Later PAA ordered six improved 314A’s on October 1, 1939. The order for luxury airliners demonstrated that the aviation industry, airlines and manufacturing, was prospering and advancing in the 1930s Great Depression. Boeing discussions with PAA began that year, with the result that PAA ordered six aircraft from Boeing for $4.8 M on July 21, 1936, and optioned six more. Trippe asked the aircraft industry for a higher capacity, longer range flying boat airliner with less payload limitations than the Martin. Shortly after placing the Martin China Clipper into service during 1935, PAA president Juan T. This luxury service (including staterooms, dining room, lounge, piano, observation deck, smoking room) continued until May 6, 1937, when the dirigible Hindenburg crashed at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Up to 20 passengers could ride along, paying $461 for a one-way ticket for a trip requiring 80 to 100 hours of flying time. Its non-scheduled, seasonal mail and cargo service between Germany and the United States first used the giant hydrogen gas-buoyed dirigible Graf Zeppelin. The first trans-Atlantic air service was initiated by Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei of Germany on October 11, 1928. Sadly, none of the 12 magnificent Clippers built survive today. PAA purchased a landplane for its first airplane, the Fokker Trimotor, and became the motive force for the development of the large passenger carrying flying boat and very luxurious long-range airline service.īoeing’s Clipper for PAA is perhaps the best remembered of its early aircraft, and it evokes a quick smile from the aviation fan and average person alike. It also offered the only non-stop services exceeding 2,000 miles (also with its Martin China Clipper flying boats). Youthful Pan American Airways (PAA), formed in 1927, had by 1939 become the world standard airline, and was unique in providing both trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic scheduled service with the 314. It was the first to open the Atlantic Ocean to scheduled airline service in 1939, filling a void left by the tragic end of the pioneer Zeppelin airship service, which began in 1928, and was stopped in 1937 by the loss of the Hindenburg. While contemporary airliners provide high speed and efficiency, the Clipper conjures up thoughts of adventure and the elegance of a bygone era. The noble 314 Clipper with its flying boat hull, protruding sponsons and triple vertical tails was very different from today’s sleek jet airliners with their tubular fuselages and swept back wings. The last of a dozen aircraft built was destroyed in 1951. ![]() The most elegant and successful of these was Boeing's Model 314, which first flew in 1938 and operated through World War II. The solution was offered by giant dirigibles such as the Graf Zeppelin and Hindenburg and by ever larger "flying boats" - multi-engine airplanes with boat-like hulls. Over the course of their careers, the B-314's operated by Pan Am made approximately 5,000 ocean crossings and flew more than 12.5 million miles, including in military service during World War II.During the 1930s, transoceanic travel was beyond the capability of all but a handful of aircraft. Big, safe, and luxurious, the 314 was the apex of flying boat technology, and Pan Am made it the finest way to fly. ![]() Pan Am designed their Clippers for luxury air travel the B-314 could carry 74 passengers and 10 crew, although in overnight sleeper configuration, the ship accommodated 36 passengers in seven luxurious compartments, complete with lounge and dining area. Boeing also eschewed pontoons and instead built in sponsons into the hull structure for stability while floating in water.Ī large aircraft for its day, the B-314 weighed over 40 tons and had a 152 feet wingspan, with an astonishing range of 3,500 miles, enough to cross either the Atlantic or Pacific. The 314 used a series of thick ribs and spars to create a robust fuselage and cantilevered wing, with no external struts to brace the wings. The Boeing 314 Clipper was a long-range flying boat made by the Boeing Airplane Company and operated by Pan American World Airways from 1939-1946.
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