title: Boeing 707

text: The 707-120B typically flew 137 passengers in two classes over , and could accommodate 174 in one class.


title: Boeing 707

text: The 707-320C convertible passenger-freighter model entered service in 1963, and passenger 707s have been converted to freighter configurations.


title: Boeing 707

text: Military derivatives include the E-3 Sentry airborne reconnaissance aircraft and the C-137 Stratoliner VIP transport.


title: Boeing 707

text: During and after World War II Boeing was known for its military aircraft. The company had produced innovative and important bombers, from the B-17 Flying Fortress and B-29 Superfortress, to the jet-powered B-47 Stratojet and B-52 Stratofortress, but its commercial aircraft were not as successful as those from Douglas Aircraft and other competitors. As Douglas and Lockheed dominated the postwar air transport boom, the demand for Boeing's offering, the 377 Stratocruiser, quickly faded with only 56 examples sold and no new orders as the 1940s drew to a close. That venture had netted the company a $15 million loss. During 1949 and 1950, Boeing embarked on studies for a new jet transport and saw advantages with a design aimed at both military and civilian markets. Aerial refueling was becoming a standard technique for military aircraft, with over 800 KC-97 Stratofreighters on order. The KC-97 was not ideally suited for operations with the USAF's new fleets of jet-powered fighters and bombers; this was where Boeing's new design would win military orders.


title: Boeing 707

text: As the first of a new generation of American passenger jets, Boeing wanted the aircraft's model number to emphasize the difference from its previous propeller-driven aircraft which bore 300-series numbers. The 400-, 500- and 600-series were already used by their missiles and other products, so Boeing decided that the jets would bear 700-series numbers, and the first would be the 707. The marketing department at Boeing chose 707 because they thought it was more appealing than 700.


title: Boeing 707

text: The project was enabled by the Pratt & Whitney JT3C turbojet engine, the civilian version of the J57 that yielded much more power than the previous generation of jet engines and was proving itself with the B-52. Freed from the design constraints imposed by limitations of late-1940s jet engines, developing a robust, safe, and high capacity jet aircraft was within reach for Boeing. Boeing studied numerous wing and engine layouts for its new transport/tanker, some of which were based on the B-47 and C-97, before settling on the 367-80 quadjet prototype aircraft. The "Dash 80" took less than two years from project launch in 1952 to rollout on May 14, 1954, then first flew on July 15, 1954. The prototype was a proof-of-concept aircraft for both military and civilian use. The United States Air Force was the first customer, using it as the basis for the KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refueling and cargo aircraft.


title: Boeing 707

text: Whether the passenger 707 would be profitable was far from certain. At the time, nearly all of Boeing's revenue came from military contracts. In a demonstration flight over Lake Washington outside Seattle, on August 7, 1955, test pilot Tex Johnston performed a barrel roll in the 367-80 prototype. Although he justified his unauthorized action to Bill Allen, then president of Boeing, as selling the airplane with a 1 'g' maneuver he was told not to do it again.


title: Boeing 707

text: The wide fuselage of the Dash 80 was large enough for four-abreast (two-plus-two) seating like the Stratocruiser. Answering customers' demands and under Douglas competition, Boeing soon realized this would not provide a viable payload, so it widened the fuselage to to allow five-abreast seating and use of the KC-135's tooling. Douglas Aircraft had launched its DC-8 with a fuselage width of . The airlines liked the extra space and six-abreast seating, so Boeing increased the 707's width again to compete, this time to .


title: Boeing 707

text: The first flight of the first-production 707-120 took place on December 20, 1957, and FAA certification followed on September 18, 1958. Both test pilots Joseph John "Tym" Tymczyszyn and James R. Gannett were awarded the first Iven C. Kincheloe Award for the test flights that led to certification. A number of changes were incorporated into the production models from the prototype. A Krueger flap was installed along the leading edge between the inner and outer engines on early 707-120 and -320 models. This was in response to de Havilland Comet overrun accidents which occurred after over-rotating on take-off. Wing stall would also occur on the 707 with over-rotation so the leading-edge flaps were added to prevent stalling even with the tail dragging on the runway.


title: Boeing 707

text: The initial standard model was the 707-120 with JT3C turbojet engines. Qantas ordered a shorter-bodied version called the 707-138, which was a -120 with six fuselage frames removed, three in front of the wings, and three aft. The frames in the 707 were set apart, so this resulted in a shortening of to a length of . With the maximum takeoff weight the same as that of the -120 (), the -138 was able to fly the longer routes that Qantas needed. Braniff International Airways ordered the higher-thrust version with Pratt & Whitney JT4A engines, the 707-220. The final major derivative was the 707-320, which featured an extended-span wing and JT4A engines, while the 707-420 was the same as the -320, but with Conway turbofan engines.


title: Boeing 707

text: Tex Johnston recommended Boeing increase the height of the tail fin, add a boosted rudder, as well as add a ventral fin. These modifications were aimed at mitigating Dutch roll by providing more directional stability in yaw.


title: Boeing 707

text: Though initially fitted with turbojet engines, the dominant engine for the Boeing 707 family was the Pratt & Whitney JT3D, a turbofan variant of the JT3C with lower fuel consumption and higher thrust. JT3D-engined 707s and 720s were denoted with a "B" suffix. While many 707-120Bs and -720Bs were conversions of existing JT3C-powered machines, 707-320Bs were available only as newly built aircraft, as they had a stronger structure to support a maximum takeoff weight increased by , along with modifications to the wing. The 707-320B series enabled nonstop westbound flights from Europe to the West Coast of the United States and from the US to Japan.


title: Boeing 707

text: The final 707 variant was the 707-320C, (C for "Convertible"), which had a large fuselage door for cargo. It had a revised wing with three-sectioned leading-edge flaps, improving takeoff and landing performance and allowing the ventral fin to be removed (although the taller fin was retained). The 707-320Bs built after 1963 used the same wing as the -320C and were known as 707-320B Advanced aircraft.


title: Boeing 707

text: In total, 1,010 707s were built for civilian use between 1958 and 1978, though many of these found their way to military service. The 707 production line remained open for purpose-built military variants until 1991, with the last new-build 707 airframes built as E-3 and E-6 aircraft.


title: Boeing 707

text: Traces of the 707 are still found in the 737, which uses a modified version of the 707's fuselage, as well as the same external nose and cockpit configurations as those of the 707. These were also used on the previous 727, while the 757 also used the 707 fuselage cross-section.


title: Boeing 707

text: The 707's wings are swept back at 35°, and like all swept-wing aircraft, display an undesirable "Dutch roll" flying characteristic that manifests itself as an alternating combined yawing and rolling motion. Boeing already had considerable experience with this on the B-47 and B-52, and had developed the yaw damper system on the B-47 that would be applied to later swept-wing configurations like the 707. However, many pilots new to the 707 had no experience with this instability, as they were mostly accustomed to flying straight-wing propeller-driven aircraft such as the Douglas DC-7 and Lockheed Constellation.


title: Boeing 707

text: On one customer-acceptance flight, where the yaw damper was turned off to familiarize the new pilots with flying techniques, a trainee pilot's actions violently exacerbated the Dutch roll motion and caused three of the four engines to be torn from the wings. The plane, a brand new 707-227, "N7071", destined for Braniff, crash-landed on a river bed north of Seattle at Arlington, Washington, killing four of the eight occupants.


title: Boeing 707

text: In his autobiography, test pilot Tex Johnston describes a Dutch roll incident he experienced as a passenger on an early commercial 707 flight. As the aircraft's movements did not cease and most of the passengers became ill, he suspected a misrigging of the directional autopilot (yaw damper). He went to the cockpit and found the crew unable to understand and resolve the situation. He introduced himself and relieved the ashen-faced captain, who immediately left the cockpit feeling ill. Johnston disconnected the faulty autopilot and manually stabilized the plane "with two slight control movements".


title: Boeing 707

text: The 707 uses engine-driven turbocompressors to supply compressed air for cabin pressurization. On many commercial 707s, the outer port (number 1) engine mount is distinctly different from the other three, as this engine is not fitted with a turbocompressor. Later-model 707s typically had this configuration, although American Airlines had turbocompressors on engines 2 and 3 only. Early 707 models often had turbocompressor fairings on all four engines, but with only two or three compressors installed.


title: Boeing 707

text: The JT3D-3B engines are readily identifiable by the large gray secondary-air inlet doors in the nose cowl. These doors are fully open (sucked in at the rear) during takeoff to provide additional air. The doors automatically close with increasing airspeed.


title: Boeing 707

text: Pratt & Whitney, in a joint venture with Seven Q Seven (SQS) and Omega Air, selected the JT8D-219 as a replacement powerplant for Boeing 707-based aircraft, calling their modified configuration a 707RE. Northrop Grumman selected the -219 to re-engine the US Air Force's fleet of 19 E-8 Joint STARS aircraft, which would allow the J-STARS more time on station due to the engine's greater fuel efficiency. NATO also planned to re-engine their fleet of E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft. The -219 is publicized as being half the cost of the competing powerplant, the CFM International CFM56, and is 40 dB quieter than the original JT3D engines.


title: Boeing 707

text: The first commercial orders for the 707 came on October 13, 1955, when Pan Am committed to 20 Boeing 707s, and 25 Douglas DC-8s, dramatically increasing their passenger capacity (in available revenue passenger seat-miles per hour/per day) over its existing fleet of propeller aircraft. The competition between the 707 and DC-8 was fierce. Pan American ordered these planes, when and as they did, so that they would be the operators of the "first-off" production line for each aircraft type. Until their initial batch of the aircraft had been delivered to them and put into operation, Pan American would have the distinction of being not only the "Launch Customer" for both transcontinental American jets, but the exclusive operator of American intercontinental jet transports for at least a year.


title: Boeing 707

text: The only rival in intercontinental jet aircraft production at the time was the British de Havilland Comet. However, this was never real competition for the American market as the Comet series had been the subject of fatal accidents (due to design flaws) early in its introduction, withdrawn from service, virtually redesigned from scratch, and reintroduced as version -4. It was also smaller and slower than the 707. Several major airlines committed only to the (second place in the production race) Douglas DC-8. Airlines and their passengers at the time preferred the more established Douglas Aircraft maker of passenger aircraft. Douglas had decided to wait for a larger and more fuel efficient engine (Pratt & Whitney JT4A) and to design a larger and longer range aircraft around this engine. To stay competitive, Boeing made a late and costly decision to redesign and enlarge the 707's wing to help increase range and payload. The new version was the 707-320.


