Part 9 - Shannon Airport, County Clare

Colour postcard print

A postcard print titled ‘Control Tower, Shannon Airport, Rineanna, Co. Clare, Ireland’.

The postcard shows an American Overseas Airlines’ Boeing 377 at Shannon Airport. On 24 October 1945, American Overseas Airlines operated the first scheduled transatlantic commercial flight using a land plane, stopping at Shannon on the New York City–Gander (Newfoundland)–London route. The aircraft in the image (identifiable by the registered tail number N90944) first flew on 30 August 1949 and was named ‘Flagship Ireland’ by American Overseas Airlines. It was subsequently transferred to Pan American World Airways in September 1950. It crashed in the Pacific Ocean enroute to Honolulu International Airport from San Francisco on 8 November 1957. The accident claimed the lives of all 36 passengers and 8 crew members.