In April, 1965, Douglas Aircraft Company announced their plans to develop and market three new stretched versions of the DC-8, which would be the DC-8-61, DC-8-62 and DC-8-63. All previous versions of the DC-8 were offered as a standard length fuselage. The DC-8-61 and DC-8-63 were 38 feet longer than a standard DC-8, while the Douglas DC-8-62 was 6 foot 8 inches longer.

The Douglas DC-8-62 also had extended wing tips which expanded the span by 3 feet on each side. Engine pylons were redesigned to attach to the undersides of the wings only, as the leading edge above wing wrap-around was removed. And of of course the engine nacelles were streamlined from front to end. Plus the internal wing structure was modified for expanded fuel capacity. This all meant that the Douglas DC-8-62 was the ultimate long range jetliner of the 1960s.

The Douglas DC-8-62 was first flown on August 29, 1966, and entered revenue service on May 22, 1967, with SAS. The long range capability of the aircraft was very appealing to long haul international carriers of the mid 1960s, and factory Douglas DC-8-62s were delivered to Alitalia, Braniff, Finnair, SAS, Swissair, UTA and United Airlines.

In the US, United operated their ten factory delivered Douglas DC-8-62s primarily on long haul routes from the midwest and east coast to Hawaii. Braniff used their five factory delivered Douglas DC-8-62s on their extensive network down the west coast of South America to Rio, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires (from New York, Dallas and Miami).

In the mid 1980s, the development of hush-kits for the Douglas DC-8-62 extended the operating lives of the aircraft. Many Douglas DC-8-62s were converted to freighters, but some remained in passenger/combi use right until the end.

For about twenty years, ATI operated a fleet of combi Douglas DC-8-62s on contract to the US Air Force to move people and goods to remote military locations in the South Pacific and South Atlantic. ATI retired their last Douglas DC-8-62 in May, 2013, and as of today, only one cargo Douglas DC-8-62 is believed to remain operational, based in Africa.

Presented below are 42 amazing photos of the classic Douglas DC-8-62 from our extensive aircraft image database. Which, by the way, are for sale in both digital and print format. If you are looking for 35mm kodachrome slides of Douglas DC-8-62 aircraft click here for huge selection.

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To see all the Douglas DC-8-50 photos for sale

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