title: Boeing 707

text: Pan Am was the first airline to operate the 707; the carrier inaugurated 707 service with a christening at National Airport on October 17, 1958, attended by President Eisenhower, followed by a transatlantic flight for VIPs (personal guests of founder Juan Trippe) from Baltimore's Friendship International Airport to Paris. The aircraft's first commercial flight was from Idlewild Airport, New York, to Le Bourget, Paris, on October 26, 1958, with a fuel stop in Gander, Newfoundland. In December, National Airlines operated the first US domestic jet airline flights between New York/Idlewild and Miami, using 707s leased from Pan Am; American Airlines was the first domestic airline to fly its own jets, on January 25, 1959. TWA started domestic 707-131 flights in March and Continental Airlines started 707-124 flights in June; airlines that had ordered only the DC-8, such as United, Delta, and Eastern, were left without jets until September and lost market share on transcontinental flights. Qantas was the first non-US airline to use the 707s, starting in 1959.


title: Boeing 707

text: The 707 quickly became the most popular jetliner of its time. Its popularity led to rapid developments in airport terminals, runways, airline catering, baggage handling, reservations systems, and other air transport infrastructure. The advent of the 707 also led to the upgrading of air traffic control systems to prevent interference with military jet operations.


title: Boeing 707

text: As the 1960s drew to a close, the exponential growth in air travel led to the 707 being a victim of its own success. The 707 was now too small to handle the increased numbers of passengers on the routes for which it was designed. Stretching the fuselage was not a viable option because the installation of larger, more powerful engines would need a larger undercarriage, which was not feasible given the design's limited ground clearance at takeoff. Boeing's answer to the problem was the first wide-body airliner—the Boeing 747. The 707's first-generation engine technology was also rapidly becoming obsolete in the areas of noise and fuel economy, especially after the 1973 oil crisis.


title: Boeing 707

text: In 1982, during the Falklands War, the Argentine Air Force used 707s to track the approaching task force. They were escorted away by Royal Navy Sea Harriers without being able to approach closer than 80 miles.


title: Boeing 707

text: Operations of the 707 were threatened by the enactment of international noise regulations in 1985. Shannon Engineering of Seattle developed a hush kit with funding from Tracor, Inc, of Austin, Texas. By the late 1980s, 172 Boeing 707s had been equipped with the Quiet 707 package. Boeing acknowledged that more 707s were in service than before the hush kit was available.


title: Boeing 707

text: Trans World Airlines flew the last scheduled 707 flight for passengers by a US carrier on October 30, 1983, although 707s remained in scheduled service by airlines from other nations for much longer. Middle East Airlines of Lebanon flew 707s and 720s in front-line passenger service until the end of the 1990s. Since LADE of Argentina removed its 707-320Bs from regular service in 2007, Saha Airlines of Iran was the last commercial operator of the Boeing 707. After suspending its scheduled passenger service in April 2013, Saha continued to operate a small fleet of 707s on behalf of the Iranian Air Force.


title: Boeing 707

text: As of 2019, only a handful of 707s remain in operation, acting as military aircraft for aerial refueling, transport, and AWACS missions.


title: Boeing 707

text: Although certified as Series 100s, 200s, 300s, etc., the different 707 variants are more commonly known as Series 120s, 220s, 320s, and so on, where the "20" part of the designation is Boeing's "customer number" for its development aircraft.


title: Boeing 707

text: Announced in July 1957 as a derivative for shorter flights from shorter runways, the 707-020 first flew on November 23, 1959.


title: Boeing 707

text: Its type certificate was issued on June 30, 1960, and it entered service with United Airlines on July 5, 1960.


title: Boeing 707

text: Compared to the 707-120, it has a length reduced by 9 feet (2.7 m), a modified wing and a lightened airframe for a lower maximum takeoff weight.


title: Boeing 707

text: Powered by four Pratt & Whitney JT3C turbojets, the initial 720 could cover a range with 131 passengers in two classes.


title: Boeing 707

text: Powered by JT3D turbofans, the 720B first flew on October 6, 1960, and entered service in March 1961.


title: Boeing 707

text: A total of 154 Boeing 720s and 720Bs were built until 1967. Some 720s were later converted to the 720B specification.


title: Boeing 707

text: The 707-120 was the first production 707 variant, with a longer, wider fuselage, and greater wingspan than the Dash 80. The cabin had a full set of rectangular windows and could seat up to 189 passengers. It was designed for transcontinental routes, and often required a refueling stop when flying across the North Atlantic. It had four Pratt & Whitney JT3C-6 turbojets, civilian versions of the military J57, initially producing with water injection. Maximum takeoff weight was and first flight was on December 20, 1957. Major orders were the launch order for 20 707-121 aircraft by Pan Am and an American Airlines order for 30 707-123 aircraft. The first revenue flight was on October 26, 1958; 56 were built, plus seven short-bodied -138s; the last -120 was delivered to Western in May 1960.


title: Boeing 707

text: The 707-138 was a -120 with a fuselage shorter than the others, with (three frames) removed ahead and behind the wing, giving increased range. Maximum takeoff weight was the same as the standard version. It was a variant for Qantas, thus had its customer number 38. To allow for full-load takeoffs at midflight refueling stop Fiji, the wing's leading-edge slats were modified for increased lift, and the allowable temperature range for use of full takeoff power was increased by 10F degrees. Seven -138s were delivered to Qantas between June and September 1959, and they first carried passengers in July of that year.


title: Boeing 707

text: The 707-120B had Pratt & Whitney JT3D-1 turbofan engines, which were quieter, more powerful, and more fuel-efficient, rated at , with the later JT3D-3 version giving . (This thrust did not require water injection, eliminating both the system and 5000–6000 lb of water.) The -120B had the wing modifications introduced on the 720 and a longer tailplane; a total of 72 were built, 31 for American and 41 for TWA, plus six short-bodied -138Bs for Qantas. American had its 23 surviving -123s converted to -123Bs, but TWA did not convert its 15 -131s. The only other conversions were Pan American's five surviving -121s and one surviving -139, the three aircraft delivered to the USAF as -153s and the seven short-bodied Qantas -138s (making 13 total 707s delivered to Qantas between 1959 and 1964). The first flight of the -120B was on June 22, 1960, and American carried the first passengers in March 1961; the last delivery was to American in April 1969. Maximum weight was for both the long- and short-bodied versions.


title: Boeing 707

text: The 707-220 was designed for hot and high operations with more powerful Pratt & Whitney JT4A-3 turbojets. Five of these were produced, but only four were ultimately delivered, with one being lost during a test flight. All were for Braniff International Airways and carried the model number 707-227; the first entered service in December 1959. This version was made obsolete by the arrival of the turbofan-powered 707-120B.


title: Boeing 707

text: The 707-320 Intercontinental is a stretched version of the turbojet-powered 707-120, initially powered by JT4A-3 or JT4A-5 turbojets producing each (most eventually got JT4A-11s). The interior allowed up to 189 passengers, the same as the -120 and -220 series, but improved two-class capacity due to an 80-in fuselage stretch ahead of the wing (from to ), with extensions to the fin and horizontal stabilizer extending the aircraft's length further. The longer wing carried more fuel, increasing range by and allowing the aircraft to operate as true transoceanic aircraft. The wing modifications included outboard and inboard inserts, as well as a kink in the trailing edge to add area inboard. Takeoff weight was increased to initially and to with the higher-rated JT4As and center section tanks. Its first flight was on January 11, 1958; 69 turbojet 707-320s were delivered through January 1963, the first passengers being carried (by Pan Am) in August 1959.


title: Boeing 707

text: The 707-420 was identical to the -320, but fitted with Rolls-Royce Conway 508 (RCo.12) turbofans (or by-pass turbojets as Rolls-Royce called them) of thrust each. The first announced customer was Lufthansa. BOAC's controversial order was announced six months later, but the British carrier got the first service-ready aircraft off the production line. The British Air Registration Board refused to give the aircraft a certificate of airworthiness, citing insufficient yaw control, excessive rudder forces, and the ability to over-rotate on takeoff, stalling the wing on the ground (a fault of the de Havilland Comet 1). Boeing responded by adding 40 inches to the vertical stabilizer, applying full instead of partial rudder boost, and fitting an underfin to prevent over-rotation. These modifications except to the fin under the tail became standard on all 707 variants and were retrofitted to all earlier 707s. The 37 -420s were delivered to BOAC, Lufthansa, Air-India, El Al, and Varig through November 1963; Lufthansa was the first to carry passengers, in March 1960.


title: Boeing 707

text: The 707-320B had the application of the JT3D turbofan to the Intercontinental, but with aerodynamic refinements. The wing was modified from the -320 by adding a second inboard kink, a dog-toothed leading edge, and curved low-drag wingtips instead of the earlier blunt ones. These wingtips increased overall wingspan by 3.0 ft. Takeoff gross weight was increased to . The 175 707-320B aircraft were all new-build; no original -320 models were converted to fan engines in civilian use. First service was June 1962, with Pan Am.


title: Boeing 707

text: The 707-320B Advanced is an improved version of the -320B, adding the three-section leading-edge flaps already seen on the -320C. These reduced takeoff and landing speeds and altered the lift distribution of the wing, allowing the ventral fin found on earlier 707s to be deleted. From 1965, -320Bs had the uprated -320C undercarriage allowing the same MTOW. These were often identified as 707-320BA-H.


title: Boeing 707

text: The 707-320C has a convertible passenger–freight configuration, which became the most widely produced variant of the 707. The 707-320C added a strengthened floor and a new cargo door to the -320B model. The wing was fitted with three-section leading-edge flaps which allowed the deletion of the underfin. A total of 335 of this variant were built, including some with JT3D-7 engines ( takeoff thrust) and a takeoff weight of . Most -320Cs were delivered as passenger aircraft with airlines hoping the cargo door would increase second-hand values. The addition of two additional emergency exits, one on either side aft of the wing raised the maximum passenger limit to 219. Only a few aircraft were delivered as pure freighters. One of the final orders was by the Iranian Government for 14 707-3J9C aircraft capable of VIP transportation, communication, and in-flight refueling tasks.


