The Consolidated Model 28, more commonly known as the PBY Catalina (US Navy designation), is a
flying boat
A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
and
amphibious aircraft
An amphibious aircraft or amphibian is an aircraft (typically fixed-wing) that can take off and land on both solid ground and water, though amphibious helicopters do exist as well. Fixed-wing amphibious aircraft are seaplanes ( flying boats ...
that was produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In Canadian service it was known as the Canso. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. Catalinas served with every branch of the
United States Armed Forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
and in the air forces and navies of many other nations. The last military PBYs served until the 1980s. As of 2021, 86 years after its first flight, the aircraft continues to fly as a
waterbomber (or airtanker) in
aerial firefighting
Aerial may refer to:
Music
* ''Aerial'' (album), by Kate Bush
* ''Aerials'' (song), from the album ''Toxicity'' by System of a Down
Bands
*Aerial (Canadian band)
* Aerial (Scottish band)
* Aerial (Swedish band)
Performance art
* Aerial sil ...
operations in some parts of the world. None remain in military service.
Design and development
Background
The PBY was originally designed to be a
patrol bomber
A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over water in maritime patrol rol ...
, an aircraft with a long operational
range
Range may refer to:
Geography
* Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra)
** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands
* Range, a term used to i ...
intended to locate and attack enemy transport ships at sea in order to disrupt enemy
supply line
Supply may refer to:
*The amount of a resource that is available
**Supply (economics), the amount of a product which is available to customers
**Materiel, the goods and equipment for a military unit to fulfill its mission
*Supply, as in confidenc ...
s. With a mind to a potential conflict in the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
, where troops would require resupply over great distances, the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
in the 1930s invested millions of dollars in developing long-range
flying boats
A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
for this purpose. Flying boats had the advantage of not requiring
runway
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...
s, in effect having the entire ocean available.
Initial development
As American dominance in the Pacific Ocean began to face competition from Japan in the 1930s, the U.S. Navy contracted Consolidated,
Martin Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austral ...
and
Douglas
Douglas may refer to:
People
* Douglas (given name)
* Douglas (surname)
Animals
*Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking
*Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil W ...
in October 1933 to build competing
prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
s for a patrol flying boat.
[Cacutt 1989, pp. 187–194.] Naval doctrine of the 1930s and 1940s used flying boats in a wide variety of roles that today are handled by multiple special-purpose aircraft. The U.S. Navy had adopted the
Consolidated P2Y
The Consolidated P2Y was an American flying boat maritime patrol aircraft. The plane was a parasol monoplane with a fabric-covered wing and aluminum hull.
Development
Initially created to compete for a U.S. Navy contract dated February 28, 19 ...
and
Martin P3M models for this role in 1931, but both aircraft were underpowered and hampered by inadequate range and limited payloads.
Consolidated and Douglas both delivered single prototypes of their new designs, the XP3Y-1 and
XP3D-1, respectively. Consolidated's XP3Y-1 was an evolution of the XPY-1 design that had originally competed unsuccessfully for the P3M contract two years earlier and of the XP2Y design that the Navy had authorized for a limited production run. Although the Douglas aircraft was a good design, the Navy opted for Consolidated's because the projected cost was only $90,000 per aircraft.
![PBY Gun Blister](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/PBY_Gun_Blister.jpg)
Consolidated's XP3Y-1 design (company ''Model 28'') had a
parasol wing
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
with external bracing struts, mounted on a pylon over the fuselage. Wingtip stabilizing floats were retractable in flight to form streamlined wingtips and had been licensed from the
Saunders-Roe
Saunders-Roe Limited, also known as Saro, was a British aero- and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works, East Cowes, Isle of Wight.
History
The name was adopted in 1929 after Alliott Verdon Roe (see Avro) and John Lord took a co ...
company. The two-step hull design was similar to that of the P2Y, but the Model 28 had a cantilever
cruciform tail __NOTOC__
The cruciform tail is an aircraft empennage configuration which, when viewed from the aircraft's front or rear, looks much like a cross. The usual arrangement is to have the horizontal stabilizer intersect the vertical tail somewhere ...
unit instead of a strut-braced
twin tail
A twin tail is a specific type of vertical stabilizer arrangement found on the empennage of some aircraft. Two vertical stabilizers—often smaller on their own than a single conventional tail would be—are mounted at the outside of the aircra ...
. Cleaner aerodynamics gave the Model 28 better performance than earlier designs. Construction is all-metal,
stressed-skin
In mechanical engineering, stressed skin is a type of rigid construction, intermediate between monocoque and a rigid frame with a non-loaded covering. A stressed skin structure has its compression-taking elements localized and its tension-taking e ...
, of
aluminum
Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...
sheet, except the
aileron
An aileron (French for "little wing" or "fin") is a hinged flight control surface usually forming part of the trailing edge of each wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. Ailerons are used in pairs to control the aircraft in roll (or movement around ...
s and wing
trailing edge
The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ...
, which are
fabric covered.
The prototype was powered by two
Pratt & Whitney R-1830-54 Twin Wasp
radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ca ...
s mounted on the wing's leading edge. Armament comprised four
Browning AN/M2 machine guns and up to of bombs.
