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Flying boats aircraft were among the largest aircraft of the first half of the 20th century; their ability to land on water allowing them to break free of the size constraints and general lack of land based runways. Their ability to land on water also made them important for the rescue of downed pilots, a capability put to great use in World War II. Following World War II, their use gradually trailed off, with many of the roles taken over by other aircraft types. In the 20th century, flying boats maintain a few niche uses, such as for dropping water on forest fires.

The flying boat NC-4 was the first airplane to fly across the Atlantic Ocean in 1919. In the 1920s and 1930s, flying boats made it possible to have regular air transport between the U.S. and Europe, opening up new air travel routes to South AmericaSouth America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. South America is situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. It became attached to North America only recently, geologically speaking, wi, AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. 30,244,050 km2 (11,677,240 mi2) including the islands, it covers 20. 3% of the total land area on Earth, and with over 800 million human inhabitants it accounts for ar, and AsiaThe continent of Asia is defined by subtracting Europe and Africa from the great land mass of Africa-Eurasia. The boundaries are vague, especially between Asia and Europe: Asia and Africa meet somewhere near the Suez Canal. The boundary between Asia and E. Where land-based aircraft lacked the range to travel great distances and required airfields to land, flying boats could stop at small islandAdriatic sea An island is any piece of land smaller than a continent and larger than a rock, that is completely surrounded by water. Very small islands are called islets . Although seldom adhered to, it is also proper to call an emergent land feature on a, riverMurray River in Australia Australia A river is a large natural waterway. It is a specific term in the vernacular for large streams, stream being the umbrella term used in the scientific community for all flowing natural waterways. In the vernacular, strea, lakeA lake is a large body of water, usually fresh water, surrounded by land. Large lakes are sometimes referred to as "inland seas" and small seas are sometimes referred to as lakes. For examples (of saline lakes): the Great Salt Lake, but the Dead Sea. or coastal stations to refuel and resupply. The Pan Am Boeing 314 "Clipper" planes brought exotic destinations like the Far East in reach of air travelers and came to represent the romance of flight. BOAC and Imperial Airways provided flying boat passenger and mail transport links between Britain and South Africa, Australia and New Zealand using aircraft such as the Short Empire and the Short S.8 Calcutta.

thumb Curtiss NC Flying Boat "NC-3" taxis on water before takeoff, 1919

The military value of flying boats was quickly recognized, and they were utilized by various nations in tasks from anti- submarine patrol to maritime search and rescue . Aircraft such as the PBY Catalina and Short Sunderland recovered downed airmen and operated as scout aircraft over the vast distances of the Pacific Theater and Battle of the Atlantic during World War II. The largest flying boat of the war was the Blohm und Voss Bv 238 which was also the heaviest plane to fly during the Second World War.

The Hughes H-4 Hercules in development in the U.S. during the war was even larger than the Bv238, but it did not fly until 1947.The " Spruce Goose", as the H-4 was nicknamed, was the largest flying boat ever to fly. That short 1947 hop of the 'Flying Lumberyard' was to be its last however, a victim of post-war cutbacks and the disappearance of its intended mission as a transatlantic transport.

thumb PBY Catalina in red testing paint

By this time the age of the flying boats was largely at an end. Several factors contributed to the decline. As the speed and range of land-based aircraft increased, the need for flying boats diminished. Their design compromised aerodynamic efficiency and speed to accomplish the feat of waterborne takeoff and landing. Competing with new civilian jet aircraft like the De Havilland Comet and Boeing 707 was impossible. Helicopters overtook the flying boats in their air rescue role. The land-based P-3 Orion and carrier-based S-3 Viking became the US Navy's fixed-wing anti-submarine patrol aircraft.

The shape of the 'Spruce Goose' had a been a harbinger of the shape of larger aircraft yet to come, and the type also contributed much to the designs of later ekranoplans. However, true flying boats have largely been replaced by seaplanes and amphibian aircraft. The Beriev Be-200 twin-jet amphibious aircraft is one of the closest 'living' descendents of the flying-boats of old, a fate it shares with the larger amphibious planes used for fighting forest fires.