title: Boeing 707

text: The 707-700 was a test aircraft used to study the feasibility of using CFM International CFM56 engines on a 707 airframe and possibly retrofitting existing aircraft with the engine. After testing in 1979, "N707QT", the last commercial 707 airframe, was restored to 707-320C configuration and delivered to the Moroccan Air Force as a tanker aircraft via a "civilian" order. Boeing abandoned the retrofit program, since it felt it would be a threat to the Boeing 757 and Boeing 767 programs. The information gathered from testing led to the eventual retrofitting of CFM56 engines to the USAF C-135/KC-135R models, and some military versions of the 707 also used the CFM56. The Douglas DC-8 "Super 70" series with CFM56 engines was developed and extended the DC-8's life in a stricter noise regulatory environment. As a result, significantly more DC-8s remained in service into the 21st century than 707s.


title: Boeing 707

text: The 707-620 was a proposed domestic range-stretched variant of the 707-320B. The 707-620 was to carry around 200 passengers while retaining several aspects of the 707-320B. It would have been delivered around 1968 and would have also been Boeing's answer to the stretched Douglas DC-8 Series 60. Had the 707-620 been built, it would have cost around US$8,000,000. However, engineers discovered that a longer fuselage and wing meant a painstaking redesign of the wing and landing-gear structures. Rather than spend money on upgrading the 707, engineer Joe Sutter stated the company "decided spending money on the 707 wasn't worth it". The project was cancelled in 1966 in favor of the newer Boeing 747.


title: Boeing 707

text: The 707-820 was a proposed intercontinental stretched variant of the 707-320B. This variant was to be powered by four Pratt & Whitney JT3D-15 turbofan engines, and it would have had a nearly extension in wingspan, to . Two variations were proposed, the 707-820(505) model and the 707-820(506) model. The 505 model would have had a fuselage longer than the 707-320B, for a total length of . This model would have carried 209 passengers in mixed-class configuration and 260 passengers in all-economy configuration. The 506 model would have had a fuselage longer than the 707-320B, to in length. This second model would have carried 225 passengers in mixed-class configuration and 279 passengers in all-economy configuration. Like the 707-620, the 707-820 was also set to compete with the stretched DC-8-60 Super Series models. The design was being pitched to American, TWA, BOAC, and Pan Am at the time of its proposal in early 1965. The 707-820 would have cost US$10,000,000. Like the 707-620, the 707-820 would have required a massive structural redesign to the wing and gear structures. The 707-820 was also cancelled in 1966 in favor of the 747.


title: Boeing 707

text: The militaries of the US and other countries have used the civilian 707 aircraft in a variety of roles, and under different designations. (The 707 and US Air Force's KC-135 were developed in parallel from the Boeing 367–80 prototype.)


title: Boeing 707

text: The Boeing E-3 Sentry is a US military airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft based on the Boeing 707 that provides all-weather surveillance, command, control, and communications.


title: Boeing 707

text: The Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint STARS is an aircraft modified from the Boeing 707-300 series commercial airliner. The E-8 carries specialized radar, communications, operations and control subsystems. The most prominent external feature is the 40 ft (12 m) canoe-shaped radome under the forward fuselage that houses the 24 ft (7.3 m) APY-7 active electronically scanned array side looking airborne radar antenna.


title: Boeing 707

text: The VC-137 variant of the Stratoliner was a special-purpose design meant to serve as Air Force One, the secure transport for the President of the United States. These models were in operational use from 1962 to 1990. The first presidential jet aircraft, a VC-137B designated SAM 970, is on display at the Boeing Museum of Flight in Seattle. Two VC-137C aircraft are on display with SAM 26000 at the National Museum of the United States Air Force near Dayton, Ohio and SAM 27000 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.


title: Boeing 707

text: The Canadian Forces also operated the Boeing 707 with the designation CC-137 Husky (707-347C) from 1971 to 1997.


title: Boeing 707

text: Boeing 717 was the company designation for the C-135 Stratolifter and KC-135 Stratotanker derivatives of the 367-80. (The 717 designation was later reused in renaming the McDonnell Douglas MD-95 to Boeing 717 after the company merged with Boeing.)


title: Boeing 707

text: Boeing's customer codes used to identify specific options and livery specified by customers was started with the 707, and has been maintained through all Boeing's models. In essence the same system as used on the earlier Boeing 377, the code consisted of two digits affixed to the model number to identify the specific aircraft version. For example, Pan American World Airways was assigned code "21". Thus, a 707-320B sold to Pan Am had the model number 707-321B. The number remained constant as further aircraft were purchased; thus, when Pan American purchased the 747-100, it had the model number 747-121.


title: Boeing 707

text: In the 1980s, the USAF acquired around 250 used 707s to provide replacement turbofan engines for the KC-135E Stratotanker program.


title: Boeing 707

text: The 707 is no longer operated by major airlines. American actor John Travolta owned an ex-Qantas 707-138B, with the registration "N707JT." In May 2017, he donated the plane to the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society near Wollongong, Australia. The plane will be flown to Illawarra Regional Airport, where HARS is based, once repairs to ensure safe flying condition have been completed.


title: Boeing 707

text: As of January 2019, the 707 has been in 261 aviation occurrences and 174 hull-loss accidents with a total of 3,039 fatalities. The deadliest incident involving the 707 was the Agadir air disaster which took place on August 3, 1975 with 188 fatalities.


title: Boeing 707

text: On January 14, 2019, a Saha Airlines cargo flight crashed, killing 15 people and seriously injuring one more person. It was the last civil 707 in operation.


title: Gupta Empire

text: The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Golden Age of India by historians. The ruling dynasty of the empire was founded by the king Sri Gupta; the most notable rulers of the dynasty were Chandragupta I, Samudragupta, Chandragupta II and Skandagupta. The 5th-century CE Sanskrit poet Kalidasa credits the Guptas with having conquered about twenty-one kingdoms, both in and outside India, including the kingdoms of Parasikas, the Hunas, the Kambojas, tribes located in the west and east Oxus valleys, the Kinnaras, Kiratas, and others.


title: Gupta Empire

text: The high points of this period are the great cultural developments which took place primarily during the reigns of Samudragupta, Chandragupta II and Kumaragupta I. Many Hindu epics and literary sources, such as Mahabharata and Ramayana, were canonised during this period. The Gupta period produced scholars such as Kalidasa, Aryabhata, Varahamihira, and Vatsyayana who made great advancements in many academic fields. Science and political administration reached new heights during the Gupta era. The period gave rise to achievements in architecture, sculpture, and painting that "set standards of form and taste [that] determined the whole subsequent course of art, not only in India but far beyond her borders". Strong trade ties also made the region an important cultural centre and established the region as a base that would influence nearby kingdoms and regions in India and Southeast Asia. The Puranas, earlier long poems on a variety of subjects, are also thought to have been committed to written texts around this period. Hinduism was followed by the rulers and the Brahmins flourished in the Gupta empire but the Guptas tolerated people of other faiths as well.


title: Gupta Empire

text: The empire eventually died out because of factors such as substantial loss of territory and imperial authority caused by their own erstwhile feudatories, as well as the invasion by the Huna peoples (Kidarites and Alchon Huns) from Central Asia. After the collapse of the Gupta Empire in the 6th century, India was again ruled by numerous regional kingdoms.


title: Gupta Empire

text: The homeland of the Guptas is uncertain. According to one theory, they originated in the present-day lower-Doab region of Uttar Pradesh, where most of the inscriptions and coin hoards of the early Gupta kings have been discovered. This theory is also supported by the Purana, as argued by the proponents, that mention the territory of the early Gupta kings as Prayaga, Saketa, and Magadha areas in the Ganges basin.


title: Gupta Empire

text: Another prominent theory locates the Gupta homeland in the present-day Bengal region in Ganges basin, based on the account of the 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk Yijing. According to Yijing, king Che-li-ki-to (identified with the dynasty's founder "Shri" Gupta) built a temple for Chinese pilgrims near Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no (apparently a transcription of Mriga-shikha-vana). Yijing states that this temple was located more than 40 "yojanas" east of Nalanda, which would mean it was situated somewhere in the modern Bengal region. Another proposal is that the early Gupta kingdom extended from Prayaga in the west to northern Bengal in the east.


title: Gupta Empire

text: The Gupta records do not mention the dynasty's varna (social class). Some historians, such as A.S. Altekar, have theorised that they were of Vaishya origin, as certain ancient Indian texts prescribe the name "Gupta" for the members of the Vaishya varna. According to historian R. S. Sharma, the Vaishyas – who were traditionally associated with trade – may have become rulers after resisting oppressive taxation by the previous rulers. Critics of the Vaishya-origin theory point out that the suffix Gupta features in the names of several non-Vaishyas before as well as during the Gupta period, and the dynastic name "Gupta" may have simply derived from the name of the family's first king Gupta. Some scholars, such as S. R. Goyal, theorise that the Guptas were Brahmanas, because they had matrimonial relations with Brahmans, but others reject this evidence as inconclusive. Based on the Pune and Riddhapur inscriptions of the Gupta princess Prabhavati-gupta, some scholars believe that the name of her paternal gotra (clan) was "Dharana", but an alternative reading of these inscriptions suggests that Dharana was the "gotra" of her mother Kuberanaga.


title: Gupta Empire

text: However, recent excavations in Nepal and Deccan has revealed that Gupta suffix was common among Abhira kings, and Historian D. R. Regmi, links Imperial Guptas with Abhira Guptas of Nepal. In Bhagavatam, Gupta dynasty has been called Abhir.


title: Gupta Empire

text: Gupta (Gupta script: "gu-pta", fl. late 3rd century CE) is the earliest known king of the dynasty: different historians variously date the beginning of his reign from mid-to-late 3rd century CE. Sri Gupta founded the Gupta Empire c. 240-280 CE, and was succeeded by his son, Ghatotkacha, c. 280-319 CE, followed by Ghatotkacha’s son, Chandragupta, c. 319-335 CE."Che-li-ki-to", the name of a king mentioned by the 7th century Chinese Buddhist monk Yijing, is believed to be a transcription of "Shri-Gupta" (IAST: Śrigupta), "Shri" being an honorific prefix. According to Yijing, this king built a temple for Chinese Buddhist pilgrims near "Mi-li-kia-si-kia-po-no" (believed to be a transcription of Mṛgaśikhāvana).


