Vought-Sikorsky VS-44 NC41881
Vought-Sikorsky VS-44 NC41881 ‘Excambian’ was one of three examples constructed for American Export Airlines and was delivered in May 1942. Until the end of 1944 the aircraft carried priority passengers and cargo under contract to the US Army and Navy. From January 1945 until late in that year it operated scheduled services for AOA. After a lengthy period flying with several airlines it was purchased in 1967 by Charles Blair of Antilles Air Boats for passenger services around the US Virgin Islands.
It was damaged beyond economical repair in 1969. In 1976 it was donated by Charles Blair’s widow to the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida. In 1983 it was transferred to the New England Air Museum on permanent loan, and shipped by barge to their premises in Bridgport, Connecticut. After a lengthy restoration programme, it is now on display there.
The Foynes Flying-Boat Museum
A drive of about forty-five minutes along the N69 road from Shannon in Ireland will bring you to the Foynes Flying boat Museum and the nearest you can now get to stepping aboard a Pan American Boeing 314 Clipper flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s. The museum is housed in what was once the four-storey flying boat terminal building. Inside you will find a 1940s-style cinema showing historic flying boat footage, the restored original radio and weather forecasting room, and a diorama of the Foynes flying boat base in its heyday.
When they discovered that none of the Pan American Clippers that used the base had survived the museum staff looked into the practicality of constructing a full-size mock-up of one of the passenger compartments to give visitors some impression of what it must have been like to fly in one of these machines. From this beginning the idea grew into the construction of a full-scale replica of a Boeing 314 Clipper. The funding for this ambitious project was eventually secured, and the work was carried out off-site in around ten months. The replica was then transported in sections to Foynes at night and reassembled there. It is now ‘moored’ alongside the museum building, enabling visitors to step inside and inspect the fully furnished interior.
Appendix 1
FOYNES FLYING BOAT MOVEMENTS DURING SEPTEMBER 1943
An extract from the Foynes Harbour Register for the first three weeks of 1943, as reproduced in modified form below, recorded at least one flying boat movement each day, with many of the aircraft spending one (and sometimes two) nights at anchor there. The operation of the Poole–Foynes ‘shuttle’ can be seen, with, for instance, BOAC Sunderland G-AGHW arriving from Poole on 5 September with passengers for transfer to Pan American’s Boeing 314 NC18611 bound for Botwood and then returning to Poole with inbound passengers off the Clipper.
