Boeing 707-124 c/n 17609/25, N70773 of Continental Airlines illustrated in its original delivery colour scheme. Two of the five Continental 707-124s were destroyed, including this one, which ran off the end of the runway during a landing at Kansas City Downtown Municipal Airport, Missouri, in 1965. The Continental fleet was retrofitted to have the extended tail and the larger size ventral fin.

Boeing 707-138 c/n 17701/60, VH-EBF, 'City of Adelaide' of Qantas wearing the livery it was delivered in. The -138 is the shortest variant, and was only bought by Qantas, which placed an initial order for seven 707-138s and then later six 138Bs. The shortened fuselage resulted in a lighter aircraft with reduced maximum take-off weight, thereby increasing range, which was more suited to Qantas' long thin routes.

Boeing 720-068B c/n 18165/250, HZ-ACA of Saudi Arabian Airlines. This aircraft was originally ordered by Ethiopian Airlines, but was not taken up. Saudi bought it in 1962 making it the first Middle Eastern carrier to operate jet airliners. A simplified and lightweight version of the 707-120, the '720 was structurally and dimensionally different enough to justify a new model number.

Boeing 707-436 c/n 17716/175, G-APFO of BEA Airtours. Seven of this variant were leased to the charter arm of BEA in 1972 to replace its ageing Comet 4 fleet. Shortly after the 707 entered BEA Airtours’ service, the company was integrated into British Airways and became British Airtours, which went on to lease several more 707s from the mainline fleet. Note the taller tail and larger-sized ventral fin of the '-420 series, a result of British airworthiness requirements.

Boeing 707-320B c/n 19739/765, 9V-BBB of Singapore Airlines. Originally it was delivered in 1972 to Malaysia-Singapore Airlines, which was the first carrier in the region to operate the 707. It was then purchased by the Singapore Government for the newly-formed Singapore Airlines alongside several '-320Cs.

Boeing 707-338C c/n 19630/746, G-BDSJ was originally delivered to Qantas in 1968 and sold to British Caledonian in 1976. This variant was essentially a '-320C, the '-338C designation being specific to Qantas. The '-320C family received the most orders of any 707 variant, with 337 delivered to 54 operators. The increased payload and large freight door gave operators a wide range of passenger, freight or mixed load possibilities.

Boeing’s first variant of what was to become the 707 was called the Model 367-80. Its maiden flight took place on May 14, 1954, and the first commercial service was launched on October 26, 1958.

Lufthansa started operating Boeing 707s in 1960. This is a -430 variant, though the German flag-carrier also bought the shorter Boeing 720.

It is a rare sight these days to see a civil airworthy Boeing 707, especially in Europe. This 1965 vintage -330B model, pictured landing at Malta in January this year, is owned by a company called LOWA London-Washington Ltd.