title: Gupta Empire

text: In the Allahabad Pillar inscription, Gupta and his successor Ghatotkacha are described as "Maharaja" ("great king"), while the next king Chandragupta I is called a "Maharajadhiraja" ("king of great kings"). In the later period, the title "Maharaja" was used by feudatory rulers, which has led to suggestions that Gupta and Ghatotkacha were vassals (possibly of Kushan Empire). However, there are several instances of paramount sovereigns using the title "Maharaja", in both pre-Gupta and post-Gupta periods, so this cannot be said with certainty. That said, there is no doubt that Gupta and Ghatotkacha held a lower status and were less powerful than Chandragupta I.


title: Gupta Empire

text: Chandragupta I married the Licchavi princess Kumaradevi, which may have helped him extend his political power and dominions, enabling him to adopt the imperial title "Maharajadhiraja". According to the dynasty's official records, he was succeeded by his son Samudragupta. However, the discovery of the coins issued by a Gupta ruler named Kacha have led to some debate on this topic: according to one theory, Kacha was another name for Samudragupta; another possibility is that Kacha was a rival claimant to the throne.


title: Gupta Empire

text: Samudragupta succeeded his father around 335 or 350 CE, and ruled until c. 375 CE. The Allahabad Pillar inscription, composed by his courtier Harishena, credits him with extensive conquests. The inscription asserts that Samudragupta uprooted 8 kings of Āryāvarta, the northern region, including the Nagas. It further claims that he subjugated all the kings of the forest region, which was most probably located in central India. It also credits him with defeating 12 rulers of Dakshinapatha, the southern region: the exact identification of several of these kings is debated among modern scholars, but it is clear that these kings ruled areas located on the eastern coast of India. The inscription suggests that Samudragupta advanced as far as the Pallava kingdom in the south, and defeated Vishnugopa, the Pallava regent of Kanchi. During this southern campaign, Samudragupta most probably passed through the forest tract of central India, reached the eastern coast in present-day Odisha, and then marched south along the coast of the Bay of Bengal.


title: Gupta Empire

text: The Allahabad Pillar inscription mentions that rulers of several frontier kingdoms and tribal oligarchies paid Samudragupta tributes, obeyed his orders, and performed obeisance before him. The frontier kingdoms included Samatata, Davaka, Kamarupa, Nepala, and Karttripura. The tribal oligarchies included Malavas, Arjunayanas, Yaudheyas, Madrakas, and Abhiras, among others.


title: Gupta Empire

text: Finally, the inscription mentions that several foreign kings tried to please Samudragupta by personal attendance; offered him their daughters in marriage (or according to another interpretation, gifted him maidens); and sought the use of the Garuda-depicting Gupta seal for administering their own territories. This is an exaggeration: for example, the inscription lists the king of Simhala among these kings. It is known that from Chinese sources that the Simhala king Meghavarna sent rich presents to the Gupta king requesting his permission to build a Buddhist monastery at Bodh Gaya: Samudragupta's panegyrist appears to have described this act of diplomacy as an act of subservience.


title: Gupta Empire

text: Samudragupta appears to have been Vaishnavite, as attested by his Eran inscription, and performed several Brahmanical ceremonies. The Gupta records credit him with making generous donations of cows and gold. He performed the Ashvamedha ritual (horse sacrifice), which was used by the ancient Indian kings to prove their imperial sovereignty, and issued gold coins (see Coinage below) to mark this performance.


title: Gupta Empire

text: The Allahabad Pillar inscription presents Samudragupta as a wise king and strict administrator, who was also compassionate enough to help the poor and the helpless. It also alludes to the king's talents as a musician and a poet, and calls him the "king of poets". Such claims are corroborated by Samudragupta's gold coins, which depict him playing a veena.


title: Gupta Empire

text: Samudragupta appears to have directly controlled a large part of the Indo-Gangetic Plain in present-day India, as well as a substantial part of central India. Besides, his empire comprised a number of monarchical and tribal tributary states of northern India, and of the south-eastern coastal region of India.


title: Gupta Empire

text: Ramagupta is known from a sixth-century play, the "Devichandragupta", in which he surrenders his wife to the enemy Sakas and his brother Chandragupta has to sneak into the enemy camp to rescue her and kill the Saka king. The historicity of these events is unclear, but Ramagupta's existence is confirmed by three Jain statues found at Durjanpur, with inscriptions referring to him as the "Maharajadhiraja". A large number of his copper coins also have been found from the Eran-Vidisha region and classified in five distinct types, which include the "Garuda", "Garudadhvaja", "lion" and "border legend" types. The Brahmi legends on these coins are written in the early Gupta style.


title: Gupta Empire

text: According to the Gupta records, amongst his sons, Samudragupta nominated prince Chandragupta II, born of queen Dattadevi, as his successor. Chandragupta II, "Vikramaditya" (Victory of the Sun), ruled from 375 until 415. He married a Kadamba princess of Kuntala and of Naga lineage ("Nāgakulotpannnā"), Kuberanaga. His daughter Prabhavatigupta from this Naga queen was married to Rudrasena II, the Vakataka ruler of Deccan. His son Kumaragupta I was married to a Kadamba princess of the Karnataka region. Chandragupta II expanded his realm westwards, defeating the Saka Western Kshatrapas of Malwa, Gujarat and Saurashtra in a campaign lasting until 409. His main opponent Rudrasimha III was defeated by 395, and he crushed the Bengal chiefdoms. This extended his control from coast to coast, established a second capital at Ujjain and was the high point of the empire. Kuntala inscriptions indicate rule of Chandragupta in Kuntala region of Indian state of Karnataka. Hunza inscription also indicate that Chandragupta was able to rule north western Indian subcontinent and proceeded to conquer Balkh, although some scholars have also disputed the identity of gupta king. Chalukyan ruler Vikramditya VI (r. 1076 – 1126 CE) mentions Chandragupta with his title and states 'why should the glory of the Kings Vikramaditya and Nanda be a hindrance any longer ? he with a loud command abolished that (era), which has the name of Saka, and made that (era) which has the Chalukya counting ”


title: Gupta Empire

text: Despite the creation of the empire through war, the reign is remembered for its very influential style of Hindu art, literature, culture and science, especially during the reign of Chandragupta II. Some excellent works of Hindu art such as the panels at the Dashavatara Temple in Deogarh serve to illustrate the magnificence of Gupta art. Above all, it was the synthesis of elements that gave Gupta art its distinctive flavour. During this period, the Guptas were supportive of thriving Buddhist and Jain cultures as well, and for this reason, there is also a long history of non-Hindu Gupta period art. In particular, Gupta period Buddhist art was to be influential in most of East and Southeast Asia. Many advances were recorded by the Chinese scholar and traveller Faxian in his diary and published afterwards.


title: Gupta Empire

text: The court of Chandragupta was made even more illustrious by the fact that it was graced by the "Navaratna" (Nine Jewels), a group of nine who excelled in the literary arts. Amongst these men was Kālidāsa, whose works dwarfed the works of many other literary geniuses, not only in his own age but in the years to come. Kalidasa was mainly known for his subtle exploitation of the "shringara" (romantic) element in his verse.


title: Gupta Empire

text: The 4th century Sanskrit poet Kalidasa credits Chandragupta Vikramaditya with conquering about twenty-one kingdoms, both in and outside India. After finishing his campaign in East and West India, Vikramaditya (Chandragupta II) proceeded northwards, subjugated the Parasikas, then the Hunas and the Kambojas tribes located in the west and east Oxus valleys respectively. Thereafter, the king proceeded into the Himalaya mountains to reduce the mountain tribes of the Kinnaras, Kiratas, as well as India proper. In one of his works Kalidasa also credits him with the removal of the Sakas from the country. He wrote 'Wasn't it Vikramaditya who drove the Sakas out from the lovely city of Ujjain?'.


title: Gupta Empire

text: The "Brihatkathamanjari" of the Kashmiri writer Kshemendra states, King Vikramaditya (Chandragupta II) had "unburdened the sacred earth of the Barbarians like the Sakas, Mlecchas, Kambojas, Yavanas, Tusharas, Parasikas, Hunas, and others, by annihilating these sinful Mlecchas completely".


title: Gupta Empire

text: Faxian (or Fa Hsien etc.), a Chinese Buddhist, was one of the pilgrims who visited India during the reign of the Gupta emperor Chandragupta II. He started his journey from China in 399 and reached India in 405. During his stay in India up to 411, he went on a pilgrimage to Mathura, Kannauj, Kapilavastu, Kushinagar, Vaishali, Pataliputra, Kashi, and Rajagriha, and made careful observations about the empire's conditions. Faxian was pleased with the mildness of administration. The Penal Code was mild and offences were punished by fines only. From his accounts, the Gupta Empire was a prosperous period. His writings form one of the most important sources for the history of this period.


title: Gupta Empire

text: Faxian on reaching Mathura comments––"The snow and heat are finely tempered, and there is neither hoarfrost nor snow. The people are numerous and happy. They have not to register their households. Only those who cultivate the royal land have to pay (a portion of) the gain from it. If they want to go, they go. If they want to stay on, they stay on. The king governs without decapitation or (other) corporal punishments. Criminals are simply fined according to circumstances. Even in cases of repeated attempts at wicked rebellion, they only have their right-hand cut off. The king's bodyguards & attendants all have salaries. Throughout the whole country, the people do not kill any living creature, not drink any intoxicating liquor, nor eat onions or garlic."


title: Gupta Empire

text: Chandragupta II was succeeded by his second son Kumaragupta I, born of "Mahadevi" Dhruvasvamini. Kumaragupta I assumed the title, "Mahendraditya". He ruled until 455. Towards the end of his reign a tribe in the Narmada valley, the Pushyamitras, rose in power to threaten the empire. The Kidarites as well probably confronted the Gupta Empire towards the end of the rule of Kumaragupta I, as his son Skandagupta mentions in the Bhitari pillar inscription his efforts at reshaping a country in disarray, through reorganisation and military victories over the Pushyamitras and the Hunas.


