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“What’s up Gene?!” Asked Rod Brown the plane’s Second Officer, who’d been close enough to witness the radioman’s reaction and now moved to his side. “The Japs have attacked Pearl Harbour!” “You’ve got to be kidding.” “No! No!” Leach insisted, “Just now… they bombed Pearl Harbour! No joke man!” Seeing the expression of horror on Leach’s face soon dispelled any doubt in Brown’s mind. And then the reality of what this meant hit him: if the Pacific was no longer a friendly sea then they were cut off. They had no route home. Brown headed towards the cockpit to warn...

Just as the flying boat seemed about to hit the gorges he gave one final, desperate, heave on the yoke and she finally broke a few inches free from the water. The California Clipper flew forward over the rim of the gorge. Without the benefit of the ground effect that had allowed her to break free of the surface, she immediately plunged down into the rocky defile below, curving out just above the water once again. The plane was now racing along just a few feet above the water through the narrow rock walls of the Congo valley. With her...

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One of the last two Flying Boats from World War II -- a 747-sized airplane that can only land on water -- will be floating on Lake Elsinore this summer, ready to dump tons of water on Southern California wildfires. The 'Mighty Martins' One of the last two Flying Boats from World War II -- a 747-sized airplane that can only land on water -- will be floating on Lake Elsinore this summer, ready to dump tons of water on Southern California wildfires, it was reported today. A Martin Mars JRM-3 flying boat -- with a wingspan greater than a...

TEHERAN: Iran successfully tested a "super-modern flying boat" yesterday and the land-to-sea Kowsar missile that military analysts say is designed to sink ships in the Gulf, state media reported. The tests came in the middle of the country's Gulf war games that started on Friday. State radio said the Kowsar could evade radar and that its guidance system could not be scrambled. The Defence Ministry was not immediately able to give details of a "flying boat" that was shown on television. The small propeller-driven aircraft floated on a trimaran hull until it took off and flew low over the surface...

Iran: Stealth 'Flying Boat' Successfully Tested Tuesday, April 04, 2006 TEHRAN, Iran — Iran said Tuesday it had tested what it called a "super-modern flying boat" capable of evading radar. State TV showed a brief clip of the boat's launch. "Due to its advanced design, no radar at sea or in the air can detect it. It can lift out of the water," the television said. It said the boat was "all Iranian-made and can launch missiles with precise targeting while moving."

30 years after the Wright Brothers made their first successful powered flight a young and successful businessman, Howard Hughes, decided to build the world's fastest land plane. The aircraft was Hughes' first design and was therefore dubbed the "H-1." Howard Hughes had three major goals in the design of the H-1: it had to be the fastest land plane in the world, it had to have a range that would carry it from coast to coast without refueling, and it had to be a practical aircraft to fly and to operate. Howard Hughes and his design team met each goal...