History in Pictures
This collection of stills and text accompanies the Streaming Video presentation of the same material. Users on slow connections may prefer this presentation.
McDonnell Aircraft was just 23 years old when President Kennedy arrived to recognize the St. Louis team for building the Mercury space capsule -- America's first manned spacecraft.
The President's congratulations were expressed to all McDonnell employees....
...and in particular to its founder -- James Smith McDonnell.
Born in 1899, James McDonnell was raised in Little Rock, Arkansas. In 1917, he enrolled at Princeton University -- and promptly traded his money for a winter coat for his first ride in a rickety biplane. His passion for aviation was kindled at that moment.
By 1925, McDonnell had earned a Masters in aeronautical engineering from MIT, and enlisted in the Army Air Service to learn how to fly.
He was awarded his pilot's wings at Brooks Field, Texas, and was one of six volunteers to make the first airplane parachute jump -- leaping off the top wing of a DeHavilland bi-plane.
Striking out on his own in the late 20s, McDonnell began work designing an open cockpit monoplane, nicknamed the "Doodlebug," which he hoped to mass produce like the Model T. A crash landing -- together with the crash on Wall Street -- put an end to this project.
By 1939, James McDonnell was ready to start his own company. Settling down in St. Louis....
... he founded McDonnell Aircraft on the 2nd floor of a building at Lambert Field.
Starting with just a handful of employees, "Mr. Mac" went to work subcontracting for established plane makers like Boeing and Douglas.
In 1943, McDonnell's big chance finally arrived -- a contract to develop the world's first carrier-based jet. The result made history.
The one-seat, twin-engine FH-1 Phantom became the first jet to take off and land on a U.S. carrier.
Surrounding himself with first-class engineers, McDonnell developed a series of the finest jet fighters in the world -- with names like Phantom, Voodoo, and Banshee.
At the same time, he plowed more than 80% of his company's profits back into research & development.
By the late 50s, when NASA officials announced competitive bids for the first manned space capsule....
...McDonnell engineers already had one on the drawing boards.
The Mercury Space program was an enormous victory for the St. Louis team.
Perhaps more than any aerospace leader of his generation, James McDonnell imprinted his company with the force of his character....
...imbuing his teammates with his own drive for excellence.
Whether serving coffee in hip boots during the annual Mississippi floods....
...or presiding at company picnics....
...Mr. Mac ran McDonnell Aircraft like a 19th century industrial barony -- overseeing every detail.
Workers expecting a new addition to their family would receive a pair of baby shoes.
Employees in the hospital would find a bouquet of fresh flowers at their bedside.
This brand of paternalism inspired the fiercest loyalty in McDonnell employees.
From 1939 until his death in 1980, workers in offices and factories all across St. Louis would fall silent when Mr. Mac's voice rang out over the loudspeakers:
"This is Old Mac...signing off."