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Subject: Boeing 314 Clipper
Date: 18 Jul 2016 07:37:40 -0700
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_314_Clipper
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,
the range necessary for flights across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Twelve
Clippers were built; nine were brought into service for Pan Am and later
transferred to the U.S. military. The remaining three were sold to British
Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) by Pan Am and delivered in early 1941.
(BOAC's 3 Short S.26 transoceanic flying-boats had been requisitioned by the
RAF).
Pan American had requested a flying boat with unprecedented range that could
augment the airline's trans-Pacific Martin M-130. Boeing's bid was successful
and on July 21, 1936, Pan American signed a contract for six. Boeing engineers
adapted the cancelled XB-15's 149 ft (45 m) wing, and replaced the 850 hp (630
kW) Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp radial engines with the 1,600 hp (1,200 kW) Wright
Twin Cyclone. Pan Am ordered six more aircraft with increased engine power and
capacity for 77 daytime passengers as the Boeing 314A.
Role Flying boat airliner
Manufacturer Boeing Airplane Company
First flight June 7, 1938
Introduction 1939
Retired 1946
Status Retired
Primary users Pan American World Airways
British Overseas Airways Corporation
United States Navy
Number built 12
Critical to the 314's success was the proficiency of its Pan Am flight crews,
who were extremely skilled at long-distance, over-water flight operations and
navigation. For training, many of the transpacific flights carried a second
crew. Only the very best and most experienced flight crews were assigned Boeing
314 flying boat duty. Before coming aboard, all Pan Am captains as well as first
and second officers had thousands of hours of flight time in other seaplanes and
flying boats. Rigorous training in dead reckoning, timed turns, judging drift
from sea current, astral navigation, and radio navigation were conducted. In
conditions of poor or no visibility, pilots sometimes made successful landings
at fogged-in harbors by landing out to sea, then taxiing the 314 into port
VARIOUS MOVIE ROLES INCLUDING: Bermuda Triangle Exposed Catch Me If You Can
The Black Stallion Returns Der Sommer 1939
The first 314 flight on the San Francisco-Hong Kong route left Alameda on
February 23, 1939 with regular passenger and Foreign Air Mail Route #14 service
beginning on March 29. 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.
After the war, several Clippers were returned to Pan American hands. However,
even before hostilities had ended, the Clipper had become obsolete. The flying
boat's advantage had been that it didn't require long concrete runways, but
during the war a great many such runways were built for heavy bombers. New
long-range airliners such as the Lockheed Constellation and Douglas DC-4 were
developed.
The new landplanes were relatively easy to fly, and did not require the
extensive pilot training programs mandated for seaplane operations. One of the
314's most experienced pilots said, "We were indeed glad to change to DC-4s, and
I argued daily for eliminating all flying boats. The landplanes were much safer.
No one in the operations department... had any idea of the hazards of flying
boat operations.
Specifications (314A Clipper)
General characteristics
Crew: 11, including 2 cabin stewards
Capacity: Daytime: 74 passengers, Nighttime: 36 passengers
Payload: 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) of mail and cargo
Length: 106 ft (32.33 m)
Wingspan: 152 ft (46.36 m)
Empty weight: 48,400 lb (21,900 kg)
Loaded weight: 84,000 lb (38,000 kg)
Performance
Maximum speed: 210 mph (180 knots, 340 km/h)
Cruise speed: 188 mph (163 knots, 302 km/h) at 11,000 ft (3,400 m)
Range: 3,685 mi (3,201 nm, 5,896 km) normal cruise
Service ceiling: 19,600 ft (5,980 m)
*
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