| VS-44 | |
|---|---|
| Excambian | |
| Role | Flying Boat |
| Manufacturer | Sikorsky Aircraft |
| Designer | Igor Sikorsky |
| First flight | 13 August 1937 |
| Introduction | 10 February 1942 |
| Retired | 1968 |
| Primary users | American Export Airlines Tampico Airlines Avalon Air Transport Antilles Air Boats |
| Number built | 4 |
| Unit cost | $400,000 US |
The Sikorsky VS-44 was a large four-engined flying boat built in the USA in the early 1940s. The VS-44 was designed primarily for the trans-Atlantic passenger market, with a capacity of 40+ passengers. Only three aircraft were produced: Excalibur, Excambian, and Exeter.[1]
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In the early 1930s, the primary mode of long distance air travel over oceans was the flying boat design, due to the ease of constructing docking facilities on shore without having to construct runways and the very real possibility of equipment malfunctions forcing a sea landing. Among the top flying boat designers was Russian immigrant Igor Sikorsky who had founded Sikorsky Aero Engineering Company when he came to the US in 1919. In 1930, his company became a subsidiary of United Aircraft.
In March 1935, the United States Navy was making plans for a new patrol bomber that would have increased performance and weapon load capability from their newly procured Consolidated YP3Y-1. Prototypes were ordered from Sikorsky in June 1935 and Consolidated Aircraft in July 1936. Sikorsky's entry, the XPBS-1 (BuNo. 9995), made its first flight on 9 September 1937, the Consolidated XPB2Y-1 on 17 December of the same year.
The XPBS-1 was evaluated by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1938, but the Navy contract ultimately went to Consolidated. The XPBS-1 remained in naval service, temporarily operated by Patrol Wing Five at Norfolk, Virginia in 1939, then by Patrol Wing Two at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, until it was finally assigned to transport squadron VR-2 at Naval Air Station Alameda, in 1940. On 30 June 1942, the XPBS-1 hit a submerged log upon landing at NAS Alameda. Among its passengers was CINCPAC Admiral Chester W. Nimitz who suffered minor injuries, while one member of the flight crew, Lt. Thomas M. Roscoe, died. The XPBS-1 sank and was lost.[2]
By 1940 Sikorsky had merged with Chance Vought under the umbrella of United Aircraft and hoped to regain the Pan Am Clipper routes once serviced by their S-42 with the new Vought-Sikorsky VS-44, based on the XPBS-1.
A single deck seaplane with four twin-row Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasps rated at 1,200 horsepower (895 kW) each, the new aircraft was 80 feet (24 m) in length and weighed in at 57,500 lb (26,100 kg) for takeoff. The Boeing 314 Clipper was larger and had more powerful Wright Twin Cyclones of 1,600 horsepower (1,193 kW), but the VS-44 was 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) faster and could fly an average payload more than 4,000 miles (6,400 km), out distancing the big Boeing by 500 mi (800 km) giving it the longest full-payload range of any aircraft in the world. The VS-44 brought home several new world records after it went into operation, but, missing out on a Pan Am contract, who instead purchased the Martin M-130 and later the Boeing 314 Clipper.[3], the VS-44’s limited production would never even recoup the development costs.
American Export Airlines (AEA) ordered three VS-44s, dubbed ‘Flying Aces’ and named Excalibur (NX41880; later as NC41880), Excambian (no NX; later as NC41881), and Exeter (no NX; later as NC41882) after the parent company's Four Aces passenger liners. AEA had grown out of the American Export Lines steamship line, so naturally these planes gave nothing away to cruise ships. Sikorsky’s standard of luxury boasted full-length beds, dressing rooms, full galley, snack bar, lounge and fully controlled ventilation.
The outbreak of World War II put civilian transatlantic air services on hold. Now under a Navy contract, with the Navy designation JR2S-1, AEA’s three VS-44’s continued flying between New York, New York and Foynes, Ireland, carrying passengers, freight and materiel. The first VS-44, Excalibur, crashed on takeoff in 1942 at Botwood, Newfoundland, killing 11 of the 37 aboard.[4]
After the war, the two remaining VS-44s continued to fly for AEA, now renamed American Overseas Airlines (AOA) and operated by American Airlines.
In 1946, Exeter was sold to TACI of Montevideo, Uruguay, as CX-AIR. It crashed on August 15, 1947 while landing in River Plate off Montevideo when (allegedly) returning from a smuggling flight to Paraguayan rebels. 4 out of the 5 crew were killed, but both passengers survived.
In 1949, AOA sold Excambian to Tampico Airlines. A short-lived effort to restore the only remaining VS-44 to run freight in the Amazon was unsuccessful, leaving the flying boat boat stranded in Ancon Harbor, Peru.
By the late 1950s, two Southern California businessmen had heard of the Excambian's plight and had her ferried to Long Beach, where restoration work began. Dick Probert and Walter von Kleinsmid of Avalon Air Transport, (AAT) thought the big VS-44 would be perfect for the Catalina tourist trade. AAT named her Mother Goose, to complement the line’s Grumman Goose amphibians, and plans were made to utilize her to meet summer travel demands. In the winter, N41881 would undergo maintenance.
Excambian carried thousands of passengers for AAT until 1967 when it was sold to Charles Blair of Antilles Air Boats. Blair, husband of actress Maureen O'Hara, acquired Excambian to ferry passengers among the Virgin Islands. On January 3, 1969 she was extensively damaged by rocks while taxiing at Charlotte Amalie, US Virgin Islands. Assessed as being damaged beyond economic repair, it was beached in March 1972 and converted into a hot dog stand.
In 1976, Excambian was donated to the Naval Aviation Museum at Pensacola, Florida and eventually put on permanent loan to the New England Air Museum in Connecticut. NEAM restored Excambian to its post-World War II American Export Airlines livery with volunteer help from some of the former Sikorsky workers who had built the original VS-44.[5]
Data from Sharpe, 2000. p 309.
General characteristics
Performance
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