title: Gupta Empire

text: He was the founder of Nalanda University which on 15 July 2016 was declared as a UNESCO world heritage site. Kumaragupta I was also a worshipper of Kartikeya


title: Gupta Empire

text: Skandagupta, son and successor of Kumaragupta I is generally considered to be the last of the great Gupta rulers. He assumed the titles of "Vikramaditya" and "Kramaditya". He defeated the Pushyamitra threat, but then was faced with invading Kidarites (sometimes described as the Hephthalites or "White Huns", known in India as the Sweta Huna), from the northwest.


title: Gupta Empire

text: He repelled a "Huna" attack around 455 CE, but the expense of the wars drained the empire's resources and contributed to its decline. The Bhitari Pillar inscription of Skandagupta, the successor of Chandragupta, recalls the near-annihilation of the Gupta Empire following the attacks of the Kidarites. The Kidarites seem to have retained the western part of the Gupta Empire.


title: Gupta Empire

text: Following Skandagupta's death, the empire was clearly in decline, and the later Gupta coinage indicates their loss of control over much of western India after 467–469. Skandagupta was followed by Purugupta (467–473), Kumaragupta II (473–476), Budhagupta (476–495), Narasimhagupta (495—530), Kumaragupta III (530—540), Vishnugupta (540—550), two lesser known kings namely, Vainyagupta and Bhanugupta.


title: Gupta Empire

text: In the 480's the Alchon Huns under Toramana and Mihirakula broke through the Gupta defences in the northwest, and much of the empire in the northwest was overrun by the Huns by 500. According to some scholars the empire disintegrated under the attacks of Toramana and his successor Mihirakula. It appears from inscriptions that the Guptas, although their power was much diminished, continued to resist the Huns. The Hun invader Toramana was defeated by Bhanugupta in 510. The Huns were defeated and driven out of India in 528 by King Yashodharman from Malwa, and possibly Gupta emperor Narasimhagupta.


title: Gupta Empire

text: These invasions, although only spanning a few decades, had long term effects on India, and in a sense brought an end to Classical Indian civilisation. Soon after the invasions, the Gupta Empire, already weakened by these invasions and the rise of local rulers such as Yashodharman, ended as well. Following the invasions, northern India was left in disarray, with numerous smaller Indian powers emerging after the crumbling of the Guptas. The Huna invasions are said to have seriously damaged India's trade with Europe and Central Asia. In particular, Indo-Roman trade relations, which the Gupta Empire had greatly benefited from. The Guptas had been exporting numerous luxury products such as silk, leather goods, fur, iron products, ivory, pearl, and pepper from centres such as Nasik, Paithan, Pataliputra, and Benares. The Huna invasion probably disrupted these trade relations and the tax revenues that came with them.


title: Gupta Empire

text: Furthermore, Indian urban culture was left in decline, and Buddhism, gravely weakened by the destruction of monasteries and the killing of monks by the hand of the vehemently anti-Buddhist Shaivist Mihirakula, started to collapse. Great centres of learning were destroyed, such as the city of Taxila, bringing cultural regression. During their rule of 60 years, the Alchons are said to have altered the hierarchy of ruling families and the Indian caste system. For example, the Hunas are often said to have become the precursors of the Rajputs.


title: Gupta Empire

text: The succession of the 6th-century Guptas is not entirely clear, but the tail end recognised ruler of the dynasty's main line was king Vishnugupta, reigning from 540 to 550. In addition to the Hun invasion, the factors, which contribute to the decline of the empire include competition from the Vakatakas and the rise of Yashodharman in Malwa.


title: Gupta Empire

text: The last known inscription by a Gupta emperor is from the reign of Vishnugupta (the Damodarpur copper-plate inscription), in which he makes a land grant in the area of Kotivarsha (Bangarh in West Bengal) in 542/543 CE. This follows the occupation of most of northern and central India by the Aulikara ruler Yashodharman circa 532 CE.


title: Gupta Empire

text: A 2019 study by archaeologist Shanker Sharma has concluded that the cause of the Gupta empire's downfall was a devastating flood which happened around the middle of the 6th century in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.


title: Gupta Empire

text: In the heart of the former Gupta Empire, in the Gangetic region, the Guptas were succeeded by the Maukhari dynasty and the Pushyabhuti dynasty. The coinage of the Maukharis and Pushyabhutis followed the silver coin type of the Guptas, with portrait of the ruler in profile (although facing in the reverse direction compared to the Guptas, a possible symbol of antagonism) and the peacock on the reverse, the Brahmi legend being kept except for the name of the ruler.


title: Gupta Empire

text: In the western regions, they were succeeded by the Gurjaras, the Pratiharas, and later the Chaulukya-Paramara dynasties, who issued so-called Indo-Sasanian coinage, on the model of the coinage of the Sasanian Empire, which had been introduced in India by the Alchon Huns.


title: Gupta Empire

text: In contrast to the Mauryan Empire, the Guptas introduced several military innovations to Indian warfare. Chief amongst these was the use of Siege engines, heavy cavalry archers and heavy sword cavalry. The heavy cavalry formed the core of the Gupta army and were supported by the traditional Indian army elements of elephants and light infantry.


title: Gupta Empire

text: The utilisation of horse archers in the Gupta period is evidenced on the coinage of Chandragupta II, Kumaragupta I and Prakasaditya (postulated to be Purugupta) that depicts the emperors as horse-archers.


title: Gupta Empire

text: Unfortunately there is a paucity of contemporary sources detailing the tactical operations of the Imperial Gupta Army. The best extant information comes from the Sanskrit mahakavya (epic poem) Raghuvaṃśa written by the Classical Sanskrit writer and dramatist Kalidasa. Many modern scholars put forward the view that Kalidasa lived from the reign of Chandragupta II to the reign of Skandagupta and that the campaigns of Raghu – his protagonist in the Raghuvaṃśa – reflect those of Chandragupta II. In Canto IV of the Raghuvamsa, Kalidasa relates how the king's forces clash against the powerful, cavalry-centric, forces of the Persians and later the Yavanas (probably Huns) in the North-West. Here he makes special mention of the use horse-archers in the kings army and that the horses needed much rest after the hotly contested battles. The five arms of the Gupta military included infantry, cavalry, chariot, elephants and ships. Gunaighar copper plate inscription of Vainya Gupta mentions ships but not chariots. Ships had become integral part of Indian military in the 6th century AD.


title: Gupta Empire

text: The Guptas were traditionally a Hindu dynasty. They were orthodox Hindus, and allowed followers of Buddhism and Jainism to practice their religions. Sanchi remained an important centre of Buddhism. Kumaragupta I (455 CE) is said to have founded Nalanda. Modern genetic studies indicate that it was during the Gupta period that Indian caste groups ceased to intermarry (started practicing/enforcing endogamy).


title: Gupta Empire

text: Some later rulers however seem to have especially promoted Buddhism. Narasimhagupta Baladitya (c. 495–?), according to contemporary writer Paramartha, was brought up under the influence of the Mahayanist philosopher, Vasubandhu. He built a sangharama at Nalanda and also a high vihara with a Buddha statue within which, according to Xuanzang, resembled the "great Vihara built under the Bodhi tree". According to the "Manjushrimulakalpa" (c. 800 CE), king Narasimhsagupta became a Buddhist monk, and left the world through meditation (Dhyana). The Chinese monk Xuanzang also noted that Narasimhagupta Baladitya's son, Vajra, who commissioned a sangharama as well, "possessed a heart firm in faith".


title: Gupta Empire

text: A study of the epigraphical records of the Kushan empire shows that there was a hierarchy of administrative divisions from top to bottom. The empire was called by various names such as "Rajya", "Rashtra", "Desha", "Mandala", "Prithvi" and "Avani". It was divided into 26 provinces, which were styled "Bhukti", "Pradesha" and "Bhoga". Provinces were also divided into "Vishayas" and put under the control of the "Vishayapati"s. A "Vishayapati" administered the "Vishaya" with the help of the "Adhikarana" (council of representatives), which comprised four representatives: "Nagarasreshesthi", "Sarthavaha", "Prathamakulika" and "Prathama Kayastha". A part of the "Vishaya" was called "Vithi". The Gupta also had trading links with the Sassanid and Byzantine Empire. . The four-fold varna system was observed during the Gupta period but the caste system was fluid. Brahmins followed non-Brahmanical professions as well. Khastriyas were involved in trade and commerce. Society largely coexisted with itself.


title: Gupta Empire

text: Scholars of this period include Varāhamihira and Aryabhata, who is believed to be the first to consider zero as a separate number, postulated the theory that the Earth rotates about its own axis, and studied solar and lunar eclipses. Kalidasa, who was a great playwright, who wrote plays such as Shakuntala, and marked the highest point of Sanskrit literature is also said to have belonged to this period. The Sushruta Samhita, which is a Sanskrit redaction text on all of the major concepts of ayurvedic medicine with innovative chapters on surgery, dates to the Gupta period.


title: Gupta Empire

text: Chess is said to have developed in this period, where its early form in the 6th century was known as "", which translates as "four divisions [of the military]" – infantry, cavalry, elephantry, and chariotry – represented by the pieces that would evolve into the modern pawn, knight, bishop, and rook, respectively. Doctors also invented several medical instruments, and even performed operations. The Indian numerals which were the first positional base 10 numeral systems in the world originated from Gupta India. The names of the seven days in a week appeared at the start of the Gupta period based on Hindu deities and planets corresponding to the Roman names. The ancient Gupta text Kama Sutra by the Indian scholar Vatsyayana is widely considered to be the standard work on human sexual behaviour in Sanskrit literature.


title: Gupta Empire

text: Aryabhata, a noted mathematician-astronomer of the Gupta period proposed that the earth is round and rotates about its own axis. He also discovered that the Moon and planets shine by reflected sunlight. Instead of the prevailing cosmogony in which eclipses were caused by pseudo-planetary nodes Rahu and Ketu, he explained eclipses in terms of shadows cast by and falling on Earth.


title: Gupta Empire

text: The Gupta period is generally regarded as a classic peak of North Indian art for all the major religious groups. Although painting was evidently widespread, the surviving works are almost all religious sculpture. The period saw the emergence of the iconic carved stone deity in Hindu art, as well as the Buddha-figure and Jain "tirthankara" figures, the latter often on a very large scale. The two great centres of sculpture were Mathura and Gandhara, the latter the centre of Greco-Buddhist art. Both exported sculpture to other parts of northern India.