The XP3Y-1 had its maiden flight on 21 March 1935,
[Wegg 1990, p. 70] after which it was transferred to the U.S. Navy for service trials. The XP3Y-1 was a significant performance improvement over previous patrol flying boats. The Navy requested further development in order to bring the aircraft into the category of ''patrol bomber'', and in October 1935, the prototype was returned to Consolidated for further work, including installation of R-1830-64 engines. For the redesignated XPBY-1, Consolidated introduced redesigned vertical tail surfaces which resolved a problem with the tail becoming submerged on takeoff, which had made lift-off impossible under some conditions. The XPBY-1 had its maiden flight on 19 May 1936, during which a record non-stop distance flight of was achieved.
The XPBY-1 was delivered to VP-11F in October 1936. The second squadron to be equipped was
VP-12
Patrol Squadron One (VP-1), established 15 February 1943, is an active aviation squadron of the United States Navy operating the Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft from its home port at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, United States. The ...
, which received the first of its aircraft in early 1937. The second production order was placed on 25 July 1936. Over the next three years, the design was gradually developed further and successive models introduced.
The aircraft eventually bore the name Catalina after
Santa Catalina Island, California
Santa Catalina Island ( xgf, Pimuu'nga or ; es, Isla Santa Catalina) is a rocky island off the coast of Southern California in the Gulf of Santa Catalina. The island name is often shortened to Catalina Island or just Catalina. The island is l ...
; the name was coined in November 1941, as Great Britain ordered their first 30 aircraft.
[Creed 1985]
p. 48
PBN Nomad
The
Naval Aircraft Factory
The Naval Aircraft Factory (NAF) was established by the United States Navy in 1918 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was created to help solve aircraft supply issues which faced the Navy Department upon the entry of the U.S. into World War I. ...
made significant modifications to the PBY design, many of which would have significantly interrupted deliveries had they been incorporated on the Consolidated production lines.
[Bridgeman 1946, p. 247.] The new aircraft, officially known as the PBN-1 Nomad, had several differences from the basic PBY. The most obvious upgrades were to the bow, which was sharpened and extended by two feet, and to the tail, which was enlarged and featured a new shape. Other improvements included larger fuel tanks, increasing range by 50%, and stronger wings permitting a 2,000 lb (908 kg) increase in gross takeoff weight. An auxiliary power unit was installed, along with an improved electrical system, and the weapons were upgraded with continuous-feed mechanisms.
[
138 of the 156 PBN-1s produced served with the Soviet Navy, after the NAF transferred ownership via Project ZEBRA (1944-1945).] The remaining 18 were assigned to training units at NAS Whidbey Island
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI) is a naval air station of the United States Navy located on two pieces of land near Oak Harbor, on Whidbey Island, in Island County, Washington.
The main portion of the base, Ault Field, is about ...
and the Naval Air Facility in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
.["Naval Aircraft Factory PBN-1 Nomad."]
''Aviation Enthusiast Corner''. Retrieved: 14 November 2017. Later, improvements found in the PBN such as the larger tail were incorporated into the amphibious PBY-6A.
Naming
The designation "PBY" was determined in accordance with the U.S. Navy aircraft designation system of 1922; ''PB'' representing "Patrol Bomber" and ''Y'' being the code assigned to Consolidated Aircraft
The Consolidated Aircraft Corporation was founded in 1923 in aviation, 1923 by Reuben H. Fleet in Buffalo, New York, the result of the Gallaudet Aircraft Company's liquidation and Fleet's purchase of designs from the Dayton-Wright Company as the ...
as its manufacturer. Catalinas built by other manufacturers for the U.S. Navy were designated according to different manufacturer codes, thus Canadian Vickers
Canadian Vickers Limited was an aircraft and shipbuilding company that operated in Canada during the early part of the 20th century until 1944. A subsidiary of Vickers Limited, it built its own aircraft designs as well as others under licence. C ...
-built examples were designated PBV, Boeing Canada
Boeing Canada is the Canadian subsidiary of Boeing, with operations in Winnipeg, MB, Richmond, BC, Montreal, QC and Ottawa, ON. Boeing employs more than 1,600 people in Canada. Boeing Aircraft of Canada Limited was formed in 1929 by the American B ...
examples PB2B (there already being a Boeing PBB) and Naval Aircraft Factory examples were designated PBN. In accordance with contemporary British naming practice of naming seaplanes after coastal port towns, Royal Canadian Air Force
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
(RCAF) examples were named Canso, for the town of that name in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
. The Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
used the name Catalina and the U.S. Navy adopted this name in 1942. The United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
and later the United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
used the designation OA-10. U.S. Navy Catalinas used in the Pacific against the Japanese for night operations were painted black overall; as a result these aircraft were sometimes referred to locally as "''Black Cats''".
Operational history
![PBY-5A VPB-6(CG) over Narssarsuak Greenland 1945](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/PBY-5A_VPB-6%28CG%29_over_Narssarsuak_Greenland_1945.jpeg)
Roles in World War II
The PBY was the most numerous aircraft of its kind, with around 3,300 aircraft built.
During World War II, PBYs were used in anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are t ...
