The 747 had its cockpit placed above the main cabin so they could open
the nose for loading in the cargo variant, i.e., it was designed from
the beginning to carry cargo.


That feature is where the 747 shows it's origins. The design the 747 was
derived from was the losing contender in the C-X (correct me if that
designation is incorrect) competition. That competition was won by the
Lockheed design --- the C-5 Galaxy. Boeing took their C-X design and reworked
it as a civilian passenger aircraft. Who knows, maybe if Boeing had won the
competition, we'd see the Lockheed L-1012 Galaxy as the king of civilian
widebodys?

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In thrust we trust!