Boeing 314
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The 314 Clipper was a long-range flying boat produced by the Boeing Airplane Company between 1938 and 1941. One of the largest aircraft of the time, it used the massive wing of Boeing’s earlier XB-15 bomber prototype to achieve the range necessary for flights across the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Twelve Clippers were built for Pan American World Airways, three of which were diverted to BOAC under the Lend-Lease Act.
Design
The Boeing 314 was a response to Pan American’s request for a flying boat with unprecedented range capability that could augment the airline’s trans-Pacific Martin M-130. Boeing engineers adapted the cancelled XB-15’s 149 foot (45.5 m) wing, and replaced that bomber’s 850 hp (640 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-1830 radial engines with the more powerful 1,600 hp (1,194 kW) Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone. The Clipper’s triple tail was chosen after Boeing tested conventional and twin tails that did not provide enough controllability for safe flight.Internally, the 314 used a series of heavy ribs and spars to create a robust fuselage and cantilevered wing. This sturdy structure negated the need for external drag-inducing struts to brace the wings, something other flying boats of the day could not boast. Boeing addressed the flying boats other drag-inducing issue - namely stabilizing pontoons - by incorporating sponsons into the hull structure. The sponsons which were broad lateral extensions placed at the water line, on both the port and starboard sides of the hull, served several purposes. They provided a wide platform to stabilize the craft while floating on water. They acted as an entryway for passengers boarding the airplane and they were shaped to contribute lift while the plane was in flight. To fly the long ranges needed for trans-Pacific service, the 314 carried 4,246 US gallons (19,300 L) of gasoline. The later 314A model carried a further 1,200 US gallons (4,540 L). To quench the radial engines’ thirst for oil, a capacity of 300 US gallons (1,135 L) was required.
Pan Am’s Clippers were built for luxury, a necessity given the long duration of transoceanic flights. The seats could be converted into 36 bunks for overnight accommodation; with a cruise speed of 188 mph (300 km/h), many flights lasted over twelve hours. The aircraft had a lounge and dining area, and the galleys were crewed by chefs from four-star hotels. Men and women were provided with separate dressing rooms. Although the transatlantic flights were only operated for three months in 1939, their standard of luxury has arguably not been matched by heavier-than-air transport since then: they were a form of travel for the super-rich, at $675 return from New York to Southampton (about $9,590 in year 2006 dollars). Compare the Concorde, which was priced at around $10,000 for a round trip [link].
Airline service
The first 314, the Honolulu Clipper, entered regular service on the San Francisco-Hong Kong route in January 1939. A one-way trip on this route took over six days to complete. Commercial passenger service lasted less than three years, ending when the United States entered World War II on December 71941.At the outbreak of the war in the Pacific, the Pacific Clipper was enroute to New Zealand. Rather than risk flying back to Honolulu and being shot down by Japanese aircraft, it was decided to fly west to New York. Starting on December 81941 at Auckland, New Zealand, the Pacific Clipper covered over 8,500 miles via such exotic locales as Surabaya, Karachi, Bahrein, Khartoum and Leopoldville. The Pacific Clipper landed at Pan American’s LaGuardia Field seaplane base at 7:12 on the morning of January 61942.
The Yankee Clipper flew across the Atlantic on a route from Southamption to New York with intermediate stops at Foynes, Ireland, Botwood, Newfoundland, and Shediac, New Brunswick. The inaugural trip occurred on 24 June1939.
The Clipper fleet was pressed into military service during World War II, and the aircraft were used for ferrying personnel and equipment to the European and Pacific fronts. These aircaft were given the designation,C-98. In 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt traveled to the Casablanca Conference in a Boeing 314. Winston Churchill also flew on the aircraft several times, adding to its fame during the war era.
After the war several Clippers were returned to Pan American, but the type had been made obsolete by new long-range landplanes, like the Douglas DC-4 and Lockheed Constellation, and by the wartime construction of a network of landing strips that gave access to nearly the entire world. The 314 was removed from scheduled service in 1946 and grounded permanently in 1950. Of the twelve aircraft built, three were lost to accidents, though only one resulted in deaths, with 24 perishing in Lisbon, Portugal, February 221943.
Except for some bits of scrap metal housed in museums, nothing remains of the 12 Boeing 314 aircraft.
| Registration | Type | Name | In service | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NC18601 | 314 | Honolulu Clipper | 1939-1945 | Sunk by US Navy |
| NC18602 | 314 | California Clipper | 1939-1950 | Later renamed Pacific Clipper and sold to World Airways. Scrapped 1950. |
| NC18603 | 314 | Yankee Clipper | 1939-1943 | Started Transatlantic mail service. Crashed February 22, 1943 in Lisbon, Portugal. |
| NC18604 | 314 | Atlantic Clipper | 1939-1946 | Salvaged for parts. |
| NC18605 | 314 | Dixie Clipper | 1939-1950 | Started transatlantic passenger service, later sold to World Airways. Scrapped 1950. |
| NC18606 | 314 | American Clipper | 1939-1946 | Later sold to World Airways. Scrapped 1950. |
| NC18609 | 314A | Pacific Clipper | 1941-1946 | Later sold to Universal Airlines. Damaged by storm and salvaged for parts. |
| NC18611 | 314A | Anzac Clipper | 1941-1951 | Sold to Universal Airlines 1946, American International Airways 1947, World Airways 1948. Sold privately 1951, destroyed at Baltimore, Maryland 1951. |
| NC18612 | 314A | Cape Town Clipper | 1941-1946 | Sold to: U.S. Navy - 1942, Sold to: American International Airways - 1947, Sunk at sea by the U.S. Coast Guard on October 14, 1947 |
Popular culture
The Boeing 314 "Pan Am Clipper" has been featured in several novels including Night Over Water, written by British author Ken Follett. The Winds of War and its sequel War and Remembrance, written by Herman Wouk. The Proteus Operation written by James P. Hogan. The film Raiders of the Lost Ark featured a Short Solent Mark III flying boat modified by matte effects to resemble a Boeing 314 Pan Am Clipper. [link]Specifications (314A Clipper)
References
- [FlyingClippers.com]
- Cohen, Stan. Wings to the Orient, Pan-Am Clipper Planes 1935-1945. Published by Pictorial Histories.
- Dover, Ed. The Long Way Home. Published by Paladwr Press
- Inflation calculation based on Canadian inflation rate ([link])
External links
Related content
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| Proposed Airliners: Boeing 2707>2707 | 7J7 | NLA | Sonic Cruiser | Y1 | Y3 |
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