'First Atlantic survey flight to Lisbon.' Another shot confirms the registration. NC16736 wore the name Pan American Clipper III just a month earlier. Photo probably taken off Alverca which handled seaplanes until 1938 when the Aeroporto Marítimo de Cabo Ruivo was established near the new landplane airport at Portela. Photo from: University of Miami

Leased by Pan Am in 1947, this L-749 made the 'first commercial flight around the world' - New York to San Francisco via Europe and Asia. It completed the circumnavigation as a ferry flight because Pan Am was not allowed to fly domestic services. PAA could carry passengers between foreign cities on the route, however, and it was in the timetable as PA flight 1 and 2 for many years. The Constellation became F-BAZR and F-ZVMV and survives with the Musée the l'Air. Photo from: University of Miami

The S-40 came with full landing gear, but it could and was often removed to save weight. Ring cowlings were quickly removed from the R-1860 Hornet B engines. These were replaced with supercharged R-1690 Hornet T2D1s in 1935 to produce the S-40A. Photo by: Jesse S Wooley / University of Miami

A USAF aircraft diverted for postwar use by Pan American. Ex USAAF C-54G 45-545, converted by Douglas to civil C54G-DC in early 1947 (conversion #74) and delivered to Pan Am in March 1947. In 1954 it was returned to the USAF as 45-545. Photo from: Whites Aviation Collection/Alexander Turnbull Library

Subsequent registrations JA8165, N747CK.

Unnamed. Looking rather shabby - the rudder and the upper front fuselage are particularly bad!

Delivered new 22nd Apr 1982 and registered CP-2365 to Aerosur 5th Oct 1998

Highly symbolic of the end of the era of exploration in aviation: an American and a British flying boat on route surveying flights meet up in far-flung New Zealand. The Short S.23 Empire of Imperial Airways is G-ADUT Centaurus. Pan Am's Samoan Clipper arrived back in Honolulu on 3 January 1938. Unfortunately, during her next flight to New Zealand she exploded south of Pago Pago, American Samoa, on 11 January, kiling her seven crew including the famous Captain Ed Musick. Photo from: Whites Aviation Collection/Alexander Turnbull Library

Clipper 'Belle of the Sky' is just airborne off RWY 16.

About to land on runway 30 at MIA with parked and holding aircraft in the background. Originally delivered to National Airlines who then merged with Pan Am. Later it flew as 4K-AZ2 with AZAL Azerbaijan Hava Yollari, N461RD with Dodson International and 5N-BCY with Freedom Air Service. Currently on display at PTG / FAPB.

A seaplane journey to Latin America on Pan Am started here at Dinner Key in Miami. The terminal building is now the Miami City Hall. NC15064 to Panair do Brazil as PP-PAW.

A Pan Am 'Strato Clipper' over the Hawaiian islands with Diamond Head, Oahu in the background. Aircraft inherited from American Overseas Airlines. Renamed Clipper Mandarin at some point. Withdrawn from use in 1960. To Israel in 1962. Preserved at Hatzerim. Photo from: SFO Museum

The dawn of heavier-than-air passenger service across the Atlantic, 28 June 1939. Somewhat embarrassingly the flight had taken four days due to fog at the Botwood, Newfoundland stop. The aircraft carried 19 passengers, twelve crew and 60,000 letters but this was not considered a regular flight, which causes some confusion. On 28 June, NC18605 Dixie Clipper departed New York on the first regular passenger flight, via the 'southern route' to Marseille through the Azores. Yankee was back in NY on 2 July and flew the first regular pax service to Southampton on 8-9 July. She had also made the first mail flights, to Marseille in May and to Southampton in June. Photo from: Nationaal Archief (Netherlands)

The first of three S-40 flying boats for PAA, first flown on 6 August 1931. Large airliners for their day, they carried up to 38 passengers. First Lady Lou Hoover christened N80V the first Pan Am Clipper, American Clipper, on 12 October 1931. Charles Lindbergh piloted it on its first scheduled flight from Miami one week later, although he was critical of the draggy design. Photo from: Nationaal Archief (Netherlands)

300,000 people reportedly turned out for the three-day 'flight festival' around the dedication of the new terminal at SFO. Photo from: SFO Museum

Overflying Pan Am's new seaplane terminal on Treasure Island. All buildings of the Golden Gate International Exposition were razed down in 1940 to make room for a new land airport, but it became a naval facility instead. This is the second Boeing 314 airframe, the first to fly with triple tailfins. Named California Clipper, it was approaching Auckland in New Zealand on a regular transoceanic flight on 7 December 1941 when news came in of the Japanese attack against Pearl Harbor. Captain Robert Ford was ordered to proceed westward to New York and managed to complete an amazing 50,000 km trip via Australia, Java, Ceylon, Karachi, Bahrain, Sudan, Congo and Brazil. Photo from: SFO Museum

Later renamed Bermuda Clipper. The S-42 was used mainly on Pan Am's Miami - Rio route. Pending the completion of the Marine Air Terminal at New York - LGA, the modest Port Washington facility on Long Island was used for Atlantic flights, although revenue services only reached as far as Bermuda until the Boeing 314 became available just before WWII. Photo by: Rudy Arnold / Smithsonian Institution

Overflying the under-construction San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, which is not the Golden Gate Bridge. San Francisco is the closest US west coast city to Hawaii and Pan Am's Pacific flying boat terminal was to be built on artificial Treasure Island, to the left of Yerba Buena Island, in the background. The S-42 had insufficient range to start transoceanic services but Pan American Clipper was used for experimental Pacific flights, hence the NR registration. Photo by: Clyde Sunderland / California State Library