International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, with operations in over 170 countries. The company began in 1911, founded in Endicott, New York, as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and was renamed "International Business Machines" in 1924. IBM is incorporated in New York. IBM produces and sells computer hardware, middleware and software, and provides hosting and consulting services in areas ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology. IBM is also a major research organization. Inventions by IBM include the automated teller machine (ATM), the floppy disk and the hard disk drive. The IBM mainframe, exemplified by the System/360, was the dominant computing platform during the 1960s and 1970s.

Thomas John Watson Sr. was an American businessman. He served as the chairman and CEO of International Business Machines (IBM). He oversaw the company's growth into an international force from 1914 to 1956. Watson developed IBM's management style and corporate culture from John Henry Patterson's training at NCR. He turned the company into a highly effective selling organization, based largely on punched card tabulating machines. A leading self-made industrialist, he was one of the richest men of his time and was called the world's greatest salesman when he died in 1956.

IBM, nicknamed ‘Big Blue’, is part of an exclusive list of Gulfstream customers. With the arrival of N780TW (Thomas Watson) (c/n 6435) in October 2020 at White Plains, New York. IBM became one of the few organizations to have operated at least one example of each of the first six Gulfstream generations. IBM received its first Gulfstream 56 years ago, when a Grumman Gulfstream I (c/n: 173) was handed over to a completion center in September 1964. Once furnished, it was assigned to IBM World Trade Corporation, wore N360WT and was based at Le Bourget, France. During the following five decades, IBM has operated 3 Gulfstream II’s (c/n 58, N720Q, c/n 65, N720E and c/n 66, N720F); 2 Gulfstream III’s (c/n 428, N760A and c/n 430, N760C); 1 Gulfstream IV (c/n 1165, N780E); 1 Gulfstream V (c/n  530, N780F) and 2 Gulfstream G550’s (c/n 5258, N780E and c/n 5261, N780F). The G650 is the company's 11th Gulfstream - making it one of the aircraft manufacturer's most loyal and longstanding customers. On January 11, 2021, IBM received its 12th Gulfstream when its second G650ER (c/n 6442, N780RW) arrived at White Plains, New York from the completion center at Appleton, Wisconsin.

Diving even deeper into the IBM Gulfstream history shows that IBM holds the unfortunate record of the first GII crash ever. On Monday 24 June 1974, 16:45 h (EDT), Gulfstream II N720Q (c/n 58) crashed during a training flight because of an electrical short circuit and an unwanted extension of the ground and flight spoilers. The aircraft departed Savannah International Airport (GA) at 15:20 on a local training flight and was piloted by a Grumman instructor pilot. The flight was intended to qualify an IBM pilot in the GII. At 15:33 there was radio contact for the last time. The aircraft dove after some rolls into a swampy area near Kline, South Carolina which resulted in 3 fatalities. Witnesses saw the aircraft role, heard an explosive sound and saw the dive into the ground. The aircraft first flew on 2 June 1969. The CoA was issued 7 June 1969. The aircraft was delivered for outfitting on 10 June 1969 and transferred to IBM in October the same year. Total airframe hours were only 3224.

C/n 65 (first flight: 9 August 1969, CoA: 15 August 1969) N720E served 15 years for IBM and was then sold on to Pepsi Cola in 1985. As N1JG it was on sale at the 1987 NBAA show in New Orleans. Currently the aircraft is withdrawn from use and was last noted at Rand Airport in South Africa.

N720F (c/n 66, first flight: 15 August 1969, CoA: 22 August 1969) is broken up by Dodson International Parts Inc., Rantoul (KS) and only the fuselage is left. After service for IBM until 1985, partly based in Paris, France, it served various US companies like Westinghouse and MidCoast Aviation.  

(C) Gulfstream Jets BlogSpot (F.K. Larkin, B. Holland); Wikipedia