USPS Classic American Aircraft -- Boeing 314 Clipper

USPS in 2013 issued a series of classic American aircraft stamps, among these being the first day cover stamp of the Boeing 314 Clipper which was  flown by Pan American Airlines. This first day cover cancellation  is postmarked Honolulu

Pan Am got its start in 1927, flying mail between Key West, Florida and Havana, Cuba. By 1936, the company,was ready to develop its transoceanic service. Boeing was recruited to build a comfortable 74-passenger airplane with a range of 3,500 miles – a monumental request. Although Boeing considered declining the offer, instead it took the XB-15 high-wing – predecessor of the Flying Fortress – and added a luxurious double-decker hull. In order to lift the craft, crew, and payload, it installed four of the most powerful engines available – Wright Twin Cyclone 14-cylinder engines.

The six glamorous 314 Clippers that began service in 1939 flew only a few short years, but garnered many firsts. Not only did they fly the first transpacific flight in 1936, but also the first transatlantic flight in 1939, and the first round-the-world flight in 1947.