China Clipper (NC14716) was the first of three Martin M-130 four-engine flying boats built for Pan American Airways and was used to inaugurate the first commercial transpacific airmail service from San Francisco to Manila on November 22, 1935. Built at a cost of $417,000 by the Glenn L. Martin Company in Baltimore, Maryland, it was delivered to Pan Am on October 9, 1935. It was one of the largest airplanes of its time.
On November 22, 1935, it took off from Alameda, California, on commission to deliver the first airmail cargo across the Pacific Ocean. Although its inaugural flight plan called for the China Clipper to fly over the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge (still under construction at the time), upon take-off the pilot realized the plane would not clear the structure, and was forced to fly narrowly under instead. On November 29, the airplane reached its destination, Manila, after traveling via Honolulu, Midway Island, Wake Island, and Sumay, Guam, and delivered over 110,000 pieces of mail. The crew for this flight included Edwin C. Musick as pilot and Fred Noonan as navigator.
The inauguration of ocean airmail service and commercial air flight across the Pacific was a significant event for both California and the world. Its departure point is California Historical Landmark #968 and can be found in Naval Air Station Alameda.
Although each clipper that joined the Pan American fleet to serve on their Trans-Pacific routes was given an individual name, collectively they were known as the China Clippers.
Although a Sikorsky S-42 flying boat was used on the initial proving flights, it had insufficient range to carry passengers along the route. Consequently, the passenger service was started with Martin M-130 flying boats:
China Clipper (NC-14716) October 1935
Philippine Clipper (NC-14715) November 1935
Hawaii Clipper (NC-14714) March 1936
Later the larger Boeing 314 Clipper flying boats were assigned to the route:
Honolulu Clipper (NC-18601) January 1939
California Clipper (NC-18602) January 1939
Pacific Clipper (NC-18609(A)) May 1941
Additional clippers were assigned to the Trans-Atlantic and South American routes operated by Pan-American.
The Martin M-130 wingspan was 130 feet (39.6 m) and it weighed 52,000 pounds (23,587 kg). It was powered by four Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp 14-cylinder radial engines and could achieve a maximum speed of 180 miles per hour (156 kn; 290 km/h). The aircraft had a maximum range of 3,200 miles (2,800 nmi; 5,100 km) with a cruising ceiling of 17,000 feet (5,182 m) and could carry 18 passengers on overnight trips, or 46 passengers on single-day trips.
The clippers were, for all practical purposes, luxury flying hotels, with sleeping accommodation, dining rooms and leisure facilities in addition to the usual aircraft seating. On early flights, the crew outnumbered the passengers. As a result, the price of a return air ticket from San Francisco to Honolulu was $1700 (equivalent to $38,000 in 2025). In comparison, a brand-new Plymouth automobile cost about $600 in the late 1930s.
Considerable effort was put into preparing for the inauguration of the first Trans-Pacific airmail flight. In San Francisco the celebrations for the inaugural trans-Pacific airmail flight included fireworks, while a band played a Sousa march. Eleven days prior, Musick had flown the China Clipper from the Glenn L. Martin factory in Middle River, Maryland, to California for the inaugural event. Ships docked in the bay to observe the historic event, sounding their whistles and sirens in tribute. It was estimated that up to a hundred thousand people watched from the various shores of San Francisco Bay. Several speeches were made by various public figures after which there was a ceremonial loading of the numerous mail bags. Musick's sailing orders were publicly delivered by his boss, Juan Trippe, while the entire event was broadcast by CBS and NBC radio and also transmitted on seven foreign networks.
The relatively short range of the aircraft meant that hotel, catering, docking, repair, road and radio facilities had to be put in place at the intermediate stops along the route, particularly on the virtually uninhabited islands of Wake and Midway. Nearly a half a million miles were flown along the route before any paying passengers were carried.
The China Clipper was the first commercial aircraft to establish a regular airmail route from the United States across the Pacific Ocean. On its inaugural airmail flight the China Clipper took off from Alameda, California, on November 22, 1935, making its way to Manila via Honolulu, Midway Island, Wake Island, and Guam over the course of one week. All stops were chosen on the basis that were links in an “all-American” flag route, i.e. countries friendly with the United States.