, patrol bombing, convoy escort, search and rescue
Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
missions (especially air-sea rescue
Air-sea rescue (ASR or A/SR, also known as sea-air rescue), and aeronautical and maritime search and rescue (AMSAR) by the ICAO and International Maritime Organization, IMO, is the coordinated search and rescue (SAR) of the survivors of emergenc ...
), and cargo transport.
The type operated in nearly all operational theatres of World War II. The Catalina served with distinction and played a prominent and invaluable role in the war against Japan.
These patrol planes shared with land based patrol bombers the combat roles while the very long range Consolidated LB-30 and the Consolidated Coronado were pressed into service to increase the all important logistic strategic air lift capability in the vast Pacific theater. The pairings allowed the Catalina to take on the role of eyes of the fleets at longer ranges than the float plane scouts.
Several different flying boats were adopted by the Navy, but the PBY was the most widely used and produced.
Although the Catalina was slow and ungainly, Allied
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
forces used the aircraft in a wide variety of roles for which it was never intended. PBYs are remembered for their rescue role, in which they saved the lives of hundreds of aircrew downed over water. Catalina airmen called their aircraft the "Cat" on combat missions and "Dumbo
''Dumbo'' is a 1941 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The fourth Disney animated feature film, it is based upon the storyline written by Helen Aberson and Harold Pearl, a ...
" in air-sea rescue service.[Weathered, William W. "Comment and Discussion". ''United States Naval Institute Proceedings'', October 1968.]
The Catalina scored the U.S. Navy's first credited air-to-air "kill" of a Japanese airplane in the Pacific War. On 10 December 1941, the Japanese attacked the Cavite Navy Yard
Cavite, officially the Province of Cavite ( tl, Lalawigan ng Kabite; Chavacano: ''Provincia de Cavite''), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region in Luzon. Located on the southern shores of Manila Bay and southwest o ...
in the Philippines. Numerous U.S. ships and submarines were damaged or destroyed by bombs and bomb fragments. While flying to safety during the raid on Cavite, Lieutenant Harmon T. Utter's PBY was attacked by three Japanese Mitsubishi A6M2 Type 0 carrier fighters. Chief Boatswain Earl D. Payne, Utter's bow gunner, shot down one, thus scoring the U.S. Navy's first kill. Utter, as a commander, later coordinated the carrier air strikes that led to the destruction of the Japanese battleship ''Yamato
was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a name for the whole of Japan.
Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial House of Japan.
Japanese his ...
''.
The Catalina performed one of the first offensive operations against the Japanese by the US. On 27 December 1941, six Catalinas of Patrol Squadron 101 bombed Japanese shipping at Jolo Island
Jolo ( tsg, Sūg) is a volcanic island in the southwest Philippines and the primary island of the province of Sulu, on which the capital of the same name is situated. It is located in the Sulu Archipelago, between Borneo and Mindanao, and has ...
against heavy fighter opposition, with four Catalinas lost.
Anti-submarine warfare
Catalinas were the most extensively used anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft in both the Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
and Pacific theaters of World War II, and were also used in the Indian Ocean, flying from the Seychelles
Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (french: link=no, République des Seychelles; Creole: ''La Repiblik Sesel''), is an archipelagic state consisting of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, V ...
and from Ceylon
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
. Their duties included escorting convoys to Murmansk
Murmansk (Russian: ''Мурманск'' lit. "Norwegian coast"; Finnish: ''Murmansk'', sometimes ''Muurmanski'', previously ''Muurmanni''; Norwegian: ''Norskekysten;'' Northern Sámi: ''Murmánska;'' Kildin Sámi: ''Мурман ланнҍ'') i ...
. By 1943, U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
s were well-armed with anti-aircraft guns and two Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
es were won by Catalina pilots pressing home their attacks on U-boats in the face of heavy fire: Flying Officer John Cruickshank
John Alexander Cruickshank VC (born 20 May 1920) is a Scottish former banker, former Royal Air Force officer, and a Second World War recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awa ...
of the RAF, in 1944, received the award for sinking ''U-347'' (although the submarine is now known to have been ''U-361'') and in the same year RCAF Flight Lieutenant David Hornell received the decoration posthumously for the sinking of ''U-1225''. Catalinas destroyed 40 U-boats, but not without losses of their own. A Brazilian Catalina attacked and sank ''U-199'' in Brazilian waters on 31 July 1943. Later, the aircraft was baptized as "Arará", in memory of the merchant ship of that name which was sunk by another U-boat.
Maritime patrol
In their role as patrol aircraft, Catalinas participated in some of the most notable naval engagements of World War II. The aircraft's parasol wing
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
and large waist blisters provided excellent visibility and combined with its long range and endurance, made it well suited for the task.
An RAF Coastal Command
RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was founded in 1936, when the RAF was restructured into Fighter, Bomber and Coastal Commands and played an important role during the Second World War. Maritime Aviation ...
Catalina, with Ensign Leonard B. Smith
Leonard B. "Tuck" Smith (October 29, 1915 in Mayview, Missouri – May 16, 2006 in Friday Harbor, Washington) was an American pilot who spotted the German battleship '' Bismarck'' prior to its being sunk by British naval and air forces. of the U.S. Navy as co-pilot, and flying from Castle Archdale Flying boat base, Lower Lough Erne
Lough Erne ( , ) is the name of two connected lakes in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the second-biggest lake system in Northern Ireland and Ulster, and the fourth biggest in Ireland. The lakes are widened sections of the River Erne, ...
