Boeing 314 Clipper

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Boeing Model 314 "Pacific Clipper" (née "California Clipper") with Pan American Airways c. 1941
(Airfix Boeing Clipper in 1/144 scale, kit SK602 c. 1967)

Depicts B-314 NC 18602 about the time of the US Entry into WWII.

On December 2, 1941, the Clipper departed from the Pan Am base on Treasure Island, San Francisco for its scheduled passenger service to Auckland, New Zealand. NC18602 made scheduled stops in San Pedro, California, Honolulu, Hawaii, Canton Island, Suva, Fiji and Nouméa, New Caledonia en route to Auckland when Pearl Harbor was attacked.

Cut off from the United States due to the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Captain Robert Ford was directed to strip company markings, registration, and insignia from the Clipper and proceed in secret to the Marine Terminal, LaGuardia Field, New York.

She landed at Pan American's LaGuardia Field seaplane base in New York City five weeks later, at 7:12 on the morning of January 6, 1942.

Ford and his crew successfully flew over 20,000 miles (32,000 km) from Auckland via Gladstone, Darwin, Surabaya, Ceylon, Karachi, Bahrain, Khartoum, Léopoldville (Belgian Congo), Natal, Brazil, and Port of Spain, and Trinidad.

I bought this kit for a buck in a bag with no decals or instructions at the IPMS Regionals in Richmond, VA. Although the date of this release is not marked, the kit dates back to the original Airfix release in 1967. I happened to have a later Minicraft release, which helped as I was able to scan the decals and re-print the relevant markings.

Windows were filled with clear acrylic resin.

Kit was painted with Humbrol Metalcote aluminium (rattlecan). Orange visibility markings were custom-mixed from Tamiya paints.

Boeing 314 Pacific Clipper c. 1941

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