title: Gupta Empire

text: The most famous remaining monuments in a broadly Gupta style, the caves at Ajanta, Elephanta, and Ellora (respectively Buddhist, Hindu, and mixed including Jain) were in fact produced under later dynasties, but primarily reflect the monumentality and balance of Guptan style. Ajanta contains by far the most significant survivals of painting from this and the surrounding periods, showing a mature form which had probably had a long development, mainly in painting palaces. The Hindu Udayagiri Caves actually record connections with the dynasty and its ministers, and the Dashavatara Temple at Deogarh is a major temple, one of the earliest to survive, with important sculpture.


title: Ray Romano

text: Raymond Albert Romano (born December 21, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Ray Barone on the CBS sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond", for which he received an Emmy Award, and as the voice of Manny in the "Ice Age" film series. He created and starred in the TNT comedy drama "Men of a Certain Age" (2009–2011). From 2012 to 2015, Romano had a recurring role as Hank Rizzoli, a love interest of Sarah Braverman in the NBC series "Parenthood". More recently, he co-starred in the romantic comedy "The Big Sick" (2017) and portrayed mob lawyer Bill Bufalino in Martin Scorsese's epic crime film "The Irishman" (2019). Since 2017, Romano has portrayed Rick Moreweather in the Epix comedy-drama series "Get Shorty".


title: Ray Romano

text: Romano was born in Queens, New York City, the second son of Luciana "Lucie" ( Fortini), a piano teacher, and Albert Romano (1925–2010), a real estate agent and engineer. He is of Italian descent. He grew up in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Queens. He has an older brother, Richard (born 1956), a sergeant with the NYPD, and a younger brother, Robert (born c. 1966), a second grade teacher in New York City.


title: Ray Romano

text: Romano attended elementary and middle school at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs in Forest Hills. After transferring from Archbishop Molloy High School, Romano graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1975. He was in the same high school class as Fran Drescher. Before getting into show business, Romano briefly attended Queens College, in Flushing, New York, where he studied accounting.


title: Ray Romano

text: His early comedy career started when he competed in the Johnnie Walker Comedy Search in 1989 directed by "Saturday Night Live" short film producer Neal Marshad and appeared on The Comedy Channel. His career included many outlets, such as Comedy Central, where he had been a recurring guest voice on the show "Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist". He also was a contestant on "Star Search" in the stand-up comedy category. He originally was cast to play Joe (originally named Rick) on the American television sitcom "NewsRadio", but was fired and replaced by Joe Rogan. He then appeared on "Late Show with David Letterman" doing his stand up routine which formed his ties with CBS. Shortly thereafter, he became the star of his own show, "Everybody Loves Raymond" on CBS, that featured a cast and format more suitable to Romano's brand of humor. His work on the series earned him six Primetime Emmy Award nominations as Outstanding Lead actor in a Comedy Series, a category he won in 2002. He also shared two Emmy Awards as an executive producer when his show won as Outstanding Comedy Series in 2003 and 2005.


title: Ray Romano

text: Romano and his comedian friend Kevin James starred in the salesman comedy "Grilled" as two average Joes of the same profession who are both desperate to land a big sale.


title: Ray Romano

text: Romano was featured on a 2000 episode of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire", on which he won $125,000 for the NYPD's D.A.R.E. unit. The following year, he and one of his brothers appeared on a New York Police Department recruiting poster.


title: Ray Romano

text: In 2004, Romano became the highest-paid television actor in history for his role of Raymond on CBS's "Everybody Loves Raymond". The show broke another record by having the highest revenue, at $3.9 billion.


title: Ray Romano

text: On December 13, 2003, Romano was a guest star, sending a birthday card to Bob Barker for Barker's 80th birthday on the 27th "Million Dollar Spectacular" special of the CBS game show "The Price Is Right".


title: Ray Romano

text: Romano was the subject of the documentary film "95 Miles to Go". The film documents Romano's road trip for a series of rides across the south of the United States. The film was released in theaters on April 7, 2010, by ThinkFilm. In August 2006 Romano was interviewed in front of a live audience at UCLA by fellow stand-up veteran David Steinberg, for an episode of "Sit Down Comedy with David Steinberg". The program first aired on the TV Land network in March 2007.


title: Ray Romano

text: Romano returned to television with a new dramedy for TNT in 2008, "Men of a Certain Age", which he co-created with former "Everybody Loves Raymond" writer Mike Royce. It co-starred Scott Bakula and Andre Braugher.


title: Ray Romano

text: Romano made an appearance in the seventh season of NBC series "The Office" as Merv Bronte, a nervous job applicant interviewing for the job left vacant by Michael Scott.


title: Ray Romano

text: Romano made an appearance in the third-season premiere of ABC sitcom "The Middle" as Nicky, a friend of Mike, who ruined his and Frankie's honeymoon. Romano was the second actor from "Everybody Loves Raymond" to be reunited with Patricia Heaton on "The Middle". Doris Roberts guest-starred in three episodes.


title: Ray Romano

text: He joined the cast of "Parenthood" beginning with its fourth season premiere. He became a semi-regular, playing photographer Hank Rizzoli, who hired and later had a romantic relationship with Sarah Braverman and developed a friendship with her nephew who has Asperger syndrome. The role was specifically created for him after he expressed his love for the series and met with creator Jason Katims on the set of "Friday Night Lights".


title: Ray Romano

text: In 2002, Romano voiced the woolly mammoth Manfred (Manny) in the film "Ice Age", and its sequels "" in 2006, "" in 2009, "" in 2012, and "" in 2016.


title: Ray Romano

text: In 2019, Romano starred in the Netflix comedy film "Paddleton" and portrayed mob lawyer Bill Bufalino in Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman".


title: Ray Romano

text: Romano is set to play Jim Valvano in an upcoming movie about the former NC State Wolfpack basketball coach.


title: Ray Romano

text: In early 2010, Romano starred in the second season of The Golf Channel's original series "The Haney Project" in which Tiger Woods' former coach Hank Haney attempts to improve the golf games of different celebrities and athletes. Romano's goal was to finish the show being able to break 80. Romano took time off from the show to be with his father, Albert Romano, who died in March 2010. Romano is also a regular competitor in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, where he finished fifth in 2012 with his partner, Australian professional Steven Bowditch. It was the first time Romano had qualified for the final round after failing to do so on 11 successive occasions. He also competes annually in the American Century Championship, a celebrity golf tournament owned by NBC and held at Lake Tahoe each July.


title: Ray Romano

text: Romano married his wife, Anna Scarpulla, in 1987. They met while working at a bank together. Romano's character's daughter on "Everybody Loves Raymond" was named after his real-life daughter, Alexandra "Ally" Romano. Also, in the series pilot, Ray and Debra's twin boys were named Gregory and Matthew, after Romano's real-life twin sons, but Romano felt it was inconvenient to have all his television children have the same names as his real children and changed the twins' names to Geoffrey and Michael onscreen. He also said his brother was not pleased with Ray Barone's television brother.


title: Ray Romano

text: Romano's family has made various appearances in the show. Romano's daughter made several appearances on "Everybody Loves Raymond" as Molly, the best friend of his on-screen daughter, Ally, and the daughter of Ray Barone's nemesis, Peggy the Cookie Lady. Romano's father, Albert Romano, has made various appearances as Albert, one of Frank Barone's lodge buddies in various episodes, such as "Debra at the Lodge", and "Boys' Therapy". Romano's brother, Richard Romano, appeared in the episodes "Golf For It", "Just a Formality", and "The Toaster". Romano's wife, Anna, appeared as one of the moms in the background at Geoffrey and Michael's school in season 6's episode titled "The Angry Family".


title: Ray Romano

text: In February 2012, Romano revealed that his wife, Anna, had successfully battled stage one breast cancer in 2010. Romano told "People" magazine that "the reason we're going public is to share our experience, yeah, but to have an effect. Our goal is to help people."


title: Ray Romano

text: Romano was close friends with Doris Roberts, who played Marie Barone, Ray Barone's mother, on "Everybody Loves Raymond". At the time of her death, Romano said he was inspired by her desire to continue learning throughout her life. She also served as a mentor, helping him to feel more comfortable on set.


title: Ray Romano

text: In addition to his roles as star and producer of "Everybody Loves Raymond", Romano also co-wrote the following episodes:


title: Cooper Hoffman

text: Cooper Hoffman (born March 20, 2003) is an American actor. He is the son of the late actor Philip Seymour Hoffman and costume designer Mimi O'Donnell. He made his film debut in "Licorice Pizza" (2021), written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, a frequent collaborator of his late father. For his performance, he gained critical acclaim and was nominated for, among other awards, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania, and 1993 in South America. In Japan, it is called the In South Korea, it is called the Super Comboy and was distributed by Hyundai Electronics. The system was released in Brazil on August 30, 1993, by Playtronic. Although each version is essentially the same, several forms of regional lockout prevent cartridges for one version from being used in other versions.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: The Super NES is Nintendo's second programmable home console, following the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). The console introduced advanced graphics and sound capabilities compared with other systems at the time. It was designed to accommodate the ongoing development of a variety of enhancement chips integrated into game cartridges to be competitive into the next generation.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: The Super NES received largely positive reviews and was a global success, becoming the best-selling console of the 16-bit era after launching relatively late and facing intense competition from Sega's Genesis console in North America and Europe. Overlapping the NES's 61.9 million unit sales, the Super NES remained popular well into the 32-bit era, with 49.1 million units sold worldwide by the time it was discontinued in 2003. It continues to be popular among collectors and retro gamers, with new homebrew games and Nintendo's emulated rereleases, such as on the Virtual Console, the Super NES Classic Edition, Nintendo Switch Online; as well as several non-console emulators which operate on a desktop computer, such as Snes9x.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: To compete with the popular Family Computer in Japan, NEC Home Electronics launched the PC Engine in 1987, and Sega followed suit with the Mega Drive in 1988. The two platforms were later launched in North America in 1989 as the TurboGrafx-16 and the Sega Genesis respectively. Both systems were built on 16-bit architectures and offered improved graphics and sound over the 8-bit NES. However, it took several years for Sega's system to become successful. Nintendo executives were in no rush to design a new system, but they reconsidered when they began to see their dominance in the market slipping.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: On September 9, 1987, then-Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi revealed the development of the Super Famicom in the newspaper "Kyoto Shimbun". On August 30, 1988, in an interview with "TOUCH Magazine", he announced the development of "Super Mario Bros. 4", "Dragon Quest V", three original games, and he projected sales of 3 million units of the upcoming console. "Famicom Hissyoubon" magazine speculated that Nintendo's early announcement was probably made to forestall Christmas shopping for the PC Engine, and relayed Enix's clarification that it was waiting on sales figures to select either PC Engine or Super Famicom for its next "Dragon Quest" game. The magazine and Enix both expressed a strong interest in networking as a standard platform feature. The console was demonstrated to the Japanese press on November 21, 1988, and again on July 28, 1989.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: Designed by Masayuki Uemura, the designer of the original Famicom, the Super Famicom was released in Japan on Wednesday, November 21, 1990, for . It was an instant success. Nintendo's initial shipment of 300,000 units sold out within hours, and the resulting social disturbance led the Japanese government to ask video game manufacturers to schedule future console releases on weekends. This gained the attention of the Yakuza criminal organization, so the devices were shipped at night to avoid robbery.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: With the Super Famicom quickly outselling its rivals, Nintendo reasserted itself as the leader of the Japanese console market. Nintendo's success was partially due to the retention of most of its key third-party developers, including Capcom, Konami, Tecmo, Square, Koei, and Enix.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: Nintendo released the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, a redesigned version of the Super Famicom, in North America for . It began shipping in limited quantities on August 23, 1991, with an official nationwide release date of September 9, 1991. The Super NES was released in the United Kingdom and Ireland in April 1992 for .


