BOEING 314

The 'Boeing 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 sold to BOAC in 1941 before delivery.

Contents

Design

Operational history

Diverted flight of 'Pacific Clipper'

Variants

Operators

Popular culture

Specifications (314A Clipper)

References

External links

Related content

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's bid was successful and Pan American signed a contract for six aircraft on 21 July 1936. 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 had tested conventional and twin tails which 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 aircraft 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 only 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 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^[1]). Compare the Concorde, which was priced at around $10,000 for a ''round trip''.^[2]

Operational history

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 in December 1941.
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 8 1941 at Auckland, New Zealand, the ''Pacific Clipper'' covered over 8,500 miles via such exotic locales as Surabaya, Karachi, Bahrain, Khartoum and Leopoldville. The ''Pacific Clipper'' landed at Pan American's LaGuardia Field seaplane base at 7:12 on the morning of January 6 1942.
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 June 24, 1939.
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 aircraft were given the military 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, such as 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, although only one of those resulted in fatalities, with 24 perishing in Lisbon, Portugal, February 22 1943.
Except for some bits of scrap metal housed in museums, nothing remains of the 12 Boeing 314 aircraft.

Diverted flight of 'Pacific Clipper'

The 'Pacific Clipper' was a Boeing 314 Clipper flying boat famous for having completed Pan American World Airways' first flight between California and New York the long way by travelling West. The flight began December 2, 1941 at the Pan Am base on Treasure Island, California for its scheduled passenger service to Auckland, New Zealand.
The Clipper made scheduled stops in San Pedro, California, Honolulu, Hawaii, Canton Island, Suva, Fiji and Nouméa, New Caledonia. The aircraft was en route to Auckland when Pearl Harbor was attacked.
Cut off from the United States and commanding a valuable military asset, Captain Robert Ford was directed to strip company markings, registration and insignia from the aircraft and proceed in secret to the Marine Terminal, LaGuardia Field, New York.
Ford and his crew successfully flew home via:

★ Gladstone, Australia

★ Darwin, Australia

★ Surabaya, Java

★ Trincomalee, Ceylon

★ Karachi, British India

★ Bahrain

★ Khartoum, Sudan

★ Leopoldville, Belgian Congo

★ Natal, Brazil

★ Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

★ New York, New York, Arriving January 6, 1942.

Variants

;Model 314 Clipper
:Initial production version with 1500 hp (1119 kW) Wright R-2600 Double Cyclone engines, 6 built
;Model 314A Clipper
:Improved version with 1600 hp (1193 kW) Double Cyclone engines with a larger propeller, additional 1,200 US gal (4542 litres) fuel capacity and a revised interior, 6 built

Operators

Aircraft operated by Pan Am

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 United States Coast Guard on October 14, 1947

Aircraft operated by British Overseas Airways Corporation

Registration	Type	Name	In service	Remarks
G-AGBZ	314A (#2081)	''Bristol''	1941-1948	Originally NC18607, sold to General Phoenix Corporation, Baltimore as NC18607 in 1948
G-AGCA	314A (#2082)	''Berwick''	1941-1948	Originally NC18608, sold to General Phoenix Corporation, Baltimore as NC18608 in 1948
G-AGCB	314A (#2084)	''Bangor''	1941-1948	Originally NC18610, sold to General Phoenix Corporation, Baltimore as NC18610 in 1948

Popular culture

The Boeing 314 "Pan Am Clipper" has been featured in many instances of pop culture.

★ Several novels have featured 314s in them including:

★
★ ''The Night of the Triffids'', where the main character flies a clipper at an altitude of 100 feet into New York City at night.

★
★ ''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.^[3]

★ There is a life-size Boeing 314 mock-up at the Foynes Flying Boat Museum, Foynes, County Limerick, Ireland. The museum is situated at the site of the original transatlantic flying-boat terminus.

Specifications (314A Clipper)

References

1. Inflation Calculator
2. British Airways Concorde
3. The Raider's Flying Boat


★ Wings to the Orient, Pan-Am clipper Planes 1935-1945, , Stan, Cohen, Pictorial Histories, ,

★ The Long Way Home, , Ed, Dover, Paladwr Press, ,

# Inflation calculation based on Canadian inflation rate ([1])

External links

★ The Boeing 314

★ Boeing 314

★ Pan American Clippers 1931-1946

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