About this collection
- Black and white photograph of a Boeing 314. First aircraft to be operated in regular commercial service across the Atlantic in 1939, this Boeing 314 of Pan American World Airways was the largest flying boat ever used in airline service. The B-314, also operated on Pan American's Pacific routes, was 106 feet long and had a wing span of 152 feet. It carried 74 passengers at a cruising speed of about 150 miles per hour in luxury rivaling even today's most modern airliners. The B-314 saw service throughout the world during World War II and numbered among its passengers were President Roosevelt, Queen Wilhelmina of The Netherlands, and the highest ranking leaders of the United Nations armed forces.