F-22 and F-35 are Lockheed products.

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Funkydeliks@reddit

The L-1011 almost took Lockheed down. Put us out of the commercial airplane business.

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ErectPikachu@reddit

"High-wing 747 can't hurt you"