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Boeing 314 Clipper
The Boeing 314 Clipper was an American long-range flying boat produced by Boeing from 1938 to 1941. One of the largest aircraft of its time, it had the range to cross the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. For its wing, Boeing re-used the design from the earlier XB-15 bomber prototype. Twelve Clippers were built, nine of which served with Pan Am. It was the first aircraft to carry a sitting American president, when in 1943 Franklin D. Roosevelt flew from Miami to the Casablanca Conference in Morocco, via Trinidad, Brazil, and The Gambia.
As early as 1935 Pan American had identified that a truly trans-Pacific flying boat with unprecedented range and double the passenger payload of the airline's Martin M-130 would be required particularly if they were to provide a service across the longer more difficult Atlantic route and requested proposals from a number of American manufacturers.
In February 1936, not long after the M-130s were introduced into service, Pan American launched a design competition for the first transoceanic airliner. Boeing, Douglas, Consolidated, Martin and Sikorsky were requested to provide preliminary studies and proposals for a long-range, four engine, marine aircraft. The new plane had to be able to transport up to 10,000 pounds of payload with a minimum range of 2,400 miles and cruise speed of 150 mph at an altitude of 10,000 feet. Pan American was also adamant about providing comfort, space, and luxury for their passengers, as well as providing the ultimate in safety. Martin proposed a larger modified version of their M-130 called the M-156 which would offer a longer range and bigger payload with either a 53-day or 26 sleeper configuration. Sikorsky proposed their S-45 whose six engines promised a 52,000 lb payload, but the first aircraft would not be available until late 1939 or early 1940 and it would cost more than the other proposals.
After receiving the Pan American request on February 28, 1936, Boeing decided not to submit a proposal. At the time, the company's resources were committed on simultaneous contracts for the United States Army Air Corps. The deadline had passed when a young Boeing engineer, Wellwood E. Beall, became aware of the Pan American project, and thought that Boeing should consider submitting a bid.
Beall had just returned to the United States in 1935 from serving as the company's Far Eastern manager with responsibility for selling the company's fighter and transport planes to the Chinese Government. During his time in China he had often thought about the design of a large flying boat and he now worked in his spare time on a preliminary design.
As Pan American had specified the engines and propellers in advance, Beall proposed to use the wing of the cancelled XB-15 bomber, which had already been designed and wind-tunnel tested; this would allow Boeing to confine the design effort to the hull and the flotation stability and tail assemblies. To supplement his preliminary design study, his then wife, well-known artist and muralist Jean Cory Beall, produced color paintings of the cabin interiors. His proposal was accepted by Boeing management, and he was given permission to request an extension from Pan American, which was granted.
Beall was transferred to the engineering department and allocated 11 engineers to work on the project. The engineering team calculated the optimum wingspan for the flying boat to be 152 ft (46 m) compared with the XB-15's 149 ft (45 m). The shortfall was overcome by adding 36 in (914 mm) to the width of the fuselage. He combined the wing with more powerful Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone engines, each of which produced 50% more power than the 850 hp (630 kW) of the XB-15's Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engines. The XB-15's engine nacelles were also retained, as they had originally been designed to house 2,600 hp (1,900 kW) Allison V-3420 liquid-cooled W engines which, since these were not ready, had been replaced on the bomber by the smaller and less powerful Pratt & Whitneys. The engineers estimated that their proposed design would weigh 40,000 lbs and could carry a payload of up to 42,500 lbs.
Sufficient work was completed by May 1936 for Beall, company president Claire Egtvedt, aerodynamicist Ralph LaVenture Cram (1906–1939) to depart on May 9, 1936, from Seattle to New York, where they made a presentation of their proposal to Pan American.
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Boeing 314 Clipper
The Boeing 314 Clipper was an American long-range flying boat produced by Boeing from 1938 to 1941. One of the largest aircraft of its time, it had the range to cross the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. For its wing, Boeing re-used the design from the earlier XB-15 bomber prototype. Twelve Clippers were built, nine of which served with Pan Am. It was the first aircraft to carry a sitting American president, when in 1943 Franklin D. Roosevelt flew from Miami to the Casablanca Conference in Morocco, via Trinidad, Brazil, and The Gambia.
As early as 1935 Pan American had identified that a truly trans-Pacific flying boat with unprecedented range and double the passenger payload of the airline's Martin M-130 would be required particularly if they were to provide a service across the longer more difficult Atlantic route and requested proposals from a number of American manufacturers.
In February 1936, not long after the M-130s were introduced into service, Pan American launched a design competition for the first transoceanic airliner. Boeing, Douglas, Consolidated, Martin and Sikorsky were requested to provide preliminary studies and proposals for a long-range, four engine, marine aircraft. The new plane had to be able to transport up to 10,000 pounds of payload with a minimum range of 2,400 miles and cruise speed of 150 mph at an altitude of 10,000 feet. Pan American was also adamant about providing comfort, space, and luxury for their passengers, as well as providing the ultimate in safety. Martin proposed a larger modified version of their M-130 called the M-156 which would offer a longer range and bigger payload with either a 53-day or 26 sleeper configuration. Sikorsky proposed their S-45 whose six engines promised a 52,000 lb payload, but the first aircraft would not be available until late 1939 or early 1940 and it would cost more than the other proposals.
After receiving the Pan American request on February 28, 1936, Boeing decided not to submit a proposal. At the time, the company's resources were committed on simultaneous contracts for the United States Army Air Corps. The deadline had passed when a young Boeing engineer, Wellwood E. Beall, became aware of the Pan American project, and thought that Boeing should consider submitting a bid.
Beall had just returned to the United States in 1935 from serving as the company's Far Eastern manager with responsibility for selling the company's fighter and transport planes to the Chinese Government. During his time in China he had often thought about the design of a large flying boat and he now worked in his spare time on a preliminary design.
As Pan American had specified the engines and propellers in advance, Beall proposed to use the wing of the cancelled XB-15 bomber, which had already been designed and wind-tunnel tested; this would allow Boeing to confine the design effort to the hull and the flotation stability and tail assemblies. To supplement his preliminary design study, his then wife, well-known artist and muralist Jean Cory Beall, produced color paintings of the cabin interiors. His proposal was accepted by Boeing management, and he was given permission to request an extension from Pan American, which was granted.
Beall was transferred to the engineering department and allocated 11 engineers to work on the project. The engineering team calculated the optimum wingspan for the flying boat to be 152 ft (46 m) compared with the XB-15's 149 ft (45 m). The shortfall was overcome by adding 36 in (914 mm) to the width of the fuselage. He combined the wing with more powerful Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone engines, each of which produced 50% more power than the 850 hp (630 kW) of the XB-15's Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engines. The XB-15's engine nacelles were also retained, as they had originally been designed to house 2,600 hp (1,900 kW) Allison V-3420 liquid-cooled W engines which, since these were not ready, had been replaced on the bomber by the smaller and less powerful Pratt & Whitneys. The engineers estimated that their proposed design would weigh 40,000 lbs and could carry a payload of up to 42,500 lbs.
Sufficient work was completed by May 1936 for Beall, company president Claire Egtvedt, aerodynamicist Ralph LaVenture Cram (1906–1939) to depart on May 9, 1936, from Seattle to New York, where they made a presentation of their proposal to Pan American.