The Flying Boat Airliner
The flying boat airliner dominated international airline service in the 1920s and 1930s.
Although aerodynamically less efficient than streamlined landplanes, flying boats could provide scheduled passenger service to any city with a sheltered harbor, which made them the ideal international airliner at a time when runways capable of handling large aircraft were scarce.
The Pan Am Clippers
The most famous flying boat airliners were the Pan Am Clippers, and the era of the flying boat reached its height with the luxurious Boeing B-314 Clipper, with which Pan American Airways inaugurated the first scheduled transatlantic airline service between Europe and America in 1939.
Pan Am’s leader, Juan Trippe, decided to call his flying boats “clippers” as part of his effort to link his airliner with the maritime heritage of the ocean liners with which Pan Am was in competition, and with which the public were so comfortable.
Sikorsky S-40
Sikorsky S-40
The first Pan American plane to be called a “Clipper” was the Sikorsky S-40 flying boat, introduced in 1931. The S-40 helped Pan Am spread its wings in Latin American, but it was a relatively primitive machine which never fully satisfied the needs of the airline.
Sikorsky S-42
Sikorsky S-42
The streamlined Sikorsky S-42 was a giant leap forward in flying boat technology. The S-42 was used extensively on Pan Am’s Latin American network and made pioneering survey flights to develop Pan Am’s routes across the Pacific.
Martin M-130
Martin M-130
Pan American’s famous China Clipper, a Martin M-130 flying boat, inaugurated the first regularly scheduled passenger and mail across the Pacific in November, 1935.
Boeing B-314
Boeing B-314
The apex of flying boat design was the Boeing B-314, introduced in 1939. Sometimes known as the Yankee Clipper or Dixie Clipper type, the luxurious B-314 provided the first scheduled heavier-than-air passenger service across the Atlantic ocean.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey:
I really enjoyed this site. Sure would like to see more. Thse were flying just prior to when I started flying. I remember a Sikorsky S-44 in the Virgin Islands back in 1969.
Thanks,
Brad
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My father-in-law flew as one of the aircrew for Pan Am, retiring after more than 40 years at age 61, in early 1981. He began his flying career on these flying boats, and finished flying the 707’s and 747’s for many years. He is 89 years old and his stories have kept his family in awe for most of their lives. He is very sharp and still very exacting in his conversations about airplanes. I took him for a visit to see the ‘Spruce Goose’ up close. He was only interested if he could sit in the pilot’s seat and we very fortunately got pictures of him getting a tour and putting his hands on the controls.
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Pete Doherty Reply:
February 4th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
Please see my message of 2/4/10. Maybe your father-in-law could answer some of my questions.
thanks,
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Dave Gault Reply:
February 4th, 2010 at 6:53 pm
Would you care to list a few of your questions? I would take them to him and see if he knows about them and get back here.
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Pete Doherty Reply:
February 27th, 2010 at 3:03 pm
Questions for your father-in-law.
Miami to Panama: Did Clipper land at Balboa?
How long would the flight have been?
Did it continue on to Peru?
If so, where did it land?
Did passengers ware seat belts?
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joe Russell Reply:
February 18th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
What was your father inlaws name? When I started in Boston Center as new controller in 1982 there was a guy there hired after the strike helping out that was a retired Pan AM pilot with a similar history. I forget his name, because we always just called him ” Clipper One “–that was the B747 route he was flying when he retired.
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Dave Gault Reply:
February 23rd, 2010 at 7:35 pm
His name is John McKee.
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Joe Russell Reply:
February 23rd, 2010 at 9:19 pm
Not the same guy, but I’m sure they would have been acquainted.
Just visited the IAD air museum this past Sun. and saw a great looking Pan Am —-I believe it was a B317 ? What a great era for aviation.
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could the yankee clippers land on runways or were they only waterbound flying boats?
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admin Reply:
October 4th, 2009 at 8:48 am
The Boeing 314 had no undercarriage for land operations; it could only takeoff or land on the water.
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John W. Willmott Reply:
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:38 pm
So right you are. I flew on most of the Sikorskys for PAA from the 38 thru 40 to 42 and 43 to all the 314s
Cheers. Jolly Uncle John
PS: I arrived here via Bob Ford’s trip around the world at which time I was on my from Africa to Surabaga via Rangoon flying my Captain check on a PBY for the Royal Dutch Navy.
Chers again
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The Pan Am Flying Boats were marvelous. I have four 16mm films that were produced by Pan Am as promotional travelogues. Places visited: Mexico, Alaska, Bahamas, Hawaii. I would like to sell these films to someone who would appreciate – they are narrated films on 14″ reels. I’m not sure when they were made, but I am guessing late 40s or early 50s.
