Support aircraftIn limited cargo serviceProfile in progress

Douglas DC-8

Narrow-body airliner

Douglas DC-8 is a narrow-body airliner originating in United States. It was built by Douglas Aircraft Company (1958–1967) McDonnell Douglas (1967–1972). Reported operators include United Airlines (historical) UPS Airlines (historical) Delta Air Lines (historical) Trans Air Cargo Service.

Origin: United States
Manufacturer: Douglas Aircraft Company (1958–1967) McDonnell Douglas (1967–1972)

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Length: 45.9m
Wingspan: 43.4m
Speed: 895km/hCruise
Range: 7,500km20

Technical data

Specifications

11 fields · 1 source · retrieved 1 Oct 2026

Dimensions & mass

Wingspan: 142.4 ft (43.4 m)¹

Length

150.7 ft (45.9 m)¹

Performance

Crew: Three¹
Maximum payload: -10: 46,103 lb (20.9 t) -20: 43,624 lb (19.8 t) -30: 51,870 lb (23.5 t)¹
Cruise speed: Mach 0.82 (483 kn; 895 km/h; 556 mph)¹
Range: -10: 3,760 nmi (6,960 km; 4,330 mi) -20: 4,050 nmi (7,500 km; 4,660 mi) -30: 4,005 nmi (7,417 km; 4,609 mi)¹

Programme

Number built: 556¹
Manufactured: 1958–1972¹
Introduction date: September 18, 1959, with Delta Air Lines and United Airlines¹
First flight: May 30, 1958¹
Passengers: 177¹

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Sources & original excerpts1 reference

Douglas DC-8 · Wikipedia revision 1376907120 ↗
Type
Infobox (Douglas DC-8) · Type
Narrow-body airliner
National origin
Infobox (Douglas DC-8) · National origin
United States
Manufacturer
Infobox (Douglas DC-8) · Manufacturer
Douglas Aircraft Company (1958–1967) McDonnell Douglas (1967–1972)
Status
Infobox (Douglas DC-8) · Status
In limited cargo service
Primary users
Infobox (Douglas DC-8) · Primary users
United Airlines (historical) UPS Airlines (historical) Delta Air Lines (historical) Trans Air Cargo Service
Number built
Infobox (Douglas DC-8) · Number built
556
Manufactured
Infobox (Douglas DC-8) · Manufactured
1958–1972
Introduction date
Infobox (Douglas DC-8) · Introduction date
September 18, 1959, with Delta Air Lines and United Airlines
First flight
Infobox (Douglas DC-8) · First flight
May 30, 1958
Crew
Specifications · -10/20/30 · Cockpit crew
Three
Passengers
Specifications · -10/20/30 · Passengers
177
Wingspan
Specifications · -10/20/30 · Wingspan
142.4 ft (43.4 m)
Length
Specifications · -10/20/30 · Length
150.7 ft (45.9 m)
Maximum payload
Specifications · -10/20/30 · Max. payload
-10: 46,103 lb (20.9 t) -20: 43,624 lb (19.8 t) -30: 51,870 lb (23.5 t)
Cruise speed
Specifications · -10/20/30 · Cruise speed
Mach 0.82 (483 kn; 895 km/h; 556 mph)
Range
Specifications · -10/20/30 · Range
-10: 3,760 nmi (6,960 km; 4,330 mi) -20: 4,050 nmi (7,500 km; 4,660 mi) -30: 4,005 nmi (7,417 km; 4,609 mi)

Reference text from Wikipedia contributors, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.

True scale

Size in context

Length: 45.9 m
Person: 1.75 m
Bus: 12 m

Sourced dimensions beside a 1.75 m human reference.

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Operator countries

1 countries documented

Douglas DC-8 equipment records. Variants, orders and quantities are shown as reported in each inventory source; coverage is incomplete.

Togo
1Reported holdingsDouglas DC-8 · reported variants · Air ForceEstimate · Period November 2025 IISS assessment · Single source
Count scope
Air Force exact named equipment holdings: DC-8. Active, operational-reserve and training units excluding equipment in store; November 2025 IISS assessment. Named service only; no parent-force or national total inferred. Source role: AIRCRAFT / PAX. Original estimates, ranges, reporting names, reserve, lease and employment scopes retained; nested included counts are not added. Missile-system quantities mean launchers, not rounds. No readiness, crew, carried weapon, payload, factory-production or future order count inherited.
1ActiveDouglas DC-8 · reported variants · Air ForceEstimate · Period 2024 cited source period · Wikipedia list · original not yet checked
Count scope
Reported count for Douglas DC-8. Service scope: Air Force; does not replace a national total. 1 distinct quantity component(s) from the same source list; shared rowspan cells counted once. Explicit source inventory scope: active; no other stock status or total inferred. Count column(s): in service: 1. Origin: United States. The listed variants/roles are the scope, not an immediately deployable count. Dates are the count-cell citations' stated source period (2024), not the article revision. 2024 cited source edition. Edition or publication years do not claim an exact inventory census day.

Additional operator references

United Airlines (historical) UPS Airlines (historical) Delta Air Lines (historical) Trans Air Cargo Service

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Dimensions & mass

Performance

Programme

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Operator countries