Boeing 314
| Boeing 314 Clipper | |
|---|---|
 Boeing 314 Clipper , 1941 |
|
| Type: | Flying ship |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
June 7, 1938 |
| Commissioning: |
1939 |
| Production time: |
1938 to 1941 |
| Number of pieces: |
12 |
The Boeing 314 Clipper was a four-engine long- range flying boat produced by the American manufacturer Boeing from 1938 to 1941. It was one of the largest aircraft of its time. Twelve of them were for Pan American Airways constructed (three of which were under the Lend-Lease Act of BOAC passed), in which they for flights across the Atlantic and the Pacific were used.
history
With the Boeing 314, Pan American opened the first scheduled passenger air traffic over the Atlantic on June 28, 1939 , but this was immediately discontinued with the beginning of the Second World War. The route ran from Long Island ( New York ) via the Azores and Lisbon to Marseille . The Clipper fleet was put into military service during World War II to transport personnel and equipment to the European and Pacific fronts . In 1943, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt traveled to the Casablanca Conference on a Boeing 314 . Even Winston Churchill used them several times, earning the aircraft during the war a greater awareness. Some machines were taken over by the USAAF and given the designation C-98. The approvals 42-88622, 42-88630, 42-88631, 42-88632 are known.
Several clippers were returned to Pan Am after the war ; however, by this time they had already been displaced by more powerful land-based aircraft such as the Douglas DC-4 and the Lockheed Constellation . The 314 was taken out of regular service in 1946 and its operation was finally discontinued in 1950.
construction
The aircraft was an all-metal shoulder- wing aircraft with stabilizing floats on the side, in which some of the fuel was also housed. The first prototype only had a single vertical tail , which was later replaced by a double tail to improve lateral stability . When this modification also proved to be inadequate, an additional vertical tail fin was provided in the middle.
The Pan Am Clipper were built luxuriously, which was necessary because of the long duration of the overseas flight (a total of approx. 24 hours from Southampton to New York ). The 74 seats could be converted into 40 bunks for night travel. The aircraft had a dining / lounge area and meals were prepared by chefs from 4 star hotels. Separate changing rooms were available for men and women. The transatlantic flights were only in operation for three months in 1939; it was a luxurious form of travel for the super-rich; the price of the flight from New York to Southampton was $ 675, which is roughly $ 12,400 today.
The Boeing 314 "Pan Am Clipper " also appears in the novel " Night over the Waters " by the British author Ken Follett and is described in great detail in this.
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Data |
|---|---|
| Passengers | 74 |
| length | 32.31 m |
| span | 46.33 m |
| height | 8.41 m |
| Wing area | 266.34 m² |
| payload | 14,621 kg |
| Empty mass | 22,801 kg |
| Max. Takeoff mass | 37,422 kg |
| Cruising speed | 296 km / h |
| Top speed | 320 km / h |
| Service ceiling | 4,085 m |
| Range | 5,600 km |
| Engines | four air-cooled 14-cylinder radial engines Wright GR-2600 Twin Cyclone with 1,600 HP each (approx. 1,200 kW) |
| costs | A clipper cost $ 1,000,000 in 1937. Adjusted for inflation, this corresponds to today's $ 18 million. |
Whereabouts
| Work no. | Mark | Delivery date to PAN AM | Surname | Whereabouts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Model 314 | ||||
| 1988 | NC18601 | April 1, 1939 | Honolulu Clipper | to the US Navy as BuNo 48227; damaged in a splash in the Pacific after two engines failed, November 4, 1945; was then sunk by the US Navy because recovery was not possible |
| 1989 | NC18602 | January 27, 1939 | California Clipper / Pacific Clipper / California Clipper | to USAAF as C-98 42-88632 on December 18, 1941; to the US Navy as BuNo 99084; sold to Universal Airways , 1946; sold to American International , 1948; scrapped, 1950 |
| 1990 | NC18603 | January 27, 1939 | Yankee Clipper | to the US Navy as BuNo 48224, 1941; February 22, 1943 Sunk while attempting to land on the Tagus (Lisbon) |
| 1991 | NC18604 | 3/18/1939 | Atlantic Clipper | to the US Navy as BuNo 48225; sold to Universal Airways , 1946; sold to American International , 1947; cannibalized for spare parts |
| 1992 | NC18605 | April 1939 | Dixie Clipper | to the US Navy as BuNo 48226; sold to Universal Airways , 1946; sold to American International , 1948; scrapped, 1950 |
| 1993 | NC18606 | June 1939 | American clipper | to USAAF as C-98 42-88631, December 18, 1941; to the US Navy as BuNo 99083; sold to Universal Airways , 1946; sold to American International , 1947; scrapped, 1950 |
| Model 314A | ||||
| 2081 | NC18607 | 8.4.1941 | Delivered to BOAC as G-AGBZ Bristol , April 13, 1941; sold to World Airways ; Sunk in a storm in Baltimore Harbor, 1951/1952 | |
| 2082 | NC18608 | 8.4.1941 | Delivered to BOAC as G-AGCA Berwick , April 15, 1941; sold to Baltimore Lumber Company in 1949; scrapped in the same year | |
| 2083 | NC18609 | May 1941 | Pacific Clipper / California Clipper / California Clipper | to the US Navy as BuNo. 48228, Nov. 4, 1945; sold to Universal Airways , 1946; destroyed in a storm ( Gibraltar , February 3, 1947) |
| 2084 | NC18610 | May 1941 | Delivered to BOAC as G-AGCB Bangor June 15, 1941; sold to Baltimore Lumber Company , 1950; scrapped in the same year | |
| 2085 | NC18611 | June 1941 | Anzac Clipper | to USAAF as C-98 42-88630, December 18, 1941; to the US Navy as BuNo 99082; sold to Universal Airways , 1946; sold to American International , 1947; scrapped, 1951 |
| 2086 | NC18612 | July 1941 | Capetown clipper | to USAAF as C-98 42-88622 on December 18, 1941; to the US Navy as BuNo 99081; sold to Universal Airways , 1946; sold to American International as Bermuda Sky Queen in 1947; Ditching in the Atlantic because of lack of fuel, passengers and crew of the weather ship , October 8, 1947 |
Today there are no longer any Boeing 314s in the world. However, the flying boat museum in Foynes , Ireland has a full-size replica.
See also
Web links
- Model 314 Clipper Flying Boat. In: History. Boeing, 2019, accessed July 1, 2019 .
- Article in LIFE Magazin , page 36ff, 23 August 1937, page 38 (English)
- Luxury in the air
- Bryan R. Swopes: June 24, 1939. In: This Day in Aviation. June 24, 2019, accessed July 1, 2019 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Calendar sheet June 28, 1939 . First scheduled flight across the Atlantic. In: HNA Mündener Allgemeine . June 28, 2017.
- ↑ IWM, Churchill 1942 at the controls of a Boeing 314 flying boat ( Imperial War Museum )
- ↑ This figure was based on the template: Inflation determined, rounded to a full $ 100 and relates to the previous January.
- ↑ LIFE Magazin, August 23, 1937, page 38 (English)
- ↑ Flying boat museum in Foynes (English)