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Dave Gault Reply:
February 4th, 2010 at 6:55 pm
Are they 16mm films?
I might be interestedor know someone who is.
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My only experience was in the 1960s flying from Los Angeles to Catalina and landing in the harbor. It was a small enough plane that I remember leaning forward and “urging” it to lift off the water as we surged and had a bow wave on takeoff.
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Somebody, please bring those luxury one’s back.
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I have the print of NC 18601 and a clipper ship that is shown in the upper left corner of these web pages. Can anybody tell me about its origin and title?
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Dave Gault Reply:
February 4th, 2010 at 6:57 pm
I don’t see an S-34 boat listed on the top of this page; do you have any more details abou the airplane? Manufacturer?
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Dave Gault Reply:
February 4th, 2010 at 7:04 pm
I have a print of the same airplane tied-up at the dock in Pearl Harbor, 1938. I think it may be the first one delivered to PanAm. I read a biography of Juan Trippe from the library, and learned a lot of background on the founding of the airline; I think the times of the flying boats were well presented.
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John W. Willmott Reply:
February 23rd, 2010 at 6:34 pm
Feb 23, 2010 Tuesday
John W. Willmott, 224 Persing Way, WPB, Fl 33401
To: Avinash Datadin
Dear Mr. Datadin: I believe you referred to a large (originally) Poster in color advertising PAA when the Boeing 314 first started flying about 1939 across the Atlantic from North Beach and Port Washington, NY to Foynes Ireland and on to Lisbon with return via Bolama, West Africa to Belem and San Juan to NY again. The flights from and return were also to Bermuda, and the Azores to Portugal and also NY to Botwood, Newfoundland to Foynes.
I started flying for Pan Am Airways in Miami as a Flight Radio officer in April, 1938 after 3 years as a Surfman and Radioman 2nd Class. I flew on the Sikorsky 40, 41, 38. 42 and 43 all over the southern routes as far as Rio. Transferred in 1939 to North Beach and flew on the Boeing 314s from N 16301 on through 12 or more or less until I left to fly as a fighter pilot for the RAF after Hitler lied (like Bush) and illegally attacked Poland.
I ended up as a pilot for Seaboard World Airlines on the Douglas DC-8-63 “stretch” after which I was retired because I reached 60. I am now 95 and going great.
Cheers. John W. Willmott aka Jolly Uncle John
PS: Get rid of this silly window and get a he man’s address like tiojuan1@earthlink.net so you can get and send pictures and wordspell etc.
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There is a flyable S-34 at the Air museum in Hartford, CT. one of the old Catalina boats that went to St. Croix with Maurine Ohara and her husband, was rescued before the huricane in Sr. Croix (Andrew?)…actually flown to Florida…dissassembled and barged to Sikorsky on the Housatonic River in CT and lovingly restored by retired Sikorsky Staff…it even has the original wicker bathroom fixtures!
It was to go to Hartford several years ago…bridge clearance on I-84 was a problem…
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Ron Barrett, USAF Ret. Navigator January 24, 2010 at 10:42 am
The China Clipper was a great step into the future for international travel in 1935. To do this, it required a flight navigator.
Frederick Noonan was the lead for Pan AM. We are researching his work. Help is needed here: do you or any one you know have any pictures, letters, or articles on Navigator Fred Noonan that you can share with us all?
Fred Noonan had to be one of the best and brightest navs to have ever flown and we wish to establish this factually. He used the “Agiton” celestial computations for celestial (which required an exceptional understanding of spherical trigonometry) and established the R&D methods used by Pan Am on the then brand new, radio direction finder net work used on their routes. He had to have also been very good at Morse Code as he was prior to flying (20 years) a maritime sailor and rated Sea Captain which all extensively utilized CW Morse Code.
Side Note: Sorry to say much of which has been written about Noonan by non-aviation, non-navigator folks, who had never been, there or ever-done-that-authors is pure BS.
Ronald P Barrett, President Air Force Navigators Observers Association ( http://www.afnoa.org )
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John W. Willmott Reply:
February 26th, 2010 at 6:08 pm
Feb 26, 2010: JWW here: Former USCG Surfman 3 years Fire Island, USCGTampa Stapleton SI, NY to Mobile to USCG Nike Pascagoul. Miss. Flood Duty Natchez, Memphis etc. Mobile radio NMG Honorable Discharge.
