Mr. Mac re-designated the Model 119 as the Model 220 to reflect that McDonnell Aircraft had entered its second twenty years of existence.

The McDonnell Model 119 was designed and built in response to a 1956 Air Force competition for a UCX utility aircraft. The Model 119 was a four-engine turbo-jet powered low-wing monoplane with a tricycle landing gear that was designed to accomodate a ten passengers and a crew of two.

When McDonnell lost the Air Force contract to Lockheed, the company tried to market the airplane as a commercial business jet called the Model 220.

The four-engine Model 119/220 was the first business, non-airline-type jet aircraft to receive an FAA Class I provisional type certificate as airworthy in the transport category.