'Arrival of Havana Clipper at Biscayne Bay.' The name of the third S-40 is listed as Southern Clipper. The photographer probably meant 'the Clipper from Havana'. Photo by: Gleason Waite Romer / Miami-Dade Public Library

The first S-42 returning from its maiden trip to Buenos Aires. Photo by: Gleason Waite Romer / Miami-Dade Public Library

Christened here by Eleanor Roosevelt. Photo from: Library of Congress

Seaplanes docked on the north side of Santos Dumont, near the Museu Histórico Nacional. Ilha das Cobras and the llha Fiscal Castle are seen in the background. Photo by: John Phillips / Life

The last Boeing 314 to be built, NC18612 was formally delivered to the US Army Air Force as a C-98 in September 1941. There is little sign of its military status, although it is of interest that the C of the NC reg is not worn. Photo by: Hart Preston / Life

Registration cancelled in 1934. The building visible below the engine is Hotel Almendares. Photo from: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Reputed to be the first passenger flight between Manila and Hong Kong. Pan American initially used S-42s for the final two stages of its trans-Pacific passenger services. Martin M-130s flew the stages from San Francisco to Manila. Hong Kong's water airport was a jetty at Kai Tak aerodrome. NC16724, later renamed Samoan Clipper, exploded on January 11, 1938 while attempting to dump fuel so it could return to Samoa. Killed was famed Pan Am pilot Ed Musick. Photo from: National Library of Australia

The New York - Bermuda service inaugurated by Pan Am and Imperial Airways in 1937 was aimed at tourists, but Bermuda was planned to become an important stop in the upcoming transatlantic flying boat traffic, hence the large new building in the background, not yet marked 'Bermuda Airport - Imperial Airways' here. Darrell's Island is a small islet so onward boat transport was necessary - no effort was spared to make passengers seasick as well as airsick, it seems! Photo from: University of Miami

NC16735 Bermuda Clipper made a series of survey flights from New York to Bermuda in May and June 1937 before a regular service was started by Pan Am and Imperial Airways. Photo from: University of Miami

'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

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

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

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.

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)

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

Pan Am's one and only China Clipper at Alameda in 1936. I took this with a 620 Box Brownie camera at age 14.

Third S-43, the first for Pan Am. Also flew as NX15063 and deliveries to Pan Am were reportedly delayed. To Panair do Brasil subsidiary in 1940 as PP-PBA. Photo by: Rudy Arnold / Smithsonian Institution