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Are there any Clipper planes left?

Are there any Clipper planes left?

Auto, Aviation & Transportation

The Boeing 314 Clipper, also known as the “Flying Boat,” was a large commercial seaplane that was operated by Pan American Airways from 1938 to 1946.

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A Boeing 314 “Clipper” in flight. This Boeing 314 (c/n 2081; US civil registration NC18607) was built for the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and served with the UK registration G-AGBZ from 1941 to 1948. Sold to the General Phoenix Corporation, Baltimore, Maryland (USA), as NC18607 in 1948 and later scrapped.

In the mid-1930s, Pan American Airways (Pan Am) approached Boeing with a request for a new seaplane that could carry passengers and mail across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The resulting design was the Boeing 314, a massive aircraft with a wingspan of 152 feet and a range of 3,500 miles.

The first 314, named the “California Clipper,” made its inaugural flight in June 1938. It was soon followed by nine more 314s, which were used by Pan Am to operate transoceanic routes to Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America.

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The Yankee Clipper in 1939

The 314 was a luxurious aircraft, with a spacious interior that included a dining room, lounge, and sleeping compartments for passengers. It also had a lower deck that could carry cargo and mail.

The 314 played an important role in the early days of transoceanic air travel, carrying famous passengers such as Howard Hughes, Ernest Hemingway, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

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The California Clipper at Cavite, the Philippines, 1940

It was also used for military purposes during World War II, including as a transport for high-ranking officials and as a reconnaissance aircraft.

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However, the 314’s large size and high operating costs made it difficult to maintain profitability, and by the end of the war, it had been largely replaced by newer, more efficient aircraft. The last 314 flight took place in 1946, and most of the aircraft were scrapped or sold for scrap.

Despite its relatively short lifespan, the Boeing 314 Clipper is remembered as an important and innovative aircraft that helped to advance the technology and capabilities of commercial aviation.

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Boeing 314 Clipper in Shediac Bay, c. 1941

Its legacy is also reflected in the many seaplane designs that followed. As well as in the continuing interest in vintage aviation and the history of air travel.

Honolulu Clipper departed Hawaii on 3 November 1945 with an Operation Magic Carpet flight carrying 26 military personnel returning to the United States after service in the Pacific. The aircraft lost power in both starboard engines after five hours of flying, and successfully landed 650 miles east of Oahu shortly before midnight. The merchant tanker Englewood Hills maintained radio contact, found the aircraft and removed the passengers on the morning of 4 November. The escort carrier Manila Bay arrived and sent over aircraft mechanics who were unable to repair the engines at sea. Manila Bay then attempted to tow the aircraft; but the tow line parted as weather deteriorated. The seaplane tender San Pablo was assigned to tow the flying boat into port. The tow proceeded slowly until 7 November when Honolulu Clipper rode down the crest of a wave and smashed into the side of San Pablo. The collision crushed the airplane’s bow and sheared off the starboard wingtip. Honolulu Clipper was intentionally sunk on 14 November by perforating the hull with 1200 20mm Oerlikon shells after salvage was deemed impractical.
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Boeing 314 in US Navy colors, c. 1942
Pan American Honolulu Clipper Boeing 314 Flying BoatNX-18601 being intentionally sunk by a navy ship.


Sadly 0 clipper ships remain. Gone but, not forgotten.

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Are there any Clipper planes left?

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