Arr.
Dept.
Registration
Type
Operator
From
To
1
1
G-AGEV
Sunderland
BOAC
Lisbon
Poole
1
1
G-AGEW
Sunderland
BOAC
Lisbon
Poole
1
2
G-AGHV
Sunderland
BOAC
Poole
Lisbon
3
5
NC41881
VS-44
American Export
Botwood
Pt Lyautey
4
5
NC18611
Boeing 314
Pan American
Botwood
Botwood
5
5
G-AGHW
Sunderland
BOAC
Poole
Poole
6
6
G-AGCB
Boeing 314
BOAC
Lisbon
Poole
6
8
G-AGCB
Boeing 314
BOAC
Poole
Lisbon
6
6
NC18609
Boeing 314
Pan American
Botwood
Botwood
6
8
G-AFCI
Short S.26
BOAC
Poole
Poole
6
7
G-AGEW
Sunderland
BOAC
Poole
Lisbon
7
7
G-AGEV
Sunderland
BOAC
Poole
Lisbon
8
13
G-AFCI
Short S.26
BOAC
Poole
Poole
8
8
NC18611
Boeing 314
Pan American
Botwood
Botwood
9
10
NC41811
VS-44
American Export
Botwood
Pt Lyautey
10
10
G-AGCA
Boeing 314
BOAC
Botwood
Poole
10
16
G-AGHW
Sunderland
BOAC
Poole
Lisbon
11
13
G-AGCA
Boeing 314
BOAC
Poole
Lisbon
12
13
NC41882
VS-44
American Export
Botwood
Pt Lyautey
12
13
G-AGHX
Sunderland
BOAC
Poole
Lisbon
13
15
G-AFCI
Short S.26
BOAC
Poole
Poole
14
14
G-AGHV
Sunderland
BOAC
Lisbon
Poole
14
14
G-AGER
Sunderland
BOAC
Lisbon
Poole
14
16
G-AGHZ
Sunderland
BOAC
Poole
Lisbon
15
15
NC18612
Boeing 314
Pan American
Botwood
Botwood
15
17
NC41881
VS-44
American Export
Botwood
Pt Lyautey
15
18
G-AFCI
Short S.26
BOAC
Poole
Poole
16
16
G-AGEW
Sunderland
BOAC
Lisbon
Poole
17
17
G-AGBZ
Boeing 314
BOAC
Poole
Lisbon
18
18
NC18612
Boeing 314
Pan American
Botwood
Botwood
18
20
G-AFCI
Short S.26
BOAC
Poole
Poole
18
20
G-AGIA
Sunderland
BOAC
Poole
Lisbon
19
19
NC41881
VS-44
American Export
Pt Lyautey
Botwood
20
20
NC18611
Boeing 314
Pan American
Botwood
Botwood
20
22
G-AFCI
Short S.26
BOAC
Poole
Poole
20
20
G-AGHV
Sunderland
BOAC
Poole
Lisbon
Appendix 2
FLEET LISTS OF MAJOR FLYING BOAT OPERATORS
Imperial Airways/BOAC (all surviving aircraft transferred from Imperial Airways to BOAC on 1 April 1940).
Constructor’s number
Registration
Name
Fate
Short S.26 Empire
S.795
G-ADHL
Canopus
Scrapped at Hythe Nov. 46
S.804
G-ADHM
Caledonia
Scrapped at Hythe Mar. 47
S.811
G-ADUT
Centaurus
Transferred to RAAF Sep. 39
S.812
G-ADUU
Cavalier
Sank in Atlantic Jan. 39
S.813
G-ADUV
Cambria
Scrapped at Hythe Jan. 46
S.814
G-ADUW
Castor
Scrapped at Hythe Feb. 47
S.815
G-ADUX
Cassiopeia
Sank Sabang Dec. 41
S.816
G-ADUY
Capella
Sank Batavia Mar. 39
S.817
G-ADUZ
Cygnus
Sank Brindisi Dec. 37
S.818
G-ADVA
Capricornus
Crashed Macon Mar. 37
S.819
G-ADVB
Corsair
Scrapped Hythe Jan. 47
S.820
G-ADVC
Courtier
Crashed Athens Oct. 37
S.821
G-ADVD
Challenger
Crashed Mozambique May 39
S.822
G-ADVE
Centurion
Crashed Calcutta Jun. 39
S.838
G-AETV
Corolianus
Transferred to Qantas Sep. 42
S.839
G-AETW
Calpurnia
Crashed Habbaniyah Nov. 38
S.840
G-AETX
Ceres
Damaged by fire Durban Dec. 42
S.841
G-AETY
Clio
Transferred to RAF Jul. 40
S.842
G-AETZ
Circe
Presumed shot down Java Feb. 42
S.843
G-AEUA
Calypso
Transferred to RAAF Sep. 39
S.844
G-AEUB
Camilla
Transferred to Qantas Jul. 42
S.845
G-AEUC
Corinna
Transferred to Qantas Sep. 39
S.846
G-AEUD
Cordelia
Transferred to RAF Jul. 40
S.847
G-AEUE
Cameronian
Scrapped Hythe Jan. 47
S.848
G-AEUF
Corinthian
Crashed Darwin Mar. 42
S.850
G-AEUH
Corio
Shot down, Koepang Jan. 42
S.851
G-AEUI
Coorong
Withdrawn Feb. 47
S.876
G-AFBJ
Carpentaria
Withdrawn Jan. 47
S.878
G-AFBL
Cooee
Withdrawn Nov. 46
Short S.30 Empire
S.879
G-AFCT
Champion
Scrapped Hythe Apr. 47
S.880
G-AFCU
Cabot
Transferred to RAF Oct. 39
S.881
G-AFCV
Caribou
Transferred to RAF Oct. 39
S.882
G-AFCW
Connemara
Burnt out Hythe Jun. 39
S.883
G-AFCX
Clyde
Wrecked Lisbon Feb. 41
S.1003
G-AFKZ
Cathay
Scrapped Hythe Mar. 47
Short S.33 Empire
S.1025
G-AFPZ
Clifton
Transferred to RAAF Mar. 42
S.1026
G-AFRA
Cleopatra
Scrapped Hythe Nov. 46
Short S.26 G Class
S.871
G-AFCI
Golden Hind
Withdrawn Sep. 47
S.872
G-AFCJ
Golden Fleece
Transferred to RAF
S.873
G-AFCK
Golden Horn
Crashed Lisbon Jan. 43
BOAC
Short S.25 Sunderland III Hythe Class
G-AGER
Hadfield
To Aquila Airways Aug. 48
G-AGES
Written off Co. Kerry Jul. 43
G-AGET
Written off Calcutta Feb. 46
G-AGEU
Hampshire
To Aquila Airways Jan. 49
G-AGEV
Hailsham
Written off Poole Mar. 46
G-AGEW
Hanwell
Written off Surabaya Sep. 48
G-AGHV
Hamble
Written off Mar. 46
G-AGHW
Hamilton
Written off Isle of Wight Nov. 47
G-AGHX
Harlech (later Harlequin)
Withdrawn May 48
G-AGHY
Hastings (later Hawkesbury)
To Aquila Airways Jan. 49
G-AGIA
Haslemere
To Aquila Airways Jul.48
G-AGIB
Written off 130 miles south of Tobruk Nov. 43
G-AGJJ
Henley
To Aquila Airways Feb. 49
G-AGJK
Howard
To Aquila Airways Mar. 49
G-AGJL
Hobart
To Aquila Airways Mar. 49
G-AGJM
Hythe
To Aquila Airways Feb. 49
G-AGJN
Hudson
To Aquila Airways Feb. 49
G-AGJO
Humber
Written off Hythe Feb. 49
G-AGKV
Huntingdon
To Short Bros Dec. 48
G-AGKW
Hereford (later Hotspur)
To Short Bros Dec. 48
G-AGKX
Himalaya
Converted to Sandringham 1. To Aquila Airways May 49
G-AGKY
Hungerford
To Aquila Airways Jan. 49
G-AGKZ
Harwich
Withdrawn Jan. 49
G-AGLA
Hunter
To Aquila Airways Jan. 49
Short S.25 Sunderland V
G-AHEO
Halstead
To Aquila Airways Jul. 48
G-AHER
Helmsdale
To Aquila Airways Oct. 49
G-AHJR
Loaned to RAF Jun. 46–Apr. 48
Short S.25 Sandringham V Plymouth Class
SH.31C
G-AHYY
Portsmouth
Withdrawn Jun. 49
SH.34C
G-AHZA
Penzanc
e
Withdrawn Aug. 49
SH.36C
G-AHZE
Portsea
Withdrawn Sep. 49
SH.37C
G-AHZG
Pevensey
Withdrawn Sep. 49
SH.38C
G-AHZB
Portland
Crashed Bahrain Aug. 47
SH.39C
G-AHZC
Pembroke
Withdrawn 1952
SH.40C
G-AHZD
Portmarnock
Withdrawn Aug. 49
SH.41C
G-AHZF
Poole
Withdrawn Aug. 49
SH.56C
G-AJMZ
Perth
Withdrawn Aug. 49
Flying Boats Page 15