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: Most of the PAL region versions of the console use the Japanese Super Famicom design, except for labeling and the length of the joypad leads. The Playtronic Super NES in Brazil, although PAL-M, uses the North American design. Both the NES and Super NES were released in Brazil in 1993 by Playtronic, a joint venture between the toy company Estrela and consumer electronics company Gradiente.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: The Super NES and Super Famicom launched with few games, but these games were well received. In Japan, only two games were initially available: "Super Mario World" and "F-Zero". "Bombuzal" was released during the launch week. In North America, "Super Mario World" was launched as a bundle with the console; other launch games include "F-Zero", "Pilotwings" (both of which demonstrate the console's Mode 7 pseudo-3D rendering), "SimCity", and "Gradius III".


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: The rivalry between Nintendo and Sega was described as one of the most notable console wars in video game history, in which Sega positioned the Genesis as the "cool" console, with games aimed at older audiences, and aggressive advertisements that occasionally attacked the competition. Nintendo, however, scored an early public-relations advantage by securing the first console conversion of Capcom's arcade hit "Street Fighter II" for Super NES, which took more than a year to make the transition to the Genesis. Though the Genesis had a two-year lead to launch time, a much larger library of games, and a lower price point, it only represented an estimated 60% of the American 16-bit console market in June 1992, and neither console could maintain a definitive lead for several years. "Donkey Kong Country" is said to have helped establish the Super NES's market prominence in the latter years of the 16-bit generation, and for a time, maintain against the PlayStation and Saturn. According to Nintendo, the company had sold more than 20 million Super NES units in the U.S. According to a 2014 Wedbush Securities report based on NPD sales data, the Super NES outsold the Genesis in the U.S. market by units.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: During the NES era, Nintendo maintained exclusive control over games released for the system – the company had to approve every game, each third-party developer could only release up to five games per year (but some third parties got around this by using different names, such as Konami's "Ultra Games" brand), those games could not be released on another console within two years, and Nintendo was the exclusive manufacturer and supplier of NES cartridges. However, competition from Sega's console brought an end to this practice; in 1991, Acclaim Entertainment began releasing games for both platforms, with most of Nintendo's other licensees following suit over the next several years; Capcom (which licensed some games to Sega instead of producing them directly) and Square were the most notable holdouts.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: Nintendo continued to carefully review submitted games, scoring them on a 40-point scale and allocating marketing resources accordingly. Each region performed separate evaluations. Nintendo of America also maintained a policy that, among other things, limited the amount of violence in the games on its systems. The surprise arcade hit "Mortal Kombat" (1992), a gory fighting game with huge splashes of blood and graphically violent fatality moves, was heavily censored by Nintendo. Because the Genesis version allowed for an uncensored version via cheat code, it outsold the censored Super NES version by a ratio of nearly three to one.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: U.S. Senators Herb Kohl and Joe Lieberman convened a Congressional hearing on December 9, 1993, to investigate the marketing of violent video games to children. Though Nintendo took the high ground with moderate success, the hearings led to the creation of the Interactive Digital Software Association and the Entertainment Software Rating Board and the inclusion of ratings on all video games. With these ratings in place, Nintendo decided its censorship policies were no longer needed.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: While other companies were moving on to 32-bit systems, Rare and Nintendo proved that the Super NES was still a strong contender in the market. In November 1994, Rare released "Donkey Kong Country", a platform game featuring 3D models and textures pre-rendered on Silicon Graphics workstations. With its detailed graphics, fluid animation, and high-quality music, "Donkey Kong Country" rivals the aesthetic quality of games that were being released on newer 32-bit CD-based consoles. In the last 45 days of 1994, 6.1 million copies were sold, making it the fastest-selling video game in history to that date. This game conveyed that early 32-bit systems had little to offer over the Super NES, and proved the market for the more advanced consoles of the near future. According to TRSTS reports, two of the top five best-selling games in the U.S. for December 1996 are Super NES games.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: In October 1997, Nintendo released a redesigned model of the Super NES (the SNS-101 model referred to as "New-Style Super NES") in North America for , with some units including the pack-in game "". Like the earlier New-Style NES (model NES-101), this is slimmer and lighter than its predecessor, but it lacks S-Video and RGB output, and it is among the last major Super NES-related releases in the region. A similarly redesigned Super Famicom Jr. was released in Japan at around the same time. However, the redesign did not make it to Europe.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: Nintendo ceased production of the Super NES in North America in 1999, about two years after releasing "Kirby's Dream Land 3" (its final first-party game in the US) on November 27, 1997, and one year after releasing "Frogger" (its final third-party game in the US) in 1998. In Japan, Nintendo continued production of both the Family Computer and the Super Famicom until September 25, 2003, and new games were produced until the year 2000, ending with the release of "Metal Slader Glory Director's Cut" on November 29, 2000.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: Many popular Super NES games were ported to the Game Boy Advance, which has similar video capabilities. In 2005, Nintendo announced that Super NES games would be made available for download via the Wii's Virtual Console service. On October 31, 2007, Nintendo Co., Ltd. announced that it would no longer repair Family Computer or Super Famicom systems due to an increasing shortage of the necessary parts. On March 3, 2016, Nintendo Co., Ltd. announced that it would bring Super NES games to the New Nintendo 3DS and New Nintendo 3DS XL (and later the New Nintendo 2DS XL) via its eShop download service. At the "Nintendo Direct" event on September 4, 2019, Nintendo announced that it would be bringing select Super NES games to the Nintendo Switch Online platform.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: The 16-bit design of the Super NES incorporates graphics and sound co-processors that perform tiling and simulated 3D effects, a palette of 32,768 colors, and 8-channel ADPCM audio. These base platform features, plus the ability to dramatically extend them all through substantial chip upgrades inside of each cartridge, represent a leap over the 8-bit NES generation and some significant advantages over 16-bit competitors such as the Genesis.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: The CPU is a Ricoh 5A22, which is a derivative of the 16-bit WDC 65C816 microprocessor. In NTSC regions, its nominal clock speed is 3.58 MHz but the CPU will slow down to either 2.68 MHz or 1.79 MHz when accessing some slower peripherals.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: This CPU has an 8-bit data bus and two address buses. The 24-bit "Bus A" is designated for general accesses, and the 8-bit "Bus B" can access support chip registers such as the video and audio co-processors.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: The WDC 65C816 supports an 8-channel DMA unit, an 8-bit parallel I/O port a controller port interface circuits allowing serial and parallel access to controller data, a 16-bit multiplication and division unit, and circuitry for generating non-maskable interrupts on V-blank and IRQ interrupts on calculated screen positions.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: Early revisions of the 5A22 used in SHVC boards are prone to spontaneous failure which can produce a variety of symptoms including graphics glitches in Mode 7, a black screen on power-on, or improperly reading the controllers. The first revision 5A22 has a fatal bug in the DMA controller that can crash games; this was corrected in subsequent revisions.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: The console contains 128KB of general-purpose RAM, which is separate from the 64KB VRAM dedicated to the video and audio subsystems.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: The Picture Processing Unit (PPU) consists of two closely tied IC packages. It contains 64KB of SRAM for video data, 544 bytes of object attribute memory (OAM) for sprite data, and 256 × 15 bits of color generator RAM (CGRAM) for palette data. This CGRAM provisions up to 256 colors, chosen from the 15-bit RGB color space, from a palette of 32,768 colors. The PPU is clocked by the same signal as the CPU and generates a pixel every two or four cycles.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: The S-SMP audio chip consists of an 8-bit CPU, a 16-bit DSP, and 64KB of SRAM. It was designed and produced by Sony and is completely independent from the rest of the system. It is clocked at a nominal 24.576 MHz in both NTSC and PAL systems. It is capable of stereo sound, composed from 8 voices generated using 8 bit audio samples and various effects such as echo.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: Nintendo employed several types of regional lockout, including both physical and hardware incompatibilities.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: Physically, the cartridges are shaped differently for different regions. North American cartridges have a rectangular bottom with inset grooves matching protruding tabs in the console, and other regions' cartridges are narrower with a smooth curve on the front and no grooves. The physical incompatibility can be overcome with the use of various adapters, or through modification of the console.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: Internally, a regional lockout chip (CIC) within the console and in each cartridge prevents the PAL region games from being played on Japanese or North American consoles and vice versa. The Japanese and North American machines have the same region chip. This can be overcome through the use of adapters, typically by inserting the imported cartridge in one slot and a cartridge with the correct region chip in a second slot. Alternatively, disconnecting one pin of the console's lockout chip will prevent it from locking the console; hardware in later games can detect this situation, so it became common to install a switch to reconnect the lockout chip as needed.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: PAL consoles face another incompatibility when playing out-of-region cartridges: the NTSC video standard specifies video at 60 Hz but PAL operates at 50 Hz, resulting in an approximately 16.7% slower framerate. PAL's higher resolution results in letterboxing of the output image. Some commercial PAL region releases exhibit this same problem and, therefore, can be played in NTSC systems without issue, but other games will face a 20% speedup if played in an NTSC console. To mostly correct this issue, a switch can be added to place the Super NES PPU into a 60 Hz mode supported by most newer PAL televisions. Later games will detect this setting and refuse to run, requiring the switch to be thrown only after the check completes.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: All models of the Super NES control deck are predominantly gray, of slightly different shades. The original North American version, designed by Nintendo of America industrial designer Lance Barr (who previously redesigned the Famicom to become the NES), has a boxy design with purple sliding switches and a dark gray eject lever. The loading bay surface is curved, both to invite interaction and to prevent food or drinks from being placed on the console and spilling as with the flat-surfaced NES. The Japanese and European versions are more rounded, with darker gray accents and buttons. The North American New-Style Super NES (model SNS-101) and the Japanese Super Famicom Jr. (model SHVC-101), all designed by Barr, are both smaller with a rounded contour; however, the SNS-101 buttons are purple where the Super Famicom Jr. buttons are gray. The European and American versions of the Super NES controllers have much longer cables compared to the Japanese Super Famicom controllers.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: All versions incorporate a top-loading slot for game cartridges, although the shape of the slot differs between regions to match the different shapes of the cartridges. The MULTI OUT connector (later used on the Nintendo 64 and GameCube) can output composite video, S-Video and RGB signals, as well as RF with an external RF modulator. Original versions additionally include a 28-pin expansion port under a small cover on the bottom of the unit and a standard RF output with channel selection switch on the back; the redesigned models output composite video only, requiring an external modulator for RF.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: The Nintendo Super System (NSS) is an arcade system for retail preview of 11 particular Super NES games in the United States, similar to the PlayChoice-10 for NES games. It consists of slightly modified Super NES hardware with a menu interface and 25-inch monitor, that allows gameplay for a certain amount of time depending on game credits. Manufacturing of this model was discontinued in 1992.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: The ABS plastic used in the casing of some older Super NES and Super Famicom consoles is particularly susceptible to oxidization with exposure to air. This, along with the particularly light color of the original plastic, causes affected consoles to quickly become yellow; if the sections of the casing came from different batches of plastic, a "two-tone" effect results. This issue may be reversed with a method called Retrobrighting, where a mixture of chemicals is applied to the case and exposed to UV light.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: Super NES games are distributed on ROM cartridges, officially referred to as Game Pak in most Western regions, and as in Japan and parts of Latin America. Though the Super NES can address 128 Mbit, only 117.75 Mbit are actually available for cartridge use. A fairly normal mapping could easily address up to 95 Mbit of ROM data (48 Mbit at FastROM speed) with 8 Mbit of battery-backed RAM. However, most available memory access controllers only support mappings of up to 32 Mbit. The largest games released ("Tales of Phantasia" and "Star Ocean") contain 48 Mbit of ROM data, and the smallest games contain only 2 Mbit.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: Cartridges may also contain battery-backed SRAM to save the game state, extra working RAM, custom coprocessors, or any other hardware that will not exceed the maximum current rating of the console.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: 1757 Super NES games were officially released: 717 in North America (plus 4 championship cartridges), 521 in Europe, 1,448 in Japan, 231 on Satellaview, and 13 on Sufami Turbo. Many Super NES games have been called some of the greatest video games of all time, such as "Super Mario World" (1990), "" (1991), "Donkey Kong Country" (1994), "EarthBound" (1994), "Super Metroid" (1994), and "Yoshi's Island" (1995). Many Super NES games have been rereleased several times, including on the Virtual Console, Super NES Classic Edition, and the classic games service on Nintendo Switch Online. All Game Boy games are playable with the Super Game Boy add-on. Many Super NES emulators have been produced. Mode 7 is a graphics mode that can simulate simple 3D effects.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: The Super NES controller design expands on that of the NES, with A, B, X, and Y face buttons in a diamond arrangement, and two shoulder buttons. Lance Barr created its ergonomic design, and he later adapted it in 1993 for the NES-039 "dogbone" controller. The Japanese and PAL region versions incorporate the four colors of the face buttons into the system's logo. The North American version's buttons are colored to match the redesigned console; the X and Y buttons are lavender with concave faces, and the A and B buttons are purple with convex faces. Several later controller designs have elements from the Super NES controller, including the PlayStation, Dreamcast, Xbox, and Wii Classic Controller. This face button layout is on future Nintendo systems since the Nintendo DS.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: Several peripherals add to the functionality of the Super NES. Some are required by certain games, such as the Super Scope light gun, and the Super NES Mouse for a point and click interface. Various third-parties, under license from Nintendo, released multitap adapters connecting up to five controllers into a single console, starting with the Super Multitap by Hudson Soft in conjunction with the "Super Bomberman" series. Specialized third-party controllers, such as the AsciiPad and Super Advantage (the successor to the NES Advantage) by Asciiware, and the Capcom Fighter Power Stick, an arcade-like joystick controller by Capcom designed specifically for "Street Fighter II". Unusual controllers include the BatterUP baseball bat, the Life Fitness Entertainment System (an exercise bike controller with built-in monitoring software), the TeeV Golf golf club, and the Justifier (a revolver-shaped light gun made by Konami for "Lethal Enforcers").