, Northern Ireland, located the German battleship ''Bismarck'' on 26 May 1941, some northwest of Brest
Brest may refer to:
Places
*Brest, Belarus
**Brest Region
**Brest Airport
**Brest Fortress
*Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria
*Břest, Czech Republic
*Brest, France
**Arrondissement of Brest
**Brest Bretagne Airport
** Château de Brest
*Brest, ...
. Bismarck was attempting to evade Royal Navy forces as she sought to join other Kriegsmarine
The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...
forces in Brest.[Smith was one of nine American officers assigned to the ]RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
as special observers. This sighting eventually led to the destruction of the German battleship.
On 7 December 1941, before the Japanese amphibious landings on Kota Bharu, Malaya, their invasion force was approached by a Catalina flying boat of No. 205 Squadron RAF
No. 205 Squadron was a Royal Air Force unit formed on 1 April 1918. Prior to this it had existed as No. 5 Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). In 1929, it became the first RAF squadron to be permanently based in Singapore, taking as i ...
. The aircraft was shot down by five Nakajima Ki-27
The was the main fighter aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service up until 1940. Its Allied nickname was "Nate", although it was called "Abdul" in the "China Burma India" (CBI) theater by many post war sources; Allied Intelligen ...
fighters before it could radio its report to air headquarters in Singapore.[Alan Warren (2007), page 86] Flying Officer Patrick Bedell, commanding the Catalina, and his seven crew members became the first Allied casualties in the war with Japan. Patrol Wing 10 of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet had 44 Catalinas under its command but lost 41 within 90 days. Patrol Wing 10 also lost its main seaplane tender
A seaplane tender is a boat or ship that supports the operation of seaplanes. Some of these vessels, known as seaplane carriers, could not only carry seaplanes but also provided all the facilities needed for their operation; these ships are rega ...
, USS ''Langley'', to Japanese aircraft during the Dutch East Indies Campaign
The Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941–1942 was the conquest of the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia) by forces from the Empire of Japan in the early days of the Pacific campaign of World War II. Forces from the Allies attempted u ...
while it was transporting 32 Curtiss P-40 Warhawk
The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time an ...
fighter planes.
A flight of Catalinas spotted the Japanese fleet approaching Midway Island
Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; haw, Kauihelani, translation=the backbone of heaven; haw, Pihemanu, translation=the loud din of birds, label=none) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the Unit ...
, beginning the Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under Adm ...
.
A RCAF Canso flown by Squadron Leader L.J. Birchall foiled Japanese plans to destroy the Royal Navy's Indian Ocean fleet on 4 April 1942 when it detected the Japanese carrier fleet approaching Ceylon.
Night attack and naval interdiction
During the Battle of Midway four U.S. Navy PBYs of Patrol Squadrons 24 and 51 made a night torpedo attack on the Japanese fleet on the night of 3–4 June 1942, scoring one hit which damaged the fleet oiler ''Akebono Maru
''Akebono Maru No. 28'' was a Japanese fishing trawler that capsized on 5 January 1982.The Minerals Management Service of Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, ...
'', the only successful American torpedo attack in the entire battle.
During the Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by American forces, was a military campaign fought between 7 August 1942 and 9 February 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in th ...
, some U.S. Navy PBYs were painted matte black and sent on night bombing, torpedoing, and strafing missions against Japanese supply vessels and warships, including conducting interdiction raids on the Tokyo Express
The Tokyo Express was the name given by Allied forces to the use of Imperial Japanese Navy ships at night to deliver personnel, supplies, and equipment to Japanese forces operating in and around New Guinea and the Solomon Islands during the P ...
. These PBYs were later called "Black Cats". Subsequently, special squadrons of Black Cats were formed, commencing in December 1942 with VP-12
Patrol Squadron One (VP-1), established 15 February 1943, is an active aviation squadron of the United States Navy operating the Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft from its home port at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Washington, United States. The ...
, with an additional thirteen squadrons coming into service thereafter.[Black Cat squadrons included then designated as VP-11, VP-12, VP-23, VP-24, VP-33, VP-34, VP-44, VP-52, VP-53, VP-54, VP-71, VP-81, VP-91, and VP-101.] Flying slowly at night, dipping to ship mast height, the Black Cats bombed, strafed, and torpedoed all kinds of Japanese vessels, sinking or damaging thousands of tons of shipping. The Black Cats also performed bombing, strafing and harassment regarding land based Japanese installations, as well as conducting reconnaissance and search and rescue operations. The Black Cat squadrons continued to be active into 1944 with the PB4Y-2 beginning to come in service in greater numbers and replacing the PBYs, the last Black Cat squadrons returning to the U.S. in early 1945.
The Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
(RAAF) also operated Catalinas as night raiders, with four squadrons Nos. 11, 20, 42, and 43 laying mines from 23 April 1943 until July 1945 in the southwest Pacific deep in Japanese-held waters, bottling up ports and shipping routes and forcing ships into deeper waters to become targets for U.S. submarines; they tied up the major strategic ports such as Balikpapan
Balikpapan is a seaport city in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Located on the east coast of the island of Borneo, the city is the financial center of Kalimantan. Balikpapan is the city with the largest economy in Kalimantan with an estimated 2 ...
which shipped 80% of Japanese oil supplies. In late 1944, their mining missions sometimes exceeded 20 hours in duration and were carried out from as low as in the dark. Operations included trapping the Japanese fleet in Manila Bay in assistance of General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...
's landing at Mindoro in the Philippines. Australian Catalinas also operated out of Jinamoc in the Leyte Gulf, and mined ports on the Chinese coast from Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
to as far north as Wenchow. Both USN and RAAF Catalinas regularly mounted nuisance night bombing raids on Japanese bases, with the RAAF claiming the slogan "The First and the Furthest". Targets of these raids included a major base at Rabaul
Rabaul () is a township in the East New Britain province of Papua New Guinea, on the island of New Britain. It lies about 600 kilometres to the east of the island of New Guinea. Rabaul was the provincial capital and most important settlement in ...
. RAAF aircrews, like their U.S. Navy counterparts, employed "terror bombs", ranging from scrap metal and rocks to empty beer bottles with razor blades inserted into the necks, to produce high-pitched screams as they fell, keeping Japanese soldiers awake and scrambling for cover. There was a Catalina base on Drimmie Head
The Gove Peninsula is at the northeastern corner of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. The peninsula became strategically important during World War II when a Royal Australian Air Force base was constructed at what is now Gove ...
on the Gove Peninsula
The Gove Peninsula is at the northeastern corner of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. The peninsula became strategically important during World War II when a Royal Australian Air Force base was constructed at what is now Gove ...
in the Northern Territory.
Search and rescue
Catalinas were employed by every branch of the U.S. military as rescue aircraft. A PBY piloted by LCDR LCDR may refer to:
* The London, Chatham and Dover Railway
* The rank of lieutenant commander
Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. ...
Adrian Marks (USN) rescued 56 sailors in high seas from the heavy cruiser
The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range and high speed, armed generally with naval guns of roughly 203 mm (8 inches) in caliber, whose design parameters were dictated by the Washington Naval Tr ...
after the ship was sunk during World War II. When there was no more room inside, the crew tied sailors to the wings. The aircraft could not fly in this state; instead it acted as a lifeboat, protecting the sailors from exposure and the risk of shark attack
A shark attack is an attack on a human by a shark. Every year, around 80 unprovoked attacks are reported worldwide. Despite their rarity, many people fear shark attacks after occasional serial attacks, such as the Jersey Shore shark attacks of ...
, until rescue ships arrived. Catalinas continued to function in the search-and-rescue role for decades after the end of the war.
Early commercial use
Catalinas were also used for commercial air travel. For example, Qantas Empire Airways
Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...
flew commercial passengers from Suva
Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...
to Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, a journey of , which in 1949 took two days. The longest commercial flights (in terms of time aloft) ever made in aviation history were the Qantas flights flown weekly from 29 June 1943 through July 1945 over the Indian Ocean, dubbed the Double Sunrise. Qantas offered non-stop service between Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
and Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
, a distance of . As the Catalina typically cruised at , this took from 28 to 32 hours and was called the "flight of the double sunrise", since the passengers saw two sunrises during their non-stop journey. The flight was made in radio silence because of the possibility of Japanese attack and had a maximum payload of or three passengers plus of military and diplomatic mail.
Post-World War II employment
An Australian PBY named "Frigate Bird II", an ex RAAF aircraft, registered VH-ASA, made the first trans-Pacific flight across the South Pacific between Australia and Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
in 1951 by (Sir) Gordon Taylor, making numerous stops at islands along the way for refueling, meals, and overnight sleep of its crew, flown from Sydney to Quintero in Chile after making initial landfall at Valparaiso via Tahiti and Easter Island. One of six ordered by the RAAF was used as part of the air route across the Pacific from Sydney to Valparaiso, is in the collection of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences
The Powerhouse Museum is the major branch of the Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences (MAAS) in Sydney, the others being the historic Sydney Observatory at Observatory Hill, and the newer Museums Discovery Centre at Castle Hill. Although often des ...
in Sydney.
With the end of the war, all of the flying boat versions of the Catalina were quickly retired from the U.S. Navy, but the amphibious versions remained in service for some years. The last Catalina in U.S. service was a PBY-6A operating with a Naval Reserve squadron, which was retired from use on 3 January 1957. The Catalina subsequently equipped the world's smaller armed services into the late 1960s in fairly substantial numbers.
The U.S. Air Force's Strategic Air Command
Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...
used Catalinas (designated OA-10s) in service as scout aircraft from 1946 through 1947.
