One of the most glamorous aircraft types ever to take to the skies, the Boeing 314 Clipper was designed to allow passengers and cargo to travel the vast expanses of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans with a level of style and comfort that rivaled that of large ocean liners.
Twelve aircraft were built for Pan American World Airways and BOAC, but the outbreak of World War II meant that these luxurious flying boats were used primarily for military purposes, with the aircraft serving as transports for Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.
Boeing 314 Clipper, known as the C-98 (clipper). A communications aircraft ordered by Pan American Airlines for passenger flights across the Atlantic. The Clipper was to be the first American aircraft to carry passengers across the North Atlantic on scheduled flights. The wing design was borrowed from the experimental XB-15 bomber. The prototype took to the air on 31 March 1938, after test flights the machine was launched into production. By 1940, 13 copies had been built, including six in the improved 314A version with increased range and new engines. The following aircraft were given their own names, the first being the "Yankie Clipper", "Dixie Clipper" and "Atlantic Clipper". Using a wide range of machines, phased air services over the Pacific Ocean were also launched. On 20 May 1939, after obtaining the consent of the British, a line was launched on the route New York - Lisbon - Marseille. And on 8 June 1939, the final connection to Southampton was launched. At first, only mail was transported, not trusting aircraft on such a long route.