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: Though Nintendo never released an adapter for playing NES games on the Super NES, the Super Game Boy adapter cartridge allows games designed for Nintendo's portable Game Boy system to be played on the Super NES. The Super Game Boy touts several feature enhancements over the Game Boy, including palette substitution, custom screen borders, and access to the Super NES console's features by specially enhanced Game Boy games. Japan also saw the release of the Super Game Boy 2, which adds a communication port to enable a second Game Boy to connect for multiplayer games.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: Like the NES before it, the Super NES has unlicensed third-party peripherals, including a new version of the Game Genie cheat cartridge designed for use with Super NES games.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: Soon after the release of the Super NES, companies began marketing backup devices such as the Super Wildcard, Super Pro Fighter Q, and Game Doctor. These devices create a backup of a cartridge, and can be used to play illicit ROM images or to copy games, violating copyright laws in many jurisdictions.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: The Japan-only Satellaview is a satellite modem attached to the Super Famicom's expansion port and connected to the St.GIGA satellite radio station from April 23, 1995, to June 30, 2000. Satellaview subscribers could download gaming news and specially designed games, which were frequently either remakes of or sequels to older Famicom games, and released in installments. In the United States, the relatively short-lived XBAND allowed users to connect to a network via a dial-up modem to compete against other players around the country.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: Nintendo attempted partnerships with Sony and then Philips, to develop CD-ROM-based peripheral prototypes for the console to compete with the Sega CD. Sony produced a Nintendo Play Station prototype which was canceled, diverting this inertia into its own PlayStation console. The Philips project was canceled without a prototype but Philips retained the contractual right to develop games based on Nintendo franchises, which it published for its CD-i multimedia console.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: As part of the overall plan for the Super NES, rather than include an expensive CPU that would still become obsolete in a few years, the hardware designers made it easy to interface special coprocessor chips to the console, just like the MMC chips used for most NES games. This is most often characterized by 16 additional pins on the cartridge card edge.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: The Super FX is a RISC CPU designed to perform functions that the main CPU can not feasibly do. The chip is primarily used to create 3D game worlds made with polygons, texture mapping and light source shading. The chip can also be used to enhance 2D games.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: The Nintendo fixed-point digital signal processor (DSP) chip allowed for fast vector-based calculations, bitmap conversions, both 2D and 3D coordinate transformations, and other functions. Four revisions of the chip exist, each physically identical but with different microcode. The DSP-1 version, including the later 1A and 1B bug fix revisions, is used most often; the DSP-2, DSP-3, and DSP-4 are used in only one game each.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: Similar to the 5A22 CPU in the console, the SA-1 chip contains a 65C816 processor core clocked at 10 MHz, a memory mapper, DMA, decompression and bitplane conversion circuitry, several programmable timers, and CIC region lockout functionality.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: In Japan, games could be downloaded cheaper than standard cartridges, from Nintendo Power kiosks onto special cartridges containing flash memory and a MegaChips MX15001TFC chip. The chip manages communication with the kiosks to download ROM images and has an initial menu to select a game. Some were published both in cartridge and download form, and others were download only. The service closed on February 8, 2007.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: Many cartridges contain other enhancement chips, most of which were created for use by a single company in a few games.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: Approximately 49.1 million Super NES consoles were sold worldwide, with 23.35 million of those units sold in the Americas and 17.17 million in Japan. Although it could not quite repeat the success of the NES, which sold 61.91 million units worldwide, the Super NES was the best-selling console of its era.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: In a 1997 year-end review, a team of five "Electronic Gaming Monthly" editors gave the Super NES scores of 5.5, 8.0, 7.0, 7.0, and 8.0. Though they criticized how few new games were coming out for the system and how dated its graphics were compared to current generation consoles, they regarded its selection of must-have games to be still unsurpassed. Additionally noting that used Super NES games were readily available in bargain bins, most of them still recommended buying a Super NES. In 2007, "GameTrailers" named the Super NES as the second-best console of all time in their list of top ten consoles that "left their mark on the history of gaming", citing its graphics, sound, and library of top-quality games. In 2015, they also named it the best Nintendo console of all time, saying, "The list of games we love from this console completely annihilates any other roster from the Big N." Technology columnist Don Reisinger proclaimed "The SNES is the greatest console of all time" in January 2008, citing the quality of the games and the console's dramatic improvement over its predecessor; fellow technology columnist Will Greenwald replied with a more nuanced view, giving the Super NES top marks with his heart, the NES with his head, and the PlayStation (for its controller) with his hands. GamingExcellence also gave the Super NES first place in 2008, declaring it "simply the most timeless system ever created" with many games that stand the test of time and citing its innovation in controller design, graphics capabilities, and game storytelling. At the same time, GameDaily rated it fifth of the ten greatest consoles for its graphics, audio, controllers, and games. In 2009, "IGN" named the Super NES the fourth-best video game console, complimenting its audio and number of AAA games.


title: Super Nintendo Entertainment System

text: Like the NES before it, the Super NES has retained a fan base. It has continued to thrive in the second-hand market, emulators, and remakes. The Super NES has taken the same revival path as the NES.