On this date in 1957, Pan American World Airways Boeing Model 377 Stratocruiser, Clipper America, flies from Christchurch, New Zealand, to the United States Navy’s Antarctic research station on Ross Island in McMurdo Sound. The flight was to test the feasibility of commercial flights to support the U.S. Navy’s operations in the Antarctic. Following this flight, Captain Ralph Savory, an expert in Arctic flying, said the lack of an alternate airport amid unpredictable weather deemed further flights too dangerous for commercial operations. No future flights were made.
Boeing built fifty-six 377s, a four-engine civil transport developed along with the military C-97 version from the B-29 Superfortress. It utilized the wings and engines of the improved B-50 Superfortress. The airliner was delivered to Pan American in 1949 and named Clipper Southern Cross. Later the name was changed to Clipper Reindeer, and finally, Clipper America, the name given to almost every Pan Am Stratocruisers during their service with the airline.
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