Sikorsky VS-44

The Sikorsky VS-44 is an American four-engine flying boat built by Sikorsky Aircraft, entering service in 1942 and built in only three examples, developed as a long-range transatlantic airliner for American Export Airlines shortly before the type's civilian career was interrupted by wartime priorities. Built with a large, deep hull for ocean landings and enough range to fly directly between the United States and Europe without the intermediate refueling stops most transatlantic flying boats of the era required, the VS-44 set a long-distance record for a transport aircraft on one of its early flights. The type's small production run and short operational life have made its surviving example, restored and preserved in a museum collection, a rare surviving representative of the golden age of transatlantic flying boat travel.