Atlantic affinity Boeing and the UK celebrate 75 years as friends and partners By Bill Seil 30 BOEING FRONTIERS / MAY 2013 June 1938 marked an important mile-stone in commercial aviation—and the beginning of a vital partnership between Boeing and the United Kingdom. The first flight of the Boeing 314 Clipper flying boat on June 7 opened the door to luxurious trans-Atlantic air travel. The Model 314 remains one of the most iconic and beloved aircraft in the history of aviation. A less visible, though historically significant, event occurred later that month, on June 22, when the British Air Ministry signed a contract with North American Aviation, a Boeing heritage company, for the purchase of 200 NA-49 Harvard combat trainers. This year, Boeing is celebrating the 75th anniversary of that major purchase, which marked the begin-ning of Boeing’s long-standing relationship with the United Kingdom. The partnership was strengthened in 1939 when the Air Ministry announced it was purchasing an additional 200 Harvards, and Pan American Airways announced it was inaugurating the first regular passenger service from New York to Southampton, England, using Boeing 314 Clippers. During World War II, the British military continued to use aircraft from Boeing and its heritage companies, including the Boeing B-17 bomber, the Douglas Dakota military transport (based on the DC-3), PHOTOS: (Clockwise from above) This Boeing 314 Clipper was one of three transferred from Pan American Airways to British Overseas Airways Corp. for military service during World War II; the NA-49 Harvard trainer, shown under construction in 1939 at North American Aviation’s production facility in Inglewood, Calif.; this Douglas DB-7—known as the “Boston” in Royal Air Force service—was built under license in Seattle by Boeing. BOEING ARCHIVES
Frontiers May 2013 Issue
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