The Brazilian Air Force
"Wings that protect the country"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = Hino dos Aviadores
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 22 May (anniver ...
flew Catalinas in naval air patrol missions against German submarines starting in 1943. The flying boats also carried out air mail deliveries. In 1948, a transport squadron was formed and equipped with PBY-5As converted to the role of amphibious transports. The 1st Air Transport Squadron (ETA-1) was based in the port city of Belem and flew Catalinas and C-47s until 1982. Catalinas were convenient for supplying military detachments scattered along the Amazon. They reached places that were otherwise accessible only by helicopters. The ETA-1 insignia was a winged turtle with the motto "Though slowly, I always get there". Today, the last Brazilian Catalina (a former RCAF one) is displayed at the Airspace Museum (MUSAL) in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful Aqua-Lung, open-circuit SCUBA (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus). Th ...
used a PBY-6A (N101CS) to support his diving expeditions. His second son, Philippe, was killed in an accident in this aircraft that occurred on the Tagus River near Lisbon. The Catalina nosed over during a high-speed taxi run undertaken to check the hull for leakage following a water landing. The aircraft turned upside down, causing the fuselage to break behind the cockpit. The wing separated from the fuselage and the left engine broke off, penetrating the captain's side of the cockpit.["ASN Aircraft accident Consolidated PBY-6A Catalina N101CS Alverca."](_blank)
''Aviation Safety Network''. Retrieved: 30 October 2011.
Paul Mantz
Albert Paul Mantz (August 2, 1903 – July 8, 1965) was a noted air racing pilot, movie stunt pilot and consultant from the late 1930s until his death in the mid-1960s. He gained fame on two stages: Hollywood and in air races.
Early years
Man ...
converted an unknown number of surplus Catalinas to flying yachts at his Orange County California hangar in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Steward-Davis converted several Catalinas to their Super Catalina standard (later known as Super Cat), which replaced the usual Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp
The Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp is an American air-cooled radial aircraft engine. It displaces and its bore and stroke are both . The design traces its history to 1929 experiments at Pratt & Whitney on twin-row designs. Production began ...
engines with Wright R-2600 Cyclone 14
The Wright R-2600 Cyclone 14 (also called Twin Cyclone) is an American radial engine developed by Curtiss-Wright and widely used in aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s.
History
In 1935, Curtiss-Wright began work on a more powerful version of their ...
engines of . A larger, squared-off rudder was installed to compensate for the increased yaw which the more powerful engines could generate. The Super Catalina also had extra cabin windows and other alterations.[Legg 2002, p. 31.]
Chilean Air Force (FACH) Captain Roberto Parragué, in his PBY Catalina FACH No. 405 called " Manu-Tara", which means Lucky Bird in the Rapanui language, undertook the first flight between Easter Island
Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...
and the continent of South America (from Chile), as well as the first flight to Tahiti
Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...
, making him a national hero of France as well as of Chile. The flight was authorized by the Chilean President in 1951, but a second flight he made in 1957 was not authorized, and he was dismissed from the Chilean Air Force.
Of the few dozen remaining airworthy Catalinas, the majority are in use as aerial firefighting
Aerial may refer to:
Music
* ''Aerial'' (album), by Kate Bush
* ''Aerials'' (song), from the album ''Toxicity'' by System of a Down
Bands
*Aerial (Canadian band)
* Aerial (Scottish band)
* Aerial (Swedish band)
Performance art
* Aerial sil ...
aircraft.
China Airlines
China Airlines (CAL; ) is the state-owned flag carrier of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and one of its two major airlines along with EVA Air. It is headquartered in Taoyuan International Airport and operates over 1,400 flights weekly (inclu ...
, the official airline of the Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
(Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
) was founded with two Catalina amphibians.
Platforms are folded out and deployed from Catalinas for use in open ocean fishing and Mahi Mahi
The mahi-mahi () or common dolphinfish (''Coryphaena hippurus'') is a surface-dwelling ray-finned fish found in off-shore temperate, tropical, and subtropical waters worldwide. Also widely called dorado (not to be confused with ''Salminus brasil ...
tracking in the Pacific Ocean.
Catalina affair
The Catalina Affair is the name given to a Cold War
The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
incident in which a Swedish Air Force
The Swedish Air Force ( sv, Svenska flygvapnet or just ) is the air force branch of the Swedish Armed Forces.
History
The Swedish Air Force was created on 1 July, 1926 when the aircraft units of the Army and Navy were merged. Because of the es ...
search and rescue/maritime patrol Catalina (Swedish designation "TP 47") was shot down by Soviet MiG 15 fighters over the Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
in June 1952 while investigating the disappearance of a Swedish Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner
manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II.
It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...
(later found to have been shot down by Soviet MiG-15s while on a signals intelligence
Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of ''signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ( ...
mission; it was found in 2003 and raised 2004–2005).
Variants
An estimated 4,051 Catalinas, Cansos, and GSTs of all versions were produced between June 1937 and May 1945 for the U.S. Navy, the United States Army Air Forces, the United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...
, Allied nations and civilian customers.
US Navy
;XP3Y-1
:Prototype Model 28 flying boat
A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
later re-designated XPBY-1, one built (USN Bureau No. 9459). Later fitted with a diameter ring to detonate magnetic sea mines
A naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of, or contact with, any ve ...
. A Ranger engine drove a generator to produce the magnetic field.[Hayward, John T., VADM USN. "Comment and Discussion" ''United States Naval Institute Proceedings,'' August 1978, p. 24.]
;XPBY-1
:Prototype version of the Model 28 for the United States Navy, a re-engined XP3Y-1 with two R-1830-64 engines, one built.
;PBY-1 (Model 28-1)
:Initial production variant with two R-1830-64 engines, 60 built.
