Flying Boats

by Charles Woodley

  Boarding the S-42 was accomplished via a short ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ over the side and across the rubber-covered walkways, formed by open hatch covers being laid back onto the deck. Upon entering the cabin area the passengers would have been impressed by the aircraft’s yacht-like proportions. The passenger accommodation was divided into four compartments, each containing eight seats. All of these were adjustable, and were suspended from the bulkheads. The lack of chair legs reaching down to the floor meant there could be more under-seat storage space. The walls and ceiling of this compartment were lined with walnut veneer panels, and pads of rubber and horsehair between these panels and the bulkheads dampened down vibration and helped with soundproofing. Since the S-42s were intended for operation in tropical climates only, no heating system was installed. The second compartment was twice the size of the others and had the general appearance of a large lounge. Immediately behind the passenger compartments were toilets and also storage areas that could be converted to accommodate sleeper berths. These operated on the same principle as Pullman railway compartments. Dressing and undressing could be carried out in privacy in the large lounge-like compartment, behind a special divider curtain that was erected each night and morning. Ingenious fold-out washbasins with hot and cold running water made the lounge compartment an adequate dressing room. At the front of the aircraft a door in the forward cockpit bulkhead allowed the crew access to the anchor winch and to a hatchway in the deck.

  Plans had been proposed for the licensed production of S-42As in the UK by British Marine Aircraft, and ground was cleared at Hamble for this, but the scheme was not carried through. Pan American had originally envisaged its S-42s being utilised on services to Europe, but by the time all three examples had been delivered in mid 1934 permission for transatlantic scheduled flights had still not been granted due to political and diplomatic delays. The airline needed to start earning revenue with these expensive machines, and so for the time being it turned its sights to the Pacific Ocean. However, despite their successful operation on Caribbean and South American services where the longest sector scheduled was under 600 miles, it soon became apparent that the S-42 family of aircraft did not have the range for the critical 2,400-mile stage between San Francisco and Honolulu on Pacific routes. The airline had already placed an order for the new Martin M-130 flying boat, which would be capable of covering the distance, but deliveries were a year behind schedule. As route survey flights would need to be carried out before scheduled services could begin, in the spring of 1935 the second S-42, NC823M, was stripped of all passenger fittings and fitted with extra fuel tanks in the main cabin. On 16 April 1935 it set off from San Francisco for Honolulu. After safely arriving there it was then used for survey flights between Honolulu and Pan American’s Pacific island staging posts. On 17 March 1937 the S-42B NC16734 Clipper III, under the command of Captain Edwin Musick, took off from the Alameda Naval Air Station at San Francisco for a survey flight to Auckland, New Zealand via Honolulu, Kingman Reef (a tiny island 1,100 miles south of Honolulu), and Pago Pago in American Samoa. The leg from Alameda to Honolulu took nineteen hours fifteen minutes, and after the second leg there was a five-day stopover at Kingman Reef, where a merchant ship anchored in the lagoon was used to provide a sheltered mooring place for the flying boat. After Pago Pago was reached a hurricane in the vicinity forced another five-day stopover before the crew of seven could set off on the final leg to Auckland. Here, the aircraft’s arrival at Waitemata Harbour on 29 March was witnessed by around 3,000 New Zealanders lining the waterfront. The crew attended formal receptions and took local dignitaries on a two-hour sightseeing flight before they departed on the return journey on 4 April. On 11 January 1938 Captain Musick was back at Pago Pago with the S-42B NC16734, now renamed Samoan Clipper, and a new crew on further route survey duties. That day they were to carry out a final check flight before scheduled airmail services between the USA and New Zealand were inaugurated. An hour or so after take-off a radio message was sent, advising that they had developed engine problems and would be returning to Pago Pago after dumping fuel to lighten the aircraft for landing. Nothing more was heard from them, and the aircraft was not sighted again. An investigation into the disappearance concluded that fuel vapours must have ignited during the dumping procedure and caused an explosion as the crew were attempting an emergency landing on the sea. In spite of this disaster the remaining S-42Bs remained in Pan American service. The Bermuda Clipper was transferred to Manila to provide connecting flights from there to Hong Kong, and four examples of the S-42 family were to survive the Second World War, not being scrapped until mid 1946.

