The Martin M-130 was a commercial flying boat designed and built in 1935 by the Glenn L. Martin Company in Baltimore, MD, for Pan American Airways. Only three M-130s were built: the China Clipper, the Philippine Clipper and the Hawaii Clipper. A fourth flying boat (designated as M-156) called the Russian Clipper was built for the Soviet Union which was essentially identical to the three Pan Am models except that it had a larger wing (giving it a longer range) and twin vertical stabilizers.
Martin designated them as the Martin Ocean Transports, but to the public they were all referred to as the China Clipper, a name which evolved into a generic term for Pan Am's entire fleet of large flying boats - the Martin M-130, Sikorsky S-42, and Boeing 314.[1]
Designed to meet Pan American Airways President Juan Trippe's desire for a trans-Pacific aircraft,[2] the M-130 was an all-metal flying boat which employed streamlined aerodynamics and powerful engines, selling at US$417,000 a copy, to achieve Pan Am's specifications for range and payload. The M-130's first flight was on December 30, 1934.[3] On November 22, 1935, the China Clipper, piloted by Captain Edwin C. Musick and First Officer R.O.D. Sullivan flew the first trans-Pacific airmail route.[1] The Philippine Clipper inaugurated passenger service between the United States and Hong Kong on October 14, 1936. while later the same month, the Hawaii Clipper inaugurated scheduled trans-Pacific passenger service between California and the Philippines. The flight departed the United States on October 21, 1936, and the round trip to and from Manila required two weeks to complete.[1] In July 1938, the Hawaii Clipper disappeared over the Pacific on a flight between Guam and Manila with the loss of nine crew and six passengers. No cause for the loss was ever determined.[4]
Their range and capacity made them prime candidates to fulfill the over ocean hauling needs of the military during World War II. Beginning in 1942, the two remaining planes were pressed into transport roles for the United States Navy. The Philippine Clipper which somehow survived the Japanese attack on Wake Island following Pearl Harbor[5] crashed in 1943 when it hit the side of a mountain as it descended to land in San Francisco.[6] The final M-130 casualty was the China Clipper NC14716, wrecked at Port of Spain, Trinidad during landing on January 8, 1945.[7]
Historic credits to Wikipedia, aircraft is freeware by Jens B. Kristensen.
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