;PBY-2 (Model 28-2)
:Equipment changes and improved performance, 50 built.
;PBY-3 (Model 28-3)
:Powered by two R-1830-66 engines, 66 built.
;PBY-4 (Model 28-4)
:Powered by two R-1830-72 engines, 33 built (including one initial as a XPBY-4 which later became the XPBY-5A).
; (Model 28-5)
:Either two R-1830-82 or −92 engines and provision for extra fuel tanks (with partial self-sealing protection). 683 built (plus one built at New Orleans), some aircraft to the RAF as the Catalina IVA and one to the United States Coast Guard. The PBY-5 was also built in the Soviet Union as the GST.
;XPBY-5A
:One PBY-4 converted into an amphibian and first flown in November 1939.
;
:Amphibious version of the PBY-5 with two R-1830-92 engines, first batch (of 124) had one bow gun, the remainder had two bow guns; 803 built including diversions to the United States Army Air Forces, the RAF (as the Catalina IIIA) and one to the United States Coast Guard.
;PBY-5R
:The XPBY-5A converted into a staff transport, with amphibious gear and nose turret removed and additional windows added.
;PBY-6A
:Amphibious version with two R-1830-92 engines and a taller fin and rudder. Radar scanner fitted above cockpit and two nose guns; 175 built including 21 transferred to the Soviet Navy.
;PBY-6AG
:One PBY-6A used by the United States Coast Guard as a staff transport.
;PB2B-1
:Boeing Canada built PBY-5 flying boat for the RAF and RCAF
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environme ...
from 1942. 240 built.
;PB2B-1A
:Boeing Canada built PBY-5A amphibious aircraft
An amphibious aircraft or amphibian is an aircraft (typically fixed-wing) that can take off and land on both solid ground and water, though amphibious helicopters do exist as well. Fixed-wing amphibious aircraft are seaplanes ( flying boats ...
for the RCAF from 1943. 55 built.
;PB2B-2
:Boeing Canada version of the PBY-5 but with the taller PBN-1 fin. 67 built. Most to the RAF as the Catalina VI.
;PBN-1 Nomad
:Naval Aircraft Factory version of the PBY-5 with major modification including a bow extension, modified hull lines and step, re-designed tip floats and tail surfaces and a revised electrical system. 155 were built for delivery to the RAF as the Catalina V although 138 were Lend-Leased to the Soviet Navy as the KM-1
;PBV-1A
:Canadian Vickers built version of the PBY-5A, 380 built including 150 to the RCAF as the Canso "A" and the rest to the USAAF as the OA-10A.
United States Army Air Forces
;OA-10
:USAAF designation for the PBY-5A (OA = observation/amphibian). 105 built (56 transferred from the US Navy). 58 suriving aircraft were redesignated to A-10 on 11 June 1948 (A = amphibian). Search and rescue versions were designated SA-10 (SA = search/amphibian).
;OA-10A
:USAAF designation for the PBV-1A. 230 transferred from the US Navy. Suriving aircraft were redesignated to A-10A on 11 June 1948. Search and rescue versions were designated SA-10A. Three additional aircraft were transferred from the US Navy in 1949 as SA-10As.
;OA-10B
:USAAF designation for the PBY-6A. 75 transferred from the US Navy. Suriving aircraft were redesignated to A-10B on 11 June 1948. Search and rescue versions were designated SA-10B.
Royal Air Force
;Catalina I
: Direct purchase aircraft for the Royal Air Force, same as the PBY-5 with six guns (one in bow, four in waist blisters and one aft of the hull step) and powered by two R-1830-S1C3-G engines, 109 built.
;Catalina IA
:Operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force as the Canso, 14 built.
;Catalina IB
:Lend-lease PBY-5Bs for the RAF, 225 aircraft built.
;Catalina II
:Equipment changes, six built.
;Catalina IIA
:Vickers-Canada built Catalina II for the RAF, 50 built.
;Catalina IIIA
:Former U.S. Navy PBY-5As used by the RAF on the North Atlantic Ferry Service
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' i ...
, 12 aircraft. These were the only amphibians that saw RAF service.
;Catalina IVA
:Lend-lease PBY-5s for the RAF, 93 aircraft.
;Catalina IVB
:Lend-lease PB2B-1s for the RAF, some to the Royal Australian Air Force.
;Catalina VI
:Lend-lease PB2B-2s for the RAF, some to the RAAF.
Royal Canadian Air Force
;Canso
:PB2B-1s for the RCAF. 17 built.
;Canso A
:PBV-1A and PB2B-1A amphibious aircraft produced for the RCAF (A = amphibious). 150 PBV-1A and 55 PB2B-1A built.
;Canso 2F
:Canso A rebuilt as unarmed cargo aircraft
A cargo aircraft (also known as freight aircraft, freighter, airlifter or cargo jet) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is designed or converted for the carriage of air cargo, cargo rather than passenger aircraft, passengers. Such aircraft usually ...
(F = freight). Some fitted with Rebecca
Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...
transponding radar for navigation and some aircraft also carried LORAN
LORAN, short for long range navigation, was a hyperbolic radio navigation system developed in the United States during World War II. It was similar to the UK's Gee system but operated at lower frequencies in order to provide an improved range u ...
