loading image
In 1931, the longest over-water flying boat passenger service was operated by Pan American. The five hundred mile flight from Kingston, Jamaica to Barranquilla, Colombia, was part of Pan Am’s Miami, Florida to Cristobal, Panama service. Piloted by Charles Lindbergh, the inaugural flight departed from Miami on November 19, 1931. Operated by a Sikorsky S-40, the largest plane built in America at the time, the flight would leave Kingston at 6:30 am and arrive at Barranquilla at noon. The S-40 could operate at a maximum speed of 137 miles per hour and could carry up to 38 passengers. Nicknamed the “Clipper America,” the S-40 was the first aircraft to be given the “Clipper” name. Only three S-40 were ever built as Juan Trippe, the founder of Pan American, and Charles Lindbergh did not like the design. #52Objects photograph: Pan American Airways, Sikorsky S-40 landing at Dinner Key Passenger Terminal, Miami; c. 1931 Gift of the Captain John B. Russell Family 2012.149.1482
This image was posted on November 21, 2023.