  Before scheduled services across the Pacific could be inaugurated Pan American had to locate suitable points at which its aircraft could stop over on the long journey between the Midway Island and the US island dependency of Guam, and construct high-standard accommodation for its passengers. The airline’s investigations revealed the existence of a small uninhabited coral island called Wake, handily located 1,260 miles from Midway and 1,560 miles from Guam. Before Wake could be used, however, it was necessary to use explosives to blast a channel through the surrounding reef and provide a passage to the lagoon where the flying boats could be moored safely. None of the island stopping points on the route to Manila had weather forecasting facilities or any of the other equipment needed to look after passengers during stopovers, so in early 1935 Pan American leased the cargo ship North Haven to convey all the supplies and manpower needed to build a chain of flying boat bases across the Pacific. On her first voyage the ship carried prefabricated hotels and support buildings, construction equipment, a four-month supply of food, 250 gallons of aviation fuel, and around 120 personnel, including demolition experts, labourers and other workers. The North Haven then made a second trip with items for furnishing the stopover hotels, including bed linen, bridge tables, terrace furniture, and beach umbrellas. It was Juan Trippe’s ambition to provide idyllic stays for his passengers. Each of the hotels had twenty-four double bedrooms with electric lighting and showers. Tons of rich soil were shipped in to provide a fertile base for the lawns and gardens. The hotel at Wake was actually sited on nearby Peale Island. From its veranda guests would be able to look out across the lagoon and witness the surf crashing onto the coral reef. Launches were to be made available for deep-sea fishing trips. The task of constructing the chain of bases on the islands was completed in only fifty-five days. The trans-Pacific routeing was finalised as San Francisco–Honolulu–Midway–Wake–Guam–Manila. The first flying boat to pass through Wake arrived on 17 August 1935 en route to Canton Island, an atoll some 1,900 miles south-west of Hawaii.

  In the meantime, the Martin M-130 flying boat had made its maiden flight on 30 December 1934. The design had been submitted to Pan American in competition with the Sikorsky S-42 in the early 1930s, and the airline had placed an order for three examples at a unit price of US$417,200 each fully equipped, more than double the cost of the S-42. Production delays meant that Pan American did not take delivery of its first M-130 until 9 October 1935, over a year behind schedule. It was a larger aircraft than the S-42, was of strut-braced metal construction, and had a single fin and rudder unit. Instead of wing-tip floats, stability on the water was enhanced by large hull sponsons that also acted as fuel tanks. Power was provided by four 830hp (later increased to 950hp) Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp piston engines, conferring a cruising speed of 157mph. The range varied from 4,000 miles with mail only or 3,200 miles with mail plus passengers. The maximum capacity was forty-one daytime passengers or thirty on overnight flights, but the requirement to carry sufficient fuel for the critical San Francisco–Honolulu sector usually meant that only eight to fourteen passengers could be carried on this leg, depending on forecast winds. The M-130’s interior included a large lounge compartment for twelve people that could be converted for overnight use into sleeping berth accommodation. Folding washbasins with hot and cold running water were also fitted in the lounge area, and the aircraft also inc
orporated two smaller passenger compartments. All the fittings were designed to be rapidly removable to reduce weight if necessary. As the aircraft was unpressurised it was possible to open any of the ten large passenger windows to obtain better views of the passing scenery. The interior décor was the creation of Norman Bel Geddes, a former New York City theatre set designer and part of the art deco movement. As well as selecting the upholstery and fittings for the passenger areas, he also had a hand in the design of the aircraft’s crockery, providing the plates and saucers with a vacuum base that allowed them to remain in place during rough weather.

  A diagram of Pan American’s flying-boat route across the Pacific to the Far East. (via author)

  Diagram of seating layout on Pan American Boeing 314s. (via author)

  A Pan American Boeing 314 dwarfs the crew members around it. (via author)

  On 22 November 1935 the Martin M-130 NC14716 China Clipper inaugurated the world’s first regular trans-Pacific air service, from Alameda Naval Air Station at San Francisco to Manila via Honolulu, Midway, Wake and Guam. At first the service was restricted to the carriage of mail, but in September 1936, after many flights had been successfully completed and the US Department of Commerce had completed an exhaustive investigation of the facilities and equipment at the stopover points, approval was given for the carriage of fare-paying passengers. The fare through to Manila was high. When inflation is taken into account it was twice as expensive per passenger mile as the supersonic Concorde of the 1970s, but it was a price the well-heeled were prepared to pay, the first ticket for the service being issued to R.F. Bradley, the aviation manager of Standard Oil.