.
;Canso 2SR
:Canso A rebuilt as unarmed search and rescue aircraft (SR = search/rescue). Some fitted with Rebecca transponding radar for navigation and some aircraft also carried LORAN.
Other users
;GST
:Soviet designation for transport versions of the PBY-5 ("''Gydro Samoliot Transportnyi''" - transport seaplane).
;TP 47
:Swedish designation for three unarmed Canso A amphibious aircraft purchased by the Swedish air force in 1948 (TP = transport). These were modified with search radar This is a list of different types of radar.
Detection and search radars
Search radars scan great volumes of space with pulses of short radio waves. They typically scan the volume two to four times a minute. The waves are usually less than a meter ...
s in the nose turret during the early 1950s.
;CA-10
:In the 1950s several civilian Catalinas were converted as CA-10 cargo transport aircraft, the name being derived from the USAF A-10 (C = cargo).
;Steward-Davis Super Catalina ("Super Cat")
:Catalina converted to use Wright R-2600 Cyclone 14
The Wright R-2600 Cyclone 14 (also called Twin Cyclone) is an American radial engine developed by Curtiss-Wright and widely used in aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s.
History
In 1935, Curtiss-Wright began work on a more powerful version of their ...
engines, with enlarged rudder and other changes.
;Avalon Turbo Canso
:A proposed turboprop conversion of Canso water bombers, powered by two Rolls-Royce Dart
The Rolls-Royce RB.53 Dart is a turboprop engine designed and manufactured by Rolls-Royce Limited. First run in 1946, it powered the Vickers Viscount on its maiden flight in 1948. A flight on July 29 of that year, which carried 14 paying passe ...
engines.
Production
Operators
Surviving aircraft
Specifications (PBY-5A)
See also
* The crash in Norway during Project ZEBRA in 1944
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
*Bridgeman, Leonard. "The Consolidated Vultee Model 28 Catalina." ''Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II''. London: Studio, 1946. .
*Cacutt, Len, ed. "PBY Catalina: Ocean Patroller." ''Great Aircraft of the World''. London: Marshall Cavendish, 1989. .
*Creed, Roscoe. ''PBY: The Catalina Flying Boat''. Annapolis, Maryland: US Naval Institute Press, 1986. .
*Crocker, Mel. ''Black Cats and Dumbos: WW II's Fighting PBYs''. Huntington Beach, California: Crocker Media Expressions, 2002. .
*Dorny, Louis B. ''US Navy PBY Catalina Units of the Pacific War''. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2007. .
*
*Gaunt, Coral and Robert Cleworth. ''Cats at War: Story of RAAF Catalinas in the Asia Pacific Theatre of War.'' Roseville, NSW Australia: J.R. Cleworth, 2000. .
*Greenhous, Brereton et al. ''The Crucible of War 1939–1945: The Official History of the Royal Canadian Air Force, Vol. III.'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1994. .
*
*Hendrie, Andrew. ''Flying Cats: The Catalina Aircraft in World War II''. Annapolis, Maryland: US Naval Institute Press, 1988. .
* Howard, Paul. ''French Pacific 'Cats': Flying-boat Services in the Pacific, 1946–1971''. ''Air Enthusiast
''Air Enthusiast'' was a British, bi-monthly, aviation magazine, published by the Key Publishing group. Initially begun in 1974 as ''Air Enthusiast Quarterly'', the magazine was conceived as a historical adjunct to '' Air International'' maga ...
'' 111, May/June 2004, pp. 38–44.
*
*Kinzey, Bert. ''PBY Catalina in Detail & Scale''. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 2000. .
*Knott, Richard C. ''Black Cat Raiders of World War II''. Annapolis, Maryland: US Naval Institute Press, 2000. .
*Legg, David. ''Consolidated PBY Catalina: The Peacetime Record''. Annapolis, Maryland: US Naval Institute Press, 2002. .
*
*
*Petrescu, FLorian Ion and Reilly Victoria Petrescu. ''The Aviation History''. Stoughton, Wisconsin: Books on Demand, 2012. .
*
*Ragnarsson, Ragnar. ''US Navy PBY Catalina Units of the Atlantic War''. Botley, Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing, 2006. .
*Scarborough, William E. ''PBY Catalina in Action (Aircraft number 62)''. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1983. .
*Scarborough, William E. ''PBY Catalina: Walk Around''. Carrollton, Texas: Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1996. .
*Wagner, Ray. ''The Story of the PBY Catalina'' (Aero Biographies Volume 1). San Diego, California: Flight Classics, 1972. .
* Wegg, John. ''General Dynamics Aircraft and their Predecessors''. London:Putnam, 1990. .
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
PBY Catalina Foundation
(1945) AN 01-5M-3 Handbook of Structural Repair for Navy Models PBY-5, PBY-5A, PBY-6A Army Model OA-10 Airplanes
Catalina Aircraft Trust
''Popular Mechanics'', February 1943, ''"Here Comes The Cats"''
very large and detailed article
{{Authority control
PB1Y
Consolidated PB1Y
Flying boats
Amphibious aircraft
Parasol-wing aircraft
World War II patrol aircraft of the United States
PBN Nomad
Cruciform tail aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1935
Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft