Experience the luxury of the World’s only 1930s giant flying boat | Season 1 – Episode 38

The Boeing 314 Clipper was an American long-range flying boat produced by the company from 1938 to 1941. It provided the ultimate in luxury airplane travel in its day un-matched even today in sheer elegance. One of the largest aircraft of its time it had the range to cross the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. While long range it still had to refuel when crossing the Atlantic.

In 1933 the world’s most famous aviator Charles Lindbergh was engaged as consultant to advise Pan American and other airlines about prospective routes across the Atlantic. He touched down that year in his Lockheed Sirius in Galway Bay with his wife Anne Morrow Lindbergh as his navigator. They were looking for an area on the West Coast of Ireland suitable as a refuelling a stop off point for transatlantic seaplanes. Trial flights were attempted before the final decision was made to use Foynes on the River Shannon estuary as the terminal for transatlantic air services.

That year a transatlantic air agreement was signed in Ottawa Canada and it was announced that Foynes had been chosen to handle the inaugural flying boat service. Foynes was chosen because it has a deep water harbour it is sheltered by Foynes Island and it had the infrastructure in place. The first arrivals and departures of seaplanes on the Shannon estuary occurred in July 1937. As a result Foynes became one of the centres of the aviation world in the 1930s and ‘40s. Foynes Flying Boat & Maritime Museum now is the only place in the world you can see get on board and view some of the luxurious facilities passengers enjoyed back then.

Pan American World Airways commonly known as Pan Am was the driving force behind the development of the Boeing 314. As there were few large airports in operation around the world Pan Am had requested a flying boat with unprecedented range. Boeing’s bid was successful and on July 21 1936 Pan American signed a contract for six at a cost of $4.8 million. Flying boats are different from sea planes as the used the fuselage to land on water rather than floats. As well as Pan Am there were two other airlines which used Foynes and they were:
• American Expert Airlines
• British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) – it purchased three 314’s in 1941 for $1 million each.

On board Boeing 314 Clipper 70 passengers were accommodated in armchair-style seating with tables in a series of separate compartments (six standard compartments and one deluxe). Night-time use was limited to 40 passengers with the compartments converted to provide full-length sleeping berths. Like a flying luxury hotel passengers would find their shoes cleaned and polished overnight.

There was a 14-seat dining room with linen tablecloths crystal glasses and full waiter service. About 300 pounds of food would be loaded up for a transatlantic flight with all the food prepared by two stewards. Food was described as being from four-star hotels served in style by white-coated waiters. Bathrooms offered plenty of space stools and makeup areas in the ladies’ bathroom and a separate urinal for the gentlemen. For all of this passengers paid the large sum of $375 one-way equal to about $7000 in today’s money or $675 return.

The Boeing 314 Clipper’s flight deck aka the ‘Bridge’ design was ground-breaking taking new steps to address the serious problem of crew fatigue on nonstop ocean flights. Every B314 flight had at least 11 crew members but more often than not they also had crew training on board. The ‘Bridge’ which was entirely lined in black to eliminate glare. Two pilots handled the controls that operated the plane. The top of the plane featured the celestial observation turret from which the flying boat’s position was checked against the sun moon and stars. At the back of the bridge was the navigation and radio room and a cargo hold which usually contained mail.

Foynes Flying Boat & Maritime Museum is located in the original Airport Terminal Building at the original transatlantic flying-boat terminus. Visitors to the museum can walk in the footsteps of JFK Bob Hope Eleanor Roosevelt and many other dignitaries movie stars and refugees who landed in Foynes during World War II. Visitors have a once in a lifetime opportunity to board the world’s only Boeing 314 Flying Boat and to try their hand at being a pilot on our flight simulators.

Looking back on the trans-Atlantic flying boat service they were slow traveling at only at around 155 miles per hour. This made for a long journeys 16 to 17 hours depending on the weather conditions and the strength of the head wind particularly heading west. The Second World War brought changes that quickly saw the demise of the flying boats. Many new airfields with infrastructure and long runways had been built around the world to serve the needs of the military. This made many longer routes possible without a water landing. Because they were no longer competitive with high-performance long-range land-planes Pan American terminated operation of the Boeing 314 flying boats in 1946.

The great flying clippers occupy a permanent place in the annals of transport aviation history. Accounts by passengers who once flew on these aircraft speak of them with great affection and nostalgia. In spaciousness and comfort they offered a means of air transportation as outmoded today as the luxury railway trains and steamships of the distant past.

Information sources:

• askaboutireland.ie
• Business Insider
• Foynes Flying Boat & Maritime Museum
• Historylink.org
• history.nasa.gov
• Irish America
• Irish Times
• Simpleflying.com