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Product Description
Martin M-130 "Clipper" Flying Boat
41 seats * 130 mph This model is available here in either 1:700 or 1:600 scale. Please check your choice of scale and material at the top right of this page.
For a set of two M-130s including a waterline model version , separate propellers and a beaching trolley, please see HERE.
Designed to meet Pan American World Airways President Juan Trippe's desire for a trans-Pacific aircraft,the M-130 was an all-metal flying boat with streamlined aerodynamics and engines powerful enough to meet Pan Am's specified range and payload. They were sold at US$417,000 compared with $78,000 for a Douglas DC-2, the largest contemporary landplane airliner. The first flight was on December 30, 1934.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.
Weekly passenger flights across the Pacific Ocean began in October 1936 when Hawaii Clipper left San Francisco for Manila, stopping overnight at Honolulu, Midway Island, Wake Island and Guam. An S-42 began flying the Manila-Hong Kong route in 1937, and the Martins replaced it in 1938
.In July 1938, Hawaii Clipper disappeared between Guam and Manila with the loss of nine crew and six passengers. No cause was determined.
Their range and capacity made them valuable for trans-ocean military flights during World War II. Beginning in 1942, the two remaining planes were pressed into transport roles for the United States Navy.
The M-130 has a remarkable place in history but only three were built.
Historical notes are from the book"PanAm - an airline and its aircraft" by R.E.G. Davies and Wikipedia.