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Hong Kong Clipper by Stan Stokes.
The Glen L. Martin Company had a long history as a designer and manufacturer of successful flying boats. The company had developed several different flying boats for the Navy, including the PM the P3M and the XP2M. However, when the company began considering the development of a large commercial flying boat for Pan Am, there was considerable internal controversy. The Great Depression was underway and many aircraft manufacturers were going bankrupt. Glenn Martin insisted that the company proceed, and lie was highly motivated to show the world that his organization could design and produce the finest flying boat ever built. The end product of their efforts was the M-130. Credit for its design is shared with Martins Chief Engineer (L.C. Milburn), the Project Engineer (L.D. McCarthy), test pilot (WX. Ebel), and Pail Ams Chief Engineer (Andre Priester.) The first of the three MA 3 Os was the China Clipper. It made its maiden flight on December 30, 1934. The M- 130 had a wingspan of 130 feet, a gross weight of 5 1,000 pounds, and was initially powered by four Twin Wasp radials generating 830-HP each. (In 1938 more powerful engines and automatically adjustable pitch props were refitted onto all three M-130s.) The M-130 had a capacity of 32 passengers, and were equipped with 18 sleeping births. They were flown by a crew of eight professionals. The practical range of the aircraft with a normal load was about 3000-miles, which at a typical cruising speed of 130-MPH implied an endurance of almost 24 hours in the air. One unique design feature of the M-130 was the use of sponsons, or water wings, which actually helped the aircraft lift off from the water. The three M-130s were christened the China, Hawaii and Philippine Clippers by Pan Am. The China Clipper was accepted by Pan Am in October of 1935. In November this aircraft flew from Alameda, California to Manila in the Philippines; completing the 8,200 mile journey with a total flight time of 59 hours and 48 minutes. It arrived in Manila only two minutes behind its scheduled arrival time. The Philippine Clipper entered service next and was used for survey flights to map the Manila to Hong Kong route. The Hawaii Clipper entered service in October of 1936. This aircraft, unfortunately was lost during a flight in 1938 from Guarn to Manila, and its fate is unknown. The Philippine Clipper was lost in 1943 on a flight from Hawaii to San Francisco. Lost in bad weather the plane hit a mountain northwest of the city. The China Clipper was utilized by the US Navy during the War, and was returned to Pan AM in late 1943. For the next year it flew the route from Miami to Africa. On the night of January 18, 1945 the China Clipper crashed while attempting a landing in Trinidad. At the time of this tragedy the aircraft had successfully flown more than three million miles. In Stan Stokes painting the China Clipper takes off from Hong Kongs busy harbor in the late 1930s. The China Clipper may be the best known and most-loved commercial aircraft in history. It signalled the beginning of long distance commercial airline service, which by revolutionizing international passenger travel and mail delivery, made the Earth a rnuch smaller place for all of its inhabitants.
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