  The interior of Pan American’s Dinner Key terminal at Miami in 1934. (Pan American Historical Foundation)

  On 21 October 1936 the inaugural passenger service was operated by NC14714 Hawaiian Clipper under the command of the ill-fated Captain Edwin Musick. On board were five male and two female passengers plus a relief crew. As soon as cruising altitude was reached the two stewards served a luncheon buffet. Later on there was ‘cocktail hour’ to look forward to. Then came dinner. Among the items on the menu was grilled filet mignon, which had been placed aboard the aircraft 90 per cent cooked and then frozen, ready for finishing off in the oven. At midnight those passengers still awake and hungry were offered a supper of sandwiches, cold cuts and salad, with milk or hot chocolate, before turning in for the night. Pan American’s Pacific Division employed sixteen stewards who had all completed six months of training at the airline’s facility at Treasure Island, San Francisco. The curriculum there included training on how to survive on an uninhabited island after an emergency landing. The stewards were routinely responsible for purchasing all the ingredients for the meals to be served along the route, including fresh meat, vegetables and eggs. After the overnight flight from San Francisco the passengers were woken by the stewards in time to dress and have a cup of coffee before enjoying the views of the Hawaiian islands passing by below. As they came ashore at Honolulu they were greeted by hula-dancing girls and presented with the traditional Hawaiian leis before enjoying a twenty-four-hour stopover. Despite having to battle against headwinds and circumnavigate storms, the inaugural service arrived safely at Manila on 27 October. From here, onward connections to Hong Kong by S-42 flying boats were available. As fate would have it, all three of the Pan American M-130s were to be destroyed in accidents in later years. On 29 July 1938 the Hawaiian Clipper, with six passengers and nine crew aboard, disappeared without trace between Guam and Manila. The Philippine Clipper struck a mountain about 100 miles north of San Francisco on 21 January 1943, and the China Clipper sank during an attempted night landing at Port of Spain, Trinidad, on 8 January 1945.

  As well as providing comfortable accommodation for its passengers at the island stopover points, Pan American also needed to construct impressive terminals befitting a world-class airline on the US mainland, and much effort went into making these as prestigious as possible. The main flying boat base was to be at Dinner Key, in the Coconut Grove area of Miami. The first ground was broken here on 22 February 1931 and the completed terminal was dedicated on 25 March 1934. Although landing facilities for landplanes were also provided, the base was intended primarily for flying boats and was designed to be capable of handling up to four Clippers simultaneously. Covered walkways protected passengers from the weather as they boarded or disembarked, and the terminal also had outdoor verandas on both floors, where spectators could watch the aircraft movements in comfort and try to spot celebrities passing through. These spectator areas were to become a popular feature of Pan American terminals elsewhere. The interior of the first floor of the Dinner Key terminal was dominated by a giant world globe, 10ft in diameter and powered by an electric motor that caused it to rotate completely every two minutes. On its surface were displayed the routeing and destination of every airborne Pan American service. Electrically operated bulletin boards kept passengers and others updated on all arrivals and departures. On the second floor a dining room with seating for 100 overlooked Biscayne Bay.

  The sleeping berth arrangement aboard a Pan American Airways Martin M-130 on the trans-Pacific routes. (via author)

  The actual boarding of a flight was to develop into something of a ritual, controlled by the port manager from his office by means of bell signals. At the first signal the crew embarked. When the departing passengers received the signal to board they proceeded down to the lower level and along one of the covered walkways to the appropriate boarding float and on to the aircraft. Arriving passengers were directed upstairs, firstly to the premises of the US Public Health Service, and then to the customs and immigration examination rooms. Dinner Key was to continue to serve Pan American until the final departure from there on 9 August 1945. In 1952 the site was sold to the City of Miami for US$1 million and the former terminal became part of Miami City Hall.

