demystifying the whale tail - 1954 Flying Cloud

[utee94]

Fred, you are a tremendous asset to this community. Thanks for always sharing your knowledge so freely, it is much appreciated!

I too would love to know more about this history of the Whale Tail, I am a very big fan of its structure and design.

-Marcus

[Sugarfoot]

Originally Posted by 47WeeWind

Hi Frank:

I'll have to dig out an old back issue of The Vintage Advantage where I reviewed 1954-57 Airstreams. If memory serves, there was some information about whale tails in that article.

I know that article and have referred to it many times. The VAC website is going through some changes, but in a roundabout way I located it. You can find it here. This is another excellent contribution from Fred and a very informative article well worth reading. The article starts on page 5 of the PDF but I've copied the whale tail part below:

"California built trailers generally had a 9
panel rear end cap. The top center panel
increased in width as it descended over
the lower panels until it intersected the top
of the rear window at full width. This rear
cap design is informally (but not in factory
literature) called a “Dutchman”. In the building
trades, a “Dutchman” means a piece or
wedge inserted to hide a fault in a badly
made joint or to stop an opening. In theater
jargon, a “Dutchman” is a narrow canvas
strip used to conceal a joint between two
flats. Let’s hope Wally was being more theatrical
than constructive when he introduced
the 9 panel rear end cap on California
trailers. The wedge-shaped center
“5th” panel conceals the hopefully faultless
vertical joint of the other 8 converging end
cap flat panels, hence the “Dutchman”
moniker.

This 9 panel California design also has
been called a “whale’s tail” due to a rough
similarity in profile. Presently there is one
known exception to the California factory’s
seeming exclusive use of 9 panel rear end
caps on all it’s 1954-1957 trailers. The
California built 18’ Wanderer used the
same converging 13 panel rear end found
on all Ohio built Airstreams. The precise
reason for this has been lost to time, but
may arise from Wally’s penchant for
encouraging a friendly rivalry between the
two factories. What better way to illustrate
to Ohio workers the “superior” craftsmanship
of their California counterparts than to
have California built a few “better” 13 panel
rear end cap trailers?"

Thank you 47WeeWind for all you do! You rock!

Now I wish I could remember where I heard the 9 panel config was driven by cost & labor savings.

[47WeeWind]

to you Sugarfoot for locating and posting my earlier remarks on California "whale tail" Airstreams. I never did any survey of rear end cap interior panel construction, so that will have to be determined from observations on a year-to-year or trailer-to-trailer basis. A straight-on rear exterior view of the Dutchman's cap has a Moderne monumentality reminiscent of Hugh Ferriss' architectural renderings:

[TWaugh]

Wow Fred, thanks for the flashback to my college years. One of my professors had us study several articles on Hugh Ferriss.

For those who might be interested in his style of drawing here's a link to some examples of the man who inspired Gothom City.

Hugh Ferriss: Delineator of Gotham