To PAA Miami, Hired by Mr. Carroll as FRO with promise of Co-pilot slot next hiring in new non military program, exam by Manuel “Pete” Fernandez. Flight Radio Officer to all statons Carib. South America to Rio. Xferred NY North Beach 1939. Boeing 314 to all Atlantic Division stations. Hitler invaded Poland on a lie Sept. 1, 1939. Decided volunteer RCAF after more prep unless Pan Am put me in right seat before that. Called by US Govt to Wash. Interrigated. Hired as Navigator/RO/co-plot trainee on program for one man ferry of bombers across S. Atl.- not practical – so we had a few double duty like me. Checked out on PBY between Batavia and Surabaja on Feb. 8, 1942 after flight Mia, SA water jump to Fish Lake, Congo, to upper Nile to Khartoum to Aden to Upper India to Calcutta to Rangoon to Sibolga Sumatra, fired on by carrier planes on way to Bativia, to Surabaja on my final PBY capt. checkout.
Noonan had been head PAA Nav. He left to go with – uh – she got lost. Noonan and she made some mistakes – but I was not there – and we all make mistakes. He was replaced by Bill Alexander ( have good photo of him and others of PAA and PAAF which I took along with many plane and place photos which I took) who finished teaching me celestial from HO-214 (Big book) for each area along with alminac and a hack watch. But that is another story. I have a guest just arrived. I am an active 95 plus. I have not had time to check on all those on this website. But try for me Google me “yes I flew a DC3″ and ” http://www.seaboardairlines.org/activities/jw1.htm ” Gotta go at 1807 EST 26 Feb. 2010. -30- 73
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When I was a kid living in Miami my uncle would fly from NYC to MIA and then take a PanAm Clipper to Panama. I don’t remember that he came down on a Clipper.(?) I believe they flew over the Isthmus of Panama and landed at Balboa, but I’m not sure of this either. (?) Maybe someone knows about that route. He must have continued on to Lima, Peru in a different aircraft because I remember him telling a story about one particularly turbulant flight over the mountains in a thunder storm. He was with the FBI and was assigned to their office in Lima. He would never divulge what he did during those years, but he made several round trips and we would go down to meet him or see him off. Years later I flew PanAm 707’s and 747’s to many different cities in South America, and lived in Venezuela for several years. One other question. In the photographs of the interior of the Clipper it doesn’t appear that the crew or the passengers wore seat belts.(?)
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Ken Follett has a novel set in Nov 1939, about the last civilian flight that was New York bound from Europe. It is called, Night Over Water. The story, minus the suspense, is quite possibly representative of what that trip would have been like.
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does anyone know anything about My great uncle “Cage” he was once a pilot on one of the south American Clippers he flew out of Miami. until I heard he had had it a mechanic and thought the rest his time would be best served as a Mechanic until he retired. I believe he loved Pan Am a great deal, I never saw my Uncle Ira M Cooper wear ANY thing but the white bib Pan Am overalls every where he went. My uncle was a big John sized man with hands that swallowed my fathers hands, Men six foot tall were short by comparison. To look at him you would think he didn’t have a dime, a tad eccentric maybe, but very far from poor. he was in his eighties when he died in the mid 1970s his Sister was my Grand mother, I used to live in Homestead, Fl as a teenager I couldnt spend enough time with him. he was a quiet man who loved to play checkers. quite the engineer inventer too. He never married and never had children. does any of this ring a bell to anyone? please, pictures, if available. thanks
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I have a stack of the preprinted envelopes with photo of the Bermuda Clipper for the first U.S. trans-atlantic air mail post marked April 6, 1938 from Port Washington, New York to Postmaster, Hamilton Bermuda. Are these of any interest to anyone?
Thank you.
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Maybe someone reading this site knows the answer to my question. We were in the Air Force, stationed in Hawaii in the late ’40s. We were transferred back to CONUS in November, 1948. We flew back in a flying boat that my mother (now 90) says was Navy, and I’m trying to work out what type of aircraft it was. It was a large aircraft — my mother is fairly sure that it had two decks and maybe a separate flight deck, but she’s not sure about that. An admiral was on the flight and was allowed a bunk for his use, but gave it to my mother, who was carrying my six-month-old brother. She recalls only one other bunk, across the aisle from her, and that the bunk was next to or above the inboard engine on that side — she’s fairly sure there were four engines. Curtains across the open side of the bunks. She thinks she was near or right behind the flight deck when she was in the bunk. She recalls stepping from the little boat that carried them out to the plane either directly through the open hatch or onto something and then in. There were portholes along the side, fairly large, and when they were testing the engines the ocean came up high enough to cover the one next to our seat — I remember that part myself. What large flying boat was operating out of Hawaii in late ‘48, carrying admirals and dependents and had the above characteristics?
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