Civilian Flying Boats in 1935
The State of the World
'Sikorsky S-42, S-38, and S-40 flying boats at Dinner Key, Miami, 1935'
Water Color By
IAN MARSHALL,
Flying Boats, The J-Class Yachts of Aviation
Why Commercial Flying Boats?
The flying boats were designed because there were originally very few long runways that could handle a large airliner. The flying boat overcame this handicap with ready made water runways available all over the world.
The great flying boats occupy a permanent place in the annals of transport aviation history. Present-day 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.| Country | Manufacturer | Model | Engines | Range | Cruise Speed | Passengers |
| US | Sikorsky | S-42 | 4x Pratt & Whitney R-1690 Hornet Radial Engines (750 horsepower each) | 1,200 miles | 150 mph | 28-32 |
| US | Glenn L. Martin Company | M-130 | 4x Pratt & Whitney R-1830-S2A5G Twin Wasp 14-cylinder Radial Engines (830 horsepower each) | 3,200 miles | 163 mph | 18-46 (18 night) |
| UK | Short | S 17 "Kent" | 4x Bristol Jupiter XFBM air-cooled single-row radial poppet valve piston engine, 555 hp (414 kW) each | 450 miles | 137 mph | 15 |
| FR | Bleriot | BL 5190 | 4x Hispano-Suiza 12 Nbr. 12-cylinder V, liquid cooler (650 hp) | 1,900 | 118 mph | 6 |
| US | Sikorsky | S-43 | Pratt & Whitney R-1690-52 Hornet (751 hp each) |
774 miles 2,500 w/ ferry tanks |
165 mph | 15 - 18 |
The End of an Era
After World War Two (1939 - 1945) many long range landplanes existed as surplus bombers and transports. In addition, countries all over the world had built long concrete runways for the military. The proliferation of long runways and long range land planes signaled the end of the great flying boat era.
When hostiles ended, it was natural that the airlines should restart the services interrupted by the war. The airlines purchased surplus DC-3s, DC-4s and DC-6s that were no longer needed by the United States Military. Most post-war domestic airlines restarted with the Douglas C-47 (DC-3) Dakota. The long haul over-ocean airlines (Pan American, TWA, BOAC and KLM) purchased the C-54 Skymaster (DC-4 and DC-6 aircraft).
The Great Flying Boats were sold off at a fraction of their original cost. Some went to scrap yards others to ill fated charter airlines. They live on only in the annals of aviation history
The Epic Struggle for the Pacific Airways
Copyright 2007-2009 by Jamie Dodson. All rights reserved.
Created on ... February 09, 2007
Updated... March 28, 2009