  In 1935 the Pan American terminal in San Francisco was located just south of the new bridge spanning the bay between San Francisco and Oakland, at the former Curtiss-Wright airfield. In 1938 the City of San Francisco and Pan American jointly proposed to the US government that San Francisco should host a Golden Gate Exhibition in 1939. Included in the proposal was the relocation of Pan American’s flying boat terminal to Treasure Island, an area of some 400 acres of reclaimed land in the middle of San Francisco Bay. The proposal was approved, and a twenty-year lease on the land was signed in August 1938. On 5 February 1939 the opening of Pan American’s new flying boat terminal was marked by the departure from there of the China Clipper. Thirteen days later the Golden Gate International Exposition opened. One of the major draws was a visit to the new flying boat terminal, now called the ‘Port of the Trade Winds’. This comprised three permanent buildings, with two of them being used for the maintenance and housing of the aircraft. For the duration of the Exposition the public could view this work in progress from a gallery viewpoint located in the Hall of Air Transportation. The area of water adjacent to the hangars was named Clipper Cove. In the event of adverse weather in the San Francisco area Pan American could use a designated alternative alighting area at Clear Lake, California.

  In March 1939 the airline entered into an agreement with the City of New York for the lease of land for a new flying boat base at the existing La Guardia landplane airport. In due course a hangar and a new terminal building known as the Marine Air Terminal were constructed at a cost of US$40 million. The facility was just to the north of the site for the 1939–40 New York World’s Fair. On its completion Pan American transferred its flying boat services across from its previous base at Port Washington. On 31 March 1940 the new terminal was dedicated as the new home of the airline’s North Atlantic Clipper services, and on that same day it gained the status of an international airport when the Yankee Clipper lifted off from the waters of the Rikers Island Channel on its way to Lisbon.

  During their flight testing and service life the Martin M-130s established some nineteen aviation records, but as early a
s October 1936 the San Francisco Chronicle was announcing details released by the Boeing company of the fleet of six gigantic double-deck flying boats under construction for Pan American to supercede them. The Boeing 314s would be of all-metal light alloy stressed skin construction and would be powered by four of the most powerful engines then available, the 1,500hp Wright Cyclone GR-2600. The powerplants would be mounted on a high wing, and the aircraft would have a single fin and rudder unit. Protruding from each side of the lower part of the hull would be two-spar sponsons called ‘seawings’, which would aid stability on the water and also house fuel that could be pumped up to the wing tanks. The wing itself would have a cavernous interior, thick enough to permit an engineer to access and adjust the engines in flight by means of an internal walkway. The operating crew would consist of a captain, first officer, navigator/second officer, engineer, and radio officer, and in service a complete relief crew would be carried. The flight deck would be on the upper deck, which would also contain an area for the stowage of charts and technical manuals, and bunks for the off-duty crew members. All the passenger accommodation would be on the lower deck. The contract for six aircraft at a cost of US$550,000 each had been signed on 21 July 1936. On 7 June 1938 the Boeing 314 made its maiden flight. Initial problems with flight stability were remedied by the addition of two more fins and rudders to the tail assembly, and Pan American’s first aircraft was handed over on 27 January 1939. The rest of the aircraft followed during that year, and they were speedily placed into service on the airline’s Pacific route network.

  A Pan American Airways Martin M-130 moored at the terminal at Dinner Key, Miami. (Florida Memory Store)

  Boeing had originally designed the 314 to accommodate seventy-four seated passengers or forty in sleeper berths, but in Pan American service the sleeper capacity was to be reduced to thirty-four. The passenger accommodation was divided up into compartments called ‘staterooms’, each of which seated ten people during the day. At night the stewards converted each stateroom into an overnight sleeper compartment containing six berths. This procedure was similar to that carried out in Pullman railway carriages, and took almost thirty minutes to complete. Full-length privacy curtains in ‘Pan American Blue’ protected the passengers’ modesty. The social gathering spot on board was the lounge, which seated eleven people and could be transformed into a dining room at mealtimes. Before dinner was served the passengers could enjoy cocktails in their staterooms, where little tables could be pulled out to hold their glasses and hors d’oeuvres. The ladies’ powder room was decorated in art deco style and furnished with a dressing table, two leather-covered swivel stools and a mirror. A washbasin supplied hot and cold running water. At the very rear of the passenger compartments was a private suite, sometimes called the Bridal Suite. This contained a three-cushion ‘Davenport’ that converted into upper and lower berths, black walnut side tables with shelves for magazines, a small ‘love-seat’, a coffee table, a wardrobe, a small dressing table, and a concealed washbasin.